“You ready to play next weekend at Old Glory?”
“Yep.” He sat back down next to her but didn’t say anything more. Something was clearly bothering him. Perhaps Josh’s upcoming surgery, which had to make the whole family anxious.
She didn’t get a chance to ask him about it because Hannah and Josh came in.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Hannah bussed both of their cheeks with kisses.
“Jack has to hold down the fort and Carrie Jo’s babysitting her sister’s kids. Everyone else is running late,” Colt said. “But we’re here. You guys want a drink?”
“I’ll get it.” Hannah started for the kitchen. Delaney began to follow her but Hannah told her to stay put.
Josh sat in the recliner and put the chair back.
“Your leg hurting you?” Colt sounded concerned.
“A little too much exercise today. I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to getting this operation over with. How you doing, Delaney? Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for having me. I’m sorry your leg hurts.”
He waved off her sympathy. “It’s a hundred times better than it was last winter.”
Hannah returned with the drinks. The doorbell rang and Mary jogged down the stairs to get it. Delaney could hear Deb and Foster, who joined them a few minutes later. Gray followed.
“I guess it’s too warm to make a fire,” he said.
Delaney thought Gray looked a lot like Colt, just an older version. He had to be nearing sixty, yet had stayed in amazing shape. Tall and broad shouldered, like his sons. No middle-age paunch. Not even a receding hairline. Colt came from excellent genes.
“Too warm for what?” TJ came in at the tail end of Gray’s conversation. He looked over at Colt. “How’d the rafting trip go?”
“Fine. Dad was thinking of making a fire.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s got to be eighty outside.” He scanned the group. “Where’s Win?”
“Late as usual,” Colt said.
Mary announced that dinner would be on the table in ten minutes and brought out a few appetizers. The Garner men dug in like they hadn’t eaten in days. Delaney supposed Colt had used a lot of fuel out on the river today.
“How’s Sweet Stems doing?” TJ asked Foster. Delaney had noticed that TJ was most comfortable talking shop.
“Business is good. A lot of weddings this time of year. How about Garner Adventure?”
“We’re killing it, right, Dad? It would be nice to get some more permanent guides, though. We’re getting too big to just hire seasonal.”
“You think?” Colt said sharply.
Deb seemed checked out, keeping a constant eye toward the front door. Delaney suspected she was waiting for Win. It appeared she wasn’t giving up on him, despite her earlier declaration to the contrary. If he really was seeing a blackjack dealer, Deb was just setting herself up for disappointment. But the heart didn’t always listen to reason. Delaney felt bad for Deb, who’d gone all out for dinner, wearing a short dress that showed off her gorgeous legs.
Colt got up to refill everyone’s glasses.
“Hey, are those different from the other pair you wore?” TJ cocked his head at Colt’s pants. The man had a keen eye, Delaney would give him that.
“Yep. Delaney made some adjustments.”
“According to Colt’s recommendations,” she added.
Both TJ and Gray stood up to take a closer look, fussing over the side zippers on the legs. It was funny having rugged, not-into-fashion men so intent on a simple garment. They were worse than her staff, who discussed every detail of a new design.
Just before the group sat down for dinner, Win showed up and Delaney saw Colt give him a dirty look.