Page 28 of Homecoming

Angela gave her a thoughtful look. “They have the option to go, but most of them will stay on the mountain. The men are… a little disconnected from their former lives. And just so you know, they may react to your being there with… apprehension. They’re a tight-knit crew, and even I feel left out sometimes.”

“You’re building the invite up so well,” Grace laughed.

Angela winced and looked out the window. Then she glanced around the coffee shop. No one was bothering them. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own little bubbles of conversation, so Grace was curious why Angela was behaving the way she was.

Angela finally caught her gaze again. “You are welcome to join us, but just be prepared to have an open mind. The group is…” she shook her head. “The men are all incredible,” she said firmly. “But there may be some subtext you don’t understand.”

“Okay…”

Why was she being so weird about this? “Maybe I should wait for another day.”

Angela shook her head. “No, I think it’s the perfect time to join us,” and she gave Grace a soft smile.

By the time they left the coffee shop, Grace was a confused mess. She really enjoyed Angela, but did she want to get involved with drama on the mountain?

As soon as she looked back at Owen, she knew the answer was yes. “I’ll join you for dinner,” she said, and Angela grinned.

“Fantastic!”

TEN

“You did what?”

Owen almost wrecked the truck into a ditch as he fought through the freshly fallen snow and slammed a look toward Angela. Technically, she was his boss’s wife, so he had to be careful how he responded.

“I invited Grace up for Christmas Dinner,” she said calmly, facing forward.

Yeah, that’s what he thought she’d said. “Why?”

Angela gave him a look. “Because I really like her and I can tell you do too.”

He stewed on that for a few minutes. “She has no idea what she’s walking into.”

“No, but she has to start somewhere.”

Owen gritted his teeth. This could go really bad. “The men may not appreciate it, either.”

He felt Angela turn to look at him. “I’m going to let you in on a secret, Owen. Some of the men up here are hungry for interaction. I’ve realized that this week because I’ve felt like we’ve been under a microscope. I realize a large part of that is Fallon, but they’re hungry for outside input.”

Yeah, he did realize that, but he didn’t realize it was so obvious.

“You’ve been interacting with her for months, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And has she given you any indication that she’s a flake or untrustworthy?”

“No,” he admitted.

Angela sat back in her seat and let the silence speak for itself.

It was just such a huge risk, though. If it was just him, he would maybe be more likely to jump in with both feet, but he felt responsible for all twenty-two men up here. They weren’t children, obviously, but he was responsible for their mental and social well-being as well as their physical. Angela wasn’t criticizing him, exactly, but he took her words to heart.

“Fine,” he said eventually, “but some men may not be happy.”

“Then maybe you should warn them ahead of time. It is Christmas time. We should be welcoming to everyone.”

Yeah, maybe. He would have to warn a couple specifically, because they really didn’t like to be seen by anyone other than the people they already knew. They had too many scars and other deformities to be comfortable with new people.

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