Book 5: Fall Fireside (Quinn Valley Ranch)

Camille Quinn entered her sister’s bedroom, her frustration reaching an all-time high. “Jess,” she said, looking around, but her sister wasn’t there.

She was probably out at Flynn’s ranch, where she’d been spending more time lately. Cami flopped onto her bed, her tears not far behind. She sniffled, because she hated crying, and she wasn’t going to let herself get out of control.

Not again.

Not over yet another cowboy.

Whistling met her ears before Jessie entered the room, and Cami glanced up. The whistling stopped, and Jessie said, “Oh, no. What happened?” She swooped to Cami’s side, the way she always did.

“Gideon said he didn’t want to go out with me again.” Cami leaned into her sister’s shoulder. “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Jessie said.

“Why does this keep happening?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Cami. You’re cute. You’re smart. You’re funny. Maybe all these guys are just…losers.” Jessie stroked Cami’s hair. “Granny just texted me. It was pretty unclear, because you know Granny and technology.” Jessie chuckled, and Cami actually did too.

“But she has that peach delight we love, and I told her we’d come down since everyone else is off at the fair.” Jessie stroked her hair back. “You want to? I mean, I know it’s not a hot date on the Ferris wheel, but Granny and Gramps are pretty fun.” She nudged Cami, who nodded.

“Yeah, all right.” She got up and ran her hands through her hair. She normally didn’t mind her natural curls, more brown than red, though the sun highlighted those auburn streaks. “Let me change first. I’m tired of wearing this belt.”

“All right.”

Cami could feel her sister’s eyes on her as she rounded the corner and went further down the hall to the next bedroom, which was hers. She was much messier than Jessie, but she didn’t care. And she didn’t change right away either. In the past month or so, she’d been eating more potato chips—her favorite food—than normal, and maybe the belt was uncomfortable because she’d gained ten pounds.

Pushing the thought away, she changed quickly and ran upstairs to find Jessie chatting with someone on the phone, a smile filling her whole face. So she was talking to Flynn.

Cami paused and watched her sister, waiting for the jealousy to come. It didn’t. Jessie had always been the sister on the sidelines while Cami went on date after date. Suddenly, she knew what that was like for Jessie, and regret filled her.

She entered the kitchen, and Jessie caught sight of her. She finished her call abruptly, and Cami hugged her. “Thank you for being the best sister ever.”

“Oh, okay,” Jessie said. She stepped back and held onto Cami’s shoulders. “Why don’t you go out with Clay? I know he asked you out, and you never went.”

Cami didn’t want to say why she’d told Clay that sure, she’d love to go out, but then hadn’t followed up with him. Harvest season had arrived, and Clay had been horribly busy, so he hadn’t followed up either.

So she said, “I don’t know,” and hoped Jessie would let her leave it at that. She had a doubtful look in her eye, but she didn’t say anything more. If there was someone who could text Clay and ask him what the heck he’d been thinking, it would be Jess. But Cami trusted her sister not to do that.

She worked on the family ranch too. She knew where to find Clay if she wanted to set up a date with him. She did…and she didn’t. Her feelings were so very complicated right now, and she remained silent as she and her sister loaded up in Jessie’s blue and white truck.

Jessie drove down the lane to Granny’s, where they found Gramps sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch. “Gertie,” he called as they got out of the truck. Cami’s spirit lifted as she went up the steps to embrace her grandfather.

“Come see the turquoise eggs,” he said, hugging the two girls at the same time. Gramps had just gotten several Ameraucanas, and he loved them more than anything at the moment.

“Oh, they don’t have time to see your eggs,” Granny said, coming out on the porch too. “Besides, I just got the peach delight out, and that’s why they came.” She kissed Jessie’s cheek and then Cami’s.

“I’ll come see the eggs after we eat, Gramps, okay?” Cami said. She loved her grandparents, and she was glad she could see them often. Gramps loved ice cream more than any human alive, and when Cami needed a pick-me-up, all she had to do was get a carton out of the freezer and come down the road to the rocking chair on the front porch.

“Do we have ice cream to go with the peach delight?” Gramps asked, following the girls inside.

