So Cindy put Sunny to work helping to carry food to the massive table in the dining room. Before long they were all seated around it—a dozen of them counting the three Barretts and the other Lowensteins (Aubrey’s older brother, his wife, and boys). Doug bowed his head, asked a blessing, and soon food was being passed around and everyone was talking at once.
The feeling at this table was so congenial and happy and warm—so unlike anything else that Sunny had ever experienced— that she found it difficult to even participate in the lively conversation. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice. Or so she told herself as she sat mesmerized, listening to the happy chatter of a family that appeared to have shared a multitude of moments like this. She suspected that, to them, this was just another ordinary family mealtime. Amazing.
When dinner was done, including a dessert of ice cream and berries and decaf coffee, Sunny insisted on helping Cindy clear and clean up.
“Thanks for the hand, Sunny,” Cindy said as Sunny remained in the kitchen to continue helping. “But you should go join the others. I’m fine on my own. I’m used to this.”
“I really want to help you,” Sunny assured her. “Probably because I’m not used to this.”
“You’re not used to helping in the kitchen?” Cindy asked as she opened the dishwasher.
“No, I’m not used to being included in a big family like this. I feel like I’m an alien visiting from another planet.”
Cindy laughed. “Well, you’re an adorable alien, Sunny. And you are welcome on my planet anytime.”
As they rinsed dinner plates, Sunny suddenly began to confess her ill-conceived invitation for Echo to come visit her in Portland. But even as she shared, she wondered over the sensibility of opening herself up like this.
“I really don’t see anything wrong with that,” Cindy told her as she reached for a dish towel.
“But I could tell that Cody didn’t appreciate my interference,” Sunny admitted. “And I can’t blame him a bit. He’s right. He hardly knows me, and I have no right inviting his daughter to come to a big city to visit me.”
“Oh, but we do know you, Sunny. You’re Aubrey’s friend. You’re staying in our home. And we all love you. I can’t imagine why Cody would’ve reacted like that.”
“I can. And I don’t blame him. What if I were a kidnapper trying to make off with Echo? Things like that probably happen.”
Cindy blinked. “Well, I suppose that could happen. But not with you, dear.”
“Yes, but anyway, I feel badly that I made him uncomfortable like that. I honestly hadn’t meant to. I was simply trying to reassure Echo that we could still be friends despite the miles. Poor Echo was trying to talk me into staying here forever.” Sunny laughed. “As if I could sell my house and pull up my roots and live here indefinitely.”
Cindy grew quiet now. “It could be done, you know, if you truly wanted to do it.”
Sunny turned to look at Cindy, seeing that she appeared quite serious.
“Well, yes, of course. I suppose it could be done. I mean, perhaps someone could do it. But not someone like me.”
“Someone like you?” Cindy paused to look at Sunny now. “Why not?”
Sunny held up her hands with a weak smile. “Because I’ve lived in the same house for more than twenty-five years? Because I’ve never been a person to welcome changes of any kind? Because I need to feel safe, secure, and I like my boring status quo?”
Cindy placed a warm hand on Sunny’s cheek, gazing into her eyes with a surprising intensity. “That’s how you’ve lived up until now, Sunny. It’s not necessarily how you should continue to live. A girl like you needs something more. I can see it in your eyes. And I’ve seen you on a horse.” Her hand slipped down as if she were suddenly uncomfortable with the familiar gesture. Cindy turned back to the sink but continued talking. “Mark my word, dear girl, you will go home, but I sincerely believe you will discover that you no longer fit into that little world anymore. You have outgrown it.”
Sunny forced a laugh as she dried a large platter. “That’s an interesting theory, Cindy. And, who knows? You could be right. I’ll keep it in mind.” But even as she said this, she felt a rush of fear. What if Cindy was right? What if Sunny really had outgrown her little house, her little life, her little comfort zone, her safe little world? What if, with or without a job, it no longer fit? What then?
