Marietta also had a mayor—Chelsea Flint, who had once been Chelsea Crawford Collier before she’d married the very rich Jasper Flint, who’d renovated the historic train depot in Marietta and made it into the Flintworks brewery.Instead of Jasper Flint making Chelsea—a former schoolteacher—too fancy, she’d somehow made him a local.
That was real Montana magic, Tennessee thought.Meanwhile, up on this side of Copper Mountain, they had to wait and see what a bunch of college friends thoughtfarm to tablein a remote little community was.He kind of thought it would depend on what college they’d all attended.
Though Tennessee allowed as how it was possible that he was feeling a little punchy after the night he’d had.And yet another run-in with Matilda that had left him wondering if he’d been deliberately hiding himself away for too long, if a couple of perfectly innocent interactions with a woman had himthisrocked.
He went back to brooding about his hometown, because that was far less dangerous a prospect than anything involving Matilda Stark.Most of the time, while he was certainly never going to win a Mr.Congeniality award, he was a huge proponent of Cowboy Point standing on its own two feet instead of in the shadow of Marietta.He liked growth and opportunity, he just wanted it to last.
Like the very popular Farm and Craft Market that Flannery Bennett had started that was now a major tourist draw.And once the Starks had the Cowboy Point Lodge fully operational and running, and Dallas opened up that B&B of his, Tennessee figured little Cowboy Point was going to be unrecognizable—but in good ways.In ways that were going to make the old folks mutter, but they already did that.
What every small town needed was the young folks coming in, or coming back, and bringing the world with them in clever, accessible, community-based ways.Besides, the more modern everyone else got, the more quaint and cute the General Store and diner seemed in comparison.
All of which the Lisles could lean into.And would.And because Tennessee was in charge, already did.
He shoved all that aside because when he got to the table in the corner, his two new brothers were already there.
It felt weird—yet again—to think of them that way, but that was who they were.He needed to get used to thinking that word,brothers, because that, too, felt like an act of resistance against their father.
The three of them shook hands all around, and Tennessee found that he liked Finn’s calm, capable demeanor more than Raleigh’s boneless, lazy thing.Or maybe it was more accurate to say that he felt like he related to Finn more, right off the bat.
Dallas came in next, bringing the dark in with him, but then, he could manage that in full summer sunshine.The man had made brooding into art—and, soon, a place a person could pay to stay at and brood with him.He shook hands all around too, and clapped Tennessee on the shoulder.
“Evening,” Dallas said, by way of greeting, and then they were all sitting there with competing genial smiles, which Tennessee was pretty sure would terrify any locals watching—because the Lisles never smiled that much.He wasn’t sure his mouth knew what to do with all this wild, impetuous curving.
Before anyone had time to comment on the fact that the girls were late, they appeared, walking inside at the same time.But nottogether, if Tennessee had to guess from the way they snuck looks at each other as they wove through the tables.
He wondered if he was going to get used to the shock of finally seeing how much Helena Patrick looked like his baby sister.Cat, like everyone on their side of the family, had coppery tints in her hair while Helena, like hers, tended to be much more dark.But as they walked in side by side, there was absolutely no doubt that they were sisters.
And if Tennessee had to guess, right about the same age, too.
Probably better not to think too much about the logistics of that.All four brothers were about a year apart in age.Their dad had been pretty busy, it seemed—though never at his real job, of course.Because that would have required actualwork.
He reminded himself that he was not thinking about this.Not on their first happy family night.
Once Helena and Cat were seated, both of them looking wary to Tennessee’s eye, Raleigh rolled up to his feet.“I’ll get the drinks in,” he announced in a drawl that seemed to reference too many points West and South to commit to any one region in particular.“I think we could all stand to lighten up a little bit.”
He took everyone’s order and sloped off towards the counter, where Flannery and Indy were moving around with their usual focused intensity.The oldest sister, Kitty, handled the kitchen in the back.
“Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the LPL club,” Finn said when Raleigh was back and seated again, and beers had been dispensed all around the table.He lifted the bottle in his hand.“That obviously stands for Lyle Patrick Lisle—” and he spelled that out, so everyone got it “—God rest his twisted soul.”
Everyone lifted their beer, there was the clinking of bottles all around, and then they all seemed to settle a little better into their seats.Tennessee could see several sets of shoulders lower a bit.Possibly his, too.The music was playing just loud enough to keep conversations private at each table, and the longer he sat there with these people who looked like him and shared his DNA, the less weird it got.
He decided he liked it.
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Cat said after a few moments of sitting and gazing around at everyone, which they were obviously all doing.“I think our mothers were right to not dwell too much on the past.I’d still like to know a few things, though.”
“As would I,” drawled Raleigh.
Helena sat forward.She pushed her dark hair out of her face, and smiled as she looked around the table.“I can tell you the part of the story that brought me here,” she offered.
Cat smiled.“You read my mind.”
Helena nodded at Cat.“I’m a lot younger than my brothers, so when Dad disappeared, two things happened.I was less sad about it than everyone else, personally, because I hadn’t really seen too much of him anyway.But I was also pretty upset at how wrecked my mother was.Later on, it would turn out that she’d found out some things by going through his stuff.She didn’t share it with us.”She shifted her gaze to each of her brothers in turn.“If I had to guess, I think she was embarrassed.”
“How was she supposed to feel?”Raleigh asked, frowning at his sister like this was an old fight.“She didn’t know he had another family.”
“We all know who’s to blame here,” Tennessee said, before it could blow up.
Helena looked at him, and Tennessee saw Finn glare at his brother.Raleigh rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything else.He only slouched a little lower in his chair.
