The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(39)

Hannah found if she said nothing at all, Mrs. Bourne didn’t notice. At one point her daughter, Rebecca, said, “Mama, stop talking before her ears fall off!”

“Was I talking? Oh, never mind, Hannah don’t care. Do you, Miss Hannah?”

Everyone arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday. They’d had an easy flight from Minneapolis to Denver and rented a van large enough for all of them and their luggage. Owen and Noah had been hanging out on the dock fishing to pass the time, and at the sound of a horn and Romeo’s welcoming bark, Noah got himself up and made noisy running thumps down the dock. He was getting steadier and faster by the day. They might as well have been aunts, uncles and cousins, there was so much hugging going on.

Hannah glanced over at Owen and saw that he hung back a little. She smiled at him, for no one could look quite so alone in a crowd as Owen. His hands were sunk into his pockets and he had this little bit of errant hair that fell over his brow. He tended to always look like he could use a haircut. Today he was clean-shaven, probably in deference to guests, but usually he was just a little scruffy and Hannah loved it. She gestured him over.

John was first, grabbing Owen’s hand. “How you doing, man? I’m John. This is Sharon and the bump, and this is Mandy,” he said, picking up a three-year-old girl.

Then Phil stretched out a hand. “Hey, this is great of you, Owen, letting us invade like this. Kate, my wife, Jess and Alexa, our daughters aged four and seven. I guess the first thing to do is get the luggage in, then you tell us what to do and we’ll do it. Chop wood? Hunt for food? Fish for dinner?”

Owen just laughed. “We get luggage in, then break out snacks. Hannah will show you which rooms she picked out for you. After that, the kids might want to swim or fish. I have plenty of life jackets and poles.”

“Look at this place,” John said. “It’s a resort. You have ponies in the barn?”

“Unfortunately, Romeo is the only pony. That’s my shop, where I work. If you’re interested, I’ll show you later.” Romeo was in the middle of four kids, tasting each face. “Don’t worry, he’s had his shots,” Owen said.

“He’s very nice but a little clumsy,” Noah told them. “He knocked me off the dock and I almost drowned.”

“You didn’t almost drown,” Hannah said. “Come on, you guys, let’s get you moved in.”

Chips and salsa, potato chips and dip, and a big bowl of fruit were put out for everyone to put a dent in their hunger so they could play. The kids chose swimming over fishing while the sun was out and Romeo was happy to join the kids, chasing his ball out into the water. Everyone wore their life vests even though Alexa was becoming a pretty good swimmer.

Noah showed them his stuff. With the buoyancy of the water and since this wasn’t exercise time, he had flippers on his feet. He was doing some powerful kicking, chasing Romeo through the water. He might be slow on land but he was as fast as any fish in the water. Owen and the dads were in the lake, too, tossing kids around, throwing the ball for Romeo, laughing and taking revenge when they were splashed.

Owen put chicken and corn on the grill while Hannah managed deviled eggs. There were what Owen called high-density beans in the slow cooker—baked beans doctored with onion, peppers, bacon and mystery meat, which turned out to be leftover flank steak from the night before. With plenty of brown sugar and barbecue sauce, they were guaranteed to produce tons of calories and gas.

“Oh, man, we’re all going to know each other very well by bedtime,” John said.

“How about an after-dinner libation?” Owen asked. “Ladies?”

“I’ll have a glass of any red you like,” Hannah said.

“And I’ll just take the whole bottle,” Sharon said. “Oh, that’s right—I get nothing until the bump arrives.”

“Here’s to Sharon and her many sacrifices,” Kate said, raising a glass. And they all said, “Hear, hear!”

“You’re too kind,” she said, glowering at them.

The kids were bathed and settled in their beds, exhausted and asleep in no time. The adults enjoyed a soft summer night on the porch with the lapping of the lake and breeze through the pines as background music. Owen pulled out the firepit and lit a log and Romeo lumbered into the house to find Noah and curl up with him for the night. The adults stayed up talking, learning about each other. As many questions as the men had for Owen, he had as many for them, interested in their work as a teacher and airplane mechanic. Sharon was the first to head for bed. Owen was the last.

He curled his long body around Hannah and said, “Your friends are great. It’s comforting. If for some reason I can’t watch over you, I know they will. They’re good people. They love you and they’re committed to Noah.”

“You’re good people, too, Owen. You’ve made them feel very welcome.”

  As had become typical, Noah was awake first, raring to go. He had the other kids and their parents up with the sun. Their days were filled with swimming, fishing, food and fun. They all went to visit Sully and Helen and exclaim over their garden, the women went to town to poke around one day and then the whole crowd had burgers at the pub followed by ice-cream sundaes. They spent most of one afternoon looking through Owen’s books and pictures, and from that point on someone always had one of his books in hand. Every evening found them on the porch with a fire.