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“Maybe he has feelings for someone else, ma,” Anna answers, staring at me, her giant blue eyes wide and piercing into my soul. Oh, god. She knows. Anna knows everything and now I’m going to have to deal with it.
“I don’t… I can’t… I mean…” I am stumbling like a fool and I have no idea how to dig myself out of this hole. I open my mouth, and suddenly, the front door flies open.
“Family! I’m home!”
Everyone’s heads turn to the door in a flash, and there, standing in the open doorway, is Carter. He isn’t remotely the boy I remember; he’s almost as tall as I am, and handsome, and disheveled. His curly, shaggy black hair is swept back, and he has a black beard that almost makes him look like a pirate, or a fairy tale prince. He’s wearing round, silver-rimmed glasses that make our hereditary blue eyes look even bigger. He’s dressed for the summer in khaki shorts and a white linen button down, and he looks like he’s freezing.
I jump to my feet and cross over to him, and when he sees me, his eyes go even wider as he drops his bags on the foyer floor. “Hawk? Is that… really you?”
I take off my sweater and hand it to him, which he slides on gratefully. “It sure is. Carter, I can’t believe… you’re so grown up.”
“Yeah, well, that tends to happen over the course of ten years.” For a second, I think I’m going to have to go through the same process with him I went through with everyone else. But before I realize what’s happening, Carter is crossing the hallway and throwing his arms around me, pulling me into a huge bearhug and kissing me on the cheek.
“No one told me you were here!” Carter says with a laugh as he pulls away.
Anna jumps on his back and squeezes him, and Carter spins her around until she laughs. “Yeah, well, it’s not like you answered your phone while you were away, anyway. I could have called you every day and it wouldn’t have mattered.”
Carter chuckles as he scruffs her hair. “I had no signal, Short Stack. I woulda called if I could have.”
Now mom is in the foyer, crying, and kissing Carter like she hasn’t seen him in a year.
“How long were you gone anyway?” I ask with a laugh.
“Three months. You’d think I was a soldier returning from war,” he says as he gives mom a hug.
“Well, young man, you know how nervous we get when we don’t hear from you! Was it at least a worthwhile trip?”
Carter brushes his hair out of his face and reaches into his bag, then hands mom and Anna little bags. They open them, and each one contains a different piece of handmade jewelry.
“It was. I saved five horses, and re-homed them on new ranches. One of them is actually coming here. It’s a pony for Gracie. She can’t breed, and they were going to put her down because of it. But she’s gorgeous. A Welsh pony. She should be easily trained by the time Gracie is old enough to ride her. Speaking of, where is my precious niece?”
Like clockwork, Parrish and Gracie come through door, and Gracie shrieks with happiness when she sees Carter.
“Cawtah!” Gracie says as she toddles over to Carter, who picks her up and kisses her until she giggles. Parrish rushes over and gives him a huge hug.
“I can’t believe you’re back! And just in time for the party,” she says with a laugh.
“Party?” he asks. “Does this have something to do with that massive new stable in the back? I mean, guys. I leave for three months and everything goes crazy here.”
Anna blows a piece of hair out of her eyes with a huff. “You have no idea.”
Mom throws her hands in the air happily. “I’m going to go make a huge welcome home dinner for Carter and we can all talk about his adventures! Hawk, go find your father and tell him what’s going on while we get started.”
Carter waves at me. “Hold up, man. I’ll come with you.”
I nod, and Carter follows me outside, shutting the door behind us. We’re barely off the porch when Carter turns to me and says, “So, what the hell is going on with you?”
I shake my head, shocked. “I don’t understand what you’re asking me.”
“I saw the way you looked at Parrish when she walked in. What has been going on here while I’ve been gone, besides the sudden appearance of a new stable?”
I kick at the dirt under my feet and sigh. “I haven’t seen you in ten years. You couldn’t just ask about my job or the weather in California?”
“I can look up the weather in California and you can tell me about your job later. I’d rather know what mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”
I scowl at him. “I forgot you’re like this. Maybe you should have been a psychologist or something.”
Carter rolls his eyes. “Stop trying to distract me, man. Just tell me what is going on.”
