Chapter 1 #2
Once Big Jim had allowed Chance to return to Blackstone Ranch three years ago, he had gone all in on the ranch itself, eschewing everything else.
Maybe now it was time to work on that balance between managing the ranch and taking time for himself.
At the end of a hard day, he was too tired to socialize, so he rarely left the ranch and didn’t interact with many off the property.
Maybe Darby could set him up with one of her teacher friends at the high school.
Chance decided it was time to make himself get out and do a little living.
He grabbed the thermoses and cooler and went to his truck, heading toward Lake Hawthorne to meet West. He had been best friends with West since they started kindergarten in Hawthorne.
They had attended separate colleges, Chance going to SMU to earn a business degree, and West to A&M, where he played for the Aggies football team.
They had stayed in touch as best as they could during those college years, but their friendship had cooled once they graduated.
West had played ten years for the Dallas Cowboys, while Chance had moved to Chicago for work, followed by Denver and then Seattle, gaining experience in various aspects of business.
He had thought he would return to Hawthorne with his shiny business degree in hand, but Big Jim had told Chance he needed to see some of the world and work other places, away from his hometown.
He’d enjoyed those years and cities, working hard and playing even harder.
When his dad had finally agreed it was time for Chance to return and work on the family ranch, he had been glad, soothed by the tranquility of being out on the land and with the horses and cattle after so many years away.
Now West, too, had returned to Hawthorne, coaching the Hawks high school football team and marrying Kelby. The two of them had fallen back into an easy friendship, which Chance appreciated.
The only trouble was that he was slightly jealous of his sister and best friend.
The pair had dated briefly in high school and had gone their separate ways after graduation.
Both had wound up coming back to Hawthorne about the same time.
The spark still existed between them, and they had married last April.
Kelby was pregnant now with their first child, due in early June.
Chance wanted what they had.
He was happy for them. They were two of the most important people in his life, and he was thrilled they had found one another after so many years apart.
Yet he envied them. The special looks he saw pass between them.
The small, loving gestures toward one another.
He yearned for that kind of relationship for himself.
He’d partied hard in his twenties and had devoted his early thirties strictly to the ranch.
At thirty-three, however, he felt that urge to settle down.
West and Kelby had him over for dinner at least once a week, and they invited others, as well.
West’s sister Autumn had returned to Hawthorne after a failed marriage, and she had gone to work for Triple H, the new hospital in town, marrying Eli, its medical director.
Darby Montgomery, one of his closest friends from high school and Kelby’s best friend, had also returned last year and now taught at their alma mater.
She had married Jace Tanner, Eli’s brother and West’s sports agent.
Seeing these three happy couples had made Chance realize time was passing him by.
He wanted a family. To share his life with someone special.
But who?
He arrived at Lake Hawthorne and parked next to West’s truck. He saw West had already carried the small fishing boat down to the water and stood waiting for Chance to arrive. Heading toward his friend, he held up what he’d brought.
“Tammy’s provided a thermos of coffee for each of us and also some sandwiches.”
West chuckled. “I brought two bottles of water. I sneaked out of bed as quietly as I could. Kelby needs as much rest as possible.”
“She looked really good last weekend.”
As they pushed the boat out into the water and climbed in, West said, “The first three months were pretty darn rough. The second trimester is the best for a mom-to-be. Kelby had more energy and began eating better. This last one, though, she’s starting to tire more quickly.
She hasn’t slowed down, though, and I wish she would. ”
“Kelby mentioned to me that she was thinking about hiring someone to help out,” Chance said. “Has that gone any further?”
“No. I want to nudge her more on that. Once the baby comes, she won’t be able to keep up the breakneck pace she has since she started Social Synergy Creations.
Now that it’s off the ground and she’s got a full roster of clients, she’s going to need someone who can manage the business for her while she’s on maternity leave and help take some of the load off her once she returns to work fulltime. ”
“Working out of your house will help some, I’d think. No commute, for starters.”
“It should, but I still want her to hire an employee. As fast as the company is growing, she should also hire an assistant, as well. Maybe I’ll bring that up tonight at dinner. You want to back me up on this, buddy?”
He was having dinner tonight at the Sutherlands’ house, and they were going to watch the Dallas Mavericks basketball game after eating.
“I suppose the usual suspects will be there for dinner and the game tonight?” he asked.
“The usual couples and Sawyer,” West replied, referring to Darby’s brother, an attorney who had moved back to Hawthorne a year ago. Like him, Sawyer wasn’t married and didn’t seem to be dating anyone in particular.
“And I’m proud to say that we have a new addition to the group, as of tonight.”
“Who?” Chance asked, curious because West usually kept a small, tight circle around him. His friend’s days as a professional football player had taught West that most people only wanted to be friends with him as long as he could do something for them.
“Summer is going to be at dinner tonight.”
West referred to his sister, Autumn’s twin. Summer worked as a book editor in New York and only came to Hawthorne occasionally because of her busy schedule.
“She was just here at Christmas. I’m surprised she’s already back for a visit,” he said, his heart starting to speed up.
Summer and Autumn had always been on the periphery during his years growing up in Hawthorne.
The twins were two years younger than West and Chance, so they had their own crowd of friends.
He still thought of Summer as that outgoing girl who wore glasses and had a mouthful of braces.
She had lost the braces and begun wearing contacts after he and West had graduated, though, and Chance recalled how Summer seemed to blossom after that.
He had seen her sparingly over the years and talked to her for about twenty minutes the last time she had been in town a couple of months ago.
He’d been impressed with the adult she had become.
Summer was not only a beautiful woman, but she was very thoughtful and smart as a whip, with a great sense of humor.
If Summer lived in Hawthorne, she would be the exact kind of woman he would want to date.
“How long will she be in town this time?” Chance asked.
West beamed. “There is no more visiting. All three Sutherland siblings have now returned to the fold, making Mom and Dad very happy.”
Surprise rippled through him. “Summer is moving back from New York?”
His best friend nodded. “I don’t know the particulars. She’s been pretty tight-lipped since she arrived two days ago. All I know is that she is back in Hawthorne for good. Naturally, Autumn is turning cartwheels.”
Chance grew thoughtful. “Then we’ll have to make Summer feel welcome now that she’s back in Hawthorne.”
And he would start by being a welcome wagon of one.