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“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, sometimes I don’t think he’ll ever get married.” She rolled her eyes. “I think that he’s going to be living at home for the rest of his life.”
“Lifetime bachelor, huh?”
“I think so,” she nodded, a twinkle in her eye. “Sometimes I think he wouldn’t know love if it hit him in the head. And don’t let me even think of making a suggestion to him. He’d run so fast in the opposite direction.”
“What’s that, my dear?” Ranger entered the room. He looked like he had also recently showered. He had on a clean shirt and a pair of jeans. He walked over to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. She beamed at him and then kissed him back. He looked like a gruff old-school cowboy, but I could tell he had a heart of gold.
“Oh, nothing, dear. I was just telling Lucy that she should ignore Austin if he ever says anything rude or mean to her.”
“Oh, yes,” Ranger agreed. “Don’t mind Austin. In fact, don’t mind any of my sons. They’re all a little bit rough around the edges. No manners, not a one of them.”
“I tried my best, you know?” Amelia interjected, her blue-green eyes laughing. “But what can you do when you’re a mom with seven boys,” she sighed. “And when you live on a ranch. My sons are all headstrong. They’re like bulls, longhorn bulls.”
“What’s that, Mom?” Beau entered the room now. His gaze flew to me and he looked me up and down. “Why, hello there, Lucy.”
“Hi,” I said with a shy smile. There was a twinkle in his blue eyes that reminded me of his dad. He stood with such confidence, that it was easy to tell that he was the oldest of the brothers.
“Settling in okay?” he asked, walking over to me with a cowboy swagger I’d only seen in Western movies. He reminded me of a young Clint Eastwood. He was cool and sexy at the same time.
“Yes, thank you,” I nodded.
“Would you like a beer or something?” He headed towards the fridge and I was about to tell him no when Austin came back into the kitchen with a bottle of wine.
“She’s drinking wine tonight with Mom,” he said. “Which I don’t think is a good idea, do you?”
“Why not?” Beau asked.
“Mom and Lucy drinking wine?” Austin sounded disapproving.
“And me too, please,” another female voice said.
A young woman with long blonde hair and big blue eyes entered the room. “Hi, I’m Sadie.” She walked over to me and gave me a big hug. “I’m Wyatt’s best friend. Have you heard about me yet?” She laughed. “Actually, scratch that, I’m sure you’ve heard about me.”
“As a matter of fact, I have. Nice to meet you, Sadie.”
“Glad you could join us for dinner, Sadie,” Amelia said with a warm smile. “Where’s Wyatt?”
“Oh, he’s just parking. He picked me up, so I can drink tonight.” She grinned. She looked at me. “I don’t live that far away, but my parents hate it if I drink and drive, even though there’s literally nothing I could hit while driving home. Maybe a cow, and even that’s unlikely.”
“You know it’s much better to have someone drive you home,” Ranger said. “We want you to be safe, Sadie.”
“I know.” Sadie rolled her eyes as she grinned at me. “Ranger’s my second dad.”
“And I’m your second mom.” Amelia laughed. “Now, Austin, open that bottle of wine,” she ordered her son. “We haven’t got all day.”
“Yes, Mom.” He walked over to the side of the kitchen and opened a drawer. He pulled out a wine opener and then unscrewed the cork from the bottle. “So just the three of you women having wine?”
“I think that’s best, don’t you, son?” Amelia said with a grin. “You can just have beer. Or water, seeing as you don’t like alcohol.”
“Who said I don’t like alcohol?” Austin shook his head. “I love me some alcohol.”
“We know, dear.” Amelia laughed. “Okay, I’ve got a big tray of lasagna coming out and a nice Italian salad and some garlic bread. I hope everyone is hungry.”
“Mm, I love your lasagna, Mom,” Beau said. “Where’s Chet?”
“I think he’s getting ready. He should be here in a little bit. Anyone else joining us for dinner?” Austin looked back at his parents.
