Chapter 4
The kitchen smelled like roasted chicken and herbs, the kind of comfort food that was meant to make everything feel normal and safe. Jewel watched Susan move between the stove and the counter, her movements a little slower and more careful than usual, but still determined.
Sylvie reached for the heavy roasting pan. “Here, let me help with that.”
“It’s okay, I’ve got it. This is my kitchen, and I want to do this myself while I still can.” Susan’s tone was polite but firm.
Her words—while I still can—reminded them why they were all there.
Jewel finished setting the table, making sure the children’s plates were on the side closest to the kitchen, where spills would be easier to clean up.
Through the window, she watched Beckett and Della in the backyard, playing an elaborate game with sticks and lots of running.
Their laughter floated in through the screen door, so pure and simple.
She found herself envying them a little.
Cole and Conrad were still by the barn, pretending to check on different things but actually just avoiding being in the same room until necessary.
She had watched them from the window earlier—two men who looked so alike, moving cautiously around each other with the careful dance of avoidance, as if they’d spent a lifetime learning each other’s boundaries.
Sylvie came to stand beside her. “Do you think they’ll ever work it out?”
“I don’t know. That’s a lot of years of hurt to get past.”
With a heavy sigh, Sylvie wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Tell me about it. I’ve been married to Conrad for eight years, and I still discover new layers of damage left by his childhood. It’s like peeling an onion, except that this onion sometimes throws things.”
The thought made her smile. “Does he do that? Throw things?”
“Well, no. Not literally. But emotionally? Oh yeah. The man can hold a grudge like it’s a full-time job.” Sylvie’s expression softened. “But he’s also the most loyal person I’ve ever met. Once you’re in his circle, he’d die before he’d let you down. The hard part is getting into that circle.”
“Cole never made it in?”
“Oh, Cole was in. Then he left. And Conrad doesn’t know how to forgive that.
” Sylvie glanced at Susan, then lowered her voice even more.
“Between you and me, I think he wants to. I think he misses his brother. But admitting that would mean he’d have to admit he was wrong about some things, and Conrad would rather eat glass than admit he was ever wrong. ”
The back door opened, and both brothers entered, carrying the smell of hay and horses. They weren’t arguing, but they weren’t exactly at ease, either. Cole went to wash his hands at the sink while Conrad scolded his mother.
“You should be resting, Mom. We could’ve handled dinner.”
“I’m not an invalid yet. I wanted to cook for my family. Let me have this while I still can.” Susan’s voice was warm, her eyes adoring as she looked up at her son.
Conrad’s expression flickered with something vulnerable before he quickly masked it. “Okay. But I’m doing dishes.”
“We’ll see.”
As Jewel observed the interaction, she noticed how Conrad softened toward his mother despite his resentment, and how Susan brightened at having both her sons together. There were years of pain, for sure. But also years of love that refused to fade, no matter how deep the wounds were.
“The kids need to wash up. I’ll get them,” Cole said, drying his hands
He headed outside, and she found herself following, craving the fresh air and a moment away from everyone’s carefully managed emotions.
Beck and Della were in the middle of an epic battle, their stick-swords clashing with lively sound effects. “I’m the dragon slayer!” Beckett announced, while Della roared, “And I’m the dragon!” making Beckett shriek with laughter.
Cole watched them with an expression that made Jewel’s chest tighten. What they saw was pure love, free from all the adult complications surrounding them.
She slipped in softly to stand next to him. “They get along really well.”
He turned, appearing surprised to see her there. “Yeah. They do.” He paused. “I’m glad Conrad brought Della. Even if he is driving me crazy.”
“Is he really that bad?”
“He spent twenty minutes this morning lecturing me about my feed ratios. Twenty minutes, Jewel. I’ve been running this operation for nearly five years, and he acts like I’m some amateur who doesn’t know what I’m doing.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to help?”
His face turned grim. “Or maybe he’s just trying to prove he knows everything better than me.
But you’re right. It doesn’t matter. He’s here, and that’s what counts.
” He called the kids over, and they came running, breathless and happy.
As they trooped inside to wash up, he lightly touched her arm. “Can we talk? After dinner?”
Her stomach fluttered nervously. “About what?”
“About the car. The one following you today.”
“Cole, I don’t think—”
“Please. Just hear me out.”
