Damn, was the entire town here? Leave it to Georgia Burnett to have one hell of a holiday shindig.

Georgia was holding court in the living room, so he came over and kissed her cheek. Martha from the ranch was sitting next to her.

“Hi, Martha.”

“Hi, yourself. I haven’t seen you for a while. Keeping busy?”

“I have been. Nice to see you off the ranch.”

“Georgia invited us all out here today to have lunch, so I’m taking the day off.”

“Good for you.” He went over to Georgia. “And I hear you’re doing cartwheels with your new casts on.”

Georgia laughed. “Nearly. I’m feeling pretty good these days.”

“You’re looking even better.”

“And you know exactly what to say to make a woman blush. Go find my daughter. She’s in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Molly was in there with Emma, Chelsea, Des, and Samantha, and Megan, all of them nestled up at the kitchen table, having what he could only assume was intimate girl talk. Their heads were bowed close, and they were all drinking wine and laughing.

Until he walked in. Then they pushed their chairs back as if they’d been caught saying something they shouldn’t.

“Oh, hi, Carter,” Molly said. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Your mom invited me.”

Chelsea stood, a little unsteady on her high heels. “What’s up, handsome?” She kissed his cheek.

“Not much.”

“Beer or wine?” Samantha asked. “Though I already know the answer.”

She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, popped off the top, and handed it to him.

“Thanks, Sam.”

Des got up, too. “How’s it going, Carter?”

“Good, Des. How’s the movie business?”

“Busy. How’s the auto repair business?”

He grinned. “Busy.”

“Let’s go find Bash,” Chelsea said.

“Bash is here?” Des asked.

“Somewhere. Maybe outside having a cigar with the rest of the guys,” Megan said.

“There are cigars?” he asked.

“One of Molly’s uncles brought them.” Chelsea winked and slipped out the back door with Des, Megan and Sam.

He took a long swallow of beer, then took a seat at the table. “I interrupted. Sorry.”

She shrugged. “We were just talking. Trust me, it was nothing important. Just gossiping about Chelsea’s date the other night.”

“Really.”

“Yes.” She crooked a smile. “It didn’t go so well for him. He was late, obnoxious, checked his phone repeatedly during dinner, then wanted Chelsea to pay her half of the tab. And that was after he’d been relentlessly pursuing her for a month.”

Carter shook his head. “The poor guy. I can only imagine how badly Chelsea took him down.”

“It wasn’t pretty—very loud and very public in a very nice restaurant.”

He leaned back in the chair and took another swig of beer. “I actually would have liked to have seen that. Sounds like the sonofabitch deserved what he got.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Someday Chelsea is going to find a man worthy of her.”

She graced him with a warm smile. “That’s what I said. And it’s nice of you to think so.”

“I like Chelsea. She’s ballsy, and a man would like that. She’s also beautiful and smart. What man wouldn’t appreciate those qualities in a woman? If I knew any men deserving of her, I’d set her up. Unfortunately, no one immediately comes to mind.”

She sighed. “I know. Emma and Jane tell me they’re always on the lookout for great men for her. Sadly, few measure up.”

“There’s someone for everyone. Her day will come.”

“So I keep telling her.” She emptied her wineglass, then went to the refrigerator and grabbed the bottle.

Carter got up. “Here, let me do that for you.”

“Thanks.”

He pulled the cork out and poured her refill. “How did your dinner go?”

“It was hectic, but we pulled it off, and everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. How was dinner at your parents?”

“Great. They said to tell you hello.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it over there. I wanted to see them. I do want to see them.”

“Plenty of time for that. And speaking of time, how about starting work with me next week?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. You know, Mom’s still hobbling around so I don’t know if I can leave her just yet.”

“Quit using me as an excuse. Time for you to go back to work, Molly.”

Carter turned to see that Georgia had made her way into the kitchen.

“Oh, Mom. I didn’t see you there.”

“Obviously. Carter offered you a job. It’s high time you started it, isn’t it?”

Carter folded his arms. He wasn’t going to interfere in this conversation, though he had been the one to start it.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay here by yourself?” Molly asked.

“Yes. I’m dying to get you out of here to see if I can fend for myself during the day without you hovering over me waiting for me to fall. If I feel like I can’t, you’ll be the first person I call. How’s that?”