Page 30 of Boston (Coral Canyon: Cowboys #12)

CHAPTER

TWENTY

C ora could feed off the energy in this backyard for a long time.

Boston had spent the twenty-minute drive from Silver Sage to this enormous mansion in Dog Valley going over who would be at cousin night.

Cora had lost track of the names after the first five or six, but now that she’d met them face to face, they would be easier to remember.

Number one, she’d met Adam, Joey, Belle and Harry before, so she could barely count them as new people.

Boston’s oldest cousin, Bryce, radiated sunshine, and she watched as he tipped his head back and laughed with another man who actually had silver at his temples already.

She leaned her head closer to Boston and nodded over to them as the older man crouched down and, using his bare hands, started to put the tin foil dinners into the hot fire pit.

“Who’s that again?” she asked.

“Reggie,” Boston said. “He used to be a pro baseball player up in Seattle. He’s married to Kassie.”

“And Kassie and Bryce own the ranch,” Cora said, making the connection.

“That’s right,” Boston said.

“But Bryce is married to Codi.”

“Yep.”

Codi also had a good air about her too, and Boston had told Cora not to be too confused when she met Codi a second time, as the woman wore wigs and sometimes looked a little bit different.

Tonight, she had blonde hair that fell just below her shoulders and bangs that covered her forehead, which her little boy kept reaching for.

Seeing children at cousin night made Cora’s heart happy, and though Boston had told her that Bryce and Kassie would probably bring their kids, it had still surprised her.

The conversation she’d been involved in with Lynnie and Matthew broke up as Adam came over and said, “You guys, we’ve got to get your food in, or we’ll be here all night waiting for it to cook.”

Boston had set their meals, which he had prepared, on the patio dining table, and he said, “I’ll go do it.” He left her standing with Lynnie. Matthew moved away too, as did Cole and Rosie.

Cora watched the two of them—siblings, Boston had told her—as Rosie continued to talk to him. He nodded and said a few things every now and then, and while Cora could definitely feel some intensity inside Rosie, she could also see that they had a close brother-sister bond.

The group of younger girls still sat at the patio set, and Boston stopped and chatted with them, his low chuckle reaching Cora’s ears from several feet away.

“How long have you two been dating?” Lynnie asked.

Cora turned her attention back to the young woman. “Only a couple of weeks,” Cora said. “Maybe only a single week.” She smiled at Lynnie. “I’ve only been back in town for that long.”

Lynnie nodded. “Matthew and I live in Phoenix.”

“Wow,” Cora said. “That’s about as hot as where I came from—Miami.”

Lynnie grinned. “It’s definitely cooler here in the summer. I’m going to stay with my mom for a month or two, but Matthew has to get back to work.”

“What does he do down there?” Cora asked.

“He’s an accountant at a hospital.” Her gaze moved over to her husband. He did not wear a cowboy hat, and he was the only man there who didn’t. His khaki pants and blue button-up suddenly made a lot more sense, and he actually gave the two tin foil packets to Harry to put in the fire.

Cora could barely believe that she was at a party with Harry Young—and not to mention Bryce, who’d definitely been on stages with his daddy’s band, Country Quad.

“When are you due?” Cora asked.

“The first part of November,” Lynnie said.

“November babies are the best,” Codi said as she joined their little group. “Matty was born in November.”

Cora smiled at her and then the little boy, and Codi returned it.

“Austin says you’re at Silver Sage,” Codi said, leaving all of the questions completely open-ended.

“Yes,” Cora said. “It’s my family property, and my mother is getting ready to retire.”

“Oh,” Codi said, a measure of shock in the word.

“That’s why I came home,” Cora said, figuring it easier just to get the story out instead of forcing anyone to probe for it. “I have a twin sister who’s going to have twins in September.”

“Wow,” Codi said. “Two babies at once—that takes a special person.” She looked at her son as he tried to get down, though he definitely couldn’t walk on his own.

“Are you more likely to have twins if you’re a twin?” Lynnie asked.

Cora glanced between the two women, and then watched Boston bend down to put their dinner in the fire. “I think so,” she said. “But I don’t know the statistics offhand.”

Kassie joined their group, and she took Matt from Codi.

“Anyway, I’m going to be taking over the management of the property,” Cora said. “It’s what I did in Miami. I was the senior manager of a boutique hotel there, and what we do at Silver Sage is a little bit different, but it utilizes a lot of the same skills.”

Kassie had started nodding along about halfway through. “So you’ll be like me and Bryce.”

