Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
“Our Dear Father in Heaven,” Graham Whittaker said. He had so many thoughts and feelings running through him that he didn’t know how to articulate. His relationship with Laney was stronger than ever, and they’d both been rebuilding things with Bailey for many years now.
Pure gratitude still streamed through him that she’d returned to town and came to family functions like this.
He’d begged God for this exact scenario for years before it had happened, and he found the words that existed on earth to be inadequate to tell the Lord what he truly thought and felt.
Laney’s hand slipped through the crook of his arm, and Graham cleared his throat.
“We’re grateful for this warm day,” he said.
“Which will hopefully herald a wonderful summer to come. We’re glad to be gathered as brothers, and friends, and family, and ask a special blessing that we’ll be able to enjoy one another’s company, enjoy good food, and strengthen the relationships we have with everyone here.
“We’re especially glad that Bailey, Reeves, and OJ have joined us.
We pray for a blessing on the food, as well as for any special comfort, guidance, or need that anyone here may have.
We may not know their hidden worries or ailments, but I know You do, Lord, and that You can provide for them what they need.
“We’re grateful for all Thy creations, from the atmosphere which gives us life, to the mountains which feeds our souls, to the flowers, shrubs, and trees that testify of Thy existence.
Bless us to be better servants of Thee, and help us to have the peace that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. In Thy name, amen. ”
“Amen,” rang across the patio around him, and Graham swiftly lifted his cowboy hat back to his head and stuffed it into place.
He wanted to seek out Bailey and then Reeves to judge their reaction to the prayer.
At the same time, Graham didn’t want to judge anything about them, and he’d been mildly surprised that Bailey had accepted the barbecue invitation at all.
Laney had put the event on their family group chat yesterday, and Bailey hadn’t answered until this afternoon, when she’d said she’d be coming…
and bringing Reeves with her. She’d also told them that this relationship was still very new, and that if any of them recognized Reeves, to “keep it on the down-low and low-key.”
Graham still didn’t understand a lot of the terms the younger generation used. In fact, most of the stuff OJ said, Graham had to ask for a definition of.
He grinned at the young man as he settled next to Graham. “Can I have a hamburger and a hot dog?” OJ asked.
“Of course you can,” Graham said. “You can have whatever you want.”
OJ grinned at him, and Graham slung an arm around the boy’s shoulders. “You never told us where you’re working this summer.”
“Momma says I have to work at the bookstore at least twice a week.” OJ frowned, but it didn’t stay on his face for long. He definitely possessed Bryce’s sunny nature, but Graham could see Bailey’s lighter genes in OJ’s eyes, hair, and skin tone.
“So I’m going to do that on Fridays and Saturdays,” he said. “Momma said that’s when she has a lot of her big book shipments come in, and she needs my muscles.”
Graham grinned at him. “I bet she does.”
“I’m still volunteering at Bailey’s clinic whenever she’ll let me,” OJ said. “But my real job is at K9 Country.”
“Is that right?” Laney asked. She started to move toward the line that had queued up, and Graham and OJ went with her. “What are you doing out there for Ames?”
“Well, his daughter, June, hired me,” OJ said. “She runs a lot of the logistical stuff on the administration side. Chris and Lars still have their lawn mowing and landscaping company, but their daddy has started teaching them how to train the dogs.”
OJ came alive when talking about animals, and he loved being outside rather than in. Both traits he could have gotten from Bryce or Bailey, since he had both of their DNA. Graham figured he’d been hit on both sides with his animal-loving, cowboy ways.
“I’m going to be doing a lot of just basic chores around the K9 Academy,” he said.
“Feeding dogs, moving them from one place to another, cleaning their pens, and since Chris and Lars are going to be doing more training with the dogs, they said I could help with the lawn mowing and stuff too.” He grinned, like pushing a mower around someone else’s lawn was a great thing. “Daddy said it’ll keep me busy.”
“Are you still doing guitar lessons?” Bailey asked from behind him.
Graham turned his attention toward her. She held Reeves’s hand firmly in hers, or he supposed Reeves could be gripping Bailey’s hand as well.
They looked good standing side-by-side, with Reeves about six inches taller than Bailey.
That put him a couple of inches above six feet, and he wore a dark cowboy hat and a dark gray T-shirt with the outline of mountains across the front.
He’d paired it with jeans and cowboy boots, and though Graham studied his face and found dark eyes and a long straight nose, he didn’t recognize the man at all.
Bailey had acted like he might, and OJ had introduced him as “a big online celebrity,” and he wondered what exactly Reeves did for a living.
