“Good. We’ll have some fun with the kids. Some grown-up evenings too.”

“You and Ray have to come out and stay with us at the ranch while we’re here. You won’t have to be in charge of anything, and nobody will have to drive home after a few drinks. I lived here all my life without spending a day on a ranch, but I married a guy from New York, so now I have a ranch. We might as well use it to keep from earning a DUI. And you have to come visit us in New York again in the fall when the tourists move up to the mountains to break their legs.”

“I promise.”

“Oh, look.” Leah pointed. Bill Halvorsen was standing by the hotel door, still straight-spined and muscular after seven years out of the marines. He was holding it open while Kristen came out to join him. Each of them had a toddler cradled on one arm and a bag slung over the other shoulder. They waved at the group and walked toward them along the side of the pool.

Leah said, “Look at them. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just not capable of remembering between times how good they look. Especially her.”

Marjorie sighed. “Being a beauty made her a great partner in our detective agency. But it wasn’t always a blessing in her life. I think the first time she ever felt happy about what she sees in the mirror was after he turned up. It was like she found out who it was for.”

Leah, Ken, Ray, and Marjorie climbed up on the deck as the Halvorsens walked into their midst. Leah and Marjorie took the two little children, Nick and Stephanie, in their arms and fawned over them and rocked and bounced them to make them laugh, while the others hugged Kristen and Bill.

Ray McClellan looked across the pool at the window into the bar and waved at someone, and then a man came out carrying a tray of drinks. Ray said, “I’ve placed an order for the drinks that each of you usually have when you come. If your order has changed since I wrote them down, please tell Walt, or you’ll drink the consequences until you do.”

Kristen picked up a glass from the tray and handed it to her husband, then took the one that was meant for her. “Thank you for doing this again, Ray and Marjorie,” she said. “On the nineteenth, I always feel grateful when I see certain people.” She lifted her glass toward Leah and drank. She and the others said no more, just turned their attention to the children, who were unaware that anything had just been said.

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