“I think that’s going to take quite a while judging from the size of this crowd,” I joke.
“By everyone, I mean my circle of friends, which will now be YOUR circle of friends.”
“Okay.” She’s so enthusiastic, I can’t help but smile. I wish my stomach were more enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting new people. I’ve never been what you would call an extrovert, but after everything I’ve been through over the past year and a half, I’m even more of an introvert these days.
“They’re all over here in the barn. Come on.”
I follow her to what she described as a barn, though I don’t think this barn has ever been used to house anything remotely resembling an animal since it’s been built. It’s immaculate and smells fresh and almost new. It looks like it was built more for parties than it was to house animals.
“Are we sure this is a barn?” I ask as I trail behind her.
“We only use it for parties,” she explains. “My mom wanted some place she could hold big parties during the year, so Dad built this for her. It stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter.”
“It’s beautiful,” I exclaim, as I note the wrought iron and crystal chandeliers hanging from the wood beamed ceiling.
“Isn’t it? Come on,” she grabs my hand again. “Everyone’s just right over here.”
I follow her to a group of about seven young adults who look about my age gathered in a corner eating together. The first thing I notice is that immediately all four of the guys stand up as Ava drags me to the table.
“Everyone this is my new friend, Faith! She just moved here from…” she looks at me. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever asked you where you moved here from?”
My mind draws a blank. What do I say? Kentucky? Virginia? Texas?
Then I remember.
“Virginia,” I say, hoping my blank stare didn’t last too long. “Richmond,” I clarify.
I’d been there enough times to answer any questions that might arise while going to school at University of Virginia. I could bluff my way around any questions if need be. Besides, I hoped no one around here had been to Richmond, Virginia.
“A Southerner,” one of the young men announce. I look over to where the voice came from and found myself staring into a pair of the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Matt Brooks,” he says, extending his hand. Ava’s brother. “Welcome to Wyoming.”
For a few seconds, my voice and mind leave me. It wasn’t hard to see why the women of Jackson were in love with him.
His hair is short and pitch black, but those eyes! Like Ava’s, they are almost a crystal blue and it feels like an electric current shoots right through me when his hand touches mine.
I am surprised at how tiny my hand feels in his own rugged one. His hands are rough and used to hard work. Not like Daniels’ baby soft hands.
“Thank you,” I manage. “Thank you for allowing me to come to your party.”
He smiles, showcasing a row of perfectly straight, white teeth. He has dimples. “My mother likes to throw big parties a few times a year. This is one of those times. I’m glad you could make it.”
“This is my boyfriend, Caleb Connor,” Ava announces, pointing to a boyishly good-looking young man with sandy blond hair and brown eyes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Caleb,” I say and take the hand he was greedily eating a barbecue sandwich from, but not before he wipes it on his pants.
“And this is Candace, Rachel, Tommy and Brian,” she spreads her hands toward the four remaining people still seated. The two young men had already stood when Ava brought me over, removing their hats and tipping their heads in acknowledgement of the introduction.
“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” I smile and mean it. My parents were right. It was nice to finally get out and be with people again. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to not live in fear and pain. Of not walking on eggshells or looking over my shoulder.
Truthfully, I was still looking over my shoulder. I think I will be for the rest of my life. Just knowing that Daniel is still out there, even though he’s in prison and won’t get out for several years, makes a shiver run through my body.
“Cold?” Matt asks. “We’ve got a bonfire over in the east end of the yard. I could walk you over there. It should keep you pretty warm.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I smile. “All of this is just a little overwhelming. I’m not used to such big crowds.”
“You’ll get used to it,” he smiles back. “My mother’s got an even bigger one planned for next month! She likes to get most of her parties in during the warmer months before the winter sets in and everyone’s stuck at their own ranch.”
“Does it get that bad?” I ask. “I would think with all of the snow you get around here, you’d be experts at knowing what to do to handle it.”
“Oh, we do,” he smiles back. “It’s just once in a while a really bad storm hits and that can lay us up for weeks before anyone can get out. Those are some nasty ones.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
“We’ll all help you through it,” Ava loops her arm through mine and gives it a squeeze. “Won’t we, Matt?”
The two girls seated at the table are still eyeing me suspiciously as I look at them.
“Do you go to college?” one of them asks.
I nod. “I took a year off to get some things in order, but I’m planning to go back to school this fall.”
“What are you studying?”
“I’m studying to be an architect,” I tell them.
“Wow,” Ava exclaims. “An architect! You must be pretty smart.”
“I’m no smarter than anyone else,” I smile. “I just like to design and build things.”
It’s true. When I was younger, I didn’t want to play with dolls, I wanted legos and blocks and magnets and anything I could get my hands on that would let me create some kind of fantastic structures.
“Commercial or residential?” Matt asks. This surprises me because most people don’t care enough to ask that type of question.
“I can do both, but I like designing someone’s home and filling in the details of what makes the space special to them.”
“I’ve sketched out some ideas for a house I’d like to build one day. Maybe you could take a look at them and tell me what you think.”
“I’d like that,” I smile back at him.
We stand there, awkwardly looking around.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“I think I could eat something.”
“Then let’s grab you some food.”
I tamp down the anxious butterflies in my stomach and allow him to usher me through the crowd toward tables laden with all kinds of delicious looking morsels.
“What are you in the mood for?” he asks, grabbing me a plate. “I think my mother has hired every chef and caterer in the area for this party.”
“The fried chicken looks good,” I say.
“White or dark?”
“Both!”
He gives me a wry look and raises one eyebrow.
“As noted, I’m hungry,” I smile.
“Breast and leg then,” he says as he puts the pieces of delicious looking meat onto my plate.
“Vegetables?”
“Potato salad and some of that green bean salad please,” I say, watching as he expertly loads up my plate.
“You’ve got to have one of these corn muffins,” he says as he puts one on my plate. “They’re amazing!”
“Okay,” I smile. “I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve had one.
“This corn casserole is good too. Do you like corn?”
“I love it,” I say and watch as he heaps a helping of the corn casserole onto my plate. “I think that will hold me for now.”