“Ryan?” said Amber. Her eyes seemed to be watering slightly, but she hung back with the dog.
“Guilty,” said Ryan.
Now what? Is she waiting on me to make the first move?
“Sass,” said Amber, looking down at the dog beside her and laying her hand on top of the dog’s head. “Friend, girl.” The dog immediately sat, although Ryan noticed it didn’t take its eyes off of him.
Amber crossed to where they were standing. She seemed unsure of herself, and Ryan wasn’t sure what to do, either.
“It’s good to see you,” said Amber.
“Yeah,” said Ryan. “You too.”
A trim, curly-haired blonde just a couple inches taller than Amber appeared in the doorway near the dog.
“Hello, Allie,” said Victoria. “Our son Ryan is finally here!”
“Hi, Mrs. Griffin.” Allie walked forward to join the group near the reception desk. She held her hand out to Ryan. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Ryan returned the firm handshake. “Thanks.”
Amber looked up at Ryan. “You grew tall!”
“You didn’t,” said Ryan.
“Thanks.” She smiled at him, shaking her head just a bit. “When’d you get into town?”
“About thirty minutes ago.”
“Still getting your bearings, huh?” Amber looked at her mom. “Do you guys have any plans for dinner yet?”
“No,” said Victoria. “Your dad is filing a couple stories, so he doesn’t even know Ryan’s here yet.”
“Okay. Well, you know, Mom, that Faye will want all of you over for dinner. She can’t wait to meet Ryan.”
“Who’s Faye?” said Ryan.
“Peter’s mother,” said Victoria.
Amber smiled at her brother. “She loves a party. And frequently uses any excuse she can think of to cook for an army and have people over to eat it. If you guys don’t come over tonight, then she’ll insist on this weekend.”
“I don’t think we have any plans tonight,” said Victoria, “but I really should check with your dad. Are you too tired from traveling, Ryan?”
“Mom, I can do whatever. McWilliam’s not that far of a drive, and I haven’t worked since Tuesday. I just need to find a place to stay.”
“That won’t be hard,” said Amber. “Crossing doesn’t really have any hotels, but Faye has an extra room if you don’t mind staying down the hall from me. Or Peter has space if you’d rather live bachelor-style with him.”
“We are planning to clean out space this weekend for you to stay with us,” said Victoria. “If you can manage with Amber or Peter for a couple days, you can always stay with us after that.”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” said Amber.
“Amber,” said Allie, “why don’t we call it a day so you can enjoy your family? We can get together again next week if you have any time.”
“Sounds good, Allie. Thanks! Let me grab my coat, Mom, and we’ll go find Dad.”
The trio left the law office with the dog, Sassy, close behind and headed further around the square to the newspaper storefront.
“How long have you had the dog?” said Ryan.
Amber giggled. “She adopted me shortly after I got here in November.”
“That’s twice now I’ve heard that,” said Ryan.
“What?” said Amber.
“Adopted,” said Ryan.
“Well, she didn’t give me much choice,” said Amber. “She’s really Peter’s dog.”
“Did you start giving her treats or something?” said Ryan.
“I didn’t do anything,” said Amber. “In fact, when I first got here, I was afraid of her. But it seemed the more I avoided her, the more she wanted to hang around me. Now she follows me pretty much everywhere.”
“It appears that you’ve gotten over your fear,” said Ryan.
“At least where Sassy’s concerned, I guess,” said Amber.
“If you two wait here,” said Victoria, “I’ll run inside and ask Owen if your dad is still here.”
Without waiting for an answer, she disappeared through the doorway, leaving Ryan and Amber standing on the front walk mostly cleared of snow.
“So what do you do?” said Amber.
“Besides pick on annoying brunettes?”
“I was hoping you’d outgrown that.”
Ryan grinned at her. “I’m a paramedic.”
“Really! Did that require a lot of school?”
“Depends, I guess. Nothing like a doctor, but it’s still hundreds of hours of training, ambulance calls, and clinicals.”
“I’m impressed,” said Amber, pushing her mitten-clad hands into her coat pockets.
“Thanks. How about you?”
“Not much. I never finished high school, which is pretty limiting on the job market. But, I’m thinking about taking some online accounting classes through Oregon State so I can help out more at the logging office. I have to get my GED first, but Allie says I’m picking up on what she’s teaching me pretty quickly.”
