“Just taking old Ellie here for a little exercise. The boys have been keeping us company. I told them if they’re good at dinner then they can help me brush the horses down later if they want.”
Judging by the wide smiles on both of their faces, her sons definitely wanted to.
“Thank you. I think they’d love that.”
She stood gingerly, happy that at least nothing more than her pride was bruised in her fall. “Come on boys, let’s go inside and say hello to everyone.”
For once they didn’t protest, just waved goodbye to Grady who led the horse back the way they’d come. Katie followed behind them as they chattered happily to Bennett about the horse. To his credit, he listened patiently and didn’t seem at all annoyed by their questions.
She glanced down at her shirt and groaned. It was even worse than she’d thought. Hopefully Julia wouldn’t mind loaning her a T-shirt.
?
Bennett watched as Katie squared her shoulders like she was going into battle and stepped into the house. She’d been embarrassed. He wasn’t adept socially but even he could tell that.
He’d seen her around plenty of times and knew that she was one of Jackson’s neighbors but he’d only spoken to her casually a few times. In the moment when she’d looked up at him from the ground, looking so lost and alone, he’d wished he knew her well enough to make her smile. But his jokes usually fell flat and he definitely didn’t want to make it worse, so he’d kept quiet.
Luckily her sons were keeping up a steady stream of conversation as they walked into the house. Bennett was used to the kinds of noise that little boys generated since Jackson’s two sons spent so much time with his parents.
When they entered the dining room, everyone else was already seated. His mother’s face lit up when she saw him.
“Bennett! I’m so glad you’re here, sweetie.” She got up from the table with her arms open for a hug but she stopped when she caught sight of Katie behind him.
“Katie, dear. What happened?”
He could almost feel the other woman’s embarrassment. It was coming off her in waves and the fact that everyone else at the table turned around to see what his mom was talking about probably didn’t help.
Bennett gestured at the pie Katie was holding. “I wasn’t looking where I was going as usual. Katie happened to be in the way.”
His mother frowned at him and he realized how rude that sounded. Damn it, he’d done it again. Whenever he tried to explain things they always came out wrong.
“Not that she was in my way. She was where she was supposed to be. I was in the way. That’s what I meant.”
Katie cleared her throat. “Would you mind if I borrowed a shirt, Julia?”
His mother put a gentle arm around her shoulders. “Of course I don’t mind. Let’s go find something for you.” She took the smashed pie plate and handed it to Bennett. “We’ll be right back.”
Bennett looked around, confused as to why she’d given the pie to him. Was he supposed to throw it away? That seemed logical to him but he’d learned long ago that his logic didn’t coincide with everyone else’s. Maybe his mom was planning to save some of the non-smashed portions of the dish.
To be safe, he put the pie plate on the counter and then washed his hands in the sink. Afterward, he walked into the dining room. His father rose from his seat at the end of the table and shook his hand. He got a fist bump from Jackson and Ridley waved. She was seated across from her husband and there were two empty seats next to her. His brother Eli and his fiancée, Kaylee, were seated next to Jackson.
After nodding hello to everyone, he sat next to Ridley, angling slightly to fit his long legs under the table. When he leaned back, he could see the small card table his mother used to seat the children in the corner. His nephews, Chris and Jase, were already seated and eating chicken fingers. Katie’s two boys sat with them and played with the plastic superhero figures that his mom kept on hand to entertain her grandsons.
His mom returned then with Katie trailing behind her. She was wearing a plain blue T-shirt now with the Co-op’s logo on the front. When she saw that the only empty seat was next to him, she glanced around.
She probably didn’t want to sit next to the weird guy who’d bumped into her and then made it sound like it was her fault. He couldn’t exactly blame her for that.
Julia took her place at the opposite end of the table from Mark, winking at his father as she sat down. Katie slid into the seat next to him wordlessly.
After saying the blessing, Julia started passing the dishes down the table so they could all serve themselves. Bennett held out his plate and accepted a slice of the ham that his father had just carved. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as they filled their plates and Bennett used the time to observe Katie from the corner of his eye. She filled her plate but turned every so often to check on her sons sitting behind her who were by now happily munching on chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.
When he turned around, he caught his mother’s eye.
“So it’s a pleasant surprise to see you here, Bennett. I didn’t think we’d see you until summertime. You haven’t been answering your phone,” Julia scolded gently. “I miss John already. He at least would pick up the phone when I called!”
Bennett winced. “Sorry. I’ve been a little distracted lately. I’m going to hire another assistant. As soon as I find the time.”
Ridley suddenly turned to look at him. “Oh, you need an assista