“Would it be peach delight without ice cream?” Granny asked. Cami grinned and opened the drawer beside the fridge to get out the silverware. Jessie got down bowls, and Granny served the dessert.

Everyone moved over to the dining room table, where Granny had set out an old milk can filled with red, orange, and yellow flowers.

“All the fall colors,” Cami said, beaming at Granny. Coming here had been exactly what her fragile heart needed. She’d never minded being the youngest, and she’d always known she’d be the last to find a fiancé and get married. Even though Jessie thought she’d be, Cami had always known she would be—and now she was.

“I’m thinking about getting new curtains,” Granny said.

“Did you make these?” Cami asked.

“Yes, but they’re having a bazaar at the church this weekend, and I’m thinking I’ll get some there.”

Cami met Jessie’s eye, and they looked quickly away from one another. Cami smothered the giggles threatening to escape. She’d been set up by Granny loads of times before, and it seemed her grandmother’s magic simply didn’t work on Cami.

“There’s that fireside series starting too,” Gramps said.

“I’m not going to that,” Cami said immediately.

“Why not, dear? It’s a good series.” Granny looked at her innocently. “We can go to the bazaar together, and then the first one on Saturday.”

“Yeah,” Jessie said, clearly enjoying herself. “I’m sure it’ll be good.”

“Are you going to go?” Cami asked, her eyebrows lifted high.

“Oh, I have plans with Flynn on Saturday night.” Jessie beamed at Cami. “But you used to go to the fall firesides, every one of them.”

“Yeah.” Cami didn’t want to explain that she’d first gone because she was broken-hearted because of yet another disastrous relationship, and then to find a new date. Neither of those seemed like good reasons to attend a religious service, and she didn’t want to admit them out loud.

“It’ll be fun,” Granny said. “And maybe you’ll meet a man there.”

“No thanks, Granny,” Cami said. “I think I’m going to do what Flynn did. Thirty days. No dates. Male-fast.”

Jessie made a strangled sound and shook her head. “Not a good idea, Cami.”

“Why not?” She looked at her sister. “It’s not like I have to follow it, but maybe I don’t need to say yes to the very next person who asks me out.”

“I really think you should try Clay,” Jessie said.

Cami did like Clay, and she had been excited when he’d asked her out. But he must not have been as excited to go out with her, because it still hadn’t happened.

“I’m texting him right now,” Jessie said.

“You do that, and I will never speak to you again,” Cami said.

“She’s going to try her luck at the fireside,” Granny said, and Cami watched as Jessie lowered her phone, a worried edge in her eye. Her sister had always looked out for her, and Cami glanced at Granny.

“Fine, Granny. I’ll try my luck at the fireside.” But she wasn’t going to accept a date. Oh, no, she was not.

Granny’s seventh attempt to set her up would fail again. But maybe the reverend would say something to soothe her ragged soul.

* * *

Cami smoothed down the maxi dress, as it hid the extra pounds she’d been packing on lately. She’d gone through her room and thrown out the bags of potato chips, and she’d been taking the stairs two or three times before breakfast to get in some extra steps.

It had only been three days since the peach delight with her grandparents, so it wasn’t like she’d gotten rid of the weight she’d put on. Plus, she’d forgotten to look at the turquoise eggs that night, so she’d gone back last night with the banana ice cream her mother made and her excitement for colored chicken eggs at an all-time high.

The homestead felt so big these days, though her sisters all still lived here. But it wasn’t the place it had used to be, full of chatter and laughter and weekend movies with flavored popcorn and too much soda.

Now, Betsy, Georgia, and Jessie spent weekends with their significant others, and for all three of them, that meant a fiancé. In fact, by April of next year—just seven months from now—all four of Cami’s siblings would be married.

Maybe Granny was magical, as she’d been claiming responsibility for the success of her grandchildren’s happiness, and not just in Cami’s branch of the Quinn family. Cousins everywhere from the pub to the spa to the veterinary office had found love.

Cami sighed. She wasn’t sure she wanted to start another relationship. Everything was new and exciting at first, but she worried she was shiny on the outside and completely dull on the inside. Once the men she’d gone out with rubbed off the gold, they were bored with her. Broke up with her. Or simply didn’t call her back.

Or asked her out and then never set anything up.

