A short time later, out on the patio, Chet stood near the barbecue with Mina’s dad, Ewan, as he minded the carne asada. Nearby, the bulk of the Ferguson women sipped their martinis while Mina and Lizzie partook of their Woodland Punch, which was nothing more than fruit juice with a maraschino cherry.
Ewan grinned at Chet, holding up his barbecue tongs. “Bet the last thing you were expecting to eat in the Ferguson household was Mexican food.”
“I hadn’t thought about it, really.”
“Well, we’ve got some haggis in the fridge if you’re in the mood.”
Before Chet even answered, Ewan said, “Just a joke. In spite of our Scots blood, we’re not much for sheep guts and Highland grub around here.”
“What did you say, Ewan?” Mina’s mom, Lorna, called out.
“Nothing, dear.” He winked at Chet.
No wonder Mina had grown up so well. Judging from her family, they were a spirited, loving bunch, and when Mina commented about how they were perhaps a little too invested in her private life, Chet understood why.
Some families were like that. They looked out for each other, even after the kids left the roost. Abe and Laura had done that for Chet up in Montana to some extent. Hell, Abe had even procured Chet the job of a lifetime before he died, making sure that he would be set up in this new family of his—the one with Eli as a father.
Sure, Abe’s gesture was touching, but it still angered Chet to have been left in the dark for so long when it came to knowing his true parentage. And he was enraged for Abe’s sake, too. He hurt for him, because no man should’ve had to endure the humiliation he’d gone through with a cheating wife and brother.
Ewan broke into Chet’s musing. “You’re off to a wedding then?”
“Yeah. Florence Ranch is about a half hour away.”
“Near Duarte Hill. I’ve been to that town. Quaint, isn’t it? Still looks like there could be gunfights in the streets there.”
Katie’s voice interrupted. “Is that where you grew up, Chet? Duarte Hill?”
“No. My parents raised me on a ranch on the other side of San Antonio. My…other family lives near Duarte Hill.”
Chet had the feeling there’d be questions during this visit. Actually, he’d guessed that this dinner wasn’t really so much a “meet the boss” moment so much as Mina bringing him to her family—her support system—so they could get a general view of him.
Yup, now that he really thought about it, he’d had that suspicion the moment she’d asked him, but he’d still come. Why? He just wasn’t sure.
Or maybe he wanted to meet the family….
He took a drink. Damn it, he didn’t know where his head was. But the one thing he was sure of was that it would be a long time before he would be able to really commit to anyone.
Maybe he was making too much out of this visit, anyway. It could be that Mina truly had merely wanted to say “Happy Birthday” to her dad before her parents left on their cruise this weekend, and these traveling plans had matched perfectly with her needs.
Yeah, he thought, getting less antsy the more he thought about it. This was nothing to get worried about.
Little Lizzie had finished her punch by now and she was trying to pull Mina out of her chair.
“Come play with me.”
“But…” Mina pointed to her unfinished glass of Woodland Punch, yet Chet could tell she wouldn’t ever say no to her niece.
“Pleeeease?”
When Mina stood, Lizzie jumped up and down, her red ponytail bobbing. Then she went around to her grandma and tugged her up, too.
Like most grandmas, this one was only too happy to oblige.
When Lizzie got to her mom and Aunt Amy, both women held up their martinis.
“Maybe another time,” Amy said.
Katie stretched out her legs in front of her. “We’ll watch from here.”
Undeterred, Lizzie brought her grandma and Mina out to the grass, where she proceeded to perform some kind of cute fairy dance. Mina stood there, hands clasped over her chest, so obviously adoring of her niece that Chet found himself looking at her as he’d done earlier when she’d been holding Lizzie in her arms.
Someday, some guy and some family would be real lucky to have her. She was meant to have children, meant to love them.
Chet just wished he was the man who could give her all that, but it was just a fantasy for now. There was a chance it might always be, too, because after the initial bloom of happiness, he might only end up dragging her into his sorry affairs, and what family needed that?
But there was something else, too—something that kept eating at him until he couldn’t ignore it.
Deep inside, he kept thinking about what his mom had done to his dad.