Caulder felt relieved that he had finally come clean about the whole girlfriend thing.

At least Ashleigh won't think I am some sort of two timer.

Caulder wasn't sure if he cared what Ashleigh thought or not, but he certainly didn't like that he had been keeping so many secrets lately and lying to his family and friends.

He rubbed his forehead as he continued to work. He hadn't meant to get caught up in so many lies. He picked up the wheelbarrow full of manure and headed to the pile in the pasture.

Ping!

Caulder ignored the text message that had just come in. He was amazed at how spotty the service was out here. It seemed the manure pile was one of the few places one could receive texts. The barn definitely was a no zone. He flipped the wheelbarrow up and deposited its contents to the pile before reaching for his phone.

Come for dinner tomorrow night?

It was from his dad. Caulder had been trying to stay away from the family dinner scenario since he got here. Seth had been right to accuse of him of that. He didn't want to go, but it was hard to say no to his dad. He thought for a moment and decided it was better not to try to make something up that would get him in more trouble.

Sure, what time?

Caulder satisfied, that he had done the right thing, put his phone away and grabbed the wheelbarrow.

The Next Night

Seth had told Caulder at breakfast that the dinner was to include Melissa and Ashleigh. Caulder was relieved because that meant some of the pressure was off of him and his parents would be distracted.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Mom always makes a good spread.

Caulder tried to think positively about the dinner as he walked up to the house. He had purposely left late so that he wouldn't have to face his parents alone. He could see extra cars in the driveway so he felt confident he had timed it right.

Reaching for the front door, he decided not to knock and just go in. When he opened the door the smell of broccoli casserole met him. That smell reminded him of his favorite memories with his family. Things hadn't always been strained. There was a time when he enjoyed being home.

"Caulder, come into the kitchen and help me for a sec?" Came the voice of his mom. He didn't see or hear anyone else in the house.

Caulder walked to the kitchen, "Hey, where is everybody?"

Mom handed him two oven mitts and pointed to the dining room table. He dutifully retrieved the massive casserole from the oven and carried it to the table.

"Oh, you know your father. He has them gathered in the backyard looking over the latest project. He wants to install a bird feeder system that is squirrel proof. The whole gang went to look at it."

"And left you to work alone?" Caulder teased.

"It appears that way," Mom said ruefully.

Caulder smiled a genuine smile. He remembered playful banter with his mom when he was younger. She had a great sense of humor. She could make any scratch or injury seem comical once she got you bandaged up.

Mom reached over and hugged Caulder, "We've missed you." She didn't linger and the gesture was familiar, but he felt suddenly choked up. Thankfully Mom had turned back to the kitchen.

"Hey, there he is the man of the hour!" Seth teased as he came in through the back door. He was trailed by Melissa, Ashleigh, and Dad.

Everyone started talking at once as they explained Dad's idea for a bird feeder system. They continued the conversation as people started to gather items for the dinner table.

Yep, this is home. Caulder thought.

They didn't stop talking until they sat down at the table and Dad said a prayer for their dinner.

"O Lord, you have blessed us this day with love, family, and friends. Thank you for this delicious meal that my lovely wife has made with her two hands. Amen."

Caulder saw the wink that his dad gave his mom when they opened their eyes. His mom smiled warmly and took Dad's plate first.

The dinner conversation continued with what everyone had done that day and then naturally moved to talking about The Pony. It seemed that Melissa was well integrated into the family by now. He could tell by the amount of times his mom referred to Melissa for clarification on some happenings.

Conversation soon turned to the work at the barn, Caulder let Ashleigh take most of the lead. He felt fairly confident that he could slide by without giving himself away. Until he heard Ashleigh say, "You'll have to ask Caulder, he seems to be a natural with the horses."

"Yeah, Agnes has told me that you seem to have an uncanny ability. I have wondered, where you got that from." Mom commented.

Caulder started to sweat, "Uh, must just be one of those things."

A timer went off in the kitchen, Mom got up and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was dessert time, a plate of chocolate cupcakes was produced. Mom insisted on handing them out herself.

"Chocolate! My favorite," Melissa exclaimed. This time Mom gave one to Melissa first and told everyone else to wait. Mom left the room again.

"I always thought you had a gift. Have you been able to work with horses in Montana?" Dad picked up the thread of conversation again. If it had been his mom he would have thought it was probing, but from his dad the question seemed innocent.

Caulder couldn't quite answer. Mom returned with her phone, which Caulder found strange as there had been a no phones at the dinner table policy since they were teenagers.

Mom announced they could eat now but she was holding her phone up.

"Dear, is there a reason that you have you phone at the dinner table?" Dad spoke up with amusement. Caulder was glad for the distraction.

"Oh, I just wanted a family picture. In fact why don't we all take a bite of our cupcakes and hold them up."

