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Chapter6
Luke had watched Pearl and her nephew arrive with the Harpers. Mrs. Harper had been full of smiles; her daughter and husband had not. In fact, they looked angry.
“More, please, Uncle Luke.”
Ella lounged in Luke’s lap while he fed her fries, as clearly she couldn’t eat for herself.
“You are not Cleopatra, child.” Joe looked at his daughter. “You do not have servants to feed you.”
“Uncle Luke is sharing, Daddy.”
“Uncle Luke needs to have children of his own so he knows that when he does stuff like that, we, your parents, pay the price.”
Luke smiled in that way only a younger sibling could to annoy an older one.
“Daddy, Albert is nice,” Grace said, returning from somewhere that clearly involved Albert.
“He is, and that chocolate smeared around your face suggests you coaxed him into feeding you again,” Dylan said to his daughter.
“This is my nephew, Sam,” Pearl said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Slick, Luke thought. His clothes screamed big city, and he was well-groomed. One of those guys who had more than one hair product in the back of their cupboard. Looking at his brothers, he noted all of them could do with a haircut. Sam’s clothes were pressed, no wrinkles in sight. Looking at the leg of his jeans, Luke found a tear which he’d gotten in the stables earlier. His boots were scuffed. Sam’s loafers were not.
Still, because he looked slick did not mean he wasn’t a nice guy. Dylan took more care in what he wore than the rest of his family. He and Pip were the fashion icons among them.
“So, Sam. How are you liking your vacation so far?” Dylan asked. He sat with Blake in his lap, a blanket tucked around him, close to sleep if the droopy eyelids were any indication. Grace was now investigating Uncle Joe’s box of popcorn.
“It has been interesting. I haven’t visited Pearl here before, she usually comes to see us, so I thought it was time. I don’t usually leave Denver, and if I do it’s for Europe skiing, or Hawaii for the sun.”
No reason to think that statement anything than what it was: someone explaining their vacation preferences. But Luke caught Jack’s eye and knew he was thinking along the same line as Luke.
Sam thought himself a bit special.
One of those guys who liked the sound of his voice and others listening to it. Again, that was judgmental, and he’d reserve opinions on further character flaws until he heard more. As Sam had his mouth open again, Luke thought that was likely about to happen.
“I’m a businessman. High profile,” he added. “Can’t explain more as I’m not at liberty to. But I work in millions and often billions most days.”
Nash, who was seated on the blanket next to Luke with his girl and Ford, his brother, whistled. “Well now, color me impressed.”
Sam smiled—preened, actually. Luke looked to the Harpers. Mrs. Harper was bustling about sorting rugs and chair placement. She then pointed to the seat that was vacant between Sam and Pearl. Quinn shook her head, her expression stony. Her mother mouthed something Luke didn’t get; Quinn ignored her.
She was in her usual jeans and sweater but had pulled on a down jacket. The cap was gone, and her shoulder-length messy hair was all over the place, like a hand had been raking through it. If he was going to put a label on her current mood with just a look, he’d say pissed.
“I can say it’s property development,” Sam added when no one asked him a question.
“You big-city types,” Ford, oldest and ugliest Winter, according to his younger siblings, Maggie and Nash, said. “Always out to impress us country folk.”
Luke shot a look at Pearl. He didn’t want her upset, as she was one of his favorite oldies. She was busy chatting with Luanna Whitlow. And past history had told him they were both hard of hearing when there was a lot of noise around.
Sam nodded, as if Ford had not just been poking fun at him.
“Doubt there’s much investment and property portfolio enhancement going on here,” he said, giving them a pitying look.
Jack whistled. “Property portfolio enhancement sure sounds fancy.”
“Well now, hold on there, Sam. I run my own business. Kind of a big deal in this here town too. I cook the best burgers and fries in the whole of Ryker Falls,” Joe said. He then winced when his wife, Bailey, elbowed him in the ribs.
In fact, Joe, and the rest of the Trainers, had a large property portfolio. They also invested heavily courtesy of Jack, who was a numbers boy. He’d made them quite a bit of money in stocks and other investments.
