Colt blinked. “Yeah, I knew that too. He’s only a few years older than me; we went to high school together.” He nodded at Mitch, who nodded back.
Finn nudged Colt down to the food. “This is Brandon Rhinehart. His older brother comes too—Dawson. I think you’re close to his age as well.”
“No, I’m the same age as Mitch,” Brandon said. He shook Colt’s hand. “But I knew of you. Great to have you here, man.”
“Thanks,” Colt said.
“No Dawson today?” Finn asked.
Brandon looked toward the door. “He texted me this morning and said Caroline wasn’t feeling well, and he’d play it by ear.”
“See?” someone said behind Finn. “I told you they’d have food.”
He turned to see his sister, Libby, entering the room with Tyson Greene. Finn hurried away from Colt to greet Ty.
“Hey, brother.” He fist-bumped with Ty, but it was awkward, as the man had been injured all up and down his left side, and he was still learning how to use his body again. “You came.”
“Libby told me she’d fire me if I didn’t.” Ty sent her a dirty look, which Libby ignored.
“I’ll get us something to eat,” she said. “Howdy, Finn.” She pressed a quick peck to his cheek. “Rusty’s not coming, and neither is Paul. He and Brielle went to the hospital late last night.”
“They did?” Finn asked, tracking his sister as she moved down to the food. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“I was going to tell everyone,” Henry said. “Are we doing announcements?” He looked over to Brandon, who sat next to that pretty woman Finn could only assume was Lenore Sawyer. Brandon had been working on her homestead for the past few weeks, and he’d texted their group several questions. “The Walkers aren’t here. Are they coming?”
Finn scanned the group. “I hadn’t heard they weren’t,” he said, though their grandmother had just passed away recently.
“JJ just texted,” Link said. “Tate had some trouble on the farm, but they’re on the way.”
“Oh, does Tate Reynolds come to these?” Colt asked.
Finn nodded. “Yeah, he and Clara Jean manage a huge amount of land that produces for the grocery store.”
“Yeah, they buy all of our apples.” Colt rounded the table, a full plate of food in his hand, and sat next to Brandon Rhinehart.
“We’re here, we’re here,” Conrad said as he led the way into the room.
“Sorry, guys,” Tate said. “I wish I had a good story for why I made us late, but it’s a super-lame reason, so.”
“The wrong fertilizer was delivered,” JJ said. “Very dirty business.”
Finn grinned at him, and he picked up a plate so he could get lunch before it all got taken. Once he had a turkey sandwich and chips too, he settled down at the end of the table beside Ty, Libby, and Mitch.
Colt sat beside him, with Alex on his other side, taking the head of the table across from the food. They chatted and ate for a few minutes, and when Finn caught more than one man looking at him, he cleared his throat and wiped his hands on a napkin.
“All right,” he said. “Keep eating if you’re not done, but let’s get started.” He smiled around at everyone, taking a moment tolook each of them in the eyes. He loved these men and women, and he was so glad he’d been guided to start these meetings.
“First, let’s do quick intros. Say your name and where you’re at, because we have a few new people this month.” He touched his own chest. “I’m Finley Ackerman, and I have a small ranch that borders my daddy’s enormous one. I run it with my wife and kids, and it’s just us with a bunch of animals there.”
He looked at Alex, who said, “I’m Alex Baxter. I run Coyote Pass with my wife and boys. Finn’s married to my sister, Edith.”
“Oh, right,” Finn said. “Say who you’re related to, if anyone.” He glanced down a couple of seats. “Libby’s my sister, and she runs Three Rivers Ranch now. And Paul and Henry are my cousins. Paul’s at Courage Reins out at the ranch, but I think Henry has more news about him. And Henry runs Lone Star Boarding Stable with his wife, Angel.”
Finn realized in that moment that Angel wasn’t there. “Hey, Angel couldn’t make it?”
“She’s comin’,” Henry said. He lifted his phone. “So is Dawson. He’s just running a little late.”
Finn nodded and looked at Conrad. He swallowed and wiped his mouth. “I’m Conrad Walker. I own a small farm on the edge of town. It’s mostly miniature donkeys and fields.”
