Free Dakota Homecoming by Lisa Mondello Page B

instead, Julian knew it only meant that he was one day closer to having Georgie leave his life for good.
     
    * * *
     
    There had been no more phone calls that day or the next. Georgie kept looking at her cell phone as if Angela’s name and picture would magically appear there and she would know for sure her cousin was okay. Julian had insisted things were moving along behind the scenes. He couldn’t tell her anything more, so she might as well just relax and enjoy the wedding rehearsal dinner party that his aunt Kate had planned for the family.
    The sign on the diner said CLOSED FOR PRIVATE PARTY. For days, Julian had been telling Georgie about his aunt Kate’s famous diner in the center of Rudolph. The McKinnons were a fixture in this town and the diner was at the apex of everything that happened here.
    The parking lot was already filled with vehicles. Glancing in the window, Georgie saw familiar faces of McKinnons she’d met the other night. She didn’t have to hear the laughter to know they were all happy to be here and glad to see each other.
    She took a deep breath and sighed. “Is it only your family?”
    “Pretty much. You’ll meet my cousin Sam and his fiancé Summer. They’ve been in Colorado for some training. Sam’s been a Hotshot firefighter for a few years now. They’ve been talking about setting up training here in South Dakota though so they may be moving here permanently, which I know will thrill my aunt.”
    “She likes having her family around her.”
    “Of course.” He got out of the car and slammed the door. She didn’t wait for him to walk in front of the car and open the passenger door for her like he always did. Georgie did it herself.
    “She hated it when Wade was gone,” Julian said, walking in front of the car and taking Georgie by the hand. “Everyone did. We’d thought we’d lost him.”
    “Lost him? How?”
    He steadied Georgie as she walked on a patch of snow and ice as they made their way to the front door.
    “We thought he’d died in a tsunami in Samoa. He was gone for five years. It was quite a thing when he’d returned and we found out about him and Skylar. And Alex.”
    “Alex?”
    “Their son. Skylar and Alex had been here in Rudolph all along.”
    “Skylar was the woman I met the other night who is pregnant.”
    “Right.”
    “And the woman with the baby?”
    “That’s Poppy. She’s married to my cousin Logan. They’ll be here tonight, too.”
    She stopped walking and looked down at the length of her jacket which was much too casual for the dress she’d worn. But she didn’t have a dressier coat to wear. “Am I dressed okay for this?”
    “You look beautiful. Don’t worry so much.”
    “I’m not.”
    He slipped his hand over hers and led her to the door of the diner. “Yes, you are. But you’re going to have fun.”
    “Is that an order?”
    He opened the diner door and laughter spilled out into the night. He smiled and held the door for her. “Oh, I know better than to do that. Stay close to me. It’ll be fine.”
    Julian led Georgie by the hand through the diner. The food was lined upon the counter in chafing dishes. Kate McKinnon stood behind the counter making sure all the containers were filled with food as family members stood along the length of the counter with plates ready to fill up. The aroma of home cooking assaulted Georgie’s nose. The smiling faces and lighthearted chatter filling the room showed how much everyone enjoyed being here and being together.
    “You made it,” Logan said. His smile was wide when he saw his cousin. He held a sleeping baby in his arms. Little Emma McKinnon had a small patch of red hair on her head, the same color as her mother’s hair. Logan was completely content holding the baby while visiting with the family. Every so often, one of the family would pass by and place a hand on the baby’s back or kiss her hand and touch the baby’s cheek. The gesture seemed so natural for all of them. So