She pushed the thoughts of Clay out of her mind. She had his number too. She could’ve texted him easily. In fact, she could’ve asked him what he was doing that night. Now that the harvest was over, maybe he’d have time to go to the fall fireside with her.

A faint horn sounded, and she gathered her skirts and hurried upstairs. Granny and Gramps sat in the truck, side-by-side, and Cami grinned at them as she skipped down the steps.

“Heya,” she said.

“Are you ready for this?” Granny asked, a very proper hat on her head.

“So ready,” Cami said, buckling her seatbelt.

“I think you’ll meet someone tonight,” Granny said. “I have a very good feeling about it.”

“Okay, Granny.” Cami laughed, and after a bumpy ride to the church, she climbed down and helped Granny out of the truck. They went into the church, the September evening air definitely holding a crispness to it that made Cami relax even further.

Autumn was her favorite season, and soon the leaves would be changing. Maybe when they came out of the fireside, fireflies would be buzzing in the air. Cami loved fireflies, but they didn’t come to Idaho often.

“Did we get the time wrong?” Granny asked when they walked in. When she heard the choir singing, alarm pulled through Cami too. She went ahead of her grandparents to find that yes, the fireside was obviously already in progress.

And the chapel was very full.

Cowboy hats stretched from left to right, and Cami wondered if they’d be able to find a seat.

Her phone buzzed, and she lifted it up to see a message from Clay. Her heart skipped a beat, and she experienced a moment of believing she’d abandon her elderly grandparents here in favor of going out with him.

But he’d said, There’s space by me if you need a seat.

She looked up to find one face turned back to her, an expectant smile on his face. “Over there, Granny,” she whispered, pointing toward Clay.

As if they could miss him. The man stood up, and Cami was once again reminded of how handsome he was, how broad those shoulders were, how kind that smile as he ushered her grandparents onto the bench.

He looked at her, and Cami walked toward him, a grateful smile on her face. Or maybe it was a flirtatious smile. She wasn’t sure.

What she was sure of was that she shouldn’t have worn these heels, as one stuck on the long skirt of her maxi dress and she stumbled.

“Whoa,” Clay said right out loud as he grabbed onto her. Cami felt the weight of dozens of eyes as Clay’s strong arms kept her from falling all the way down.

A squeak came from her mouth as her fingers scrambled to find something to hold onto—and they found Clay’s biceps.

Wow, he was strong.

Her mind blanked as she looked up into his dreamy eyes. “I got you,” he said.

In the next moment, her face heated, and she struggled to get her balance back. She smoothed her hands down his arms and then up into her hair. “I’m okay.”

Clay stepped out of the way so she could sit next to Granny, and Clay sat down beside Cami. There was not enough room for all of them, and she shifted closer to Granny while Clay lifted his arm around the back of the pew.

Warmth filled Cami, and a shiver ran across her shoulders from the nearness of him. So much for her swearing-off-men thing.

“Hey,” he whispered, the heat from his body filling her and making her face flush. “You look great.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back, fighting the urge to lean into him as if she was his girlfriend. In the end, she gave up and let herself lean against him.

“Sorry we haven’t been able to get together,” he whispered. “Maybe I can make you lunch tomorrow after church?”

Cami turned toward him, and their faces were dangerously close. Close enough she could see the flecks of green in his blue eyes. Close enough to kiss him if she wanted to.

And oh, she wanted to.

You weren’t going to say yes to the next man who asked you out, she told herself.

But she found herself saying, “Yeah, lunch would be great,” before she faced the front and tried to focus on the pastor as he stood at the microphone and started his sermon. After all, it wasn’t really a date if he was making lunch at his cabin. Was it?

“Great,” Clay said. “We can sit together at church too, if you want. You drive with your sisters, right?”

She nodded, and Clay let his arm drop slightly so it was resting around her shoulders—just like a boyfriend would do.

And Cami didn’t mind one little bit, even when Granny leaned over and whispered, “Isn’t this an amazing fireside?”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Cami's the last Quinn in her family. I loved the story, they want different things, but they each gave the other what they actually needed. Good clean romance.” ~Trixie

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I really enjoyed this sweet and heartfelt story. The characters were well written and had depth. Loved it!” ~Katie