Chapter Seven
Dalton loved his family. He loved them enough that when the rest of them decided to move from Vermont to Eagle Mountain, Colorado, he hadn’t hesitated to join them.
But he couldn’t help thinking that at times the Ames clan could be a little .
. .overwhelming. He thought this now as he led Roxanne up the walkway to his parents’ home.
From the street they had been able to hear the blare of music and cacophony of people talking, laughing and even shouting.
He gave her a weak smile. “They’re not exactly a reserved bunch,” he said.
“It sounds like they’re having a good time,” she said.
The door opened before they reached the steps and Bethany leaned out. “I thought that was your car,” she said. “Hello, Roxanne. You look like you’re feeling much better than the last time I saw you.”
“Oh, yes,” Roxanne said. “I’m fi—”
Bethany grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. “We’re looking at table decorations for my wedding. Tell me what you think. I’m having a terrible time deciding.”
“Well, I—” Roxanne looked back over her shoulder at Dalton.
“Bethany, don’t—” he began, but the two women had already disappeared through the door.
Dalton hurried after them. He immediately collided with Carter, who shoved a cold can into his hand. “Try this,” he said. “It’s cider Dad picked up somewhere.” He sipped from his own can. “Pretty good stuff.”
“Where did Bethany take Roxanne?” Dalton asked.
“That was Roxanne?” Carter grinned. “You sly dog. Things must be moving pretty fast if you’re already bringing her home to meet the family. I wouldn’t let Mira anywhere near the whole crew until I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to run away screaming.”
“We’re not that bad,” Dalton protested.
“You aren’t. But Mom can be a bit much sometimes. And Dad’s jokes aren’t really that funny most of the time.”
“Dalton!” Their mother headed down the hallway toward them. “Weren’t you supposed to bring someone? Where is she?”
“Hi, Mom.” Dalton leaned in to hug his mother. She smelled of oregano and hair spray, a scent he probably could have used to track her in any crowd. “Roxanne is here somewhere. Bethany took her to look at table decorations.”
“I already told Bethany we should go with the white candles on silver trays but she keeps dithering. The wedding is going to be here before she makes up her mind.”
“She’s still got a few weeks,” Dalton said.
Diane Ames gave him the look moms everywhere leveled at children who refuse to see the obvious.
“The wedding is in three weeks,” she said.
“Everything should have been decided long ago.” She looked back over her shoulder.
“I need to check the oven, but as soon as that’s done, I want you to introduce me to your young lady. ”
“Mom, she’s not my—” But his mother was gone.
Carter put his arm around Dalton. “Drink up, and go with the flow. Mira tells me she thinks Mom and Dad are ‘darling.’”
“Your fiancée comes from a big family like ours,” Dalton said. “Roxanne isn’t used to all this chaos. And we’re not even dating.”
“So you say.” Carter shrugged. “Don’t stress so much. Maybe the novelty of a big family will charm her.”
Dalton let Carter lead him into the large room at the back of the house. Double doors opened onto an even larger deck, where most of the party seemed to have gathered. Only Aaron was seated on one end of the sofa, scrolling through his phone. “What are you doing hiding out in here?” Dalton asked.
“Dad cornered Willa and is telling her about the camping trip we took to Yosemite the summer I was twelve,” Aaron said.
“And you abandoned your future wife to that?” Carter asked.
Aaron grimaced. “I stuck around until he got to the part where I tried to rope a moose. It was too embarrassing.”
“You almost got us kicked out of the park,” Carter said.
“I didn’t come close to getting the rope around the moose,” Aaron said. “And what Dad never tells anyone is that he gave me the rope and showed me how to use it.”
“Wasn’t there a tin star, too?” Dalton asked. “And a toy six-shooter?”
“That’s probably what made you the lawman you are today,” Carter said.
The furious glare Aaron directed at them only made Carter laugh harder.
“You boys are having too much fun in here.” Carter’s fiancée, Mira Veronica, moved into the room.
A striking brunette with large brown eyes and a heart-shaped face, Mira taught Spanish at Eagle Mountain High School.
Carter moved to put his arm around her. “Did you see Dalton’s girlfriend out there anywhere?
” he asked. “Bethany dragged her away before she even crossed the threshold.”
Dalton started to protest that Roxanne was not his girlfriend, but why waste his breath? And the truth was, he wanted to be more than friends. He was being patient, hoping she would change her mind.
“I saw a very pretty brunette with your sister.” Mira smiled at Dalton. “She was holding a cocktail in one hand and a paper fan in the other and was smiling at some story Bethany was telling.”
