They followed the Lawrences down the hall, past a cozy living room with a big Christmas tree and a fireplace, and through a formal dining room to a great big kitchen that stretched across the whole back of the house.
It smelled incredible, like wonderful things were cooking. There was already a couple sitting at the long wooden table, and the brother he’d seen march Allie away at the school yesterday stood by the stove.
“Tripp Lawrence, keep away from that food,” Maggie scolded fondly.
“Ashwin Tailor,” Tripp said, ignoring his mother and fixing Ash with a suspicious stare.
No one called Ash by his full name.
“Hi,” Ash said casually, heading over to shake his hand.
It hit Ash that Tripp had been right there last night. He probably knew the whole thing was fake. If that was the case, he was going to be a tough one to win over.
Tripp shook his hand a little too hard, but didn’t say aword, which Ash figured was as good an interaction as he could have hoped for.
“Hi, I’m Charlotte, and this is Tag,” the lady at the table said, indicating the man next to her. “The little one is Alonso, and his big brother is Chance.”
Ash looked over to see a toddler sitting at a little chair and table by the far window, playing with blocks with an older child.
“Hey,” the boy said. “My sister, Olivia is out in the barn with the calves.”
“That’s a part of your leg, but it also means baby cows,” Maya said excitedly. “Baby cows.”
“Would you like to see them?” Chance asked her.
“Yes,” Maya said.
“Only if it’s okay with your dad,” Chance said, looking to Ash.
“Will you be careful, and do exactly what the big kids tell you?” Ash asked Maya.
“Yes, Daddy,” she said, her eyes so serious.
“And if you miss me, Chance will bring you right back, right?” he asked.
“I will,” Chance said importantly.
“Thank you,” Ash told the boy. “Have fun, you two.”
“Chance,” the toddler yelled.
“Can I play with you, Alonso?” Allie asked, hurrying over to the little table.
The little one chuckled and pushed some blocks toward her on the table.
“Sorry,” Charlotte said with a smile. “He loves hisAunt Allie.”
“No worries,” Ash said. “I know I can’t compete with a face like that. How old is he?”
Charlotte beamed and told him all about the kids she and Tag shared, and Ash seated himself opposite the two of them.
Charlotte spoke so much, and her husband was so silent, that at first Ash was afraid maybe he was in even more trouble with this brother than the other one.
But when Ash asked about the farm, Tag perked up and began regaling him with details about the animals, the weather, and of course the ice cream shop that Charlotte had put back on the map.
Little Alonso eventually wandered back to his mama and crawled into her lap, and Allie came to sit at the table beside Ash.
All he wanted was to hold her hand again, and the way she set her hand on the table was almost like an invitation.
