"Thought you'd forgotten about us." Pam Maguire offered her son a tasting spoon of the split-pea soup simmering on the range.
"I had a couple of things to finish up. It's good," he said when he'd obediently tasted the soup.
"The kids asked about you. They assumed you'd be here in time to sled with them."
There was the faintest hint of censure in Diane's tone. Knowing she was happiest if she had something or someone to complain about, he walked over to kiss her cheek. "Nice to see you."
"Have some wine, Carter." Behind Diane's back, Sherry gave him a quick eye-roll. "We can't eat until the game's over anyway. Plenty of time."
"We don't put off family dinner for sports at our house," Diane said.
Which, Carter thought, probably explained why his brother-in-law took advantage of the more lax Maguire rules.
His mother just hummed over her soup as, to a man, the football enthusiasts leaped from chair and sofa to cheer.
Touchdown.
"Why don't you have a nice glass of wine, too, Di?" Pam tapped her spoon, adjusted the flame under the pot. "Those kids are fine out there. We haven't had an avalanche in more than ten years now. Michael! Your son's here."
Mike Maguire held up a finger, pumping his other hand as the kicker set for the extra point. "And it's good!" He sent Carter a grin over his shoulder, his pale Irish skin flushed with joy and framed by his neat silver beard. "Giants are up by five!"
Sherry handed Carter a glass. "Since everything's under control in here, and in there," she added, nodding toward the stands, "why don't you sit down and tell us all about you and Mackensie Elliot."
"Mackensie Elliot? The photographer? Really?" Pam said, drawing out the word.
"I think I'll catch the end of the game."
"Not a chance." Sherry maneuvered him back against the counter. "I heard from someone who heard from someone who saw the two of you getting cozy at Coffee Talk."
"We had coffee. And talked. It's the Coffee Talk way."
"Then I heard from someone who heard from someone that you were even cozier at the Willows last night. What gives?"
Sherry was always hearing from someone who'd heard from someone, Carter thought wearily. His sister was like a human radio receiver. "We went out a couple of times."
"You're dating Mackensie Elliot?" Pam asked.
"Apparently."
"The same Mackensie Elliot you mooned over for months back in high school."
"How do you know I . . ." Stupid, Carter thought. His mother knew everything. "We just had dinner. It's not national news."
"It is around here," Pam corrected. "You could've invited her here tonight. You know there's always plenty."
"We're not . . . it's not . . . We're not at the point of family gatherings. We had dinner. It's one date."
"Two with the coffee," Sherry corrected. "Are you seeing her again?"
"Probably. Maybe." He felt his shoulders hunch as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I don't know."
"I hear good things about her, and she does very good work. Otherwise, she wouldn't be doing Sherry's wedding."
"Isn't she Linda Elliot's daughter? Or it's Barrington now."
"I haven't met her mother. It was dinner."
The news pulled Diane away from the window. "Linda Barrington, sure. Her daughter's close friends with the Browns, and Emmaline Grant, and that other one. They run that wedding business together."
"I guess that's the one then," Carter acknowledged.
"Linda Barrington." Diane's jaw tightened as she compressed her lips in an expression Carter knew reflected disapproval. "That's the woman who had an affair with Stu Gibbons, and broke up his marriage."
"She can hardly be held responsible for her mother's behavior." Pam opened the oven to check her roast. "And Stu broke up his own marriage."
"Well, I heard that she pushed Stu to leave Maureen, and when he wouldn't she told Maureen about the affair herself. Maureen skinned Stu in the divorce-and who could blame her-and after that she wasn't so interested anymore."
"Are we talking about Mackensie or her mother?" Pam wondered.
Diane shrugged. "I'm just saying what I know. People say she's always on the hunt for the next husband, especially if he's someone else's."
"I'm not dating Mackensie's mother." Carter's tone was quiet enough, cool enough, to light a fire in Diane's eyes.