Dinner was scheduled for eight, but since the boys lived there, we were all early. In particular, I made sure to get back before the rest of them so I could shower, shave, and be ready for the company. As I stepped out of the shower into the steamed bathroom and picked up my razor, there was a knock on the door.
“There are other bathrooms in the house,” I called out.
“Yeah, but none of them are in my bedroom, Sawyer,” Cassidy said.
It was true. There were five bathrooms in our ranch house, some newer than others as Dad made addition after addition to the original building, but my room, being the newest of the bedrooms, had to fit into the house as it was already expanded when my brother Garrett came along. That meant the two of us shared a bathroom, and as much as I loved my brother, I hated how messy he was.
“Just hold your horses, Cass,” I said. “I just have to shave real quick and I’ll be out.”
“Fine,” Cassidy said on the other side, resigned. “Just let me know next time, will you?”
“You were busy with your precious paperwork,” I said, turning on the sink.
“Somebody has to actually pay the bills, Sawyer,” the eldest brother said. “Hurry it up.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I said and pressed the now hot razor to my face. Usually, I kept the stubble for the Dude Ranch, but I felt like cleaning up for tonight.
I listened as Cassidy walked away, and continued shaving until I was smooth and clean. Getting dressed in more regular clothes was something of an anomaly these days. All too often, I was wearing some garish costume to make sure the guests on the Dude Ranch thought I looked the part. Leather chaps and a leather vest and leather, leather, leather. I felt like a damn fool most of the time. But it made them happy, and making them happy made me happy.
Plus, the girls seemed to like it. That never hurt.
I didn’t fancy myself a playboy like my brother Garrett had been, nor was I spoken for since I was little like Jesse and Clayton. I existed somewhere in the middle, I supposed, always enjoying the company of pretty ladies while never actually pursuing very many of them. It always came down to wanting to enjoy myself without drama, and the Dude Ranch and its ever-revolving door of guests made that my reality.
As I stepped downstairs, though, I realized my primping had taken up more time than I expected and washing away the character I played for our guests made me later than I wanted to be. Annabelle was already in the kitchen, and Gia was walking through the door, little Gabby trailing along behind her. Annabelle smiled wide when she saw me and opened her arms for me to wrap her in a hug when I entered the kitchen.
Annabelle had been my best friend since we were little. It had caused mass confusion, since she was a very pretty girl and I seemed to have a natural charm with ladies even when I was young, but our friendship had always been happily platonic. Her falling in love with my brother Garrett had been an adjustment for me to make, but seeing how steady Garrett was with her and how happy she seemed to be with him, I was willing to make it.
“Hey, you,” I said. “Is Garrett in the dining room?”
“Yeah, he’s in there with Dad,” she said.
“Oh, I didn’t know Hugh was going to make it. That’s great.”
“He’s been doing really well on his diet, so I decided to spoil him with a Montgomery family dinner,” she said.
I laughed and shook my head as I headed to the dining room. There was already a fair amount of noise as the boys talked and eventually talked over one another. There was a lot of laughter, and not for the first time, I felt grateful for my family and the life I had. Even if deep down, I felt like something was missing.
“Sawyer,” Cassidy called from across the table as I sat down and the food began arriving. “I have a question for you.”
“Sure, bud, what is it?” I asked.
“When are you planning on heading back out on the ranch?” Cassidy asked.
“Well, I have the next Dude Ranch group arriving on Friday morning,” I said, eyeing the basket of rolls that sat in the center of the table. “I’ll be out there for a full week then.”