When he walked through the front door, the first person he saw was his sister Skye. Behind her stood her husband, MacLayne Campbell, holding their daughter, Spencer.
Mac and he had served together on a top secret mission long before Kade introduced him to his sister. She still had no idea that they’d known each other years earlier.
Kade kissed Skye’s cheek and shook Mac’s hand. When he did, Spencer buried her face in her father’s shoulder.
“She’ll warm up to you,” said Skye, putting her arm around Kade’s waist. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.” He reached out and touched the baby’s red hair. “She looks so much like you did at that age.”
Skye laughed. “I can’t believe you remember.”
“I was eleven when you were born.” Kade looked around for his other sister. “Where’s Ains?”
“She’ll be here soon,” answered their mother, looking at her watch and scrunching her forehead. “She left three hours ago.”
“Might be traffic, Ma,” said Maddox, squeezing their mother’s shoulders. “Don’t start worrying just yet.”
“Is she driving down alone?” Kade asked.
“Who would ride with her?” asked his ma, not realizing that by doing so, she’d answered Kade’s question. He looked at his brothers and sister one by one, and none looked like they knew what he did, that Maddox wasn’t their only sibling involved in a secret relationship.
He was sixteen when his youngest sister was born. She didn’t know it, but he was the one who chose her name. He was also the one who named Ainsley.
A few days before she was due to be born, his mother found him sitting on the front porch gazing off into the distance.
“What’s on your mind, lad?” she asked.
“If it’s a girl, you should name her Ainsley.”
“Should I? Why’s that?”
“It means meadow.” I remembered thinking at the time that to me, Ainsley meant more than that. It was every delicate flower, every fragile leaf, every blade of grass that blew gently in the wind.
“Aye, I like that.”
The door opened and in blew my sister, who was anything but delicate or fragile and yet, was more beautiful than any meadow I’d ever seen.
7
Both Peyton and Alex raised their heads and looked whenever anyone came in tasting room. When the clock struck ten, Peyton knew he wasn’t coming in tonight.
Alex came out of the prep room looking at something on her phone. “They had an unexpected family dinner tonight.”
“They?”
“The Butlers.”
“How do you know?” Peyton tried to peek at Alex’s phone, but she shoved into her pocket too quickly.
“I have my sources. What are you going to do now?”
“What can I do? He didn’t come in.”
“There’s always tomorrow.”
“I told you earlier, I’m taking the day off.” Peyton’s regular day off was Thursday but after missing riding with the boys this morning, she’d decided not to work tomorrow.
“Right. Sorry. If he does come in, I’ll call you.”
“I’m not playing this game, Alex. I’ll see Kade when I see him.”
“You’re giving up.”
Peyton shrugged. “It’s a sign, don’t you think? I decide to tell him I want to date him, and he doesn’t show up.”
“You’re forgetting they had an unplanned family dinner.”
“Exactly. Part of the sign.”
Alex groaned and rolled her eyes.
The next day, Peyton went riding with her boys and then spent the afternoon with her mom while Jamison and Finn went fishing with the grandfather.
“What’s on your mind?” asked her mother.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Let’s see. Ten heavy sighs in few minutes and you’re biting your lip. Come on, fess up.”
“There’s a guy.”
Her mother sat up a little straighter. “Anyone I know?”
“Sort of. I mean, you know the family.”
“Who?” Peyton didn’t like the way her mom’s brow furrowed.
“The Butlers.”
“Oh.”
“Nice, Mom. Forget I said anything.”
“It isn’t Maddox, is it?”
Now Peyton’s brow furrowed. “No. Why?”
“No reason. Which one, then?”
“Kade.”
It look a long time for her mother to say anything. “I see,” were the only two words she finally uttered.
“It’s nothing. We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”
Her mom nodded and stood. “I best start dinner.”
Peyton stayed seated. There was no point in asking if she could help. Dinner wouldn’t be for another few hours. “Starting dinner” in their house was code for, “I’m ending this conversation.”
When it came time to leave, her boys were as tired and irritable as Peyton was. The drive home went straight by Butler Ranch and she did her best not to look over at it. Not that she could see anything if she did.
Once home, she sent the boys into take a bath while she poured herself a glass of wine. When she pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, nothing happened; the battery must’ve died. She plugged it in and went to check on Jamison and Finn, who she could hear arguing about who was taking a bath first.
“You,” she said, pointing at Jamison. “Go take a shower in my bathroom.” She looked at her younger son. “You take a bath. Bedtime is in thirty minutes. If you want any free time, you better get moving.”
When Peyton went back into the kitchen, her phone was chiming. She picked it up and saw there were ten messages from Alex. Her friend knew she was at her parents all day, why hadn’t she just called her there?
She scrolled through the texts and got her answer. All ten were to tell her Kade was at Stave, hoping to see her.
It didn’t matter now. Stave was closed and she had to get her boys to bed. Peyton saw it as another sign. How often had she let the battery die on her phone. Next to never.
While she had to work tomorrow, Stave wasn’t open to the public. It was also closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The first chance she’d have to see Kade would be on Thursday, if he came in.
She finished her wine, grabbed a book, and went into her bedroom once she knew Jamison was finished with his shower. Her mother’s reaction today was still on her mind. What did she have against Kade? As
