“But your mom isn’t supposed to be here until the day before.”
“So? She’ll be here the day before. That means I can go into labor any time.”
Shane sighed. “She keeps getting stuck when she wants to come home!”
“The repairs on the Blizzard are just about done, and she’s headed here. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Whatever.” Shane obviously disagreed with his wife.
Debbie shook her head, her eyes meeting Frank’s. “I guess Kelsi’s on my team.”
“I guess she is!” Frank ate his last bite. “Tomorrow night’s trivia night at the restaurant. Do you want to join me?”
“I thought you weren’t allowed to participate in trivia night anymore.”
“Well, if you form the team, it should be fine. I’m just not allowed to be team captain anymore.”
She eyes him skeptically. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Top secret information. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
“You can be a pain in my behind, Frank Watkins.”
“Of course, I can. I wouldn’t be worth anything if I couldn’t.”
Frank walked her home after trivia night. They’d won hands down. “How’d you know all those obscure facts about the Middle Ages?” he asked.
Debbie shrugged. “I have a degree in early childhood education, but my minor was history. I loved the Middle Ages. Thought about writing a book set in 1066 at one point, but I could never get past the first chapter. It’s a lot harder to write a book than you’d think!”
“I’ve never tried.” Frank looked over at her, wondering how she’d react if he tried to kiss her. They’d walked over together from her cabin, and his truck was parked there, so they had to walk back together. His feelings for her grew a little more every day. He’d never felt about a woman like he felt about her.
“Well, believe me when I say it’s hard. I love that we have a writer who’s connected to the ranch, though. I might pick her brain, just for fun. Maybe she can give me some pointers. Or I could give her my idea and have her write it. I’ve heard some writers do that.”
Frank shook his head. “Not our Kaya. She says she has so many voices in her head that she’ll never be able to write them all. She’s not looking for others to give her ideas.”
“Well, that’s too bad, because my idea is sheer genius!” She lifted her face up to catch a couple of snowflakes on her tongue. “I love the snow.”
“It’s nice. The ranch makes it fun. We don’t let anything slow us down.”
“Good. I need to be in an area like this, where everything is focused on the outdoors! Can’t wait to go sledding this weekend. And then kick your butt into next week in the snow sculpture contest.”
“What are you going to make?”
“Uh-uh!” She wagged her finger at him. “I’m not giving intel to the enemy! Do I look like a spy to you?”
“Who’s on your team?”
“Miranda, Kelsi—though I don’t think she can do much—Kaya, and Bridget. We’re going to have fun!”
“Bridget will want you to make a huge pumpkin for Cinderella. She’s a bit odd.”
“Aren’t we all?” Debbie sighed contentedly. “I can’t believe I actually live here now. I loved visiting the ranch, but living somewhere like this is going to make me very happy.”
They got to her cabin, and she stomped the snow off her boots. “Want to come in for some hot chocolate?”
“I’d love that!”
She stripped off her winter gear and went straight to the kitchen, pouring some milk into a pan. She made hot chocolate the way her mother had, starting with cocoa powder. She didn’t believe in doing the instant thing. “Would you get a plate down and fill it with cookies from the jar?” she asked.
Frank immediately went to her cupboard to do as she asked. “When did you have time to bake cookies?”
She grinned. “I baked them last night. I couldn’t stand only getting the ones from the bakery. I know they’re made exactly the way I make cookies, because I taught Miranda, but it just doesn’t feel right.”
He shook his head. “How’s the hiring coming?”
“Really well. I have all the preschool teachers I need. Now I just need one teacher for school age kids, and we’re ready. We may be able to open a week early. Wade said he’d prefer it if we did.”
“Wade’s always in a hurry for everything. The Weston parents have been pretty rough on the kids, trying to get them to make the whole ranch perfect while they’ve been wandering around the US in their RV.”
Debbie sighed. “I heard something about that. I wonder what’s going on with them.”