Chapter Twenty-three
After finishing up in the kitchen, Sunny told Cindy that she was tired. “And we have that photoshoot in the morning. More than ever, I need my beauty sleep, so I think I’ll turn in early tonight.”
“Thanks again for your help.” Cindy gave the granite countertop one last swipe.
“And thanks for a lovely meal…and for listening.”
Sunny welcomed the quiet solitude in the bunkhouse. Not wanting to get caught in a conversation with Aubrey, she hurriedly took her shower, got ready for bed, and turned off the lights. But as she lay there in the darkness, all she could think about was Cody.
As much as she’d tried to convince herself that Cody had been uneasy about Sunny’s relationship with his daughter, in the quiet of night, she wasn’t so sure. The look in his eyes somehow suggested more. Or maybe that was simply her hopeful imagination trying to attribute it to more. But what if? What if Cody really did have feelings for her? What if?
Sunny knew this was a dangerous game to play. She knew the hurt she’d suffered from falling into this kind of thinking—assuming a man cared more than he really did, building a relationship into more than it was ever meant to be—and she had promised herself she would never do it again. In the same way she’d been pushing the possibility of being related to Jackson Sundown away from her—without hard evidence—she would push any thoughts of romance away too. Not without hard evidence. And so far, she had none.
The photoshoot in front of the rodeo grounds went fairly smoothly. Especially considering that Round-Up grounds was already buzzing with pre-rodeo activity. Marsha had to pace the shot locations so that rodeo fans were, for the most part, only in the background. The most fun was when they moved the location for the shoot up to the tipi village behind the rodeo grounds.
“This is amazing,” Sunny said as they walked past row after row of authentic tipis, where Indians from all over the Northwest had been camping for several days now.
“Not only amazing,” Marsha told her, “but it’s a fantastic backdrop to this shoot. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”
Marsha’s assistants had already gone around to the back of the tipis and roped off an area to hold curious onlookers at bay while they continued to shoot the models. Fortunately, with fewer models in this particular shoot, it only took about an hour to finish up.
“I want to do one more setting,” Marsha told them. “I know it wasn’t planned, but I decided that a backdrop of the Indian horses would be charming as well.” She pointed to Sunny. “And I’d like to have your buckskin jacket in that shot too, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind using it,” Sunny told her, “as long as the woolen mill doesn’t mind since it’s obviously not their product.”
“It’s just for fun,” Marsha reminded her. “And it looks great with the native print skirt I’m having you wear. I just know that one of those shots is going to be stellar, maybe even a cover photo.”
Sunny put her full effort into cooperating. By now she knew that was the only way to get things done. And as they were finishing up, she felt more like a pro than ever. Not that she planned to do anything like this again. But the money she was earning would come in handy this fall. Perhaps she’d even look back on this time with fond memories someday.
“Thank you so much,” Marsha told Sunny when they’d finished. She handed her a business card. “I know you keep saying you’re not really a model, but in case you change your mind, I have a couple more northwest catalogs to shoot, and I’d love to include you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sunny promised, mostly to b
e polite, although if she got desperate enough, she might just take her up on it. “And it’s been a pleasure”—Sunny grinned—“well, mostly a pleasure working with you.”
Marsha laughed. “Thanks. I appreciate your honesty.”
After they got back into their street clothes, emerging from the tipi that Marsha had rented from a nice young couple to use as a dressing room, Aubrey asked Sunny if she wanted to grab a late lunch. “We could head over to GP. My treat.”
“What’s GP?”
“The Great Pacific. It’s this cool little deli that my friends and I used to meet at after we graduated high school and came back to town to kick up our heels. We still go there.”
Town seemed much busier today as Sunny, directed by Aubrey, drove through in search of a parking spot. Finally they found one a couple of blocks away.
“This will all be shut down by tomorrow,” Aubrey told Sunny as they walked down Main Street.
“Shut down?” Sunny was confused. “You mean they close the whole town for Round-Up? Don’t the business owners complain?”
