“Thank you so much.” They clapped each other on the back and parted grinning. “How much do I owe you for the cider?”
“I’ll bill you,” Colt said with a smile, and he dodged around Henry and Angel as they entered the barn.
Finn went to greet his cousin and the white-blonde, literal angel who had tamed Henry’s wild heart. They both carried a child, and Finn simply moved into all of them for a huge family hug.
Wrangler, their three-year-old, who could talk better than both Bubba and Dusty, said, “Happy birthday, Uncle Finn,” in the cutest little boy, high-pitched voice Finn had ever heard.
He burst out laughing and took Wrangler from Henry. “Thank you, buddy.”
“We bring you a present.”
“Did you? Well, I can’t wait to open it.” He swept a kiss along Wrangler’s cheek, and then turned to greet Uncle Pete, who entered the barn with Finn’s parents. The cowboys from Three Rivers started filing in from the back door, while Brynn and Ethan Greene came in the front with Ty and Winnie, who were set to be married in November, and their son, Bryan and his fiancé Ellie, who were set to be married in September, and their oldest daughter, Carolina, who had just married her husband Hugh in June.
Finn knew he wouldn’t be able to take Wrangler around as he greeted everyone, so he passed him back to Henry and called in a loud voice, “There’s food at the back, drinks over here on the left.”
“When’s the dancing gonna start?” Daddy asked, and Finn from twenty-five years ago would have groaned in embarrassment and spent the rest of the night hiding in the shadows from his over-exuberant father.
Tonight, he simply laughed and said, “You’ll have to wait until Mikey gets here. I asked him to be the DJ this year.”
As the barn filled up with people, the love in Finn’s heart overflowed again and again and again, and he sent up a blanketprayer that anyone and everyone here who needed something in their life could have it granted to them, because he wanted everyone to feel the level of love and joy he currently did.
15
Colt Franklin finished setting up the apple cider kegs with a spout that it could be poured from. He hadn’t asked anyone to Finn’s birthday party in the past, but of course, he’d only been friends with the man for about three years now.
He’d seen other cowboys bring dates, but Colt had only been divorced for three years, and it had taken at least half that time for him to figure out his footing in his own life.
He felt more in control of things now, especially since his mother had turned full control of the orchards over to him. He felt like he had a good grip on what needed to be done at work, and he and Jonas had a great schedule where he got to see his son often, take care of him before and after pre-school, and still be able to run the orchards.
They’d moved into their own house now, and while his mother and sisters still helped him immensely with babysitting, he felt like he could manage his own life now, whereas even two years ago, he couldn’t. He still missed Ivy powerfully, but he didn’t let himself dwell on that for too long.
They’d been doomed from the start, because he hadn’t been wise enough to listen to the things she said and the things shedidn’tsay. She’d never told him she could live in a small town,with only rows and rows of trees for scenery, and Colt had assumed she’d known what their life together would be.
He’d assumed wrong, and Ivy didn’t enjoy small towns, apple orchards, or the provincial life.
He was smarter now, and the closer he got to forty, the more he wanted to find someone and spend his life with them.
Other times, he thought perhaps he and Jonas were just fine on their own. Then God would chastise him and tell him that children were better off with a fatheranda mother in the home, and that he should do everything he could to find someone, not only for himself, but for his child.
That was harder than it sounded, and God certainly hadn’t been very helpful in bringing the right woman into Colt’s life.
He stood outside, out of the way of arriving party guests, and away from the corners of the buildings where the lights shone down. Of course, it wasn’t even close to dark yet, but no one noticed him.
He’d asked a woman named Sariah Long to drive all the way out to Three Rivers Ranch and meet him for this party—and she’d said yes. They’d been on one date together over the weekend, and he’d liked her so much that he’d asked her to come to this party before he’d even dropped her off. They’d been texting like crazy in the few days since, and Colt could easily say that he liked Sariah more than anyone else he’d been out with since his divorce.
That wasn’t saying much, as he’d been on several first dates and had one woman he would call a girlfriend, and even that had only lasted about two months. Still, he’d been trying to find someone that he could spend longer than two months with for the past several weeks.
He hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask out the woman who’d been stuck in his mind for a while now: Elaine Walker.
Maybe because he was thirty-six years old and shouldn’t even be having crushes. At the same time, a thirty-six-year-old man should be able to ask out a woman he found attractive and wanted to get to know better, and Colt hadn’t been able to do that with her.
Instead, he’d acted like an idiot, so much so that he’d called attention to himself and caused Trap to start asking questions. Colt had told him the truth, and Trap had offered to set up a blind date. Part of Colt really wanted that, and the other part absolutely would not abide by it.
He was a grown man with a child. He ran the entirety of the apple orchard operations. He’d added a restaurant and a farm store, and he dealt with dozens of personalities and suppliers. He could get his own date—and he had…just not with Elaine.
Sariah had said she would text when she arrived, and she’d messaged about a half-hour ago to say she’d left her house. Colt was expecting her any time, and he started scanning faces as they went by him.
He saw Rock and Clover arrive with Gun and Camila, and he noted the way Rock paid close attention to Clover, helping her down from the truck and keeping his hand secured in hers as they headed toward the barn.
