She and Dad welcomed Chet with open arms, and he took it in stride.
Had she set him up unfairly though, testing him to see how much he could take before she unleashed even bigger things on him? Was he thinking that, after their second night together, she had turned into some nut job who’d assumed that they were engaged now and was whisking him into a situation that he wasn’t ready for?
As everyone headed for the house, Mina kept Chet behind for a second.
“They don’t know anything intimate about my personal life,” she whispered.
What she meant was that they didn’t know much about him and her.
He paused, and she just had enough to time hold her breath before he said, “It’s okay. It’s good to meet them.” As she exhaled, he added, “Now I see where you get that hair.”
A joke. He was using his sense of humor to ease the moment. But that was another good sign, wasn’t it? He wasn’t running back to the limo or anything.
Slow and easy, she thought. Just keep it going that way.
She crossed her fingers in front of her as Chet ushered her inside the door, to a hall with antique pitchers on old pine nightstands, plus a hat and coatrack where Chet deposited his Stetson. As they moved through the prairie-influenced living room, with its cow skull wall and wagon wheel wall hangings, the aroma of barbecue floated in the air.
When Mina heard more voices around the corner, in the direction of the kitchen, she shot her mom the stink eye from behind. Her mother had invited Katie and Amy.
Mina took up Chet’s side as her sisters peered around the corner, then came at her with arms extended.
“There she is!” Katie said, her unbound strawberry-blond hair brushing Mina’s cheek as they hugged.
Amy, who’d just graduated from college earlier in the year and had gotten married right after, took Katie’s place. She’d cut her black hair short, in a bob, since the last time Mina had seen her.
“What’s this?” Mina asked, ruffling her younger sister’s locks.
Amy shrugged away from Mina. “Scott likes it.”
“Where is Scott?” Mina glanced at Katie. “And Jonathan?”
“The hubbies stayed at home,” Katie said with a twinkle in her eyes that told Mina that the “hubbies” weren’t quite as interested as their wives were in checking out Mina’s traveling companion.
You’d think Mina was an old maid with all the fuss being put out over Chet. Then again, it’d been about a year since Mina had even talked about a man to her family. And before Michael, she’d been just as inactive.
They were only excited for her.
More introductions were made, and it didn’t escape Mina’s attention that Katie and Amy were in full inspection mode, looking Chet up and down, then trading a subtle, meaningful glance while Chet was otherwise occupied.
She wanted to ask them to tone it down, but that would require some privacy, and she wasn’t about to let Chet out of her line of sight right now.
Lizzie was holding up her hands for Mina to lift her, so she scooped up her niece, saying, “Oh, my, you’re getting to be such a big girl. When did you grow up so fast?”
“I don’t know,” Lizzie said.
Her mom had already relieved Chet of the cake and birthday gift and gone for some martini glasses in the freezer. Taking the cue, Katie was using the shaker to do some mixing.
“Let’s go to the patio for cocktails,” Mom said. “We’ll eat out there, too, and catch the last of this good weather.”
“Dinner?” Mina asked. “Mom, we can’t stay that long.”
“Sure you can.” Mom glanced at Chet.
He slid a look to Mina, the familiar sparkle that she hadn’t seen so much of lately in his eyes. Just witnessing it again turned her heart up at the corners.
“Dinner would be great,” he said. “I’ll just phone my brothers and let them know.”
Mom looked mightily satisfied at that.
Katie put down the shaker. “Who wants a ’tini?”
Everyone but Mina accepted the offer, and when her mom gave her an inquisitive glance, Mina gestured to Lizzie.
“We pixies are going to have Woodland Punch instead.”
Her niece clapped her hands as Katie said, “Suit yourself,” and poured.
Soon enough, Mom, Katie, Amy and Dad went outside to the patio, where he said he needed to check the grill. That left Mina and Chet behind with Lizzie, and as he watched Mina with her niece, she thought she saw a certain appreciation in his gaze.
“What?” Mina asked.
The moment passed, and he shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
But she couldn’t ignore the look she’d seen.
Was she just imagining it?