The Lawsons needed a party. Life was pulling the family in a dozen different directions. New jobs and significant others were putting all of them on separate paths after years of living together on the farm. The changes were exciting, but those left behind could feel a little abandoned.
Benton knew which rung he was one when it came to the Royal Oak Ranch: the lowest one that he shared with Shannon. On paper they were all equal owners, but it never seemed that way. Shannon got a larger vote when it came to how the dude ranch experience operated, whereas Clay had veto rights over everything. Paul almost exclusively sided with Clay, leaving Benton holding the bag alone when he dared to disagree.
Benton was glad that Tyler would be home for a whole weekend, although his brother would be spending most of it with his fiancée. He’d been gone for months, and they’d all missed him, especially their mother. At least Tyler was willing to give Benton a break every now and then. Besides, with him home, the Lawsons would finally be able to make some much-needed decisions that affected them as a group.
Not to mention, Benton wanted to get another Lawson on Claire’s side. Fortunately for him, Claire had already made a good impression on his parents and his sister. He wasn’t sure how Paul felt about her, but his oldest brother had made his impression of her clear, no matter how much it was undeserved.
A minivan pulled to a stop in front of the house, and Tyler got out of the passenger side. His light brown hair was short and styled, and his clothes still looked good despite a three-hour car ride. It was apparent, though, that his country music star brother was oblivious to the red lipstick smears on his cheek. The grin on his fiancée’s face meant Scarlett was well aware that she’d left her mark on him and was enjoying his obliviousness. “Well, if it isn’t my baby brother Benny. All grown up with a girlfriend now, I hear,” Tyler teased as he crushed Benton in a hug.
“We’re thrilled to be in the presence of a superstar such as yourself, Mr. Lawson, sir. It’s so kind of you to remember the little people in your life,” Benton replied, slapping Tyler on the back.
“You must be the girlfriend.” Tyler stuck out his hand, but Claire didn’t shake it right away. It took Benton a moment to recognize the expression on her face. She was starstruck. By his annoying big brother. It seemed that Claire knowing in theory that Tyler was a country star was different than her actually meeting him in person.
“Um, yes?”
“Not sure?” Tyler asked with a laugh.
“Not at the moment,” she admitted. “I’m a big fan. We all are. Were. At my old job. I still am. At my new job. A fan, I mean.” A weird grin stretched across her face. “And now that I’ve embarrassed myself, I’m going to talk to Scarlett. Nice to meet you.”
She didn’t humiliate herself quite as bad as some other interactions that Benton had witnessed, but he’d hoped that his mostly fake girlfriend would have been a little cooler. It was only Tyler, after all.
“Where’s Clay?” Tyler asked. “I thought we were all going to be home this weekend.”
“We are. He had an errand to run,” Paul said as he joined his brothers. “Here he is now.”
A pick-up pulled into the yard and parked around the side of the house. Benton squinted. “Oh, man, did he bring—”
Claire was back, and yanking on his arm so hard he feared it would come off at the shoulder. “Benton! Benton, that’s…that’s…”
At least with Tyler, his calm and collected cop could still form words. This latest arrival had taken even that from her. “Yes, that’s Marki Queen. She’s been dating Clay for a couple of years now. They’re very private about it. Very private,” he emphasized. He took Claire’s elbow and steered them away from the welcoming familial crowd gathering around Clay and Marki.
“She’s a movie star, Benton. A big one. How is it even possible that Tyler Lawson and Marki Queen are here?” Her question sounded more like an accusation that he’d been keeping secrets from her.
“It’s a lot easier to swallow when you realize that we all went to school with Cameron and Colleen Irvine when we were kids.”
“Are you kidding me? You went to school with Cameron Irvine?”
As she said the words, he realized that his childhood was a little more unusual than he made it sound. Most people wouldn’t find themselves in a situation where they were friends with celebrities like Cameron Irvine, who was an actor on the biggest medical drama on television, or his twin sister Colleen, an award-winning, critically renowned film actress. It was possible for people to go to school with one celebrity, but rarely two. In his defence, Benton had known them long before they had any dreams of Hollywood. They were Tyler’s contemporaries, but they’d all played together on the same sports teams and attended the same 4H Clubs.
Marki Queen was different. She’d come to the Royal Oak Ranch in secret preparation for an upcoming role and had fallen in love with her riding instructor. Clay had fallen in love right back. They were still working out the bumps of their long-distance, international relationship, but she was family when she was on the ranch. She’d been around for long enough that now she only caused a minor stir when she appeared in town.
