Page 51 of The Banker's Bride

Dallas smiled, glad she wanted to be part of the community. “I’m sure that the sheriff would love it. He has two children and no wife, so he probably doesn’t have much time to cook. His daughter, Lillian, is still young yet. But from what I understand, she cooks most of their meals. I’m sure she would like a break. Either that, or we could invite Wyatt Nash and his new wife.”

“Or Colton and Ella and the children,” Megan added. “Since they all know one another.”

Dallas smiled. “I think it may be too many for the dining room.”

“Unless we set up a large table in the living room….” Charles added. “We could all dine together then.”

“I think maybe a more intimate setting in the dining room might be nice.” Dallas added. “After all, it would be twelve people, including the babies. I think we can manage in the dining room. We could set up a side board with the vegetables, turkey, and other items.” Then he glanced over at Megan. “What do you think, darling?”

She gave him a small smile but was obviously starting to get caught up in the planning. “That might be nice. When we get home this afternoon, I’ll have a look and see what we can do.”

“Sounds like a plan!” A broad smile spread across Dallas’s face.

One corner of Charles’s lips curled into a smile. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“What?” He arched an eyebrow.

Charles leaned forward. “This means that we’ll have to go hunting.”

Dallas burst out laughing. “We could always buy one from the General Store.”

“No! Where’s your spirit of adventure?” Charles asked, clearly excited. “We haven’t gone hunting for a while. It’ll do us some good to get out in the fresh air.”

“In the snow,” Dallas said flatly.

Megan laughed. “Well, I’ll leave it to ye fellas to take care of the turkey. I’ll speak with Jacques about the rest of the meal.” Her head snapped toward Dallas, the earlier incident forgotten. “Should we invite them today? After all, it’ll give them plenty of time to plan. What do ye think?”

“Well, I don’t know…” Dallas glanced over at Charles and smiled. “What do you think? A Thanksgiving party?”

He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

“Now, you boys will have to tell me what to fix because I’ve never had a Thanksgiving meal before, let alone prepared one.” Megan suddenly looked worried.

Dallas gently patted her hand. “Don’t worry. Jacques will take care of everything. You’ll just go over the menu with him, once it’s planned.”

“Well, I want to do something more….” She tapped her finger on her chin, thinking. “I know! Mrs. Daly and I will take care of the decorations. We’ll press the linens–”

“Okay, okay! I surrender!” Dallas chuckled. “You can have your party.”

“I’ll contribute, too,” Charles interjected, clearly caught up in the excitement.

“No, ye’re our guest,” Megan interrupted. “Ye and Dallas will take care of shootin’ the turkey. Leave the rest of the plannin’ to me.”

One corner of Charles’s lips curled into a devious smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”

The three of them laughed as they planned their first Thanksgiving together. Dallas just hoped that everything went well this time. But one thing was sure: He made a mental note to be himself and not to put on airs. After all, he didn’t have to. He just hoped that he and Megan could work everything out in the meantime.

Soon, they arrived at the stone church, set in a fresh blanket of sparkling snow. It was as if God himself had planted a seed and the lovely stone church had sprung up from the earth. The mountains created a lovely backdrop behind it.

Reverend Henley was waiting by the door as they approached, and his eyes widened. After all, it was the first time that Dallas had been to the church for Sunday service. At that moment, Dallas realized how out of touch he had been withthe community, although he had fancied himself a part of it all along.

Dallas helped Megan out of the carriage and Charles stepped down from the other side. Dallas tucked Megan’s hand in his arm. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Then her smile faded. “And I promise not to embarrass ye.”

Dallas sighed. “Megan, I didn’t mean–”

“It’s okay,” she cut him off. “Let’s just enjoy ourselves today.”

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