Everyone compiled with the bewildering request. They took their bites and smiled. Mom sat back down, "Well... what did I miss?" She was looking at Melissa intently.

"I was asking Caulder about Montana." Dad spoke up.

Caulder's heart picked up pace again. He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this.

"Ouch!" Melissa grabbed the side of her mouth, "I am sorry Bernadette but there must be something hard in my cupcake."

Mom beamed.

Melissa tried to discreetly use her napkin to spit up the small piece of cupcake.

Caulder saw an opportunity to keep the attention off of himself, "So, Melissa about that house on the market..." He realized his mistake too late.

Melissa quickly put her napkin down with a look of shock. Seth glared at him.

Melissa excused herself and got up from the table. Seth followed.

"I wonder what that was all about." Dad commented. Mom burst into tears and went into the kitchen. Dad excused himself and followed her.

Caulder sat in shock. He was too ashamed to look at Ashleigh.

She must really think I am jerk now. How stupid! Now I am really in a mess.

Caulder slowly got up from the table avoiding Ashleigh's eyes. He could hear his parents' voices as he walked by. He had to find Melissa.

He walked into the living room where he could hear the sound of Seth and Melissa talking. They had apparently went out to the front stoop but had forgot to shut the screen door.

"I'm sorry!" Melissa said with a sigh, "I never should have kept that a secret."

Caulder stopped amid the living room. He didn't mean to eavesdrop but he couldn't tear himself away.

"What were you afraid would happen?" Seth replied.

Caulder leaned forward, but couldn't make out Melissa's muffled reply but heard Seth's response.

"We have got to stop keeping secrets like this, agreed?"

Caulder couldn't see if Melissa agreed or not because it was silent. He had heard enough, but before he turned away he heard Seth's laughter.

"Well, I have a confession of my own...." Seth's voice trailed off. Caulder couldn't take anymore secret confessions and fled back to the table.

Arriving at the table, he saw his mom grab the napkin from Melissa's plate. Dad was gathering dishes as was Ashleigh and they were shuttling them  to the kitchen. Caulder stood still not knowing what to do.

Mom came back to the table a minute later with something in her hand, "Which way did they go?" She said frantically. Caulder pointed to the front hall.

She left in a hurry to find Seth and Melissa. Caulder started to feel stuffy and decided it would be best if he got out of the way. He quickly made a beeline to the back porch door for some fresh air.

That was how Ashleigh found him five minutes later with his head in his hands leaning on the porch railing. She leaned up against the rail looking out. She was silent for so long  that Caulder couldn't stand it.

"So why don't you want anyone in your family to know you worked with horses in Montana?"

Caulder hadn't expected her to lead with that. He was tempted to make a sarcastic reply but when he looked up he only saw compassion in Ashleigh's eyes before she turned back to looking at the backyard.

Caulder shrugged, "Long story, I guess."

"I'd say try me but you'd have to trust me first," she observed.

He shrugged again having trouble putting into words what just happened and why he was avoiding talking about it. He figured he could tell a little bit of the story.

"I did work with horses at a ranch in Montana," he began.

Ashleigh didn't look at him and kept looking around the backyard, but Caulder could tell she was listening.

"I can't explain all the reasons why... but I didn't mean to blurt out that thing about the house. I know Melissa wanted to keep it a secret. I guess I am a pretty lousy person. First it looks like I lied to you, now my family, and then this!" He gestured behind him to the house.

Ashleigh turned and looked at him fiercely, "First of all, you are not a lousy person." She said this with such force that Caulder leaned back.

She continued, "But you are a person who has made some mistakes. I am the last person to tell you what you should do in this situation. You won't get any judgment here. What I do know is that you can make it right."

She moved from the railing then and started back to the house, "Oh, and you might want to know that Melissa and Seth are engaged. The hard thing in the cupcake was a ring. I am not telling you this to make you feel bad just thought you'd like to know."

Caulder felt worse. Not only had he spilled the beans on Melissa's house dreams but he had also managed to spoil their engagement dinner.

Wow, I have single handedly ruined this for everyone.

He couldn't bring himself to leave the porch. He heard the back door open again and two sets of footsteps coming closer.

"Caulder, I'm sorry I asked you to keep that secret from your brother," Melissa said.

"You're sorry, I'm the one that ruined your engagement," Caulder turned to face Melissa and Seth who were holding hands.

Seth laughed and Melissa smiled.

"I think we learned a valuable lesson about secrets tonight. Melissa might have broken a tooth on that cupcake just because I wanted to surprise her." Seth chuckled.

"Yes, and then where would we be?" Melissa reached out her other hand to Caulder who grasped it.

"All is forgiven," Melissa said before letting go and turning back towards the house with Seth.