Aubrey laughed. “No. I mean the street will be closed to traffic. Venders and musicians and all sorts of fun things will fill up the entire street, from one end to the other. It’s like a small fair.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“It is.” Aubrey nodded. “Here we are.”
Sunny scanned the cavernous room. “This is a small deli?”
Aubrey chuckled. “It started out as a little deli, then grew.”
They ordered their food, then went looking for an empty table, which turned out to be a challenge.
“Hey, Aubrey and Sunny,” called out a male voice. “Over here!”
Sunny glanced over her shoulder to see that Mitchell, from the other night, was waving wildly from a table by the window. Seated across from him was Wesley, also waving.
“Small world,” Aubrey said as they went over to their table.
“Please, join us,” Mitchell offered. “We’re in need of some pretty women.”
“We just finished our last photoshoot.” Aubrey set her deli number on the table, then sighed loudly as if the work had been exhausting.
“Then you should celebrate.” Mitchell held up a glass of red wine as if to make a toast.
“Good idea!” Aubrey nodded. “But I didn’t think to order—”
“I’ll take care of that.” Mitchell stood. “It’s their house pinot noir,” he told Aubrey. “But it’s good.”
“Sounds delightful.”
Mitchell did a mock bow, then headed toward the counter.
“So are we still on for Round-Up on Wednesday?” Wesley asked hopefully.
“Yes,” Aubrey said eagerly. “It turns out that Daddy bought a slug of extra tickets several years back. He knew the hundredth anniversary was a no-brainer. Anyway, if you’ll give up your tickets, we can do some switching around so that we all get to sit together in the North Grandstand.”
Wesley nodded with obvious approval. “Very cool, Aubrey. I hear the North Grandstand is the place to be.”
“Yes. My dad always has seats there, but this year our friends and family will practically fill a whole section. It’s going to be great!”
“And it’s okay to switch our less-desirable tickets for the North Grandstand?” Wesley looked a little concerned.
“We’ll switch with some relatives who’ve never been here before. Really, I doubt they’ll even know the difference,” Aubrey assured him. “And we will be sitting directly right over the bucking chutes.”
“Great.” Wesley gave a thumbs-up sign. “I really tried to get a press pass to be on the field, but it was just not happening. Above the bucking chutes is almost as good.” Then he told them about the bull riding event that he and Mitchell planned to attend this evening.
“Round-Up starts tonight?” Sunny asked.
“Not officially. The bull riding is kind of a warm-up show. It runs tonight and tomorrow night.”
“It’s more than just a warm-up show,” Mitchell told Sunny. “The PBR is a big deal. Bulls and bull riding like you’ve never seen before.”
“He’s right. The men in my family love those shows.” Aubrey made a face. “Me, not so much.”
“Why?” Sunny asked.
“I don’t like seeing a perfectly good cowboy getting his head stomped by an angry bull.”
Sunny bristled. “Seriously? Does that really happen?”
“You never know.” Aubrey shook her head. “Sometimes they walk away; sometimes they get carried.”
“That’s terrible.” Sunny frowned.
“It’s a dangerous sport,” Wesley said in a serious tone. “But that’s just rodeo. The danger is part of the thrill.”
“Maybe I’m not going to be much of a rodeo fan after all,” Sunny murmured.
Wesley moved his face close to hers. “That doesn’t sound like the great-granddaughter of Jackson Sundown to me.”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m not.”
He shook his head. “I think you are, Sunny.”
Just then Mitchell returned with not one, but two glasses of red wine. “Here you go, ladies.”
Sunny didn’t want to be rude, so she just watched as he placed the glasses in front of them. Perhaps the guys would want to have hers since she was certainly not going there. Then, as Wesley lifted his in a toast, simply to be polite and to avoid having to make a statement, Sunny lifted hers as well.
“Here’s to the hundredth year of Round-Up,” Wesley said. “And to the possibility that we are sharing this toast with a direct descendant of Jackson Sundown.”
