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While the women lingered in the living room chatting, Paxton found himself in the kitchen with his brothers and cousins helping set the table and carry condiments and just about anything their aunt wanted into the dining room. After all, the Farraday household was modern before it was popular. With six sons and only one daughter, Aunt Eileen and Uncle Sean made sure there was no such thing as women’s work or men’s work. Everyone pitched in where needed, and that included setting tables and tossing salads.
Valerie came through the back door. “Sorry, had to take a business call.”
“At this hour?” Paxton looked up at the kitchen clock.
“I got a call from the charity.” Valerie snatched a cucumber slice from the salad. “Seems there’s been a bit of a glitch.”
Owen looked up from the basket of rolls he was about to carry to the dining room. “Glitch for us or for them?”
“Both.” Valerie sighed.
Aunt Eileen looked up from the open oven. “Uh-oh.”
“Well,” Valerie shrugged, “it isn’t too big an uh-oh. You guys have a lot of framing to do before it’s safe for the intended family to come help, but the designated family is no longer interested in the house.”
Now Morgan turned to face his wife. “Why not?”
“Apparently, they’re having second thoughts about moving so far away from Abilene. They’d rather wait for another house to come through for them closer to a big city and family.”
“Put this on the table.” Aunt Eileen handed off the large meatloaf pan to Connor. “I don’t see why we have to bring in strangers from across the state. You’re not going to tell me there aren’t plenty of needy people right here in our own county.”
“I always thought it made more sense to have someone local,” Owen said. “Small-town living isn’t for everyone and there’s a lot of time and money going into this only to have someone move in and hate country life.”
Glancing at the women chatting in the living room, Aunt Eileen nodded. “Y’all do know that Sandra Lynn is going through a divorce. I hear that moving in with her mother is all she can afford. So far she’s only working part time at the Cut n’ Curl. Cost of housing is going up, even in Tuckers Bluff.”
Several heads turned toward the other room and back before shaking it at their aunt. That would certainly explain why Paxton had yet to meet David’s father. Or why no one had even mentioned him.
“Table’s all ready.” Connor came into the kitchen. “I’ll gather up the kids.”
“Great.” Aunt Eileen smiled. “Dinner’s served,” she announced from the hallway. “Better not let the food get cold.”
Chairs scraped and footsteps clacked against the hardwood floors as the group made their way to the dining room. Heads still together, laughing the way they used to as kids, Grace and Sandra Lynn took their time crossing the living room.
“I need to make sure David washes his hands.” Sandra extricated herself from Grace’s arm.
“Connor’s one step ahead of you,” Aunt Eileen said. “Everyone, take a seat.”
A passel of kids, led by Connor, scurried into the room, heading straight for the children’s table beside the main dining room table. Paxton watched as Sandra hovered over her son, helping him settle in with the other children, reminding him to mind his table manners. Not that Paxton would expect much from kids that age, but the little boy nodded at his mother and promised not to forget.
He could see the struggle in her eyes as she forced herself to back away from the table and join the adults. It must be tough for her to have to uproot herself again and move home. A glimpse of sadness in her expression pricked at his heart. There had to be something more he could do to help them feel truly at home.
Paxton managed to secure the seat across from him for Sandra. It was as close as he could get with Grace sticking to her like glue.
“So now what happens?” Owen asked.
Valerie shrugged. “I guess they start all over. There’s a long list of people in need, the problem is not having someone else backing out again because we’re out in the middle of small-town West Texas.”
Handing a bowl of potatoes to Grace beside her, Sandra looked up. “What’s happening?”
“The people assigned to the new house have backed out.” Aunt Eileen reached for her glass. “Apparently, they don’t want to leave the city.”
Sandra shook her head. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”
“Right.” Grace grinned at Sandra.
“Seriously.” Sandra reached for the salad. “This is a great town and that’s going to be an amazing house.”
“You can see that already?” Paxton turned his gaze to her.
