Page 20 of Worth the Trouble

“A lot?”

Serenity laughed. “That’s a bit of an understatement. How many cousins are there?”

Wendy didn’t miss a beat. “Thirteen. And they’re all married. So, there will be double that at the party?”

Cece’s eyes flared wide. “Wow.”

“And that’s not even including the kids.” Serenity winked. “No one’s going to expect you to know all their names. And we’ll probably invite several others from town. It’ll be great.”

Cece barked out a laugh of surprise. “I don’t know that I’ve been to any event with that many people. Not even a work-related one.”

“You’ll come, though, right?” Wendy leaned back against the checkout counter. “We’d love it if you did.”

Knowing she might regret her decision and not caring, Cece nodded. “I’ll be there.”

“Yay. Now, I know you didn’t come here to get roped into attending a shindig at my husband’s family ranch. So, what can I do for you?”

“I was hoping to take you to lunch, if you’re available. My treat.”

“Sounds fun.” Wendy turned to Serenity. “You think you can hold down the fort?”

“No. I meant, I’d love to treat you both to lunch.” She glanced around the store and winced. “I suppose we could eat here if you need to man the shop.”

Wendy sliced a hand through the air. “Occasionally we have to close up for lunch. It’ll be fine for a little while. We don’t have any appointments today so I think we’ll be covered.” She turned to Serenity. “What do you say?”

“I’d love to.”

Cecelia grinned. “Wonderful. What’s good around here?”

They ended up at The Steer House. It was busier than Cecelia had expected for a middle of the week lunch hour. There were quite a few cowboys seated around the bar and couples took up plenty of tables. The three of them ended up being seated beneath a beautiful painting of a rodeo cowboy hanging onto a horse with his hat in the air in his other hand.

Cecelia couldn’t take her eyes off it. She hadn’t seen anything like it. The brush strokes made it look as if the man in the picture was about to jump right off the canvas.

Wendy nudged her, a smile blooming on her face. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Cecelia nodded. “Gorgeous.”

Her new friend continued to stare thoughtfully at the painting. “The best part of living in this town is how everyone seems to respect what we are at our core.” She jerked a chin at the painting. “You think that picture is something out of a fairytale but I’m telling you, it’s nothing like the real thing.” She dropped her focus to Cecelia. “Have you had a chance to check out the rodeo yet? Remind me, how long will you be here?”

Cecelia shook her head. “I haven’t. Not yet. And I’m not sure how long I’ll be here. I guess I’m playing it by ear at this point.”

Serenity and Wendy exchanged glances then Wendy leaned over the table, eyes sparkling. “Then it’s settled. We’re going to take you to the rodeo. You can’t come to Rocky Ridge and not experience everything we have to offer.”

“I don’t know,” Cecelia hedged. “I mean it sounds like fun.” But she couldn’t see her father being okay with her taking part in local events. He was already champing at the bit to get out of this town. The only hangups were the folks in town who refused to be flexible.

“It’s a lot more fun than you think,” Serenity said. “I’d bet you’d like it. There’s nothing like watching a cowboy show off his stuff in the arena.”

“Do either of your husbands compete?” Cecelia asked.

“No, but Hallie’s husband does. And so does Faith’s but just for fun.” Wendy tapped her chin. “I can’t remember if Tate still competes or not. I guess we could ask.” She shrugged. “Anyway, there’s one coming up. If you’re still here, we’re definitely going.”

Cecelia laughed. Despite the newness of this friendship, she couldn’t deny how much she was loving spending time with these women. They’d included her into their lives so seamlessly. It almost felt like she belonged here as strange as that seemed.

Wendy did most of the talking through lunch. It was a lot about the antiques she was selling and some of the estate sales she’d gone to. Serenity showed Cecelia a few pictures of her children and her husband.

Somewhere between the estate sales and the pictures, Serenity asked about Cecelia’s family, and Cecelia said it was just her father and her, and had been for as long as she could remember. He worked. She worked beside him. Serenity said that sounded lonely, and Cecelia said it hadn’t occurred to her until she got here. Everything was going so well until her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID then sent the call to voicemail.