Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Watching for someone?”
Monty turned to find his mom walking toward him wearing her I know what you’re thinking smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Graham should be here any minute.
I can’t wait to see Tex’s face when he first sees the Beaver Bunch.
” He glanced toward the circular platform where the barn’s hayloft used to be.
A jug band made up of three life-sized animatronic beavers sat there now thanks to his brother-in-law Cole’s ingenuity.
“He’ll love it. So will Zinnia.”
“Definitely.” Dear God, he hoped he wasn’t blushing. Felt like he was, though. “But I was mostly thinking of Tex.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“She’s a lovely woman.”
Oh, yeah, his mom had his number. She’d probably caught all his tells. “And she has a good sense of humor.” That sounded platonic, right? Like he totally hadn’t slept with her?
“I’m glad you invited her today.”
“And Graham. It’ll be good to see him when he doesn’t have work to—”
“Hey, birthday boy!” Claudie called out. “Are you on this team or not?”
“I am, I am.” He made his way back to the horseshoe pit. “Just checking on the coals.” He’d walked over near the fire pit to get away from the noise of the horseshoe tournament so he could listen for the distinctive rumble of Graham’s truck.
“The coals are not your job,” Adam sang out. “No working on your b-day.” He and Tracy were still busy tying birthday balloons everywhere. Evidently they’d bought a truckload of the things.
“Seems to me you were staring into space.” Rio punched him playfully on the shoulder. “I guess that happens when you get old.”
“No fair teasing him on his birthday.” Greta, the most tender-hearted of the Bridger Bunch, came over and gave him a hug.
Claudie snorted. “That’s the perfect time. Step up to the plate, little brother. Shockingly, we’re behind. Make us proud.”
By us, she meant a foursome comprised of Claudie, him, Auntie Kat and Auntie Ezzie. Greta, Rio, Grandma Doris and Auntie Carmen made up the opposing team.
The Dazzling Damsels all had good arms. They’d even created a horseshoe pit behind the bunkhouse so they could work on their game.
Their setup might be in better shape than the family one situated in an informal picnic area to the left of the ranch house. In winter this yard was where they staged snowball fights, built forts, and snow families.
In the summer they resurrected the horseshoe pit and hauled the wooden picnic tables out of the tractor barn. The fire pit, set a distance away so random sparks wouldn’t catch the tables on fire, was spruced up by cementing in the stones that had fallen out during a heavy freeze.
He picked up a horseshoe and took his position.
“Hang on a minute, Monty.” Auntie Kat sauntered over. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, yet she’d forged a successful modeling career despite being short. “It looks like you’ve abandoned that floating arm trick I showed you last summer.”
“You’re so right. I completely forgot.” He’d had Zinnia brain since last night. It was his only excuse and he couldn’t use it.
“Then let me refresh your memory. You do this.” Picking up a horseshoe, she flattened her palm, stiffened her arm and brought it to shoulder height. “Keep your arm straight. No wavering. Swing your arm back down, swing it back up and let that sucker fly.”
“I remember now. Thanks.” Once she’d focused his attention on the game, his brain clicked into gear. He’d been the only one of his siblings who’d adopted Auntie Kat’s new delivery last summer. The Damsels, aka his aunties and grandma, had been using it since this game started.
That he’d failed to notice showed how rattled he was. Why had he thought he could pull off this secrecy thing?
Gripping a horseshoe, he flattened his palm, stiffened his arm and brought it to shoulder height. Then he let it swing down and centrifugal force brought it back up.
She’s here. The growl of Graham’s truck torpedoed his concentration and delivered a hefty dose of adrenaline. As it poured through his system, he couldn’t seem to let go of the horseshoe.
When he finally did, way too high in the arc, it sailed over the stake and keep going. The four people standing there scattered. It finally landed a couple of yards beyond the stake.
Rio let out a whistle. “What the hell was that?”