“Marki is a friend of Cameron’s. When she needed to spend some time on a ranch for research, he recommended the Royal Oak Ranch. She and Clay hit it off and…”
“The rest is private history,” Claire finished.
“You get it. Thank you.”
“It’s going to kill me to keep this to myself. But I think that you know I, of all people, understand the importance of a secret.”
“I trust you.” Benton did. Completely. “Want an introduction?”
“I need another minute to catch my breath. Then definitely yes!”
Clay and Marki seemed to be deep in conversation with his mom and dad, so Benton led Claire back over to where Paul and Shannon were talking with Tyler and Scarlett. After a couple of sideways glances, Claire was able to join in the conversation about the town’s upcoming summer festival. Scarlett was complaining good-naturedly about having to choose among all the food trucks who had applied for the limited spaces.
“Good food trucks can make a carnival amazing, but even mediocre ones are good when you’re out having fun,” Claire agreed. “As long as you have a place for real, solid food and not all slushie and dessert trucks, you’ll be set, but it sounds like you already know that. Your lineup sounds amazing. Take my money.”
“We generally go heavier on non-dessert trucks anyway since we have so many local vendors selling desserts,” Scarlett said. “I have to figure out locations to park everybody since we’re having a larger stage for our live shows. We have a few bigger names this year.” She looked over her shoulder at Tyler and sighed in disappointment. “Bigger, but not big. It’s not like we’re getting the Mercer Brothers or anything.”
Benton chuckled at the subtle dig, since Tyler had opened for the Mercer Brothers on his first professional tour. He laughed harder when Tyler returned the shot with “Hey, I’m only as good as my material, sweetheart.”
“If my songs are good enough for Quinn Cooper, they’re good enough for you. You need to get your next album released.”
Claire’s jaw dropped at the announcement that Tyler had a new album coming out, but she rallied before Benton had to bail her out. “I don’t have any real skills to offer, Scarlett, but if you need any general help with the organizing, I’d be happy to lend a hand and a toolbelt for that weekend if you need me,” she offered.
“I will take tool help any day of the week. Freddy is so busy these days that he can’t give us the help he used to. I’ll get your cell number from somebody, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
Benton blinked. The Diamond Willow Festival was in August, and June started the next week. He didn’t know why Claire was making plans as if she’d still be here then. He’d been assuming that her undercover case would be over in a matter of weeks, not months. He didn’t want her volunteering for the show if she knew she wouldn’t be able to help; leaving Scarlett in the lurch would upset everybody.
He left them talking about the other acts that were confirmed and joined Marki and Clay on the front porch with his parents. Clay kept glaring at Claire’s back. If she turned around, she was going to be wondering what she’d done to annoy him. “What’s up?”
“We had an announcement to make to the family. We didn’t expect Claire to be here until later,” Clay said.
“I’m sure she’s wonderful,” Marki chimed in. “We just don’t want this getting out any earlier than it has to. She seems like a fan, and I don’t want to put either of you into an awkward situation.”
“I put myself in it because Clay didn’t tell us you were coming, and I hadn’t mentioned to her that you two were dating. Claire will be cool with anything you do. If you’re really concerned, we can go to town for something. You can fill me in on whatever your news is when we get back.” Benton couldn’t keep the bite out of his voice. He was still being sidelined from decisions because he brought his girlfriend to a party when he’d already confirmed she’d be welcome. Nothing ever changed.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Marki continued.
“We didn’t plan—”
Marki cut Clay off. “You told me on the phone earlier this week that you discussed with Benton that Claire was invited this afternoon. We messed up the timing, not her. I’m not about to send Benton’s girlfriend away for our mistake. You’re welcome to stay, Benton. In fact, why don’t you introduce us before we make our announcement?” The beautiful blonde waved until she caught Tyler’s attention. “Tyler, you guys all need to come over. Clay and I have an announcement to make.”
Considering that Marki was dressed like a movie star visiting a ranch and Claire was dressed for a picnic and a hayride, Benton couldn’t help but be proud of how evenly the two gorgeous women matched in charm. Claire gamely shook hands as she tried to keep her gushing down to, “It’s great to meet you, Marki. I’m a fan. I’m working next door with Red and Laurie Hiebert. I got to know Benton a couple summers ago when he was in Alberta, so I looked him up when I got to town.”
Marki matched her as graciously. “I met Red and Laurie when I first came out. I’m glad they have some help.”
Claire stepped back and claimed a section of porch railing. Benton parked himself right beside her. He braced his arm behind her and leaned close. Her back was as stiff as steel against his arm. He didn’t think the tension was coming from her. She was picking it up from his family.