“Maybe the one where Bethany was babysitting the two of us and you took off your diaper and ran naked down the street,” Carter said.
Dalton glowered at him. “How many of those ciders have you had?” he asked.
“Probably not enough for you to beat me in a fight,” Carter said.
“I don’t have to physically fight you,” Dalton said. “Make me mad enough and I’ll just mess up your phone.”
Carter put a hand over the phone in his pocket. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t try me.”
Aaron stood. “I’d better go back out there and find Willa,” he said.
“Maybe she’s with Roxanne,” Dalton said, and followed him out the door.
“Dalton!” His father hailed him from the opposite end of the deck, where he sat in a patio chair beside a petite blonde with hazel eyes. A diamond engagement ring caught the sun as she swiveled toward the new arrivals.
Reluctantly, Dalton detoured to his father’s side. “Hi, Willa,” he said to the woman. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hello, Dalton,” Willa said. “If you two will excuse me for a minute.” She stood and made her escape, joining Aaron and hurrying away.
“How are you doing, son?” George Ames was tall and dark-haired, with high cheekbones he shared with his eldest son, Aaron.
The features of Bethany and the twins more closely resembled their fairer mother, though they all had their father’s expressive mouth, and the habit of tilting their chins down when listening intently.
“I’m fine, Dad. I was fine when you saw me this morning.” Dalton had given a morning tour at Alpine Jeep and had reported to his father afterward.
“Your mother said you were bringing a woman with you.” George said this in the same tone of skepticism he might have used to announce that he had heard Dalton was bringing a live gazelle to dinner. The youngest Ames offspring had never actually brought anyone to dinner with the family before.
“Roxanne is around here somewhere.” Dalton turned a full circle and caught a flash of dark curls at the corner of the garage. He set down the half-finished cider and excused himself then, not waiting for a reply, and hurried to where Roxanne stood with Bethany, Mira and his mother.
Roxanne caught his eye as he approached, a hint of a smile on her lips.
She looked . . .content. “Roxanne was just telling us you two share an interest in computers,” Diane said, waving him over.
She turned back to Roxanne. “Dalton won’t brag on himself, so I will.
He’s very talented. He’s already making a name for himself with the programs and apps and other things he’s created. ”
“So I’ve heard,” Roxanne said. She avoided looking at Dalton, her lips pressed firmly together, as if holding back laughter.
“She also told us you two met when you rescued her after a car wreck,” his mother continued. “So romantic.”
“I was part of the search and rescue team,” he said. “Bethany was there, too.”
“But you were first on the scene,” Diane said.
“Actually, we met at the Fall Festival in town,” Roxanne said. “May, from the Java Moose, introduced us.”
“My version is a better story,” Diane said.
Carter slipped in next to their mother. “When is dinner ready?” he asked. “I’m starving.”
“It’s ready now,” she said. “Help me get everyone to the table.”
He cupped his hands to his mouth. “Dinner’s ready!” he shouted, stopping all conversation.
“I promise, I raised him better than this,” Diane said, as the family headed for the long dining table at the far end of the living area.
“Roxanne, you sit here next to me.” His mother indicated the chair to her left at one end of the table.
“Dalton can sit across from you.” Bethany and her fiancé, Ian Seabrook, sat next to Dalton, while Aaron and Willa took the chairs beside Roxanne.
Carter and Mira flanked his father at the other end of the table.
When everyone was seated, George said grace, then Diane began passing dishes. There were two glass casseroles of lasagna, a tub of salad, another huge bowl of green beans and three baskets of garlic bread. “Is this dinner for a special occasion?” Roxanne asked.
“Only that we’re all together,” Diane said.
“I like to get everyone together for a meal at least once a week, if possible.” She speared a bite of salad and chewed, then continued.
“Bethany and Ian were planning to stop by, so I called Willa and she said she and Aaron would come. I knew Carter can’t say no to my lasagna, and he would bring Mira.
Then it was just a matter of persuading Dalton to come.
” She smiled. “And it was the perfect opportunity to meet you.”
“How did you know about Roxanne?” Dalton asked.
Her expression was the perfect imitation of Mona Lisa. “I make it a point to keep up with my children.”
Laughter from across the table surprised him. “I’m sorry,” Roxanne said. “But the expression on your face . . .”
“Where is your family, Roxanne?” Diane asked.
Her expression sobered. “My parents were killed in an auto accident when I was seven.”