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“Good. Better keep it that way, at least for a few more hours.”
A few more hours? So what did her cousins the engineer and the restoration architect know that she didn’t know? Her attention returned to Daniel and Paige. The ribbon cutting ceremony over, the two fell into each other’s arms as if not doing so would make breathing impossible.
Now instead of wondering if she really wanted a relationship like her siblings that made her heart go all soft and mushy, she wanted to know if the secret that Cooper and Rachel knew had anything to do with the newest pair of love birds. Siobhan’s gaze switched to where her cousins had gone, Rachel held a large roll of paper, probably architectural drawings, and was shaking them at Cooper. Yep, something was up, and she had no desire to wait hours to find out.
Making her way through the crowds now crisscrossing the construction site to reach their cars, she lost sight of Cooper and his sister among the throngs of onlookers. At least all the Barons in attendance, and a few who couldn’t make it, would be gathering at the ranch.
Even taking it slow, by her standards, she made it to the ranch in record time. She was halfway up the front steps when her sister called out.
“Wait up.” Hand in hand, Paige and Daniel trotted up to her. “We should have shared a ride.”
Siobhan shrugged. She liked driving her little MINI Cooper. Besides, there wasn’t a whole lot of comfortable room for extra people. Especially ones as tall as Daniel or her brothers. “Next time.”
“We’d better not be breaking ground on any other sports arenas.” Paige chuckled. “Hockey is about all I can handle learning.”
Daniel smiled and casually lifted their laced fingers to kiss the back of her hand. And once again Siobhan’s thoughts shifted back to a guy who loved her like that would be nice. She really did need to make up her mind.
“There y’all are.” Devlin stood at the open front door. “The Governor has been waiting for y’all to get this little party started.”
“How the heck did he beat us here?” Paige hurried up the steps.
Devlin laughed. “Who do you think we all inherited the need for speed from?”
The man had a point. Intent on finding Cooper and Rachel and getting to the bottom of thesecret, Siobhan hurried into the main house. Sometimes she forgot just how large the Baron clan was. With six siblings of her own, their spouses or soon to be spouses, plus twenty-one first cousins, assorted aunts and uncles, and a few added close friends who might as well be family, some gatherings were more like a convention than family meal. Though the entire family was not here today, the den and veranda were packed nonetheless.
Finally, she spotted both Cooper and Rachel off to one side of the sprawling rear terrace. The two were focused ahead. Siobhan maneuvered her way through the people, pausing only for the required howdy-dos and scattered hug or kiss before coming close enough to her cousins to see what they were watching.
As close as she could tell, there was something going on inside. In one last hurried push, she made it right up beside the two who were smiling like fools and staring into their grandfather’s library. “Someone announcing winning lottery numbers.”
Her cousins spun around, their eyes as wide as a couple of kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. “Shh…” Rachel put her finger to her lips.
Siobhan moved closer, sidling up beside her cousin. She had a birds eye view of the library, her sister Paige, and Daniel, and if she focused, she could hear them as well.
“So what is so all fired important for me to look at that we had to leave the party outside?” The love in Paige’s eyes, and the smile on her lips, softened her words.
Daniel kissed Paige on the tip of her nose and un-scrolled a long roll of paper.
“Is that the—”
“Shh…” both her cousins sounded.
“Obviously, now that I’m staying in Houston, I need a long term place to live.”
Paige nodded and glanced at the papers sprawled open on the massive desk. “More arena plans?”
“Not exactly.” He took in a deep breath. “Do you remember that boarded up house on the way to the winery?”
Once again, Paige nodded. “You mean the red brick mission style with all weeds growing over it?”
“That’s the one.”
“Do you know how every time we drive by you have something to say about what a shame that no one kept it up?”
“Well, it is a shame. I bet that house has great bones. With a little loving attention, it could be a wonderful house.”
Siobhan leaned into Cooper. “Does this have anything to do with the secret you mentioned?”
“This is the secret. Now shh.”
