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Eleanor patted his arm. “We were both in the wrong. Now, tell me who’s who, and all about this adorable toddler.”

Graham waited his turn for the introduction, aware of Weston’s taciturn presence at his back. Was the cowboy afraid the Sullivan guys would encroach on his grandmother? Or might he agree with Maxwell, that nothing good could come of this reunion?

* * *

“That guy is such a wet blanket.”

Cadence got the impression that Paisley had barely been able to hold back her opinion in the dining room, but kudos to her — she’d managed. Also, she didn’t need to ask whom her roommate referred to. Or what the situation had been.

How to respond, then? “Maybe Weston felt that was a lot to throw at them without warning.”

“Oh, I’m sure he knew. His mom was beaming all morning, Jude was missing, and Mr. Grouchy Face was scowling worse than usual. Which is saying something. So, yeah, he had to know what was coming down the pipeline.”

“I think it’s sweet that Mr. Sullivan and his long-lost love have reunited.”

“They had an affair.”

“I know. But still, a lot of years have gone by. They’ve both been married and widowed. So, I’m going to stick to sweet.”

“Weston doesn’t agree with you.”

Cadence stopped so suddenly that Paisley ran into her. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t care. The guy’s a jerk.”

“You’ve spent the entire summer trying to make him smile.”

“And have not succeeded. Did I tell you I’ve accepted a job teaching skiing lessons in Vail this winter?”

Cadence blinked at the sudden change of topic. “Um, no. You did not. I thought you were planning to stay here all winter.”

“I considered it.” Paisley stepped around her and continued up the ranch lane.

Cadence fell into step beside her. Enlightenment began seeping in. “You thought you’d stay if you could get Weston to respond.”

“Nah.”

“You rejected that a little too quickly.”

“I’m not letting that sour so-and-so rule my life.”

“I’m hearing a lot of protest.”

Paisley sent her a hard glare. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be upbeat all the time?”

“I can’t say that I do. I’m not as anti-social as what’s-his-name, but I also don’t try to be Lady Sunbeam. I am who I am.”

“Which is closer to grumpy than happy, at least lately.”

Cadence sighed. “You’re probably right. You know the saying about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire? I feel more like I’m jumping from one frying pan to another to keep out of the fire. But my feet are still getting scorched.”

“Let’s talk about that.”

“Any topic besides Weston, huh?” Cadence hid her grin.

Paisley rolled her eyes. “For sure. Listen. I think you should get Graham to notice you. I know he likes you, but he doesn’t quite know what to do about it. He’s a little obtuse at times.”

Her roommate had no idea what Graham had already done — Mom had freaked out that an anonymous someone had bought their house out of receivership with permission to stay living in it with minimal rent. He hadn’t mentioned the rent part to Cadence, but it made sense. Mom had enough to pay off her debt and the wedding with not much left over, but that was more than they deserved.