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“Father,” Slade said politely, “it’s good to see you”
Jonas grinned “Bull patties”
Bull patties, indeed, Slade thought
Soed
By the tiain
He wasn’t so sure about Trav, who almost snapped his head off when heknee-deep in blondes
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Travis de to end up rolling around on the ground while they pummeled each other
That, at least, had changed Instead of decking hihed it off Travis did, anyway Slade just pretended to So female, probably, but Travis didn’t want to talk about it Well, that was understandable What was the sense in discussing the probleical way to solve them? Wo Just when you thought you had a handle on figuring them out, you realized you didn’t
Gage arrived next and that was another shock, finding out that Natalie had left hi to the old Los Lobos pack, anyway? Still, they ended up laughing and joking, surviving a session with the old ured Jonas was thinking about ould inherit Espada The thing was, none of them wanted it Catie did, and she deserved it, but the old sob couldn’t get past the fact that she wasn’t a Baron by birth
“Lucky Catie,” Slade e and Travis all trooped out to the old barn, and up to the hayloft
After a while, theiraround and joking about this and that A guy named Grant Landon joined the time back Landon turned out to be okay—and dae
What was it, Slade wondered, as he dressed for Jonas’s birthday party, that made women so damned difficult to understand?
Natalie, walking out on Gage? Slade shook his head as he did the studs on his dress shirt And fro the rocks had been every bit as unbelievable
Slade picked up his tie, drew it around his neck and turned toward the mirror
Travis, at least, wasn’t in trouble half as deep He had soht, and it probably was a woet hione through the first time
Hell, Slade thought, leaning closer to the ht, nobody who’d grown up in the Baron household would get into a serious relationship, not unless he was nuts Except for Gage, that was, and even so, look at the mess he was in now
“Dammit,” Slade said
The tie just wouldn’t lie right One end was too long, the other too short He could go down the hall, to Catie’s room, ask her to fix it She kne to do bows Women usually did What about Lara? Could she tie a bow? Had she ever tied one for her ex-husband? He’d never asked her the guy’s name, or what he did…
Or as the color of his hair, or his eyes
“Dammitall,” Slade snarled He yanked the tie off, jammed it into his pocket, threw open the door and went downstairs, to join the party
Two hours later, he was having a wonderful time That hat he told hiured it just ht turn out to be true
It hat he told Catie, when she danced by in the arhton’s son, Gray, as about as unlike his old man as it was possible to be It hat he said to Marta, too, when he kissed her cheek and told her she was the most beautiful woman in the room
“That’s a char back at hi h his “Why aren’t you dancing? Every fe for you to be so kind as to break her heart”
Slade laughed “I proe What about you? How coht?”
Marta s waiter
“You know Jonas He’s gone off somewhere for a bit of chitchat with some of his cronies” She sipped so all right?”
“Why do woed up what he hoped was an easy smile “First Catie asks me if I’m okay, now you” He put his hand over Marta’s “Yes I’ back and forth from one job to another”
“I didn’t mean to pry, Slade It’s just that you looked…Well, never ht We women can be impossible We look for trouble even when there isn’t any, your father says”
“Well, for once I agree with him” Slade looked past his stepoing on over there? Looks like a football huddle”
Marta swung around, followed his gaze and laughed
“It’s hters They’re in the center of that—what did you call it? A huddle?”