“What the heck, Gale? Why didn’t you tell me your brother was a heaping host of testosterone?”
Her friend laughed on the other end of the line. “Which brother is that?”
“The one I’ve recently seen. Duh. Have they all turned out like that? I mean I’ve seen pictures of Ford.”
Ford Ridgeway was the Sheriff of Warren County. Hard not to see information about him.
“So you mean my jerk of a brother,” Gale said. “Clay.”
“He wasn’t that bad,” she said.
Gale snorted. “I’m positive he was since I just got off the phone with him. He didn’t even know who you were. What an idiot.”
“It took me a minute to realize he didn’t recognize me. Not even after he had to catch me before my knees hit the floor.”
“Oh lord, Meri. Sorry—Meredith. I’m working on it. Did you fall in front of him again?”
Very few called her Meri. Only old classmates and her family. It was what she went by for years, but when she left for college, she’d given her name as Meredith. She got sick of everyone misspelling her name like the normal Mary. It was only a nickname anyway.
“I wanted to impress him. You know, not come in as if I was chasing a gang of runny-nosed five-year-olds. I changed out of my comfy sneakers and put on pumps.”
“You’ve never been able to walk in heels,” Gale said.
“Nope. I proved that to your brother too. Got the heel caught on the door jamb because I didn’t lift my foot up enough, lost my balance and teetered forward. My binders go flying, my purse wrapped around the front of me, and my hands went to catch myself. But there was Clay, once again, his fingers on my forearms and steadying me.”
His hands on her body brought on the same reaction as they had when she was a child.
A sense of security. That the world could crash and burn, swirl around her head, but there would be Clay Ridgeway in slow motion with a wicked grin carrying her to safety.
Not that he’d ever given her anything other than a roll of his eyes, a shake of his head, and short conversations.
“That’s Clay for you. The guy always seems to know when something is going to happen before it does.”
“For a big guy, he still moves fast too. I’m sure he told you I got the job.”
“He did,” Gale said. “I feel bad. The weddings were my idea and I just can’t handle it. I help when the family needs me, but I can’t be around for more than a few hours for an actual event. My mother was carrying the load with Reenie.”
“I heard. Your mother looks awesome. She sent me a bunch of information yesterday. I had little time to go through it but am doing that now. I’m going to reach out to the bride for a weddingscheduled in a few weeks. Not that I can do much, but I want to offer my services if she’s got questions.”
“I’m sure they will appreciate it. My mother could use the break, but I know she’s having fun with it.”
“I hadn’t realized your parents got ordained and could marry couples.”
She thought that was a nice touch to have on hand.
“Ash joked about it and my mother took it seriously. They should have fun with this. They’ve worked hard all their lives. Honestly, I’d never say that I’d want my father to get hurt, but it might have been the best thing for the way the farm is turning out.”
“Do you have time to tell me a bit about that?”
“Sure,” Gale said. “My father broke his back in a fall two years ago. It’s been a long hard recovery and multiple surgeries. Clay wasn’t asked to come home. He just said he was done with the Navy and was home the next week. We were all stunned.”
“He said nothing else?”
“No,” Gale said. “He’s not the same person he was before.”
“Seems it to me,” she said, laughing.
“He’s never been much of a talker and always had a keen awareness of his surroundings. But he’s... darker. That’s the best I can describe it. Do you know what happened to Ford’s girlfriend a few months ago?”
