At Felipa's suggestion, Carmen had the Sunday night barbeque catered. At first she thought that wouldn't be possible on such short notice, but since the place specialized in barbeque and the need was small, they were able to fit them in. Carmen had invited Katie, Bill and a few friends from church that morning. Jonathan and his new band were going to play for them. Sometimes spontaneous events worked out better than well-planned ones.

Even Alex participated in the last-minute planning, finding a wagon and harnesses. He bought some battery powered lights to hang on the wagon and Gerald helped him pile hay on the wagon.

Aaron and Felipa went to town for some ice cream, so Rob helped Carmen set up table and chairs outside for the barbeque. Jonathan was playing with the three smaller children, directing them as Alex would. For a moment it was a disturbing thought that Alex was influencing him that way. Then the idea morphed into goodness. Jonathan was accepting the responsibility of his younger siblings - without being directed to do so. He often did that. He could and probably should be enjoying time doing what he wanted to do. She'd pay more attention to that in the future.

As she unfolded a chair, Carmen glanced down the drive.

"I thought Aaron & Felipa would be back by now."

Rob followed her gaze as he finished pulling the last leg out on the table. He lifted the table from its side and sat it up.

"Maybe Aaron needs a little more time to dig his gold."

Carmen frowned. "Dig his gold? Was he going to the bank?"

Rob grinned. "Gold digging."

She stared at him. "Gold digging?"

It took a moment to sink in and then her face grew warm. Did he think that Aaron's only interest in Felipa was monetary? Was it? That didn't seem likely. Felipa was beautiful and had a great personality. Aaron didn't strike her as being that shallow. Another thought came to mind. She eyed Rob thoughtfully. How did Rob know Felipa had a wealthy father? Maybe Aaron had told him. Somehow that seemed unlikely. Did Aaron even know? Did Gerald tell him?

Rob shrugged. "Forget I mentioned it. I was only joking." He glanced around at the tables and chairs. "If you don't need me for anything else, I need to go home and shower."

Carmen nodded. "Of course. Thank you for all your help."

He looked fine the way he was. Maybe he was looking for a reason to get away from her.




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