Cora frowned because she did not know what that meant. She looked at Codi and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know what you and Bryce do.”

“Boston hasn’t told you all about us?” Codi grinned at her and then giggled.

“I’m sure they talk about other things,” Kassie said, also grinning. “I run the administrative side of Sunrise Ranch. Bryce and Codi do all the manual labor.”

“Hey, I do some stuff.” Bryce moved into the group and stuck out his hand. “I don’t think I’ve met you.”

“This is Cora, baby,” Codi said. “Boston’s girlfriend.”

“Oh yeah, I saw him holding your hand, but he didn’t tell any of us that he had a girlfriend.”

“He put it on the cousin text,” Kassie said, and Cora marveled that she was there and yet did not share any Young DNA.

In that moment, Cora realized that Boston didn’t either. This group was not about genes and blood, but a found family of people who had similar struggles and wanted to provide a support network for each other.

“We’re really, really new,” Cora said. “And I kind of had to bully him into calling me his girlfriend, so.”

Bryce chuckled. “That sounds a lot like Boston, actually. He’s the hardest worker out of us all.” He leaned closer into the huddle, and Cora found herself doing the same thing. “But he struggles a little bit with making decisions.”

“He does great at Silver Sage,” Cora said. “He leads a lot of our outdoor excursions and adventures, and everyone I’ve talked to speaks highly of him.”

“Oh, he’ll get the job done all right,” Bryce said.

“He did great on Harry’s tour too,” Codi said.

“He’s a pro at managing a lot of details.” Bryce grinned and glanced over to Lynnie. “Anyway, I haven’t said hello to you either, Lynnie.” Bryce moved into the middle of the circle and took the woman into his arms. “When are you and Matt gonna move back here?”

Lynnie laughed and shook her head as she stepped out of the hug. “We’re not moving back here, Bryce.”

“Oh, come on,” he said. “Everyone comes back to Coral Canyon sooner or later. You might as well make it sooner.” He grinned at her, and then turned when someone called his name. “Be right back,” he said, and he turned to go over to Joey.

Boston stepped next to Cora, and she moved back to make room for him in the circle. Before she knew it, everyone had joined it, and they shifted around to make room for the girls, then Harry and Belle, and finally, their hosts, Joey and Adam.

Cora looked around at all of their faces, mentally reciting their names so she could remember them. They’d made her feel so welcome and comfortable, and Cora knew from experience that was a skill someone either had through natural talent or had worked to develop.

She suspected the Youngs—especially Harry, Bryce, and Joey—came by it naturally.

The others definitely seemed quieter, and Cora stalled on one of the younger women until she remembered Corrine, who stood next to Liesl.

They looked quite similar, in fact, with their dark hair and eyes, and she only got it because Corrine held hands with her boyfriend, and Cora knew Liesl had come with her best friend.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Harry said, and Cora switched her eyes to him as well.

“You always say something,” Joey said.

“This isn’t my party,” Harry said. “You guys had a bonfire at your house.” He glared at Adam.

He slid his hand along Joey’s waist and tucked her against his side.

He grinned out at everyone and said, “Yeah, I should probably say something. Harry’s right; it is my house.

” He gazed down at Joey, the love he had for her extremely obvious.

“It’ll be me and Joey’s house soon,” he said.

“And we’re real happy you could all make it tonight. ”

Joey nodded and looked around the circle too. “We’re only missing Cash tonight,” she said. “And he’ll be here next month.”

“He wants to host it at his vacation rental,” Harry said.

“I hope it has a pool,” Bryce said.

Cora grinned, because she could only imagine this party transplanted to Silver Sage.

She looked at Boston, her eyebrows raised, but he clearly didn’t get what she was asking.

She could schedule a night where they would have a whole pool and hot tub to themselves, and she could get the kitchen to make anything she wanted.

Pool party.

It sounded like an amazing time, especially with all these people. She could invite Kat and Jeremy too, and Cora’s mind worked through perhaps doing more private pool parties or simply open pool parties at the resort for all guests.

“I’ll find out,” Joey said. “But Harry managed to get the sour grapes, and Reggie brought an entire theater’s worth of popcorn, and we have potato chips and potato salad to go with your tin foil dinners.”

“We can do s’mores and Starburst roasting at any time, and we’re just really glad to have everyone here,” Adam said. He looked at Joey again.

She surveyed everyone and took a deep breath. “I want all of you here to be in my wedding party.”