She gripped him tightly and whispered, “I’ve missed you, my boy.”
Brandon smiled, because no matter how old he got, he loved being called his momma’s boy. He stepped back and let Dawson say hello while he moved into Daddy’s side and supported his aging father. “Hey, Daddy. How you doin’?”
“Good,” Daddy said. “But I’d be better if I had my lap-warmer.”
He gave Brandon a cutting look, but Brandon saw right through his grouchiness. “My cat?” he asked. “That’swhat you miss about me being gone?”
Daddy smiled, and Brandon shook his head in mock disappointment. “Introduce me to your girl.”
“Sure.” Brandon’s nerves rioted, as he hadn’t brought home women very often. Or ever. “Lenore, this is my daddy, Wade. Daddy, this is Lenore Sawyer.”
“And this is our momma, Kay,” Dawson added, and Lenore got hugged and handshaked, her smile sitting beautifully on her face.
“The mashed potatoes are getting cold,” Zona called, and this time, Momma linked her arm through Lenny’s.
“You sit next to me, dear. Brandon never brings home any of his girlfriends.”
“Momma,” Brandon said, but both Lenny and Momma were already turning and walking down the table.
He let Duke help their daddy to a chair right in the middle of the fray, and Momma sat next to him, with Lenny on her right. The next seat stood at the head of the table, and Zona had put a highchair there.
“Go on,” Dawson said. “Take the seat beside her. Don’t leave her with them alone.”
Brandon hurried to claim the seat at the head, and Dawson took the seat right around the horn as Caroline put Joy in the highchair and then sat beside Dawson. That put Lenny right in the corner with Brandon, Momma, and Dawson and Caroline, while Duke’s kids lined the other side of the table and around the other end of it.
He hadn’t even noticed when Arizona had put all the food on the table, but now it gleamed at them, with buttery goodness in the steaming mashed potatoes, and the bright red of the cranberry sauce.
“Thank you so much for coming to our home,” Duke said, and Zona beamed at him. “I smoked the turkey this time, and Zona put a pork roast in the slow cooker, so everyone should have the meat they want.” His gaze lingered on his youngest son, and Brandon smiled at Dallas.
“It’s so amazing to have Brandon and Lenore with us,” Zona added. “They’ve been working so hard up north, and I’m really grateful they made the drive to be with us.”
Brandon leaned over to Lenny, glad when she eased toward him too. “I forgot to mention we go around and say things we’re grateful for.”
She nodded, though her back straightened slightly. Zona looked at Dwayne, who sat opposite Brandon, and he said, “I’m grateful I have the chance to start school in the new year.”
“Whoa, what?” Brandon asked. “You’re going to school? Where?”
“Baylor,” Zona said, almost bursting with glee. “Surprise!”
“We’re real proud of Dwayne,” Duke said, also beaming at his son. “He’s worked real hard for this opportunity.”
Brandon didn’t even know Dwaynewantedto go to college. He’d been working the ranch for a few years since graduating high school, and he’d never given any indication that he wanted to do something else.
Congratulations went around, though it was clear this really was a surprise to everyone at the table—not just Brandon. The gratitude continued down the table as the kids all said something, but all Brandon could think about was that when he left the homestead, he’d be coming back to an empty cabin.
As much as he’d wanted a place of his own, he didn’t want it to be the cabin on his family ranch.
“Your turn,” Dawson said, nudging Brandon with his foot.
Brandon blinked, having missed everyone else’s grateful-for. He took a breath, not sure what might come out of his mouth.
“I’m grateful that I—I guess that I have a place to belong.”
He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he did feel like he belonged with his family. He knew he could show up on any of the doorsteps here on the ranch, and he’d be welcomed in, fed, and given somewhere to rest.
He looked at Lenny, and he felt like he belonged with her at the homestead too—and Brandon didn’t know what to do with that.
25
