Chapter Nine – Colt #2
“We did get it, thank you both so much,” Mom replied.
“I’m feeling pretty good for an old man who had a heart attack.”
Ralph shook his head. “My doctor has been on me for the last few years to start exercising and eating better. Not going to lie, when I heard from Ladd about your heart attack, I started changing my eating habits.”
“Please tell me you’re eating kale, too,” my father laughed.
Ralph nodded. “Kale, beets, more fish. Complete overhaul.”
“You could learn a lesson or two from Ralph,” my mother said, a serious expression on her face. She turned to Rachel. “I never thought about beets. I’m going to add those in.”
“For the love of all,” my father groaned. The moment my mother looked at him, brows raised, he smiled. Then he turned to Ralph, rolled his eyes, and said, “Now look what you’ve gone off and done.”
Ralph tossed his head back so far when he laughed, I thought for sure his cowboy hat was going to fall off. “Son, I’m about twenty years older than you, at least. My overhaul is long overdue. You’ll feel better eating right. I know I do.”
I glanced around the room as my parents got lost in conversation with Ralph and Rachel. I had one person I was searching for—and when I finally found her, it felt like all the air was pulled from my lungs.
Standing just a few tables down from me was Ensley.
Her hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head, with small white flowers tucked into various places.
The dress she wore was a black lace dream.
The top hugged her upper body perfectly, while the bottom flowed around her legs.
It almost reminded me of the prom dress she’d worn her senior year.
But this one looked as if a thousand little diamonds covered the dress, and every time she moved, it sparkled.
She was talking to a guy I didn’t know. As a matter of fact, there was a large number of people at the charity dinner whom I didn’t recognize.
I felt a tug on my sleeve, and I looked down to see a little boy, maybe around six or seven, staring up at me.
He wore a black cowboy hat, and another little boy and girl stood right behind him.
The other boy had an identical black cowboy hat, and the little girl was adorable in a pink floral dress.
Her hair was pulled up in a bun on top of her head.
“Hello. Do you know where our papa and minnie are?”
Crouching down to get to his level, I smiled. “I don’t know. Can you tell me the names of your papa and minnie, cowboy?”
“Rhett, Jimmy, Katie…Papa and Minnie are right there at the table. Remember what your mom told you?”
I glanced up to see Ensley standing before me. She looked so beautiful, even with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.
All three kids looked chagrined before the little girl finally spoke. “They said don’t wander off.”
“And you wandered off, didn’t you?”
Three heads bobbed.
“Do I need to walk you back to the table, or do you think you can get there without getting lost?”
The little boy who’d tugged on my sleeve smiled. “We can get there, Aunt Ensley.”
She motioned with her hand and said, “Then get on getting!”
The little girl giggled as she grabbed the two boys by the hands and tugged them toward the family table.
I stood and smiled wider as I watched them scamper off. “And who do they belong to?”
Ensley was smiling fondly at the three kids. “Levi and Emeline.”
Confused, I looked at the kids, then back to Ensley. Then I remembered what she’d told me about her sister adopting.
“Rhett, the one who asked where my parents were, is Levi’s son from his first marriage. Katie and Jimmy are the kids of Jim and Lori Mills.”
“Wait—Jim and Lori passed?”
She nodded, sadness filling her eyes. “Emeline and Levi adopted them.”
Confused, I looked at her. “I had no idea they’d passed.”
Her brows drew down. “Your parents must not have mentioned it. Jim and Lori died in a boating accident, and there was no other family to take in the kids. They were at the orphanage, but once Levi moved back, and Rhett became best friends with them, Emeline and Levi fostered them for a while, before deciding to adopt them.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Man. I’m so out of the loop.”
Ensley shrugged. “That’s what happens when you never come back home.”
Deciding to ignore that, I caught her gaze. “You look beautiful, Ensley.”
Her eyes moved slowly down my body, then back up. “You don’t look half bad yourself. Even with the gray in your hair.”
I drew my head back in surprise and resisted the urge to touch my head. “I do not have gray in my hair.”
Leaning in closer, she made a low humming sound as she glanced at my hair. “If you say so.”
I narrowed my eyes as she drew back and gave me a sugary-sweet smile.
Pointing, I said, “Must be nice having light-colored hair; it’s harder to see your gray.”
Her smile instantly faded. “Why are you here?”
“Why wouldn’t I be here? I want to support what your family does for the kids in the community, just like everyone else.”
She rolled her eyes. “Right. Or you’re trying to gain favor with my family, maybe?”
I tried to ignore the way that hurt. “You really think that little of me, Pippa?”
“Once again, I’ll kindly ask you to please not call me that, Colt.”
Before I could say another word, Emeline cleared her throat. I hadn’t even noticed she had been standing there. My parents had wandered off, and I quickly looked around to see where they were. I was worried my father might be doing too much.
“Colt, it’s so good to see you!” Emeline said, hugging me tightly before stepping back. She looked just as beautiful as her sister and mother, in a form-fitting, silver-and-black gown. It was similar to the style Ensley wore.
Ensley reached for her sister and drew her back. “Why are you hugging him?”
Emeline looked confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because he’s an asshole who left without a word ten years ago.”
Emeline gave her an incredulous look. “Do you really think this is the place to act like that?”
“Act like what?”
Leaning closer to her sister, Emeline said in a low voice, “I get that you were hurt. That you still are. But Colt has been one of our biggest donors for the summer camps for years, Ensley. I’m not going to ignore his generosity because of something that happened between the two of you.”
Ensley’s eyes snapped back to me.
Emeline turned to face me once again. “I just wanted to swing by to personally thank you, Colt. Not only for the donations over the years, but for the saddles two years back.”
“He was the anonymous donor who bought them?” Ensley asked, shock clear in her voice.
“I told everyone they were from an anonymous donor at Colt’s request, but yes, he was.”
It was starting to get uncomfortable with Emeline’s praise and Ensley’s glare. I could actually feel my cheeks heating. “You’re very welcome, Emeline, and I’m glad I was able to help. But I should track down my parents. I don’t want my father to overdo it.”
“How’s he doing?” Emeline asked.
“Much better. Thank you for asking.”
She squeezed my arm. “I’m so glad to hear that, Colt. I won’t keep you. I just wanted to personally thank you.”
Smiling tightly, I said, “It was my pleasure.”
I took a step back, nodding at both sisters. “If you’ll excuse me.”
When I turned and walked away, I swore I could feel the heat of Ensley’s gaze on my back.