Page 45 of The Spice Is Nice

“Maisy? Chelsea?”

They flew into my arms, faces pressed against my cheeks, squeezing me with big-sister ferocity. The three of us formed a tight knot, and I won’t lie, my throat closed up. Guess I’d missed them more than I’d let myself think about, because thinking about home meant thinking about leaving, and I hadn’t been ready to do that yet. Only now, with Ivy in the picture, thinking about staying meant leaving my family back east.

“You look so grown up. Huge. My God, what did they feed you in the Navy?” Chelsea quipped, pulling back to study my muscles with damp eyes.

“Montana agrees with you,” Maisy said, and her gaze slid past me to Ivy, who was standing very still by the table with her hands clasped in front of her. “Or maybe it’s not just Montana.”

I turned and reached for Ivy, bringing her in with a hand on the small of her back. She stepped forward, but I could feel a slight stiffening in her spine, like she was trying to figure out her place among them all.

“This is Ivy Wylde. Owner of Wylde West Outfitters. The President of the Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce. And, well, my girlfriend.” I grinned, puffing out my chest, proudly showing her off. “Ivy, these are my sisters—Chelsea, the oldest, Maisy, the middle, and their husbands, Rex Buchanan and Brooks Bellamy. The other man is Rex’s brother, Richard.”

Like the town charmer, warm and polished and impossible not to like, Ivy gushed.

“Oh my God, you two aregorgeous,” she said, taking Maisy’s hands. “I see where Colt gets his looks. You both must come into town to my shop before you leave. I’ll get you fitted with cute western boots to take back to New York. Promise me.”

They beamed at her, and Ivy was perfect, because she always was when performing. Only I sensed a fracture underneath. What was that about?

I walked everyone through the rest of the introductions, starting with the Wylde sisters. Daisy, whom they’d already met, and Sage, who smiled politely from behind her cup of cider. I didn’t see Poppy around to introduce her as the last Wylde sister, probably at college instead of coming home for the weekend.

Knox made sure all the men got beers. Ash shook their hands, and Willow hugged my sisters as if she’d known them for years.

Eldon offered the ladies strawberry wine. Ro and Eli demanded to know if these newcomers could ride horses, and then looked impressed when my sisters told the kids all about the horses they kept at home back in Richard’s barn, and filled them in on their own children and their ages, showing pictures on their phones.

It was like my two worlds were now one, forming a big family.

Dinner was great, filled with good food, although it was hard to keep up between the pockets of conversations. Dusty got cornered by Richard, discussing animal husbandry. Maisy somehow got the recipe out of Eldon forthe strawberry wine, complimenting the flavor and texture and color of it.

Ash and Rex and the other men discussed Hollis Ranch, with the deal done. Part of their mission for this trip was for them to meet the Hollis’s, and start planning what to do with the land. The family would still be left with the working part of their place. While Rex and Richard would develop the rest of it into smaller parcels for their vacation homes and some other ideas they had.

Through it all, Ivy and I were quiet. I kept my arm around her back, caressing her shoulder with my fingers. Possessive, like I wasn’t quite ready to integrate my new life fully into my old.

Conversation turned eventually to Holly Creek, everyone curious to hear about their small town compared to Forest Grove.

“It’s well known for being a Christmas town,” I supplied. My sisters filled in the rest: the special holiday events and things to do. Almost made me miss it, hearing them talk.

Then Chelsea mentioned Mom had cut her hours at the diner, that her hip was giving her trouble, that she was talking about semi-retiring, hiring someone to manage the place. The diner needed someone who knew the customers and how to run a kitchen without burning the building down. Someone like me—the guilt over not being there for my mother finally hit hard.

“She won’t say it outright,” Chelsea said, picking at the scoop of corn casserole on her plate. “You know how she is. But she needs you, Colt.”

“Or there’s the Holly Creek Hops and the Evergreenrestaurant, too; plenty of work for you to choose from when you come back,” Maisy added, as if tossing out options at a board meeting.

“My Silverpine Lake Golf Course could use a solid man running things over there,” Rex countered.

“We’re just saying, you’d have options, Colt. Plenty of them,” Chelsea reached over and squeezed my hand.

Options. Like leaving Montana was only a minor scheduling problem to them. As if I could pack up this life and return neatly into the one I’d left behind, become that kid again who left years ago.

“I have an idea. Bring Ivy with you for Christmas,” Chelsea said, her eyes lighting up. “Oh, Ivy. Our mother would love you.”

“It’s not a bad idea.” I’d already considered it. Just a matter of talking with Ivy about it.

I noticed her plate was barely touched, her posture a little too straight. She caught my eye and sheepishly smiled, which didn’t seem like her at all. Was she pulling back from me? Us? Like a change in air pressure before a storm, something was noticeably off.

After dinner,we all cleaned up. Knox got the fire roaring at the circle. Guitars came out, and some of the ranch hands began entertaining, picking at songs.

I lost track of Ivy. But then I found her at her truck, keys already in her hand.

“You’re leaving?” I ran up to her.