“Yeah, I do lessons a couple of times a week,” OJ said. “Daddy’s going to be in the studio a lot this summer, and he can pick me up from the K9 Academy on the way to Uncle Tex’s.”
“Are you going to be on the new Christmas album for Country Quad?” Laney asked.
“I don’t know,” OJ said. “They’re hoping to get that done this summer, but there is so—much—go-ing—on. Uncle Luke goes camping all the time, and Uncle Trace and Aunt Ev are going to Hawaii for a whole month.”
“A whole month?” Graham asked with a chuckle, because everything OJ said got enunciated like it was a great big deal. “When are they doing that?”
“I don’t know, sometime after the Fourth,” OJ said. He picked up a plate and then looked at Beau. “I’d like one of each, please.”
“You got it, bud,” Beau said, and he turned back to the grill to get a hamburger and then a hot dog.
“You didn’t get any buns.” Laney lifted the package and grinned at OJ.
“Oh my heck, I didn’t even see them.”
Graham loved the boy with his whole heart and soul, as OJ brought a vibrancy to his life that no one else could. Bailey laughed as OJ fixed up his buns and then put his protein on them.
“I’ll take a hamburger, Uncle Beau,” she said.
“Me too,” Graham said.
“Me three,” Laney added, and they had their buns ready to go for when Beau turned around with the burger on his spatula.
Reeves also asked for a hamburger and a hot dog as OJ continued to detail what his uncles were doing that summer. “And Uncle Jem is going to be gone almost all the time,” he said. “Because Rosie is going to be riding in the amateur circuit this summer.”
“Wow,” Laney said. “What about Cole?”
“Oh, Cole just got married,” OJ said. “He’s living up at Whispering Pines now, and it’s a lot less confusing now that the other Cole is also out on the circuit.”
Graham smiled to himself and moved down the table, where a bowl of taco pasta salad waited, and then a vat of baked beans. He loved Laney’s grandmother’s recipe with the bacon, the ground beef, and the pimento, and he spooned a healthy portion of those alongside his hamburger.
“Are you going to Wolf Creek this year?” Graham asked.
“Yeah, we usually go a couple of times,” OJ said. “I don’t know when, but Bryce said he needs me to come help out at his farm, because you know he and Codi are having another baby, right?”
“Yes, we heard,” Laney said. “Another boy.” She glanced at Graham, a soft smile on her face.
“He said I can help him plant all the pumpkins,” OJ said.
“And we can do that spooky Halloween walk again.” He turned toward Bailey, his eyes bright with hope.
Graham wasn’t sure how he found time to breathe, and he sometimes wondered how the boy’s mind held all the thoughts that came out of his mouth. “You guys should come. It’s super fun.”
“To the spooky Halloween walk?” Bailey asked.
“I mean, I know Halloween’s not your favorite holiday or anything, but it’s just walking around Bryce’s farm with carved pumpkins lit with candles, and then we get a bunch of candy.”
“That does sound fun.” Bailey smiled at him and glanced over to Reeves.
The man sure didn’t say much, and Graham’s thoughts scattered as he tried to think of something to ask him. “How’s your farm, Reeves?” he finally came up with.
The man’s attention turned toward him. “It’s going great, sir,” he said. “My goats have all had their kids now, and I should have my first crop of alfalfa in the next few weeks.”
Graham’s eyebrows went up. “That’s great.”
Reeves nodded. “Yeah, and Bailey and I are going to finish up her duck pond this next week.”
“Are you, Bay?” OJ asked. “What day can I come?”
“Reeves has an excavator,” she said. “He’ll bring that to move all those rocks right where we want them, buddy.” She grinned at him. “And I’m not getting the ducks for another couple of weeks. I think you should probably come then.”
OJ’s face fell. “But remember, you said—”
“Yeah, I know,” Bailey said over the top of him. “And you helped with the duck pond as much as you and I could do. I suppose you could come stand around while Reeves moves the rocks with the machine, because that’s all I’m going to be doing.”
OJ looked from Bailey to Reeves. “All right, fine. If you let me know when, I’ll see if my momma can bring me.”
Bailey watched OJ for a moment, and he swallowed as he looked away. He took some taco pasta salad and moved to the end of the table, where he picked up a can of peach Fresca and then waited for Bailey to continue down the line.
“Are you going to be going camping a lot this summer, Reeves?” OJ asked. Graham had no idea how many times Reeves had met OJ, but it sure didn’t seem like the first time they were interacting.
“Yeah, I just finished a two-night trip,” he said.