The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,60
like this, huge surprise.”
“Yeah, everyone can get here,” Sammy said. “And when Bear finally pulls up, he’ll recognize every truck in the lot and know what’s going on.”
“Not a surprise,” Cactus said, his tone as dry as a desert.
“There you go,” Sammy said, flashing a smile at Cactus. He was looking right at her, but he didn’t crack a smile or even act like he heard her. She’d only met him once or twice, and apparently the third time wasn’t going to be the one that endeared her to him.
Sammy couldn’t stop the tide, though, and over the course of the next twenty minutes, the door kept opening and more people kept coming in. All the Walkers arrived, except for Micah, as did the rest of the Glovers, including Ranger and Lincoln.
“Sammy!” Link skipped toward her, and Sammy’s heart warmed.
“Hey, Linky,” she said, hugging him tight. “How was the ranch today?”
“So fun,” Lincoln said. “I rode Churro all by myself, after saddling him too. Bear found a yellow card in the barn, and then we found this orange one nailed to a tree.”
“Wow,” Sammy said, smiling at him. “That all sounds amazing.”
Cowboy after cowboy entered from Three Rivers, and Lincoln ran over to greet all of them. They smiled and hugged him, and Sammy had a few moments of existing outside of her own awareness, because she’d never seen such a manifestation of Lincoln’s life beyond her. But he clearly had met the cowboys she hadn’t, and she blinked only when her parents walked in with Jason and his wife.
“Grandma,” Lincoln said, and Sammy moved toward her parents too.
“Hey, baby,” her father said as Sammy hugged him. She embraced her mother next, and they faced the bowling alley.
“Food’s here,” a man said behind her, and in came Squire with a stack of pizza boxes. His wife followed, and one of his teenagers, and they all brought pizza with them. “Where do you want the pizza, Sammy?”
“Right over here,” she said, leading him toward a few tables that had been set up beyond where people rented shoes. Sammy busied herself getting out the paper plates and napkins.
“Drinks,” Pete said, putting a large white cooler on the end of the table.
Sammy looked up. “Thank you for picking all of this up.”
“It was on the way,” Pete said, and he smiled at Sammy. “Is Bear here yet?”
“Not yet,” Sammy said, glancing toward the door. She looked around and met Bishop’s eye. He lifted one shoulder, and Sammy shook her head.
Her phone buzzed, and she checked it. “It’s Bear,” she said, though Pete had left, and she stood near the food alone. Almost there. Two minutes out.
“All right,” Sammy said, looking up. “Everyone make a line right here. Right here in the front.” She hurried over to the spot where she wanted everyone. “He’s almost here. Two minutes, guys. Two minutes.”
Everyone congregated, herding in their kids. Sammy took Lincoln’s hand and stood next to Momma and Daddy, her pulse beating shallowly and at the speed of light while she waited for the door to open.
The only people missing were Zona, Bear’s mother, and Bear.
The door opened. “…I got it,” Bear said, but he didn’t appear. Zona came in, carrying the cake and walking very slow. “Come on, Mother,” he said, and Sammy watched as Bear entered, his arm linked through his mother’s.
Sammy smiled at the sight of him, because he was cowboy perfection walking toward her. On the second step, he slowed, recognition crossing his face.
“What is this?” he asked.
Sammy hadn’t coached anyone on what to say, and Bishop jumped in front of the crowd and yelled, “Sing, everyone.” He started waving his hands, and they broke into a cowboy-heavy rendition of Happy Birthday.
Sammy sang, her eyes glued to Bear. He surveyed the crowd, his eyes finding Sammy’s and refusing to look away. He inclined his head toward her slightly as if asking her if she was responsible for this.
She lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug and finished the song. The crowd swarmed forward, Lincoln leading them. Bear laughed in that hearty voice of his and lifted the boy straight into his arms.
Sammy hung back and let everyone say hello. Bear kept Lincoln with him, and once most people had greeted Bear, she lifted both arms and said, “All right, everyone. There’s pizza and soda over here, and the whole bowling alley is ours for two hours. Get some shoes, get a ball, and bowl as much as you want.”