“We won’t know until they come back. They were really easy to work for when they were here, but they got really strange after they left. I wish we all had answers.”
She poured their hot chocolate into two mugs. “I’ll carry these over to the table if you’ll grab the cookies.”
Frank picked up the plate and followed her. “Tomorrow night is the amateur night at the restaurant. I’m judging again.”
“I’m not singing.” She yawned behind her hand. “I think I’m going to stay in tomorrow night actually. It’s been a busy week. I want to make some pillows for the baby room.”
“Are you going to sew them yourself?”
“Sure. It’s the best way to keep the cost down. I’ve got my baby teacher all picked out, and we talked, and she wants to decorate the room in all Disney, so I ordered some Disney fabric, and it should arrive tomorrow. I’ll get to work tomorrow night, and by Monday morning, we’ll have pillows for the baby room. No big deal.”
“What else are you doing this weekend?”
“Well, I’m sledding with you on Saturday, and I’m doing church and lunch with Miranda and Bob on Sunday. Add in the sewing I’m doing, I’ve got a pretty full weekend. I still need to find a cook for the Kids’ Korral as well.”
“I didn’t think of that. Will you serve meals?”
“We’ll need to. We’ll do breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When you’re open that many hours, you need to do it all. I’m glad I pulled the day shift though. I’m not much on staying up that late.” She bit her lip. “Let me amend that. I can stay up that late, but I hate working that late.”
Frank bit into one of the chocolate chip cookies she’d made. “These are just as good as Miranda’s.”
Debbie shrugged. “She makes kolaches better than me, but nothing else.”
“She has to be better at something!” Frank watched her for a moment, moving his hand to cover hers. “I think you’re pretty special, Debbie.”
She felt her heart skip a beat. He hadn’t acted like he cared about her as anything more than a friend all week, and now this. “I think you’re special, too.” She carefully pulled her hand away, taking another cookie.
He took the hint, and pulled away. He could wait. “Lunch tomorrow?”
Debbie nodded. “I’d love to. It’s been nice having a friend to hang around with all week.”
Frank understood exactly what she was telling him. He was still friend-zoned, but that was okay. He was going to fight his way out of it. Maybe he’d visit Jaclyn. Surely, she’d have some good advice for him. “I agree. Everyone else around here seems to be marrying off, so it’s good to have someone to pal around with.” He got to his feet. “Thanks for the hot chocolate.”
“You’re welcome.” She watched him, a little disappointed at his ready acceptance of her rejection.
“I’m going to head out. I’ll see you at lunch.”
“I’ll order the specials for both of us.” She smiled brightly, getting to her feet to walk him to the door. His eyes met hers once his coat was on, and for just a minute, she wanted him to kiss her.
After he was gone and had shut the door behind him, she leaned back against it, and breathed a sigh of relief. If he’d tried to kiss her then, she’d have let him, and where would that have left them? In a relationship. And she wasn’t ready for
that at all. At least she didn’t think she was.
Chapter Five
Frank had a solitary breakfast at the café the next morning, watching Kelsi as she waddled around. “How’re you feeling?” he asked as she slid his eggs à la Bob in front of him.
She smiled. “Want the truth or the story I tell everyone else?”
He tilted his head to the side for a minute. “I want the truth.”
“I’m exhausted. My feet hurt. My legs hurt. I feel like someone is throwing rocks at me while I sleep. I have to pee every three-point-two seconds. But I’m happy. I’m about to have a baby, Frank!”
“I’m glad you’re happy. How’s the sheriff doing with it all?”
Kelsi shrugged. “If it wasn’t for this top-secret investigation he has going on, I think he’d be slowly losing his mind. But he’s staying busy. I wish he had a little more time at home, of course, because someone needs to rub my feet, gosh darn it!”
Frank laughed, a full belly laugh. “You need to go see Maddie then. She’d take care of you.”