“Does that mean you’re going to stay here?”
“Yeah. Peter plans to take over his dad’s business. I don’t see us moving anywhere.”
“Ryan!” Thomas Griffin came out of the newspaper office, backpack slung over his shoulder, and hugged his son. His short-cropped grey hair was a bit disheveled, an indication that his editor had requested some quick revisions.
“Hey, Dad,” said Ryan. “Get your stories filed?”
“Yes. Now my evening is free to spend with my three children!” He placed one hand on Ryan’s shoulder and wrapped his other arm around Amber’s waist.
“That sounds so nice,” said Victoria.
“Yes, it does,” said Thomas.
“You want to come out to dinner at Faye’s, Dad?” said Amber.
“I would not turn down her cooking,” said Thomas.
“Are you sure she won’t mind, Amber?” said Victoria.
“Positive. I’ll call her when we get to Micah’s if it makes you feel better.”
“Well then,” said Thomas, “what are we waiting for?”
The group turned to make their way around the square.
“So how was the weather in McWilliam?” Thomas asked.
“About normal.” Ryan shrugged. “We got a couple inches throughout December, but most of that was closer to Christmas.”
“So you had a lot of accidents?”
Ryan’s internal radar sensed this was leading to his not showing up for the holidays. Keep your words in check, he reminded himself. “Always do, Dad, but not always because of the snow. People also tend to do more social and emotional drinking around Christmas and New Year’s.”
As they approached Micah’s, a dark grey Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in front of the store. Ryan watched a man just a couple inches taller than himself get out. He’s 165-170 pounds, late twenties. Muscular, maybe athletic.
“Peter!” said Amber.
Ryan watched as his sister ran over and waited for him at the edge of the snow berm.
“Hey, my beautiful Ray,” said Peter. He took both Amber’s hands in his, kissing the top of one mitten-covered hand.
“Come meet Ryan,” said Amber.
Peter wrapped his left arm around Amber’s shoulder and turned to greet the others.
So this is the man who finally trapped my sister in one place.
“Ryan, this is Peter.”
Peter extended his hand to Ryan. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“Thanks,” said Ryan.
“Did you drive up in that?” said Peter, motioning to the Mustang.
“Yeah.”
Peter left Amber’s side to look more closely at the car, whistling in appreciation. “She’s incredible.”
“Thanks. It’s a bit of a hobby.”
“Do you prefer doing body work, or more the mechanics of it?” said Peter.
“Definitely mechanics. I looked around for a while until I found one with a decent body so I wouldn’t have to do too much to it.”
“Does she give you much trouble in the snow?”
“She doesn’t really like the fresh stuff, but packed down isn’t too bad. I keep good 245s on the back wheels and replace them with studless winter tires when the snow hits.”
Peter looked in the driver’s window. “Stick shift! Nice!”
“Yeah, I bought it as an automatic but changed it out to a five-speed.”
“Really nice,” said Peter. “I’ve always liked the running pony’s interior.”
Amber stepped up to Peter’s side and touched his arm. “I was going to call your mom to see if she minded guests for dinner.”
“Actually, that’s part of my errand to come get you. When I left the office, Mom asked me to swing by here and see if everyone wanted to come out tonight. It’s Mexican night, and she said she’d made far too much of the chicken mixture to make only one pan of enchiladas.”
“Wonderful,” said Thomas.
Ryan laughed at his dad. “She must be a good cook.”
“The best,” said Thomas. “Next to your mother, of course.”
“She really is very good,” said Amber.
“Are you sure it’s not too much?” said Victoria.
“You have to stop worrying so much, Vic,” said Thomas.
“Mom wouldn’t ask if she didn’t mean it,” said Peter. “And she said to tell you that she already has dessert waiting to go in the oven.”
“What more do we need to know?” said Thomas, looking at the others.
Victoria laughed. “All right. Let me get Keith before your stomach leaves us all standing here!”
Chapter 3
RYAN TOOK UP THE REAR
position of the caravan as they followed Peter to his parents’ home. His mind was reeling with the bits of information he’d already gleaned from the short time he’d had with his family.
