Shine Not Burn(44)

“The first time one does, I will.” I smirked, taking my chair at the edges and pulling myself up closer to the table. I was so distracted from Boog’s scolding and my own witty comeback, I sat down from higher up than I intended and my butt made a loud slapping sound on the wood. I blushed again, too embarrassed to look at anyone. There was already at least one guy at the table who’d noticed my big back yard, but now the whole family was aware of the fact that my butt-cheek to chair-seat ratio was a little butt-heavy.

“Welcome to the ranch of Clan MacKenzie,” said the big man at the head of the table, sitting just to my left.

I jerked my head in his direction, glad for the distraction. “You’re the patriarch, I take it.” I held out my hand. “My name’s Andie. Andie Marks.” His grip was firm and warm.

I snuck a glance in Mack’s direction in time to see his jaw bouncing out a couple times as he clenched his teeth together, but then he put a rib up to his mouth and covered the lower half of his face, making it impossible for me to tell what he was feeling.

“I’m Angus,” said Mack’s father. “My boys are Gavin - he goes by Mack - and Ian. My wife over there is Maeve, and this is Mr. Atticus Boegman, but everyone just calls him Boog.”

I nodded at everyone. “Nice to meet you all.” For the second time, some of you. Mack was doing a great job of acting like he couldn’t give a flying fudge about me being at the table sitting directly across from him, with his casual nod and sudden interest in the arrangement of his peas on his plate. I watched distractedly as he pushed them around in different formations.

Angus handed me a big heavy bowl of mashed potatoes with little green and black flecks in them. “So, Andie Marks, tell us what brings you to Baker City. I take it you’re not from around here.” He smiled, and for the life of me, I couldn’t detect a trace of mockery there in his expression, despite the fact that Boog had done a fine job of setting me up as the out-of-town big city girl goofball. Or maybe it was me who’d done that. It didn’t matter either way; I was out of my element and definitely a foreigner. The quicker I could get out of here, the better it would be for everyone.

Angus’s question sent me into panic mode. I scooped out potatoes and plopped them onto my plate with as much concentration as I could muster, trying to appear as if I couldn’t serve and talk at the same time. I had to stall and come up with a plan. Why am I here in Baker City? This was nothing like the courtroom. There I always told the truth, but here in front of this judge and jury I had to decide whether to keep up the family tree charade or just come out with the whole sordid tale. Las Vegas or bust.

I cast a glance at Mack and caught him shaking his head slightly, possibly warning me off. It made me feel sick with embarrassment and shame. I felt like I’d been a bad person or something, falling for him in Vegas, but what was even worse was how that idea made me so sad. None of this was making any sense, from start to finish. Even sitting here at this table was nuts. I should already be headed back to the airport with signed papers in my hand.

Angus was waiting for a response, so I opened my mouth and let some words fall out. “Well, you’re right, I’m not from here. I’m from Florida.”

“Florida!” he exclaimed. “Well, I’ll be. You’re a long way from home now, aren’t you?” He picked up a rib and bit into it, his eyes sparkling with happiness or mirth, it was hard to tell which.

I was glad to see he was much neater at eating ribs than Boog. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He was so nice, despite being almost as big as a grizzly bear and nearly as intimidating. “Yes, Baker City’s a long way from home in more than one way.”

Everyone laughed politely except Mack. He just chewed his food very methodically and stared at the saltshaker between us. He was so handsome it made my heart ache.

“How long have you been in town?” asked Maeve.

“Just today. I arrived around lunch.” I put some peas on my plate, the smallest portion I could manage and still officially be eating them. Peas and I are not generally on speaking terms.

“And what have you seen so far?” She handed me a basket of dinner rolls, bypassing Boog entirely. He took it all in stride, not even missing a beat of his rib-mangling.

“Well, let’s see … I’ve seen my hotel, the diner in the center of town, aaaand the road out here with its rattlesnakes and spiders.”

“You’ve hardly seen anything yet,” she exclaimed. “Please don’t judge Baker by just those little bits. This town is one of the most beautiful places on earth.”

Ian snorted in disgust.

“Ignore him,” said Angus. “He’s not a fan of ranch work or Baker these days.”

“Damn straight,” mumbled Ian, jabbing his fork into a pile of peas. They rolled everywhere, like they were purposely trying to escape being speared.

“Don’t get him all riled up, Angus, please.” Maeve sighed heavily. “Just ignore them, Andie. Tempers are high tonight because we have a lot of extra work right now. Everyone’ll be all smiles and laughter in another couple days once all the calves are taken care of and we have our annual picnic.”

“I’m sorry I’ll miss that,” I said, taking a bite of the most delicious mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I scooped up another forkful and indulged in more of the starchy goodness, ignoring the call of my pre-wedding diet.