“Maybe. Did you know that you have to be specially licensed to massage a pregnant woman?” Kelsi shook her head with a sigh. “It’s like we’re foreign creatures or something.”
Frank watched her walk away, shaking his head. Kelsi brought amusement to his life every day.
As soon as he’d finished his breakfast, he paid Kelsi then headed over toward the RV park. If anyone asked, he’d say he was going to the lake. What man in his forties wanted to admit he was on his way to get advice on love from a woman who talked to fairies?
When he was in sight of Jaclyn’s house, she raised her hand in greeting. “If it isn’t Frank the flyboy!”
“Hi, Jaclyn. I…um…”
“I know why you’re here. You know the fairies tell me everything.” She shook her head, glaring at him. “Get inside, boy. You’re wasting my time.”
Frank hadn’t been called a boy in a long time, but he supposed that given Jaclyn’s age, the title fit. “Yes, ma’am.” He hurried into the house, tucking a bunny under each arm as he sat in the visitor’s chair.
“Why are you holding Romeo and Juliet? Those two are supposed to be kept away from each other.”
He frowned at her, concerned. “They were both on the chair when I walked in.”
She sighed. “Those two. Can’t keep them apart in any life.”
He blinked a few times. She didn’t really think these rabbits were the original Romeo and Juliet, did she? And weren’t they just characters in a story anyway? “What would you like me to do with them?”
Jaclyn frowned at him. “You should take Juliet home with you. Then those star-crossed lovers will never cross paths again!” At the look of utter shock on his face, she tilted her head back and laughed. “Sorry. You really believed I thought they were Romeo and Juliet reincarnated, didn’t you? You’re crazier than I am!”
Frank put the bunnies onto the floor, feeling his face heating up. He was forty-eight years old. What was he doing blushing anyway? “The fairies told you I was coming?”
Still chuckling, Jaclyn nodded to a teapot and a full plate of snickerdoodles. There were two small plates beside the larger one. “Why do you think I went to all the trouble of fixing you a snack?”
Frank leaned forward and took a cookie, setting it on a plate. “Thank you for the treat.”
“So…from what I gather, you’re madly in love with the director for the Kids’ Korral. You want to tell me why that’s a bad thing?”
He sighed, his mouth full of cookie. He’d heard a lot about her snickerdoodles, but this was his first time to actually try them. “She’s not ready for a relationship. Her husband has been dead for twenty years, but she’s afraid to get involved.”
“Have you tried?” Jaclyn asked, handing him a cup of tea.
“Tried what?”
“To have a relationship with her. Have you kissed her? Or are you just sitting around with your finger up your nose, wearing one of your three-thousand ball caps?”
“Seven-hundred eighty-three,” he corrected without thinking.
“Excuse me?”
He choked a bit on his cookie, realizing that he’d corrected her. “I only have seven-hundred eighty-three ball caps. Not three-thousand.”
Jaclyn fixed him with a stare. “Are you worried about getting the girl you love or about the exact number of ball caps you have? Are you daft, boy?”
“No, ma’am. At least I don’t think I am, but you’re starting to really make me believe I must be. I’m not sure coming here was the best idea I’ve had.” He put his teacup down and stood.
“Sit back down! Coming here was the only choice. When it’s time for you to kiss her, you’ll know. For now, you need to be her friend. The fairies tell me you’re doing a fine job of being a friend. Don’t kiss her until it’s right.”
“How will I know?”
Jaclyn gave a dramatic sigh. “You’ll know. You have kissed a girl before, haven’t you, flyboy?”
“At my age, if I hadn’t kissed a girl, there’d be something wrong with me.”
“Maybe there is.”
“There isn’t. Yes, I’ve kissed a girl. Several, in fact.”
She studied him for a moment before nodding. “After the babies are born, you’re going to take me up in your helicopter.”
“Babies? You mean after Kelsi and Belinda both have their babies?”
Jaclyn shrugged. “That’s the only information you’re going to get from me. Have a good day.” She plucked his plate from his hand and cleaned up the teapot and cups. “Why are you still here?”
