Faith's gaze had narrowed. "I can see I'm going to have to explain some of the mysteries of the universe to you," she said. "You need educating. We'll find a quiet time to day, and I'll begin work on it."
A look of alarm had crossed his handsome face, and that was when he remembered the appointment he couldn't break.
The afternoon sail had only one casualty, when W.A. fell in and ruined his shirt, but other than that, everything went fine. At least, for everyone other than Ross.
He'd been sitting at the picnic table along with the others, happily munching on fried chicken, when he'd heard a soft whistle. Turning toward where the noise had come from, he saw Jennifer Carrington, his cousin's wife, gesturing to him from a stand of three redwoods that formed a sort of grotto.
Turning quickly, he saw that no one else had noticed. They were all too busy bickering with one another. Slipping away as unobtrusively as he was able, he made his way to where Jennifer was waiting and greeted her with a warm hug.
"Hey Cuz," he said. "Where's Reid?"
"Working." She rolled her eyes. "I've got him trained pretty well, but work does still seem to get in the way more often than I would like."
He grinned. Jennifer was one of his favorites. A vivacious dark haired beauty, she'd been the proverbial "girl next door" to his cousins, Reid, Matt and Grant-so he'd practically known her all his life. Now she was married to Reid.
"Didn't you just have….?"
"Twins?" She grinned and jerked her thumb toward where two toddlers were attempting to make their way to the sand box. "There they are, big as life. Mark and Matthew."
He laughed. "When are Luke and John showing up?" he asked.
"Not sure yet," Jenny said, laughing right back. She put a hand over her tummy. "But we may know soon."
"Congrats." He smiled, watching her two little ones trying to negotiate this new thing called walking. "Gorgeous," he commented, then looked uneasy. "Say, Jennifer, I'd love to introduce you to the people I'm with, but there's a complication, so I…."
She put up a hand and smiled at him. "Say no more. I'm sure you're into something very mysterious. You're always the busy bee. I don't want to intrude."
"Oh, you could never…."
"Save it, Ross. Go back to your friends. I'm not upset. Honestly." She gave him another hug. "But I will be if you don't show up at our house one of these days to get to know the boys. They're worth it." She gave him a significant look. "Believe me."