She nodded, even though she was pretty sure he was overinterpreting a simple coincidence. But the concern in his eyes, mixed with something that looked like fear, made it impossible to dismiss him outright.
Inside, Susan was guiding everyone to their seats with the calm authority of a woman who’d hosted a thousand family dinners. The children sat together, already giggling about something. Conrad and Sylvie sat on one side of the table, Jewel and Cole on the other, with Susan at the head.
It looked like a Norman Rockwell painting—the perfect family dinner.
Except for everything bubbling just beneath the surface.
“Before we eat, I want to say something.” Despite the slight tremor in her hands, Susan’s voice remained steady.
Everyone went quiet, and even the children sensed the shift in tone.
With tears shining in her eyes, she looked at her sons.
“I know the past few days have been hard. I know there are things between all of us that haven’t been resolved.
Old wounds that haven’t healed. But right now, in this moment, we’re together.
My boys, my grandbabies, my family. And that’s a gift I don’t take for granted. ”
Conrad looked down at his plate, his jaw working.
Cole reached over to squeeze his mother’s hand. “We’re glad to be here, Mom.”
“Even if some of us are more annoying than others,” Conrad muttered, but a ghost of a smile crept onto his face.
“Takes one to know one,” Cole shot back, and for a moment, she saw them as they must’ve been as boys—brothers who loved each other and drove each other crazy in equal measure.
The moment passed, but something in the air had lightened. Just a little. Just enough.
They passed dishes, filled plates, and settled into the rhythm of eating and talking.
Beckett told a detailed story about the stick-sword battle that bore little resemblance to what she’d actually seen.
Della corrected him on important details, like how she was supposed to be a friendly dragon, not a mean one.
“A friendly dragon that tried to eat me!” Beck protested.
“I was just pretending!”
The adults smiled, and for a few moments, it was easy to forget about surgeries, investigations, and old resentments.
Sylvie dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. “This is delicious, Susan. You’ll have to give me the recipe for this chicken.”
“It’s actually Gerald’s recipe. He used to make it every Sunday.” Her voice was soft and wistful.
Conrad’s fork halted halfway to his mouth, but he didn’t say anything. He just kept eating, his face held in a careful neutral expression.
Jewel watched him, wondering what it must be like to hear about the man who had replaced his father in his mother’s life—Gerald Hoffman, Susan’s longtime companion who died almost five years ago. He was the man who had been part of the reason Cole returned to help his mother with the lodge.
The man Conrad had never met and refused to acknowledge.
Cole eyed his brother. “He was a good man. You would’ve liked him.”
“I doubt that.” Conrad’s voice was flat.
“Conrad,” Sylvie warned.
“What? I’m supposed to pretend I’m happy Mom replaced Dad with some stranger?”
Susan looked up defiantly. “He wasn’t a stranger to me. He was my partner. My friend. He helped me build this lodge into something successful when your father wanted to take it from me in the divorce.”
“Dad wanted you to have something. He just didn’t want—”
“He wanted to control it. To control me, even after we were divorced. Gerald helped me stand up to him. He helped me keep what was mine. And yes, I loved him. I’m sorry if that hurts you, Conrad, but I won’t apologize for finding happiness after your father.” Susan’s hands were trembling now.
The children had gone very quiet, sensing the tension even if they didn’t understand it.
Cole cleared his throat. “Maybe we should talk about something else.”
“Yeah. Maybe we should.” Conrad’s voice was tight
They shifted the conversation to safer topics—the ranch in Texas, Della’s upcoming dance recital, Beck’s obsession with horses. But the earlier warmth had cooled, once again replaced by the familiar, careful distance.
Jewel picked at her food, her appetite gone, feeling like an outsider looking in on a family drama she had no right to witness.
“So, Jewel, Cole mentioned you thought you were being followed today?”
She looked up to find Conrad’s dark eyes assessing her. “I don’t think I was being followed. I thought I noticed a car behind us for a while, but it was probably just heading the same way we were.”
“It wasn’t just going in the same direction. I saw it, too—a dark sedan with tinted windows and New York plates. It tracked your car from town all the way to our turnoff.” Cole’s voice carried an edge of frustration.
Sylvie leaned forward. “You saw it, too? From where?”
“I was behind you, coming back from the feed store. That car was following you specifically. When you changed lanes in town, it changed lanes. When you slowed down, it slowed down. It stayed right on your tail the whole way.”