They all took a sip, and Sunny did what she hoped was a pretty good imitation before she set her glass down and turned to Wesley. “You seem awfully sure about me being related to Jackson Sundown. Have you come up with any concrete proof?”
“As a matter of fact, I’ve been doing some very interesting research. And while I haven’t found anything concrete, I’m inclined to believe there’s a definite possibility here.”
“Here’s to the possibilities.” Aubrey held up her glass for a second toast. “May they be limitless.”
With halfhearted enthusiasm, Sunny held up her glass again, clinking it against the others, but just as she was about to fake another sip, she got the distinct impression she was being watched. Glancing over toward the counter, she felt a wave of panic to see Cody staring directly at her with a perplexed expression. Standing next to him was Trina, but her attention was fixed on Cody, until she turned and followed his gaze. Then she locked eyes with Sunny in a stern disapproval that quickly transformed itself into a smirking smile. Trina made a little finger wave, then turned to Cody, holding her hand close to her mouth as she stood on tiptoe in an effort to whisper something in his ear. For no rational or explainable reason, Sunny felt like screaming.
Instead, she turned her attention back to Wesley. “I’m curious as to what exactly you’ve uncovered in your research,” she said in a calm, controlled voice.
Aubrey was studying Sunny with interest now. Had she witnessed that little scene? And if she had, did it even matter?
Wesley, his back to Cody and Trina, seemed oblivious as he began to report his findings—all of which were not news to Sunny.
“Is that it?” she asked with disinterest.
“Isn’t that enough?” He cocked his head slightly to one side.
She forced what she hoped would come off as a genuine smile. “I have to agree, it’s enough to raise the question. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to answer it.”
Wesley laughed. “You are a hard nut to crack, Sunny Westcott. But I happen to enjoy a difficult nut on occasion.”
Sunny made a slightly glib remark to that, all the while using every bit of self-control to keep from looking back at Cody and Trina. It was fine if they wanted to stare and whisper about her, but she was not going to give them the satisfaction of looking back…or of showing the slightest reaction.
As it turned out, Sunny outla
sted them. With relief, she saw them leaving the deli together. Actually, it was relief mixed with angst because she would’ve been more pleased to have witnessed them leaving separately. But, once again, she reminded herself that it was none of her business.
She glanced at her watch, surprised to see it was after three. “I hate to break up the party,” she said, “but I’d like to get back to the ranch for a ride.”
“A ride?” Wesley looked curious.
“Sunny rides horses with my niece every day about this time,” Aubrey explained. “Although, since school is out this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Echo already finished up her riding time today. I think I heard Mom saying they were going to do something together after-wards.”
A wave of disappointment washed over Sunny.
“Not that you can’t ride on your own,” Aubrey said quickly.
“Don’t you ride?” Mitchell asked her.
Aubrey rolled her eyes in answer.
“Hey, if you want company, why don’t you let me ride with you?” Wesley suggested. “I haven’t been on a horse for years, but I’ll bet it’s a lot like riding a bike.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sunny said quickly. “They aren’t even my horses, and I’m a guest and—”
“Well, one of the horses happens to belong to me,” Aubrey interrupted. “I am not a guest, but a member of the family.” She smiled at Wesley. “And you are both welcome to come out and ride if you like.”
“Hey, I have an idea,” Wesley said suddenly, turning to Mitchell. “How about if you get a shot of me on a horse, and I can use it for my author photo in this feature article?”
Mitchell nodded eagerly. “You bet. I’d love to get a photo credit for that.”
“We’ll have to hurry.” Wesley stood, tossing a tip on the table. “To make it back to the bulls in time.”
And so, before Sunny could think of a way to protest, she was behind the wheel of her car and driving out to the Lowenstein Ranch with a tan Jeep Wrangler trailing behind them. She wanted to be irritated at Aubrey for interfering but didn’t really see the point. Instead, she simply drove in silence.
Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon Page 20