Cooper transferred a rack of ribs onto a platter, then waved his tongs toward his cousin. “Big ears and very little between them,” he said. “Ian, this is Haleigh Rae Mitchner. She’s Abby’s best friend who used to spend holidays with us. Which means she knows not to let you too close to her plate.”
“Aw, I don’t steal rolls anymore.”
“A true sign of maturity,” Haleigh said with a wink.
“That smells awesome,” Jessi said as she joined them, hands empty and looking like the cat who’d just spotted a canary. “Hi,” she greeted Ian. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
Of course they hadn’t met. She’d been in town less than two weeks, and spent most of that time shut in with a newborn.
“I’m Ian,” the bean stalk said with a familiar look of awe on his face. “Ian O’Malley. Cooper here’s my cousin.”
“I like the name Ian.”
“Jessi is pretty, too.”
Well, hell. “I thought you were hungry,” Cooper said to Ian. “Get yourself a plate.”
“I can wait,” he answered, eyes locked on Jessi’s brown ones. “Did you get a drink yet?” he asked her.
“Not yet. You want to show me where they are?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As the pair walked off, Cooper yelled, “Nonalcoholic,” but the kids had already tuned him out.
“That girl moves fast,” Haleigh said.
Cooper loaded the platter with the rest of the ribs. “Too fast. She’ll eat that boy up and he won’t know what hit him.”
Haleigh watched the young couple with a tilt of her head. “I don’t know. Maybe a boy like Ian would be good for her.”
“You mean spending time with a guy who doesn’t knock girls up and then take off?”
“Yeah,” Haleigh agreed. “Why not?”
“Why not, indeed,” he said, recognizing an opening when it came his way. “Which leads to the conclusion that spending time with a nice guy who doesn’t treat a woman like crap would be good for you.”
With narrowed eyes, Haleigh held Cooper’s gaze as she yelled, “Food is up! Everybody come eat.”
The food was excellent. And the company wasn’t so bad either. As often happened at these sorts of gatherings, the women split off on their own, while the men lingered around the grill, patting each other on the back and talking about sports or things that go boom. At least that’s what Haleigh assumed men talked about.
Most men, she corrected. Marcus preferred subjects such as net worth and Italian leather shoes.
“How do you like being home?” Lorelei asked Haleigh. “I can’t imagine leaving Memphis for Ardent Springs.”
“You left LA,” Haleigh pointed out.
“Touché. But I never intended to stay here.”
Venturing into territory that likely wasn’t any of her business, Haleigh asked, “Then why did you?”
“For lurve,” Snow answered for her friend.
Without argument, Lorelei said, “Damn right. Nothing else would have done it.”
“I’ve never lived anywhere else,” Abby said, “but I don’t think Ardent Springs is so bad.”
“Neither does Lorelei,” Carrie chimed in. “Regardless of what she says.”
“Hey.” Lorelei pointed at Carrie. “I have a rep to protect.”
A collective spurt of laughter erupted at that statement, though Haleigh couldn’t help but notice Abby’s lack of mirth.
“Speaking of love,” Snow said, “your new mother seems to be smitten over there.”
Ian and Jessi had been the one exception to the gender break out. They’d been talking since dinner, and Haleigh had to give the young man credit for not running scared the moment he met Emma. Especially since her choice of greeting had been to hurl down the front of his shirt. He was currently pushing them both on Cooper’s rope swing.
“From what I’ve heard, her taste in guys has left much to be desired,” Haleigh said. “Please tell me Ian doesn’t fancy himself a playboy?”
“Hardly,” Abby snorted. “He rarely musters up the courage to talk to a girl. I’m surprised he made it this far.”
“Jessi made the first move, and I don’t think she gave him a choice but to talk to her.”
“I like a girl with chutzpah,” Lorelei said.
“Chutzpah is what landed her in the maternity ward,” Haleigh pointed out. “If she manages to grow a little common sense to go with it, her future will be a lot simpler.”
“She’s already a single mom,” Abby said. “How simple could it be?”