Frank shrugged, not really certain. “Thanks for the advice.”
“I don’t give advice. I just pass on the words of the fairies. I don’t need to give advice.”
Frank had no answer to that, so he quietly let himself out of her house. As soon as he’d closed the door, it was pulled open again. “Aren’t you going to thank the fairies for their wisdom?”
He looked at her for a moment, before nodding. “Thank you for the wisdom, fairies.”
Jaclyn laughed heartily. “The fairies aren’t even listening. Do you know how daft you seem standing there talking to creatures who aren’t there?”
Frank sighed, turning to walk away. Jaclyn was determined to get the best of him that day. And she had.
When Frank arrived at Debbie’s to pick her up on Saturday morning, she was ready for him. She was wearing snow boots, long johns, a pair of jeans, and several layers of cold weather gear. She had her scarf wrapped around her neck and her warm mittens covering her hands.
She hurried out when she heard his truck, surprising him at the door. “I have our snacks and our hot chocolate.”
“Let’s go then.”
“I’m really excited. Even the kids wouldn’t sled with me. They always wanted to ski. I feel so much safer on a sled, though.”
“How are you in a helicopter?” he asked.
She shrugged. “No idea. Why?”
“Just curious. I still want to take you up when we get a chance.”
“We’ll talk about it when it’s time.” She got into the passenger side of his truck, looking out at the softly falling snow. “It’s a perfect day for sledding, isn’t it?”
“Sure.” Frank honestly hadn’t been sledding in a very long time. He’d had to buy a toboggan and a sled for the outing, but he’d made sure to splash a little dirt on them to make them look used. He had no idea if it would fool her, but he sure hoped so. “How many more teachers do you need?”
She grinned at him. “All done with teachers. Now we just need a cook, and we’re all set.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” He drove toward his house and the incline behind it. He already had the sleds parked there waiting for them. “Do you think you’ll have trouble finding a cook?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. We can probably find one pretty easily, but I’m not sure if she’ll be Bob-approved.”
“Who cares if
she’s Bob-approved? No one listens to him anyway!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was afraid he’d offended her. “I mean…”
She laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. Bob’s a mess. It’s that simple.” As soon as he parked the car, she jumped down from the truck, leaving the thermos and cookies inside. She was happy that he’d agreed to let her bring snacks.
Frank led the way to the equipment he’d purchased, wondering if they looked as new as he thought they did, but if she realized, she didn’t say anything. “I guess we should go down a couple of times to get the feel of the hill before we start racing.”
“Do we have to race? Can’t we just have fun?”
He sighed. “If you want to be boring about it, I guess.”
Debbie shook her head at him. “I don’t mind racing when it’s something like snow sculpting, but if it involves any kind of danger, I think we should be slow and steady. There’s no need to risk ourselves.”
“Have you always been so safe and careful?”
“No, I haven’t. Being a single mother makes you realize that safety matters a lot. I was reckless right up until I got word that Dale was dead. Since then I’ve been careful to only drive the speed limit and never do anything even a little bit dangerous. Where would I have been if I’d broken my leg when I had a toddler and was pregnant with no help?”
Frank frowned at her. He hadn’t considered how much responsibility she’d felt until just that moment. “And now?”
She shrugged. “After twenty years, it’s ingrained. I’ll keep playing it safe. Besides, I might be a grandmother soon.”
“Is Miranda…?”
“Not that I know of. I’m not sure they’d tell me right away, either. I think they’d know I would be so excited I couldn’t contain myself.”
Frank smiled at that, wondering what it would be like to have grown children who looked up to him. He’d always kind of felt that he’d missed out on the raising kids thing, but he’d love to inherit two grown ones. Not nearly as much work that way. “Fine. Be safe. But I’m going as fast as I want.”
Flyboy's Fancy (River's End Ranch Book 21) Page 5
