“He was?” Libby asked absently. Another memory began to come back to her. A smile, a black collared shirt. “Right . . . I remember now,” she said. “He was talking to you, asking about your move from Orlando.”
Madeline laughed. “He may have been asking about me, but the whole time he was looking at you. But you were obsessed with Ryan. I am so glad you are over him. You are, right?”
Something hitched inside Libby. She was over Ryan. She’d been over him a long time now, and had allowed herself to believe that, for the sake of Alice and Max, she could possibly reconcile with him if necessary to have them in her life. But last night with Sam had been so incredible that Libby couldn’t imagine how she’d ever believed that.
Madeline was still watching her, still smiling. Libby groaned. “Try not to take flight with joy, or you’ll hit your head on the ceiling. And geez, stop smiling like that. Seriously, stop,” she said, giggling at Madeline’s goofy grin. “Who knows where this will go?”
“Okay, okay,” Madeline said gleefully. “I’m sorry. I’m acting just like my friend Trudi, and she drives me nuts. I’m just really happy for you.”
Libby felt another hitch inside her. It felt as if this wasn’t the first time Madeline had expressed these feelings about her—just not to her.
“Oh, by the way, I’m making chili!” Madeline announced. “I’m going to ask Sam if he wants to stick around for it, if that’s okay with you.”
“Madeline!” Libby lightly protested.
Madeline giggled and passed Libby on her way to the kitchen. “He’s already going to be here, Libby! He’ll be hungry after they load the horses. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t be a nuisance.”
Libby had her doubts about that.
The chili dinner turned out to be something of a party. Madeline invited everyone—Ernest and Tony, Luke and Sam. She’d even decided to assign seats at the dining room table. A first at Homecoming Ranch, and Libby knew exactly what her sister was up to—she was orchestrating a date for Libby and Sam. That was Madeline for you, assuming that things weren’t being done correctly if she wasn’t the one doing them.
Madeline’s chili was good, surprisingly so. Over dinner, Libby and Madeline told the guys about the plans for Gary and Austin’s civil ceremony. The talk then turned to people around town.
“Luke, how’s Leo?” Sam asked. “I heard yesterday that he’d had another seizure.”
Luke sighed and shook his head. “We thought we had that under control with a new combination of medicines. While we were in Montrose, they found he had some fluid on his lungs.”
“Oh no,” Libby said. “Is he home?”
“Not yet. He’s due to be released tomorrow if all goes well.”
The news about Leo was never good. This summer he’d suffered from uncontrollable seizures, and Libby had heard Bob Kendrick say he would need a feeding tube before long. “I can’t wait to get started on the fundraising for him,” she said, more to herself than to anyone in particular.
That was followed by a bit of an awkward silence. Ernest and Tony seemed to be more interested in their food. But Madeline, Luke, and Sam looked anywhere but at her. “What is it?” Libby asked, looking around at the three of them.
Madeline and Luke, she noticed, exchanged a look, and Luke’s jaw tightened, as if he were biting back words. She looked to Sam for help understanding what everyone was so quiet about.
“I think,” he said, looking at Madeline and Luke, “there is a slight concern about your participation on that committee since Gwen Spangler is heading it.”
Libby ignored the little catch in her heart. “Good for Gwen,” she said, a tad too dismissively. “Just out of curiosity . . .” She picked up her spoon and dipped it into her bowl, “Why is Gwen chairing it?”
“She wants to help,” Luke said. “The Methodists have a ladies group that chooses a cause every year, and this year, Leo is their cause.”
“Well, I like a good cause, too, and I can’t think of a better one than Leo. This means that Gwen and I are on the same page.”
“But still,” Madeline said, “Maybe it’s not a good idea, given everything that’s happened.”
Libby spooned some chili. “Okay, everyone, lighten up, will you? I get it, I understand your concern. But nothing is going to happen. I’ve known Leo all my life, and this isn’t about anything but helping him.” To their skeptical looks, she said, “I swear it.”
“What’s the big deal?” Tony asked casually.
No one looked as if they wanted to answer that. Madeline said, “Libby’s had some issues with a couple of people in town.” She waved her hand as if it were a trifling thing, but her voice belied that gesture.
Tony snorted. “You wouldn’t believe how many issues I’ve had in Pine River. This is what you do,” he said, pointing his spoon at Libby. “You fall down, then you get back on the saddle and you move the hell on. Am I right, Sam?”
“Yep,” Sam said.
“That’s what you do,” Tony said to everyone else.