‘Evelyn’s got some news.’ Amy and Tessa spoke in unison, grinning like mad.
‘Hey, don’t tell yet — I want to hear too.’ Josie rushed over to join them, glass in hand, and squeezed into the group.
‘Goodness, you’re making something out of nothing.’ Evelyn’s colour rose and her fingers worked at a tortilla chip, breaking it into a myriad of crumbled-up pieces. ‘For some unknown reason, Quinten wants to marry me, that’s all.’
Loud cheers and claps broke out, so loud that the men stopped what they were doing to turn and stare. It didn’t take a genius to guess the only one who knew what was happening was a very red-faced Quinten. He hovered at the edge of the group as if wishing he could disappear like the genie inAladdin, back into his lamp in a puff of smoke.
‘That’s all?’ Josie squealed. ‘You sly old goose. When did this happen? We want details.’
Despite her pretended indifference, Evelyn pinked like a young girl. Quite shyly, at least by her standards, she told them how Quinten had surprised her by proposing at their ballroom-dancing club in the middle of their favourite dance, a Viennese waltz.
‘So when’s the big day?’ Laura asked eagerly.
‘I’m not sure yet. Neither of us wants a lot of fuss, so it’ll be very quiet.’ Some of the brightness left her face. ‘And it depends on Ophelia. She wasn’t well enough to come tonight and the last doctor’s appointment I took her to wasn’t terribly encouraging.’
‘Oh, Evelyn, we’re so sorry.’ Laura spoke for them all.
‘Thank you. But Quinten’s moving in with us next week, so that will be lovely. I’ll find his presence a huge help and support.’ A trace of her usual arch smile returned. ‘The two of them get on really well. I suppose they don’t have the history Ophelia and I do. We’ve done our best to put it all behind us, and I know she never came on to Sam that time, but these things linger.’
Forgiving was one thing. Forgetting, quite another.
Nathan moved over to the mantelpiece and picked up a small brass hammer. He used it to hit an ornately engraved Chinese gong. ‘I’m instructed by the chief cook to announce that ourfeast is ready. If you could all head for the kitchen, you can help yourselves to the buffet. There’s a seating chart pinned up on the wall so you can find your allotted place. The dining room table isn’t big enough for everyone, so a few of us will be relegated to the kitchen.’ He grinned. ‘I’m informed that’s usually where they put the children, so my assumption is the most immature of us will end up there.’ He picked his way through the crowd and Tamara noticed him stop briefly to congratulate Evelyn.
There was a light-hearted rush for the food and Tamara’s jaw dropped when she saw the huge spread.
Melissa clapped her hands to get their attention. ‘I think you’ll recognise almost everything. There’s the standard roast turkey, a glazed ham, cranberry sauce, bread rolls and mashed potatoes. But the bowl of green beans isn’t like y’all have because they’re cooked southern style, low and slow with chunks of bacon. The long dish that looks like it’s nothing but burnt marshmallows is my mom’s famous sweet-potato casserole.’ She pointed to another platter. ‘That’s cornbread dressing. Cut into squares. It’s another southern thing, which we have instead of stuffing. And the fruit salad is another of my mom’s recipes. It’s not a dessert, so you eat it with the meal.’ Her face lit up. ‘It’s wonderful to have y’all here tonight, and later we’ll follow one more Rutherford family tradition and go around the table, or tables in this case, so everyone can say what they’re thankful for.’
Tamara’s heart skipped a beat and a blush rose in her cheeks when she caught Gage watching her.
* * *
Gage forced himself to slow down. Tamara had pointed out the other day that he tended to shovel in his food at a rate of knots. She’d done so very tactfully and gently. He supposed he’d acquired the habit out of self-preservation when it paid to wolf your meals down and hurry out of the mess hall in case of arocket attack. Learning how to relax and take life easy was one of the many challenges he faced that no civilian could hope to understand.
‘Your shop-window display is really cool by the way,’ Josie said, interrupting his wayward thoughts.
‘Sorry, I was wool-gathering.’
He was annoyed with himself for ignoring her. Tonight, all the couples had been split up because their hosts thought they saw enough of each other at home. He and Josie were squeezed together at one end of the main table while Harry was in the middle, flanked by Evelyn and Laura. Tamara was with Melissa in the kitchen.
‘I didn’t mean to be rude.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
Suddenly Gage had a longing to be more honest.‘I’m not great at navigating social situations like this. My only excuse is that I joined the forces at sixteen, so this is my first real experience of civilian life as an adult.’ He managed a wry smile. ‘It’s been an eye-opener.’
‘It must have. You may never be the life and soul of the party, but that’s okay. Not everyone has to be loud and opinionated like me,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Harry’s teaching me to be a little less brash, but it’s an uphill battle some days.’
Gage couldn’t help smiling.
‘You’ve had to deal with the physical and emotional after-effects of your traumatic knee injury too. It adds to it.’
‘Yeah.’ His gaze swept around the room, full of people laughing and enjoying themselves. ‘It’s hard to accept I’ve the right to be happy sometimes when I’ve seen so much suffering all over the world.’
‘I get that.’ She glanced around. ‘I have the same problem switching off after a tough shift at work. Harry’s much better at compartmentalising.’
‘Men are supposed to be, but it doesn’t always work that way.’ Gage took a gulp of beer. ‘Being part of the military force in a particular place, we were often the root cause of people’s distress. That’s a conflict you don’t have to deal with because you’re simply there to help your patients. End of story.’ He hadn’t meant to sound bitter. ‘Sorry. I’m being a downer and spoiling a great night.’
‘Maybe this isn’t the place to say this, but I wonder if you might find it helpful to—’