The family looks great! I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen Mom so lively. And Dad has a bounce in his step. He didn’t look nearly as tired as usual, and he actually ran up the steps to put his laptop away. I can’t remember the last time he willingly put that computer down. He’s always either writing a story or researching for hints of Rachel.
Keith clearly liked Peter. He thought for sure the boy would choose to ride with him in the Mustang, but he hopped in Peter’s Jeep. What was it he said? I need to ride with Amber. Interesting statement. What is he—their chaperone or something? Maybe I’ve stepped into a time warp.
Ryan pulled into the driveway and took his first good look at where his sister had been living the last couple of months. The beautiful log cabin sat peacefully on a small clearing surrounded by the forest. The windows shone brightly in the dimming light, and smoke curled out of the chimney. He turned off his engine and watched Sassy bound out of Peter’s Jeep and into the garage with Keith right behind. He feels at home here.
Peter, Thomas, and Victoria followed Keith, but Amber stood waiting for him. “Ready to meet the in-laws?”
He smiled at her. “You’re the one marrying into the family. I’m just tagging along for a bit. I can always leave if they’re crazy.”
She laughed. “They’re definitely crazy. But in a good way. Consider yourself forewarned: Peter and his siblings are pranksters, taught by their grandfather.” She turned to lead the way into the house.
“Does everyone still live in Crossing?”
“No, most of them live near Portland, but they come down a lot. His sister, Brittney, took off most of next week for the wedding, so you should meet her in a few days. Pops, the grandfather, normally travels down with her when she comes.”
Amber opened the door into the mudroom, stomping her boots on the welcome mat. “You can hang your coat wherever you see space. And just put your boots on any of these shelves. Frank has a drain under this floor, so as the snow melts off of them, the water just drains back into the yard.”
“Nice.”
Sassy popped her head through the dog door and barked.
“We’re coming, Sass.”
Amber turned the knob and led Ryan into a casual dining area with French doors leading to a deck. His mom sat at a breakfast bar overlooking a spacious kitchen with his dad standing behind her. An older blonde woman hovered near the sink. Five foot four, 160 pounds, mid-fifties. If the Pillsbury Doughboy were female…. Ryan grinned at his assessment.
Both women turned to smile at them.
“You must be Ryan,” said Faye. “Let me dry my hands.”
She wiped her hands on a towel and came over to greet him. “It’s so nice to finally have your whole family together.” She gave Ryan a hug before wrapping an arm around Amber.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Ryan. “You have a beautiful home.”
“Why thank you, dear. How long do you get to stay?”
“A while.”
Ryan caught his dad’s quick glance in his direction.
“He needs a place to stay for a couple days while Mom and Dad get another room at Micah’s cleaned out,” said Amber. “I told him we had room here.”
“Oh, absolutely,” said Faye with a nod. “It’s Peter’s old room, and truthfully it’s not completely cleaned out yet. He’s taken most of his stuff to his new house, but he’s not been gone that long, and I just haven’t taken the time to clean it out properly. You are welcome to it if you’d like, though.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t let these women-folk push you into anything, young man.”
An older man walked into the kitchen. Just a bit taller than me, so five foot ten? His skin looks like he’s used to working outside in the sun, and he’s got some extra weight in the middle. What was the name of that ‘70s TV dad with all the kids where everyone said good night to everyone else?
The man continued. “Sure enough, if you let them talk you into staying here, they’ll fill you with good food all hours of the day and night. But this sister of yours’ll roast you out of the living room stoking up the fire, and my wife’ll have you tying up little satchels of good-smelling stuff for the wedding.”
“Oh, Frank, really,” said Faye, giggling.
Ryan watched his sister’s smile grow. She’s happy here.
“I’m Frank, by the way. Peter’s dad.” Frank extended his hand to Ryan.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
“So, when are y’all going to stop yammering around here and feed us?” said Frank to the women. “Lunch was a long time ago!”
“Just give us five more minutes,” said Faye. “Amber, you go on in and show Ryan around while Victoria and I finish up the salad so we can eat.”
Amber led Ryan into the living room where Keith and Peter sat over a chessboard.
“This is obviously the living room,” said Amber. “And there’s a library back here.”
Ryan followed her behind a circular staircase to a small room covered in bookshelves. “That’s an interesting picture.”