LITMIR.BIZ

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rippled through the dining room and once again, Carter had to adjust to the sound. To the faces of the people gathered around the long plank table. Gray and Jack. Violet and Maddie. Identical but...not.

      “What’s The Twilight Zone?” Eight-year-old Darcy Garland’s lively, brown-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between the adults.

      “It’s not real,” Ty Garland, the little girl’s father, explained. Carter saw him wink at Maddie across the table.

      Yeah. That was another thing. His siblings hadn’t only found each other, they’d found, in Maddie’s words, “their soul mates.” Carter was still trying to wrap his brain around that, too.

      “That’s what you think,” Jack Colby muttered. “You don’t have to get used to a guy walking around with your face.”

      “Wearing a shirt and tie,” Violet added, her eyes dancing with mischief.

      “She’s right.” Jack flashed a wicked grin in Gray’s direction. “When you start working for the Grasslands Police department in January, Sheriff Cole will have you trading in those fancy city duds for a pair of Levis and Tony Lamas in no time.”

      Their easy banter ricocheted around the table and Carter felt a stab of envy. Violet and Jack Colby had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome since his arrival, but Carter still felt as if his life had become a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces no longer fit together.

      But at least he had family. More than he was comfortable with, at the moment.

      Carter’s gaze drifted to the window. Again.

      Almost a week had gone by since he’d left the city and he still couldn’t stop thinking about Savannah.

      He lay awake at night, scrolling through past conversations with his friend. Searching for scraps of information that verified what Savannah had told him. Rob had talked about her constantly...but had he ever talked to her? Sent an email or letter? Received one?

      That’s what Carter couldn’t remember.

      Lupita Ramirez, the ranch cook and housekeeper, bustled into the dining room. She rapped a wooden spoon against the palm of her hand to get everyone’s attention.

      “Who has room for chocolate cake?”

      A collective groan followed the question.

      “No one—” Jack started to say.

      “But we’ll take some anyway,” Maddie and Violet sang out. At the same time. And then they laughed. In unison.

      “Weird,” Ty Garland muttered.

      Carter had to agree.

      “I’m going to have to start working out more.” Gray sighed when the housekeeper left the dining room. “Lupita makes enough food to feed the entire county.”

      “That reminds me, Pastor Jeb wants the church to host a special harvest dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving,” Violet said. “He’s been calling around, asking members of the congregation to volunteer to help, but he wants to invite the whole community.”

      Unbidden, an image of Savannah’s face swept into Carter’s mind. Again. The flash of anger in those expressive green eyes when he’d asked about the baby. The vulnerable curve of her lower lip.

      Did she have plans for Thanksgiving? Or would she be alone?

      Carter shifted in the chair. In his mind’s eye, he could see her standing by the door, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Proud. Scared.

      She made it pretty clear that she isn’t your concern, he reminded himself.

      But that didn’t stop him from wondering how she was doing. Had she found an apartment yet? He hated to think of her staying in a hotel with a baby on the way, even for a few days.

      Carter had made Rob two promises before his friend had died. He’d promised that he would always have Rob’s back and he’d promised that he would make sure Savannah was okay. So far, he hadn’t kept either one of them.

      “I’ll see if I can’t round up a few of the boys from the teen center to help with setup or something,” Landon Derringer was saying. “They’re always complaining they don’t have anything to do.”

      “Round up?” Violet grinned at her fiancé’s choice of words. “You’re starting to think like a cowboy already, sweetheart.”

      Gray shook his head in mock sorrow. “Another victim.”

      Across the table, Derringer smiled at Violet, confirmation that he’d been a willing one.

      Carter had been stunned to find Landon, Maddie’s former fiancé, at the ranch when he’d arrived. The guy had followed his sister to Grasslands and fallen in love with...Violet. And apparently no one but Carter thought that was strange. But in light of the other things the family had experienced lately, maybe it hadn’t even made the list.

      “I think a harvest dinner is a great idea.” Violet handed a pitcher of cream to Maddie a second before she reached for it. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”

      Carter couldn’t believe a murmur of agreement followed the statement. Maybe if they’d witnessed some of the things that he had over the past five years, they would have a different perspective. And given what they’d been through lately with Belle’s accident and Brian’s disappearance, Carter didn’t think there was a whole lot to be thankful for, either.

      Maddie’s expression turned pensive but she smiled at Violet. “This is the first Thanksgiving we’ll all be together.”

      “Mom loves holidays,” Violet said wistfully. “She pulls out all the stops.... I know she’ll be home by then. She has to be.”

      “There are a lot of people praying for her,” Maddie whispered.

      But Carter noticed that everyone sidestepped the real question. Whether his father would be in attendance. Carter had managed to corner Gray for a few minutes and his brother had finally admitted how worried he was that something had happened to Brian. Their dad ministered to transient people in remote areas along the border, and the last person Gray had been in contact with had noticed that he seemed ill. Carter tried to convince himself that a physician would certainly know what to do—where to go—if he came down with something.

      Unless he was alone and didn’t have access to the medicine he needed to fight the illness. His dad’s cell phone had been recovered a few weeks ago, but there were other ways he could have maintained contact with the rest of the family. Why hadn’t he used them?

      Carter felt the walls begin to close in and suddenly felt the need for some fresh air.

      “No dessert for me.” His chair scraped the floor as he rose to his feet. “I think I’ll take a walk.”

      “Sure.” Maddie frowned.

      So did Violet.

      Carter blinked but there were still two of them. Oh, yeah. He definitely needed some fresh air.

      He could feel everyone watching as he walked out of the dining room. The second the door closed, he would be the next topic of conversation around the dinner table.

      Carter wasn’t used to that, either. His older siblings valued and encouraged independence. Other than exchanging brief updates now and then, Maddie and Gray had pursued their own interests and left him alone. Carter wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sudden interest they were showing now. Add Jack and Violet into the mix, and Carter was beginning to feel like it was four against one. Odds he didn’t care for.

      He stepped outside, back against the door as he made a swift but thorough sweep of the property. Searching for possible threats.

      You’re in Texas, remember?

      It took a moment to let his soul adjust to the newness of his surroundings. The rustle of the wind through the pecan grove. The scent

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