“Let the circus begin,” Daddy mumbled, but at least he had started carving the ham.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Adam made the turn onto Rising Sun Ranch, his heart filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving season for the golden sunshine that bathed the land. Mother Nature had been kind, except for that one snowstorm that had left him snowed in at Joey’s momma’s place on Halloween. There had been a few dribbles of rain this month, but no more snow. So far.
He’d been told to turn down the lane just before the house, and when it came into view, he found Codi’s big white dog-washing bus parked alongside the garage, along with a couple of other vehicles.
She and Bryce and their new baby had come home from the hospital on Thanksgiving morning, only a day ago. Adam did not expect to see Bryce out near the stables at all. He had coordinated this horseback riding morning with JemYoung, who boarded three of his horses here at Rising Sun Ranch.
As he rumbled past the bus and the garage, the ranch came into view with its stables and barns. He also realized that there were multiple pick-up trucks here. He’d expected two, as Joey was catching a ride with her uncle Mav and Boston, who had caught wind of the horseback riding this morning and had wanted to come. Jem had texted Adam yesterday and asked if that would be okay, and Adam certainly didn’t mind.
He hadn’t been on a horse in at least fifteen years, and he figured the more people around to help, the better. But there wasn’t just Jem’s truck and there wasn’t just Mav’s.
Two other pickups that looked like they belonged to men who had plenty of money sat parked in the neat line too. Of course, everyone in the Young family fit that bill, and Adam had no way to predict who else had been invited.
Joey had told him that the big family Thanksgiving party would be on Sunday at Tex’s house on the eastern edge of town. Adam had been there several times, as that was where the recording studio sat, and as the band had started practicing in the past three weeks, he’d attended a couple of their sessions.
He pulled in next to a truck he’d seen at Tex’s before. He’d seen Otis’s truck only yesterday parked in front of his house, and it wasn’t his. “So it has to be Trace or Luke.”
Adam killed the engine, realizing thatbothLuke and Trace were here, and with Mav and Jem, that would befourof Joey’s uncles, and then her cousin—and then him and Joey.
“So it’s a family riding event,” he muttered to himself, not sure if he was happy about it or not. He got out, also not sure where to go, and thankfully, only a moment later, Jem exited from one of the stables a handful of yards away.
“Howdy-ho,” he yelled, waving his hand above his head.
He wore a wide smile, and he had a perfect cowboy gait as he walked toward Adam. More people spilled out of the stable behind him, including Trace and Luke, as Adam had deduced. But Blaze also came forward, and Adam’s pulse hopped around the back of his throat for a moment.
“Howdy,” he said to Jem, who had arrived in front of him. They shook hands, and Jem said, “I didn’t text you about everyone coming, because I figured you’d run for the hills.” He chuckled and indicated the other broad-shouldered, dark-haired men in the Young family. “This is my brother, Blaze. He and I rode in the rodeo together.”
“Howdy,” Adam said, reaching to shake the man’s hand. “You’re Faith’s husband.”
“That’s right,” Blaze said.
“Joey was so amazing with those pies,” Adam said. “And she wassograteful that your wife helped so much to get the boxes here in time and all those stickers printed.”
Surprise entered Blaze’s expression, and he nodded. “Yeah. Faith was real excited about that. How many pies did Joey end up selling?”
“Sixty-one,” Adam said, beaming with pride. “It was alot, especially that second day. And I know she’s already got a handful of orders for next month.”
“I’m real glad,” Blaze said.
They looked to Trace, but of course, Adam didn’t need to be introduced to anyone in Country Quad. “I didn’t know you guys were coming.” He quickly shook Trace’s hand and then Luke’s, and neither one of them smiled.
“Oh, come on,” Jem said. “This is afamilyhorseback riding event on the day after Thanksgiving. You can’t smile at the man?”
“Yeah, you’re not doing a concert,” Blaze said. “My word.” He muttered more under his breath as he turned away.
“Mav and Boston aren’t here yet then,” Adam said, turning to Jem so he didn’t wilt under the combined gazes of Luke and Trace.
“Harry and Belle are on their way too,” Trace said. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” Adam said, flicking a look over to him. “Joey and I have just talked about horseback riding together. It’s something that neither one of us do very often, and I’m trying to become more of a cowboy.” He chuckled and looked at Luke. “How am I doing?”
He wore a blue plaid shirt with a brown leather jacket over it, his blue jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat. If he had dark hair, he could be a twin to the members of Country Quad, but his lighter looks definitely stood out.
Luke let his gaze drip down at him all the way to his boots. “You sure look the part.”
