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He chuckled and shook his head. “Even me.”
“Did you ever sew something?” Laura teased.
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled. “Mama started us all on pillowcases. They were hard to mess up.”
“He messed his up.” Sierra giggled, and Todd picked up a pillow and tossed it at her.
“How would you know? You were like three when Mama tried teaching me to sew.”
“She tells everyone how you dropped out on the first project. I at least made it to the placemats.”
“Which was project number two,” Todd pointed out.
“Who made it the furthest?” Maddy asked.
Todd exchanged a glance with Sierra. “Believe it or not,” Todd said. “Adam finished the whole thing, and he could probably make you a quilt for your bed.”
“Really?” Laura knelt up and looked over to the island, where most people still lingered. The trip to get Maddy had put Mama behind schedule. Slightly, but behind. “Adam?”
“He’s good at what he puts his mind to.” Sierra finished off her lemonade just as Mama called everyone to quiet down.
“We’re ready now,” she said. She wiped her hair off her forehead. “Sorry for the slight delay.” She beamed around at everyone, and Todd stayed with Laura to help her to her feet. He pulled Maddy up too, and they went over to the table so Mama wouldn’t start snapping at them.
“Welcome to our Independence Day picnic,” Mama said. “Daddy’s going to say grace, and then we can start eating.”
“You eat inside?” Maddy whispered.
Todd nodded. “It’s too hot outside. Everything is cold too.”
“Very picnic,” Maddy said as Daddy started to pray. Todd added his silent plea that the picnic would proceed smoothly, and that Kyle would indeed return to the ranch and to Maddy.
* * *
Starla pulledinto the parking lot to the back of the lodge where she’d spent so many years of her life. Nostalgia mixed with sadness and poured over her as she looked at the steps leading to the small cement platform, and then the door that led into the kitchen.
Her old office sat just inside the door, and she’d be a big fat liar if she said she didn’t miss it here at the Texas Longhorn Ranch. She did, terribly. She liked the job in Austin too, and the truth was, she’d needed a change.
She’d worked here for twelve years, and having new faces in the restaurant—and doing actual cooking again—had been good for her soul. She thought about the people inside the lodge in front of her, and they’d been good for her soul too.
Her thoughts moved to Jesse, of course. The man never went very far from her mind, even though she didn’t see him every day. They still talked often, but the flirtatiousness of it had worn off. In all honesty, their conversations had devolved to him complaining about something his siblings had done, or losing the cornhole game to someone who’d won a collegiate champion, or how loudly Adam snored.
She’d followed his lead and instead of telling him the new and exciting things going on at the restaurant where she now worked, she only vented to him about the things that bothered her.
She exhaled as her phone chimed, and that was Gina, most likely asking her where she was. Starla lifted her phone from the middle console and checked the message. Gina had said, Are you sitting in your car in the parking lot? Or still on your way?
She’d mostly likely seen Starla drive by the lodge and around the outbuildings which held the ice cream shop, the blacksmith shop, where groups met for horseback riding lessons, and more activities for guests.
Then she’d pulled around the back of the building and parked, and Gina could peek through the office window and see her car too.
Instead of answering, Starla cut the engine and opened the door. She got out of her SUV and breathed in the Texas heat. A fine sweat broke out along her forehead, and she didn’t waste any time heading for the door. It would be unlocked, as Holly only locked the door once darkness fell.
She went right in, her eyes moving to the office. The lights were off and no one was there. She continued past, suddenly wishing she hadn’t come this way. She didn’t work here. The kitchen staff might completely ignore her, or worse, swarm her like she was a celebrity. Both weren’t great options, and she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. They held her hair back, as she hadn’t secured it back today.
“Starla,” Gina said, and that caused the swarm to start. She hugged her best friend, who she did still talk to normally. She’d told Gina about her boss, the recipes she developed, the vibe in Austin, all of it. She’d sent her paint samples when she’d started planning to remodel the kitchen in the house she rented. The landlords didn’t mind if she improved it, and they’d give her a discount on her rent if she did.
Now that she wasn’t working eighty hours a week here and the lodge, Starla had found time to pursue other things she enjoyed. Making old things look and feel and be new was something she loved doing, and she sometimes wished she could make her life shiny and new with a paintbrush and some sanding paper.
“Hey.” She sank into Gina’s embrace, and soon enough, the hug became a huddle. Several voices chimed “hello,” and “what are you doing here?” at her, and she simply smiled. She started to laugh, and several others did too.
