“I don’t know.” He sighed as he shook his head. “Maybe we can talk at the BBQ today. I only hope I didn’t do anything to offend her.”
“Do you have sexual or romantic feelings toward her?”
“Absolutely NOT!” Tony looked at her like she had said something offensive. “She’s like a sister to me.”
“Ah, just wondering. I guess the only thing you can do is get her aside and try to talk to her today.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly, and sat there staring into space. When an alarm sounded, he looked at his watch, then back at her with a grin. “It’s a little after one, I thought we could get there the same time as everyone else so we’re not walking into everyone staring at us.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” They hurried around and went out the door in ten minutes. Tony ended up following Caleb and Katherine, and behind them were Jason and Ilsa, so they caravaned over to Erin’s Way.
CHAPTER 11
Tony parked his truck,hopped out, and hurried around to help Staci from the passenger side. They stayed back to follow the others, since they didn’t know where to go, and when they entered a barn, they paused and looked around, impressed by the set up.
“This is where Ilsa and I work,” Jason said as he paused beside them. He pointed over to a wall and nodded. “That’s where we keep our files, but we work in this area. A few months ago, Erin set this up as a BBQ place for everyone because the area they always used wasn’t big enough any longer. This also blocks out any cold weather. The BBQ pits are out back, and this place will be used for the holiday parties.”
“Remind me again what the two of you do.” Staci cocked her head to the side.
“Ilsa and I are both lawyers. Erin has a case that’s been going on for a few years now, and the trial date has been set. We’re going over the case to represent her against the bad guys.”
“Oh, wow, I’ll have to remember that if I ever need a lawyer.” She grinned and looked around at the people milling around, and entering. She stepped back to let everyone enter, and it took about thirty minutes for everyone to arrive and place their food dishes on the table. When an older couple entered with two other couples, Tony leaned down and whispered.
“That’s Cole and Lois.”
“Ah, okay, isn’t that Duane, the security guy? He’s the one that gave me a tour, but we didn’t get out of his truck.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Duane said as he stopped near her with a woman at his side. He looked around with a sheepish smile. “It was cold out, and had started to snow. I didn’t know if Dr. Hardt wanted to go in and out of the barns.”
“I wouldn’t have minded, but that’s neither here nor there, who is everyone?”
“This is my fiancée, Laurie Gibson. Her mother is Lois, and she’s dating Cole. On the other side of them is Lorissa, Laurie’s daughter, and the man beside her is Tom Stolls.”
They stood around talking and it was Lois that reached out and laid her hand gently on Staci’s forearm. “Not to be rude, but I heard you are looking on how to learn to cook?”
“I am,” she said with a grin. “I was craving chocolate the other night and went over to Katherine’s cabin. She taught me how to make brownies. It was from a box, but I was successful.”
The others laughed along with her, and Lois nodded. “Good, then you should be able to cook anything. I’ve put together some recipes and if you agree, I can come over on the weekends to teach you how to make them.”
“Don’t you mean to learn me?”
Lois looked shocked, then she threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, once you learn, you’ll always know.”
“That’s what Tony said. That I need to learn and not be taught.”
“Exactly. Are the weekends okay for you?”
“Yes.” Staci pulled out her phone and handed it to Lois so she could program her number into it, and she did the same with Lois’s. Then the others started sharing their numbers with both her and Tony. They looked up when someone called for their attention.
“Hey, everyone,” Erin called out, and waited until they all gathered around. “Thank you for coming. As you know I call these BBQ’s a family meeting, and they give us an opportunity to catch up on our lives. I called this one today, because we don’t have one, but two new people joining us here at the ranch.” Shewalked over to where Tony and Staci stood and smiled when the others stepped to the side. “I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Staci Hardt, she’s working over at Broken Two with Caleb. Next we have Tony Jacobs, who is working over at New Double with Ann and the horses. Go ahead and introduce yourself, I don’t expect you to remember everyone’s name today, and later I’m going to ask you to pass your phone around so everyone can enter your number.” She pointed toward the side and grinned at their sucked in breaths. “I took the liberty to post your numbers so they can program your numbers into their phones. So, introduce yourself.” She stepped back and watched as Tony and Staci exchanged looks.
“Hi, everyone.” Staci gave a small wave at the people gathered around. “Erin was right, I’m Dr. Staci Hardt, I’m here working in Caleb’s building. I have a government contract to work with veterans and prosthetics. I’m not going to force anyone here to work with me. It will be strictly voluntarily.”
“What type of work will you do?” a man called out and came forward. “I’m Reid Garret. I’m engaged to Erin.” He walked over to her and stood next to her. “I had heard you were coming, and I want to know if you will be fixing what we have now, or will you be making us something new.”
“Both,” she said with confidence. “I’ll inspect whatyou have, repair or fix it long enough for you to get by until I can build a new one.”
“How long does it take?”
