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“It’s true.”
“Now why would you be afraid of a good girl like Ashlynn Fisher, Kelly?” Maureen asked, finally taking a seat at the head of the table.
“I know why,” Sheilagh proclaimed.
Kelly seemed very interested in his plate.
Maureen turned to Luke. “Do you know why?”
Luke looked equally as interested in his plate.
She turned to another son, “Finnegan?” When he didn’t answer she complained, “Well, someone better tell me what’s so wrong with Ashlynn Fisher.”
“I’ll tell you,” Sheilagh smiled, clearly baiting her brother.
She was quite a beautiful girl. Amazing that someone could have such red hair and not a single freckle marring her face.
“Let it go, lassie,” an older man with black hair peppered with silver around his face grumbled.
“Yeah, whelp, drop it,” Kelly warned. It was the first time Sam actually detected a note of seriousness in Braydon’s younger brother.
“Why should I?”
“Because if you go spreading around Ashlynn’s personal business I’ll explain exactly why the same dilemma does not apply to you.”
“It better apply to you,” the older man whom Sam now assumed was Mr. McCullough growled.
Sheilagh glared at Kelly with hardened lips.
Maureen threw up her hands in frustration and complained; “I just don’t understand why it has to be a secret from me if everyone at this table already knows.”
Another red headed woman feeding the no longer crying toddler tossed down a baby spoon in exasperation and cried, “For the love of Mike, Mother. The girl is a virgin!”
Maureen made a small “o” with her mouth then picked up her fork and mumbled, “At twenty-two? Well…There’s nothing wrong with waiting in this day and age I suppose. A little temperance never hurt anyone.”
“Happy now?” Kelly asked Sheilagh.
The talk moved on to other subjects. It was absolute mayhem. How anyone followed a single word of it was beyond Sam’s comprehension. She was already getting a neck ache like one would at a tennis match from simply trying to follow the thread of the Ashlynn Fisher conversation as comments volleyed back and forth.
There seemed to always be four or more topics being discussed at once. The family spoke loudly, cursed freely, and parried verbal jousts with clever and witty quips. It was very overwhelming.
Sam wondered if she could slip outside without being noticed. Perhaps she should go look for Braydon. Rather than play the coward, she stiffened her shoulders and stepped into the melee.
“Good morning.”
Like a record scratching, all mouths stopped moving and the sound of silverware and dishes clattering was silenced. Approximately twenty eyes turned toward her.
With wide eyes she slowly raised her hand and finger-waved. “Hi. I’m Sam.”
Everyone said his or her own version of hello at once. Sam didn’t catch a single name that was thrown at her. Maureen stood and bustled over to the cabinets. Kelly slid down and offered her a seat at the long bench they all shared. The redheaded woman Sam assumed was Katherine lifted the toddler off her lap and told the three children to go play.
Sam sat next to Kelly and watched as he loaded enough food to feed a village on the plate Maureen placed in front of her. Realizing Braydon’s brother wasn’t going to cease until the food spilled over the edge, she stilled his hand and whispered to him that was enough. Everyone at the table smiled at her and she fought the impulse to check that nothing was in her hair or on her face.
She cleared her throat. “Has anyone seen Braydon?”
“He took a ride out to check a fence for me. Should be back soon,” the older man said. He had to have been Mr. McCullough. He looked just like Braydon’s brothers. They all shared the same blue eyes and strong jaw. Although the twins had a lighter brown hair compared to Mr. McCulloughs and Kelly’s black, it was clear they were all related. It was interesting that Braydon was the only member of the family with golden hair and fairer features.
“I’m sorry I interrupted all of you. I’ll just eat and get out of your way.”
