“I had second thoughts, after you dropped me here this morning,” Rachel said. “Because I had never initiated a conversation with her about the possibility of my dating, and here I was, suddenly just throwing this at her. Throwing the two of you at her, with no warning.”
“Sweetheart? Before you go any further into that beating-yourself-up mode? Libby was way ahead of you.”
“What do you mean?” Despite the fact she was enjoying watching her daughter and Brandon play badminton—and didn’t Libby hold her own with the man—she turned so she could see Trace’s face.
“When I introduced myself to her this morning, she already knew I was one of two new guys. She gave me a good appraising look, and one of the first questions she asked me was if I was married.”
“One of the first?”
“Yes, ma’am, right after what I did for a living and if I was new to Lusty, or not. She wanted my bona fides, and there could only be one reason for that.”
Since he just held her gaze and then raised an eyebrow, Rachel suddenly got a good picture of what he was trying to tell her.
“She wanted to set us up?”
“Yes, ma’am. Miss Libby was in full matchmaking mode before we even met.” Trace’s smile turned soft. “Of course, when it came time in our conversation for her to actually suggest that I might like to meet her mom, she got cold feet. Since I’d figured out what she’d had on her mind, I told her the truth.”
“The truth?” Rachel had visions of him telling Libby that she had spent the night naked between Trace and Brandon.
“Hey, no, don’t panic. I didn’t just tell her that Grandma Kate already took care of setting us up.”
He was laughing so she knew he was teasing her. They’d agreed they weren’t going to hide the relationship they were building. Her own ridiculous inner imp had tossed that naked-between-them thought at her just to give her a hard time.
Trace and Brandon would keep private the things that were private. She didn’t have to think long to come up with the “truth” he’d been referring to.
“You told her that we’d already met and decided to…get to know each other.”
“I did. She was a little incensed on your behalf when I told her we were just going to take things one day at a time. But by the end of the day, she understood that was your wish, and she was fine with that.”
“I wonder where she got the idea to play matchmaker with me as her first client?”
“I don’t wonder at all, sweetheart. She loves you. The care-taking gene is clearly something that you passed down to your daughter. Just as you want to give her what she needs, she wanted to see that you had what she believed you needed—that you weren’t alone. If I had to guess, I’d say it started as a plan hatched between herself and Bonnie Dorchester.”
“Huh.” Rachel sighed and laid her head on Trace’s chest. “That makes sense. Bonnie didn’t start out with two dads and a stepmom. She acquired two of her three parents here, in Lusty, and Libby knows that.”
Rachel had known that her daughter was more mature than the standard fourteen-year-old. But this was the first time she’d gotten a glimpse of just how much more mature Libby truly was.
Rachel had long believed that adulthood arrived when a person began to put the well-being of others before themselves. By that standard, old Buckie is still an adolescent. Rachel told her little imp to shut up and go to bed.
She turned back around so she could watch Brandon and Libby finish their game. Trace gathered her in close, and Rachel sighed. She was grateful for this insight into her daughter’s character. It boded well for the kind of adult she would someday become.
* * * *
Brandon pulled into the parking lot at the shooting range. He glanced over at Trace then looked at the lot again.
“It seems as if there are quite a few folks here on this quiet Sunday morning,” he said.
“It does indeed. Isn’t that your Uncle Marc’s Tesla?”
Brandon snorted. “As if there was another silver bullet in town.”
“I heard that Marc and Robert are regular shooting buddies and have been since Marc returned to Lusty.”
“Yes, they have been,” Brandon said. “The grandparents are very pleased about that. That shiny new Lincoln MKX with the Texas Fire Chiefs’ Association sticker in the window? That’s Grant’s, isn’t it?”
“I do believe it is. And that vehicle right over there? That’s Adam’s cruiser.”
“I see it. Parked between Gord Jessop’s work truck and Chase Benedict’s Jeep.”
“I guess this is the meeting spot for the families in town. Who knew?”
Brandon looked over because he’d heard the suppressed laughter in his brother’s tone.
Trace shrugged. “You’ve got to admire the speed of communication here in Lusty. We let it be known to Shar just yesterday that we were beginning to see Rachel.” Trace frowned. “I’m just not sure of all the connections that gives us this assortment of family, that’s all.”
“Please, allow me,” Brandon said. “From Shar, Barry, and Jesse to Carrie and Chase and Brian. From Carrie to Chloe, Grant, and Andrew. From Chloe to Adam, Jake, and Ginny and also from Chloe to Tasha, Clay, and Gord. Adam, being Adam, would have called Dad, who’d have tagged Marc.”
“That’s right.” Trace nodded. “Chloe is Adam’s honorary baby sister.”
“After saving the life of the sheriff, she’s the honorary baby sister of every Kendall in Lusty, including the ones not born here.” Brandon pulled the keys out of the ignition and looked at Trace. “And just imagine! They’re all in there, armed—and waiting for us.”
“So they are. But I’m not worried.
