But if he wanted to make her fall for him for real, he had to make her realize shewantedhim. And that meant making them both wait.
“Allie,” Tripp said softly, walking over to her side but not sitting. “Walk with me?”
But at just that moment, another of her brothers came in along with his wife, Becca, and their twin boys. Ash had met Becca and the boys yesterday, but not Zane, so Allie made introductions and Tripp went down and sat at the foot of the table instead, frowning to himself.
Maya ran inside a moment later, followed immediately by Chance and a young woman who introduced herself as Olivia.
“That makes you Tag and Charlotte’s daughter, and Chance and Alonso’s big sister, right?” Ash asked.
“Wow, you’re good,” Olivia said, as the others clapped lightly.
But Tripp kept his eyes on the window, though what he was looking at out there Ash couldn’t imagine. The view was nothing but snowy fields all the way to the mountains.
“Are we too late?” someone called from the front door.
“Shoes,” the rest of the family called back.
“Oh, that’s my brother West and his daughter Elizabeth, along with his wife Dulcie and her little sister, Delphine,” Allie said to Ash.
“Got it,” he said, hoping that he really did. He was usually good with names, but Allie sure had a big family.
In Ash’s own life, he always liked to fit the puzzle pieces neatly together. The company had kept him so busy that organization was key if he wanted any peace.
He expected to be a little off-balance today. But somehow, this big, noisy, chaotic family had him feeling more at peace than he had for a long time.
“I saw baby cows,” Maya said, bouncing over to him. “And we fed one of them with abottle."
“Oh, that was so kind of you,” Maggie said, coming over to hand Maya a small mug of hot cocoa. “And now I won’t have to stop and bottle-feed Minnow during dinner.”
“His name isMinnow, Daddy,” Maya said, her eyes wide with wonder. “Because hewas sosmall.”
“That’s amazing, Maya,” Ash told her. “Was it nice to feed him?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “He eatsfast.”
“You ate fast too when you were a baby,” he told her, chuckling.
But she was already following Chance over to the little table to see what cool thing he would do next.
“She fits right in here, doesn’t she?” Allie asked, her eyes on Maya and a sweet smile on her lips.
“She does,” Ash agreed.
Allie was right, Maya was really happy here. This was the type of day she could never have had in the city, and the Lawrences seemed to be the kind of people who knew just how to keep a child busy and content, and not worry too much about loud, happy voices or too many comings and goings.
“It’s a wonderful place to grow up,” Allie said, as if she had heard his thoughts.
His hand moved to hers and squeezed before he could stop himself.
11
ALLIE
Allie sat at the table with Ash and Maya, unable to believe how easily the two of them had adapted to the joyful chaos that was her family.
Maya had run right out with Chance to see the calves and come back in happy and excited. She had even delighted Allie’s mom by eating two bowls of chicken and dumplings while the adults regaled each other with stories about how their week had gone.
Ash had stayed by Allie’s side, even holding her hand for a moment as he talked easily with her family.
