“Ta-da! Here comes your prize!” Henri sashayed out of the house with a plush moose about eight inches tall balanced on a fancy silver tray.
“Awesome!” Ed clapped her hands together. “I’ve been meaning to buy one of those ever since Ben got them in at the Moose!”
“Now you don’t have to.” Henri held out the tray. “Your Choosy Moose, madam.”
“Thank you.” Ed picked up the moose. “Is this a male or a female?”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters. I need to choose a name.”
“Let me see it.” Red came over, took the moose and turned it bottoms up. “You’d better go gender neutral.”
“Okay. Then Merle Moose it is.”
“Great idea, Henri,” Peggy said. “I forgot we’d need prizes. We can all settle up with you later.”
“No settling necessary. When Ben found out what this was for, he donated several to the cause.”
“Because he’s sweet on you.” Ed tucked the moose next to her hip. “You need to put the poor man out of his misery.”
Henri laughed. “You want me to shoot him?”
“I want you to date him. I hate to see such a lovely man suffer that way.”
“We’ve known each other too long. Dating him would be weird.” Henri glanced around. “Who’s ready for the next game?”
“Me,” Isabel said. “I want a moose.”
* * *
An hour later, after hugging everyone and thanking them about a thousand times, Isabel climbed in the passenger seat of Millie’s sedan with a bag of shower gifts and a plush moose. Since Lucy was staying for the sleepover, Millie had offered to drop Isabel off on her way home.
“I had such a great time, Millie.” Isabel sighed and leaned back against the seat. “I can’t imagine a more fun baby shower.”
“Thank goodness the weather held and we could put up the lanterns. I plan to string lanterns on the porch of our cabin as soon as we’re done applying the finish.”
“I saw your place through the trees today, but Jake had to point it out. He told me what the perpendicular log style is called, but I’ve already forgotten it.”
“Palisade. That was one thing we agreed on right away. Other things, we’ve had to hammer out.”
“I heard about the scoreboard.”
“Yeah? Did he mention it or CJ?”
“CJ’s the one who used the word, but only after Jake asked for a tally of your arguments.”
“He didn’t mind discussing it?”
“Didn’t seem to, although I was surprised that he was so open with me. I was touched, too.”
“It’s very cool that he was willing to talk about it, especially with someone who’s not….” She paused. “I mean, someone who hasn’t—”
“It’s okay, Millie. Everyone’s been terrific, but clearly I don’t have the long history that the rest of you have. Well, Garrett only arrived two months ago, but everyone else has years of shared experiences to draw on. Jake was kind enough to say I was one of you since CJ and I are having a baby, but—”
“Isabel, you are one of us. We all liked you so much when you came for Lucy and Matt’s wedding. Even though you didn’t plan on this baby, it’s an exciting turn of events.”
“Thanks for saying that.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m excited, too. I only wish it hadn’t put CJ in a difficult position.”
“He seems to be rolling with it.”
Rolling in the wrong direction. She didn’t say it, though. No reason to bring up—
“Just so you know, I see your side of it.”
“You do?” Startled, she looked over at Millie. “I thought everybody—”
“I see his side, too. But putting myself in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to live with a man who’s sacrificed his happiness for me, especially if I’m in love with him.”
She gulped. “Is it that obvious?”
“It was to Jake this afternoon.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “Evidently he told you, but did he tell—”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” She took a shaky breath. “That’ll make CJ even more determined to move.”
“Probably.”
“His iron will is part of the problem. I can see him getting to Seattle and forcing himself to stay even if he’s miserable.”
“He’s capable of that, but what if it goes the other way? What if the joy of being with his new little family overrides the negatives and he’s blissfully happy?”
“That’s so unlikely.”
“But it’s not impossible. By the way, we’re here.”
“I knew that.” She gave Millie a sheepish smile. “I need to let you get home to Jake. I just—”
“You’d like a chance to gather your forces before going in to face him?”
“Yeah.”
“Take your time.”
“Until now, I didn’t fully appreciate how interconnected all of you are.”
“Oh, yeah. Especially the Brotherhood.”
“That’s my point! CJ would be leaving those guys, leaving Henri, you and Kate, the Babes, his entire support system.”
“In body, but not in spirit. Henri loves that her boys are sticking around, but she says they’re fully capable of building a life elsewhere. Seth has proven that. She says if they aren’t, then she and Charley failed.”
“I’ll take that into consideration, too.” Isabel reached for the door handle. “Since you have so much inside information…is CJ going to pull out a ring tonight?”
“Not that I know of.”
She let out a breath. “I sure hope he doesn’t.” She opened the door and got out, hauling her bag with her. “Thanks for the ride and the empathy.”
“Anytime.”
“See you tomorrow.” Closing the door, she gave Millie a wave and started toward the porch steps. He’d dimmed the lights. Only a subtle glow penetrated the drawn curtains. She gulped and kept walking.
As Millie pulled away, CJ opened the door. Country music drifted out, a slow love song. “Looks like you have loot.”
Clearly he’d set the scene for… something. Her heart thundered in her ears. “They gave me so many nice gifts. Luckily baby stuff is small so I should be able to get everything in my suitcase.” She climbed the steps.
Crossing the porch, he reached for the bag. “Let me take that.”
She caught a whiff of his aftershave. Judging from his bristle-free chin, he’d shaved and likely showered, too. She