“As Marki said, we have an announcement. Technically two,” Clay said. He looked at Daniel, who nodded. “Marki and I have set a date.”
The gasps and cheering from all the Lawsons drowned out whatever he was going to say next. Benton felt a hand between his shoulder blades before he was propelled into the throng of hugs and kisses and congratulations. This was the biggest news that he’d ever heard on the Royal Oak Ranch, edging out Tyler’s multi-million-dollar lottery win a couple years earlier. Marki Queen was an amazing person, and Clay was lucky to have her. She was lucky to have his oldest brother too, but Benton neglected to say that part out loud while he tried to squeeze the stuffing out of Clay. It was a tremendous occasion. The Lawson family was growing, and hopefully they would eventually have a fifth generation to take over the ranch.
“Are you staying for good now? What are you doing? What’s the second thing?” Shannon demanded. Benton understood her concern. She’d never lived without her entire family being on the property.
“We have planning permission to build another house on the homestead property. We have surveyors and engineers coming out next month,” Clay announced. He wrapped his arms around Marki’s waist and pulled her close.
“I’m keeping my house in Los Angeles for work, but we’ll be splitting our time between here and there,” Marki said. “And for a pre-wedding present, Clay has promised to get me my own horse to keep here. A slow one,” she specified. “So, what’s been happening since my last visit?”
Tyler stumbled forward, rubbing his side. “Scarlett and I have an announcement too. We’ve put in an offer on a house in town. We’ll know by the end of next week if we’ve got it.” Behind him, Scarlett grinned and crossed her fingers.
And another wave of jubilation splashed across the porch. Benton was thrilled for Tyler and Scarlett too, but it meant yet another change. Tyler would always be there for the family, but he would no longer be there physically, at least most of the time. Once their parents left for the grand European tour that they kept postponing for one reason or another, the ranch would only have half the people it had the previous year. It would be the end of an era.
When he worked himself free of the octopus of hugs that was his family, Claire gently pulled him aside. She looked worried when she said, “This is a lot of news for one afternoon. What, if anything, can I talk about when the other non-family guests arrive? Because I’m terrified that I’m going to screw something up and reveal too much.”
Her raw honesty shook him in his cowboy boots. He was supposed to be Claire’s cover. She wasn’t supposed to get involved in his family drama and upheavals, let alone have to remember their secrets as well as protect her own. For all his promises to himself to be her undercover police aide, he was falling down on the job when it came to supporting her. Claire was only supposed to be his fake girlfriend temporarily. If he wasn’t careful, she was going to end up in a wedding party. “Let’s find out. Hey, Clay!”
Clay weaved through the crowd, drawing Marki by the hand behind him. “What’s up?”
“You know we’re both really excited for you, but Claire was wondering how much of this is going to be public knowledge at the barbecue later.” Benton gestured at Marki. “You’re not wearing an engagement ring, so we can keep that under wraps, but what about building a house on the ranch? If you’re going through Turnbull Construction, half of Hopewell will already know.” Some secrets were too big to be kept in a small town.
Marki answered for them. “The house construction can be common knowledge. We didn’t stop in Hopewell, so nobody else knows I’m here yet. We’d like to keep it that way as long as possible.”
“You can count on us,” Claire stated. She gripped his hand, but Benton persisted.
“What about Tyler and Scarlett?”
“Let them make their announcement,” Clay said. “It’s their news.”
Claire’s fingers tightened to the point where he knew they were going to leave a bruise. “We’ve got this, Clay. I know that you don’t know me, but you know Benton, and he trusts me. If you don’t believe me, believe in him,” she promised.
If they weren’t already fake-dating, Benton would have asked her out on the spot for her unwavering confidence in him. “Yeah, we’ve got this, Clay. Marki, don’t worry about a thing. Everyone will be cool. Congratulations again. If Clay starts giving you a hard time, let me know, and I’ll sic Shannon on him. We both know she can take him down.”
As he hoped, the movie star laughed. “I’ve got to talk to my future sister-in-law anyway to get my yoga mat out of storage. Claire, it was great to meet you. We’ll talk again soon.”
Claire’s smile looked more relaxed as they walked over to join everybody else on the porch. Benton didn’t realize how much her acting had improved until she said, “Clay is still suspicious of me.”
“He’s very protective,” he protested.
“Of you. I’m a threat in his eyes.”
Benton couldn’t argue. Especially since they both knew she was lying her butt off about everything.