Shaken by the burst of energy, he gazed at the spot where the horseshoe rested. “I don’t know what happened. It was like the horseshoe was glued to my hand.” And Zinnia was in that truck. Her energy tugged at him but he needed to stay put.
Rio put his fist to his mouth and mimicked a carnival barker. “And for his next trick, Monty Bridger will lift a car!”
“Hilarious, bro.” Funny, but in that moment, he might’ve been able to do it. “Who’s up next?”
“Me.” Auntie Ezzie, even shorter than Auntie Kat, danced up to the plate. “You know what we need? Walk-up songs. We should each have a walk-up song.”
“Tell me what you want,” Rio said. “Greta and I will sing it.”
Greta laughed. “Yeah, we will. Loud, too.”
“Bueno! Sing Beer Never Broke My Heart. I’ll back away and come back in.”
Monty gave thanks for the distraction provided by his quirky family as he struggled to keep his attention on the game. Rio and Greta belted out the first few bars of the Luke Combs tune while Auntie Ezzie pranced up to the plate. She got a ringer, so now all the Damsels wanted a walk-up song.
So damn cute. If he could just focus on—
“Mister Monty, Mister Monty!” He spun around and here came Tex, legs and arms pumping, his cowboy hat bouncing against his back, the string around his neck keeping it from falling.
Zinnia was a couple of yards behind him, calling his name and gaining fast. The little kid must have gotten a head start. No way could he outrun her.
He was halfway to the horseshoe pit when she caught him and scooped him up in her arms. He immediately started pleading for his freedom while Zinnia tried to talk him down.
What to do? It really wasn’t a question. He glanced at his teammates. “I gotta—”
“Go, go.” Claudie waved her hands in Zinnia’s direction. “Poor kid looks like he’s ready to cry.”
Sure enough, by the time he arrived, Tex had tears dribbling down his face.
“Hey, sport.” He pulled a bandanna from his back pocket and gave it to him. “Looks like you could use this.”
He scrubbed his face. “I’m not s’posed to run over there, but I seed you, and….” He sniffed, blew his nose on the bandanna and handed it back.
Wadding it up, he returned it to his back pocket. “And here I am.” His throat was tight and something funky was going on with his heart.
“My apologies.”
Zinnia’s soft voice caused him to look at her for the first time. He’d been so wrapped up in Tex’s misery he’d ignored the woman who’d occupied his thoughts all day. That was startling.
The anxiety in her green eyes wasn’t good news. She didn’t want Tex getting attached and he’d just demonstrated he was extremely attached.
He cleared his throat. “It’s fine.”
“I didn’t realize he’d take off like that. I guess I should have. You were in the middle of a game, weren’t you?”
“No problem. I’d just taken my turn.”
“We gots you a present.”
“Thank you, sport. That was very generous.”
“Mommy wrapped it but I put on the tape.”
“I can’t wait to see what it is.”
“We gots it in the truck. But you gots to wait.”
“I know. We usually—”
“Hey, you guys.” His mom arrived with Graham.
“Graham and I had an idea. We just talked the horseshoe players into pausing the game so Cole can do his thing.” She glanced at him.
“We’ll repeat it later, of course, since it’s very cool to see when it’s dark, but Tex and Zinnia have never seen it, so why not go ahead and enjoy it now? ”
“Good plan.” Family to the rescue.
Or family as matchmakers? Were they putting it all together now that they had eyes on Zinnia and her son? He hadn’t figured out the optics of this situation until this very minute.
Everyone at the party lived on the ranch except for Tracy’s parents, who’d driven over from their place bordering Laughing Creek. It was a big group but a tight group. That gave his invitation to Zinnia and Tex significance.
And now they’d all seen Zinnia. Stunning Zinnia. And her adorable kid, who clearly idolized him. They couldn’t be blamed for jumping to conclusions.
Because of his thoughtless gesture, Zinnia and Tex were smack-dab in the bosom of his family. The Bridger Bunch would fall in love with these two and make assumptions about his intentions.
What had he done?