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Before Ariel.
“Chance is going,” Lucas whispered, sounding as happy about it as Cody felt.
Cody—who had neatly tied his own string tie, because to him the process was as clear as a geometry problem—walked right past his mother and elder brother to the tall, elegant redhead who stood watching, a similar smile on her face. He gave her a rather fierce hug. She let him, but there was a question in her blue eyes. A light blue, compared to Roth’s darker blue. He nearly frowned at the intrusion of that particular set of eyes into his mind.
“That,” he said quietly, “is for the smile on my brother’s face.”
She smiled back then, and he felt an odd sort of tug inside at the love reflected in those eyes.
“You look rather…spiffy,” she said after a moment, eyeing the suit he’d donned for the occasion.
He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Mom’s orders.”
And Mom’s choice. It was western cut, with black piping that gleamed just enough to be seen against the matte black of the cloth. Or so his mother said; he just knew he got compliments when he wore it.
“And today of all days those must be followed.” Ry said it with a grin as he and Kaitlyn came in the front door in time to hear the exchange.
“Is there ever a day when they’re not?” Keller mused out loud from the kitchen, where he and Sydney stood, also looking at Chance with ill-concealed happiness.
“Point taken,” Chance said. And as Mom reached up to cup his cheek, he put his hand over hers and smiled down at her.
Cody felt a wave of…something rise up and nearly swamp him. Something about this moment, about seeing his brothers here like this, together, gathering to honor the woman who had held them all together long enough to find the women who now stood beside them, and Lucas, as much a part of this family as if they’d all been born to it, made him feel…he wasn’t sure what. Love, certainly. Gratitude. Appreciation. A fierce sense of belonging.
All of that, leavened with the ever-present wish that the one man missing could be here, or at least somehow know how much they all loved the woman he had wisely chosen as the foundation of the Raffertys.
He swallowed hard, but it didn’t quite clear the odd tightness in his throat. He couldn’t speak for a moment, so instead he walked over to his mother. As the only unattached Rafferty here, it seemed the right thing to do. Very formally—Gwen had taught him that, at a costume ball at that convention—he bent slightly and offered her his arm.
“Madam, if you will allow me to escort you?”
She looked startled at first, but then she smiled, a warm, delighted smile that made him feel like he had as a kid the first time he’d put real thought into her birthday present, buying her something he knew she would like, not something the kid he’d been would have. She slipped her arm into the crook of his, and the celebration officially began.
That strange feeling lingered as they arrived at the saloon, which had been closed for the private party tonight. Of course in this case, private meant locals, so the place was already crowded with people wanting to pay their respects. His mother stretched up to give him a kiss on the cheek, in thanks for accomplishing his duties.
“You go have some fun now, Triple B.”
He glanced around quickly, hoping there was no one close enough to hear who he might have to explain that nickname to. No one, thankfully.
He knew almost everyone here. The Highwaters of course, including Slater who, although he’d no doubt be keeping an eye on things, had turned the actual function of the saloon over to his assistant manager for the evening and was greeting Mom now.
Cody picked up one of the glasses of champagne from the table, snagged a chip and scooped up some of the luscious guacamole Elena had just put out, and relaxed. Finishing the chip, he grabbed one of the taquitos on the platter beside the chips, took a sip from the glass and started to walk around the room. His duties, and that of his brothers, hadn’t ended when they got here; thanking everyone for coming was going to be an all-night task.
As he wandered, greeting friends, neighbors, and some people he barely knew, remembering the time when he’d felt enough the odd one out to be very uncomfortable at such gatherings—a feeling he and Sean had also bonded over—he had a different sort of feeling. That feeling of belonging to this family he loved expanded, to this town that was also part of him, all of it interwoven together. And at this moment, there was no place he would rather be.
Cody’s gaze snagged on a woman across the room, her back to him as she looked at the pool table in the alcove at the back of the saloon, where Gary Klausen from the hardware store and another guy who looked vaguely familiar had started a game. Long, dark hair tumbled down her back in silken waves. She was wearing a short, bright blue dress that bared a nice length of long, slender legs above a pair of flashy cowboy boots that he thought had to be from Kelly Boots over in Whiskey River, black trimmed with a blue that matched the silky, slinky dress. The dress that practically caressed a trim, taut backside that had him looking a bit longer than he should have.
“Now that,” his brother Keller said with a nod toward the woman in blue as he passed Cody, on his way to no doubt make sure Lucas wasn’t tempted by the champagne, “is what some guys call a wowgirl.”
“Wow, indeed,” he muttered, familiar with the play on cowgirl, for a particularly attractive or sexy woman. Which definitely applied here, even if all he’d seen was her back.
Keller chuckled and kept going. A moment later, an amused-looking Slater Highwater paused beside him. “Careful there, Cody.”
“What?” Cody asked.
“Last time someone looked at a woman at that pool table the way you’re looking at her, they ended up married.” He was grinning now. “And he’s never been able to see that table the same way since.”
Cody laughed, knowing Slater was referring to himself and Joey, but sensing there was also a private joke beneath the words. He wondered exactly what the pool table had to do with connecting the saloonkeeper with the town librarian. He told himself he was just glad everyone was in such a good mood.
Lucas came up beside him, holding a napkin with a couple of small spheres that looked fried. “These are really good,” he said. “Sean’s wife said they’re called papas re…re something.”
