“Well. I’m probably going to need a lot of canvassing.” This was slightly more comfortable territory. But still it was foreign to her. Sitting with a group of people who actually seemed to want her around? Usually that happened in a bar or at the Wild West Show. But the sense of camaraderie she felt here was something else.
“You should come to the holiday bazaar,” Perry said. “I’m going to have a booth with dried flowers. Actually, if you want to set up in my booth, that would be great. I have a really big space, and I don’t need it all.”
The holiday bazaar was held every year on the main street of town. Traffic was blocked off so people could walk between booths and see all the Christmas decorations for the upcoming season. “It’s after the debate. It’ll be the final push before the election.”
“Well … thank you. I would love that. It’s a great idea. I …” It sounded so … festive. And warm. And exactly like the kind of thing she actually wanted to be at.
“Yay,” said Perry. “It’s settled. You can canvass at the holiday bazaar. And in the meantime, feel free to put a sign up in my flower shop.”
“What about … If I lose, do you think Danielle is going to retaliate?”
“We’re all guilty by association.” Perry smiled happily. “We are all associated with Flynn. There’s absolutely nothing we can do to escape her evil eye if she decides that she’s going to be big mad about it.”
“Well, I really appreciate the offer. Even if you do incur her wrath.”
“I’m not afraid of her,” Perry said. “I could absolutely take her in a fight.”
Millie, who was small but rather ferocious, looked at Perry with glittering eyes. “I already cursed her. Effectively. She’s stuck with Michael.”
Everybody laughed at that.
Then the men came into the room, promising a glorious feast. They all trooped into the kitchen to find the table laden with a feast: corn on the cob and fluffy rolls, baby back ribs and potato salad.
“You Wilder men don’t mess around,” she said.
“We never do anything by halves,” Flynn said. And immediately her mind was in the gutter. Unavoidable.
He didn’t do anything by half.
She was appreciative of that.
They ate dinner, and the easy conversation washed over her. She even found herself participating in it. Not dominating it. Not feeling the need to do her Wild West Show bit.
After dinner, there was pie—which Austin confessed to buying from the store.
They ate it happily, and chatted, and then when it was time for her and Flynn to drive back to his house, she followed him closely on the road.
Her suitcase ended up being left by his front door, and he grabbed her and ravished her almost immediately. And when they were naked, lying in his bed, she traced shapes on his bicep. “I was thinking how different your house probably is now compared to when you grew up there.”
“That’s a loaded topic,” he said.
“I know. But … your family really is so lovely and functional.”
“It was a fight to get there. Austin … Millie definitely tamed him. But so did resolving some of those issues with our family’s reputation. The feeling that he was just going to repeat history, that he was an outlaw, no different from any of our predecessors, no different from our dad, that was hard on him. And then there’s Carson. He lost his first wife. And then he and Perry practically broke every bone in each other’s body trying to sort out how to be in love. So yeah, now they look functional. But Austin has always kept the place clean.”
“They seem to really … You all care for each other. Cassidy says that you’re the best big brother in the world.”
He got a faraway look in his eye. “Well, that’s nice of her. Honestly. She’s a good kid, and I … Her mom just left her, you know. Left her on the doorstep and didn’t even bother to check what was going on with us. Our dad had just died the month before. Shedidn’t even know that. When Austin called to tell her, she didn’t care. She was on to greener pastures. She wanted to date some new guy who didn’t want anything to do with kids. Cassidy had to acclimate to Oregon ranch life after living in Florida.”
“Really? I didn’t realize she came all the way from Florida.”
“Yep. Apparently, her mom was willing to go to a lot of trouble to abandon her. I feel for her. I really do. Because I know all that stuff is sharp.”
“Didn’t Austin and Carson lose their mom too?”
“Yeah. She left. But they don’t remember her. I know what it’s like to remember a mom who doesn’t especially want you around.”
“No wonder Cassidy feels so close to you.”
