“No problem,” Brandon said. “Something smells good in here.”
“The Glovers sponsored a turkey sandwich platter.”
“Oh, nice,” Brandon said in his usual jovial manner.
Finn hurried away from him and the others already gathered in the room, and the hallway spit him out in the back corner of the farm supply store. Garden tools met him, and he went past rakes and shovels, curbs and pavers, and small power tools like chainsaws and leaf blowers.
He ended up by the fishing equipment, and he raised his hand when he saw the tall, dark-haired man standing there, looking lost.
“Howdy, Colt,” Finn said with a wide smile.
Relief painted itself across Colt’s face. “There you are. I’m so sorry; I wasn’t sure where the side door was.”
“It’s all the way around the back,” he said, reaching to shake Colt’s hand. “I should’ve said back door, not side door.” He grinned and hooked his cowboy hat back the way he’d come. “We’re back here.”
“I had no idea they had meeting rooms here,” Colt said, the solid sound of his boots following Finn.
“No one seems to,” Finn said. “I have it rented on every third Thursday of the month, and I’m not sure if other people use it or not.” He indicated the door in the corner and grinned Colt through it first.
Laughter came down the hall, and Finn hoped Colt would feel welcome enough to keep coming back. “I’ll do an intro at the beginning,” he said. “And you’re not our only new member this month, so nothing to worry about.”
“Sure,” Colt said easily, but Finn knew the man was uneasy about attending. Just the fact that it had taken Alex and Nikki and Finn to invite him, visit him, and then insist he come testified of that.
At first, Colt had said he didn’t have time to attend the meetings once a month. Then, he’d told Alex and Nikki that running a commercial apple orchard wasn’t anything like a ranch, a massive boarding stable, or even a hobby farm.
Finn had started texting him then, and in all honesty, he thought it was Mitch Glover who’d finally tipped Colt toward attending. After all, Mitch didn’t own a farm, stable, or ranch at all, and he still attended.
Finn entered the room after Colt and found the man frozen only a few feet in. “Hey, y’all,” Finn called, glancing around. Wilder and Link Glover had brought in lunch for today’s meeting, which wasn’t a requirement of attendance at all. OnceFinn had started having the meetings here, he’d ordered coffee carts and whatnot, and Glovers had enjoyed that.
Not only that, but they had plenty of money, and the meetings often ran over lunchtime. “So why not have food?” Link had asked.
Finn hadn’t argued, because he wouldn’t say no to a catered lunch once a month. Not by a long shot.
Alex had just filled his plate with a turkey sandwich and plenty of potato chips, but he practically dropped it on the table when he saw Colt. “Hey, you made it.” He strode over and shook Colt’s hand too, his smile one of the biggest Finn had ever seen.
His brother-in-law was usually much more reserved, though Finn had seen a far more personal side of him than most.
“We’ve got the sandwich version of Thanksgiving dinner today,” Alex said. “Turkey sandwiches with cranberry jelly, lettuce, and a mashed potato cake.” He chuckled at the look on Colt’s face. “They’re really good, and you better get one while you can. I think Henry’s had three already.”
“Just two,” Henry called from down the table.
Finn grinned at him too, because his cousin could eat and eat andeat. He indicated Henry. “Do you know my cousin, Henry Marshall?”
“Yeah, sure,” Colt said. “He’s come to my mother’s to shoe some horses.” He shook Henry’s hand, the first inkling of a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth.
“She has a great bay,” Henry said. “How’s she doing now that she’s retired?”
Colt half-scoffed and half-laughed. “My mother? She’s not really retired. She’s out in the orchards every day, telling me something I’m not doing right.”
“So about like all of our daddies,” Link said. He held his plate of food and added, “I’m Lincoln Glover. It’s great to meet you.”
“I know all about the Glovers too,” he said. “I’ve helped at Shiloh Ridge after tornadoes and whatnot.”
“Just like we came and helped at the orchards when needed,” Alex said. He indicated the two men sitting across the table. “That’s Wilder Glover and Mitch Glover.”
Colt raised his hand. “Howdy, fellas.”
Link signed, and Mitch signed back. “Mitch is Deaf.”
