She laughed and followed my lead, moving the washcloth downwards. “Hmmm…right here?”
“Now that you mention it”—I leaned my head toward hers—“that spot needs a little attention.” Our mouths met and the pink sponge fell to the floor. Lauren’s hands wrapped behind my neck, pulling me down into a deep kiss.
“Dad!” A little hand banged on the bathroom door.“Daddy!”
I groaned as Lauren and I stilled. “Sorry,” I whispered, but she just laughed. “What is it?” I called out to Gigi.
“Elijah is hurt! He got into a fight last night, and Walt just found him. He’s got a bad cut on his side and his ear is injured, too. We called Sam, but I want you to come with me to the barn.”
“Okay, give me one second. I’m getting out.” I laid my forehead against Lauren’s, the warm water still running over us. “I’m sorry. It’s not always this crowded around here.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “Honestly, I love having everyone here. Did you tell Bowie our plan yet?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
There was more knocking on the door, less furious this time. “Are you coming, Dad?”
I sighed and kissed Lauren one last time before getting out of the shower. “We’ll revisit this later.”
LAUREN’S EPILOGUE
Our stomachs were full to capacity, and we still had Sam’s pies warming in the ovens for dessert. My generation remained seated at the dining tables, a few of us having removed a belt or opened a top button on our pants as we digested our huge Thanksgiving dinner. The children—some of whom were actually young adults—offered to take charge of cleanup, and, with the door propped open, we could hear their laughter and music inside the kitchen. The fact that Nick’s daughters were welcomed into the Silver Sage family made me so happy, but I wished Serge and Julien were with us, too.
My sons had traveled to Switzerland for the long holiday weekend to visit their father and grandmother. I’d urged them to accept Freddy’s invitation, to which Julien had been especially resistant. They’d lost a lot of respect for their father in the past few months and, as much as he deserved their disappointment and censure, it hurt my heart to see them estranged. After our marriage went sour, I never spoke ill of Freddy to our boys because I didn’t want to poison them against him or turn our problems into theirs. Instead of harping on his deficits, I emphasized things like how he could deftly sail a boat in high winds and speak three languages. For all his faults, Freddy loved his sons, and it wouldn’t make me happy to take that away from them.
“Best Thanksgiving meal ever,” Sam proclaimed as he rubbed his midsection. “Thank you to all the chefs.”
“You baked the pies,” I said. “They smell delicious.”
“Thank you to those who made the long trip out here,” Matthew added. “It’s been wonderful having our New York friends with us.”
“We were thrilled to be asked,” Nick said. “It’s fun to see my girls acting like children again instead of trying to be sophisticated teenagers.”
“I enjoyed the trail ride with them this morning,” Walt said. “I was told I have rizz, which turns out to be a good thing.”
As we all laughed, a parade of kids drifted out of the kitchen with pies, plates and serving utensils, and everyone began circulating and switching up seats to find new conversation partners.
“Explain to me again how everyone is related,” Tori said as she sat down next to me. “Austin is Callum’s son?”
“No, he’s Callum’s nephew,” I explained. “Cal is a bachelor who owns the cattle ranch next door. He’s been friends with the Hart family for years.” I chuckled at the glint in her eyes. “I can already guess what you’re thinking, and I doubt he’d want to be onMs. Match Goes West.” We’d decided on the name and format of our new show. Tori would travel to rural areas of Wyoming, Montana and Colorado, to towns where it was hard for women to meet eligible men. She was going to use her skills to find these women the loves of their lives, which we were told would not be easy. That type of warning only made us more excited for the challenge.
“And why not?” she asked. “Cal is exactly the type of bachelor I’m trying to find out here, and maybe he’s looking for some help in the love department.”
“For one thing, he’s way too private and reserved to agree to be on a reality show and, from what Matthew says, all efforts to introduce him to women have been rebuffed. He hasn’t dated anyone in years.” Faith was on the other side of me and appeared to be listening in so I turned to her and asked, “Do you think Cal wants to meet someone?”
“Oh…” Faith’s eyebrows shot up. “I have no idea. He and I don’t keep in touch.”
Tori leaned over me to address Faith. “I think Austin and your daughter are hitting it off. The matchmaker in me senses some chemistry there.”
I grabbed Tori’s hand. “I noticed that too.”
We all looked over at Vesper and Austin who were standing by one of the large windows overlooking the meadow. Vesper, who was tall and boyishly slim with long blonde hair, was saying something to Austin while he listened intently.
“The dining room could burst into flames around him,” I said, “and he wouldn’t even notice.”
“Really?” Faith pursed her lips. “I hope she doesn’t lead him on. She’s just a friendly girl, that’s all.”
“Maybe they’ll hang out when she’s at the ranch this spring doing her research.” I turned to Tori to explain. “Vesper is getting her Master’s degree in ecological restoration at Colorado State, and she’s coming here to do research for her final thesis.”
