"No, she was going on ninety-three. She mainly stayed in her house, folks would stop by and look in on her. She was one of the first people to settle in Mare's Creek, she and her husband. They had a small ranch, about a hundred acres, but she hadn't farmed it in years. Her husband died about fifteen years ago, her boys moved out East, New York and such, so there wasn't anybody to keep the ranch going. We rented some of the land and she rented the rest to one other rancher, it gave her enough money to live on. She was a content person, she didn't need or ask for much. But Burt and I and every other rancher would take the time to stop by and check on her, she loved company and could still cook like hell, so there'd always be something to eat along with a pot of coffee. There was usually someone sitting in that kitchen visiting with Elizabeth."
"Was her place around back of Red Oak, on the east side?" Kate asked.
"Yup," replied Marge.
"I've seen it, I've taken many walks back there."
"It's a pretty spot, I imagine a lot of people will be trying to buy it now that she's gone."
Marge asked Kate a question, but she didn't hear her, Kate was lost in her thoughts.
"Kate, you're a million miles away," Marge smiled at her.
"Sorry, my mind got caught up in something else..."
"That's okay, that used to happen to me when I was dating Burt."
Kate laughed.
"So, how are things with Tray?"
"Marge, I'm surprised you're asking. You're not the type to look into someone else's business," she teased her.
"I'm not trying to pry, I care about you and Tray and frankly, I'd love to see the two of you together."
"It's pretty intense. You could say I'm in love with him, I haven't exactly told him that yet," she admitted.
"Has he expressed the same?"
"Not in words."
They both smiled, faces turning red.
"We're slowly opening up to one another, which is a big step for each of us," Kate continued.
"What did he tell you?"
"About the woman he'd been seriously involved with and that their relationship became very dysfunctional. Sounds like it scared the hell out of him."
"Yes," Marge agreed.
"What do you know about all of this?"
"It's not my place to discuss it, even if I'd like to, you have to hear it from Tray. Just keep talking, the two of you, and everything'll get worked out."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Kate.
"Because you're both good people, you have a lot in common, you share the same passions, there's a spark between you, need I go on?"
"You're pretty observant," Kate declared.
"What I've got with Burt, it's everything. Our family sprung from it, this ranch, our joys and sorrows, we weather all of it together. We'll end our lives together one day too and I'll look back on my life and know that I'd spent it with the right person."
Tears stung at Kate's eyes, Marge's words were always sincere and from the heart. Marge had faith, faith in herself, in Burt and that someone watched over them. Despite her crazy life, Kate had always managed to have faith in herself, now she wanted to have it in others, especially Tray.
"Where are you going, we ain't done with lunch," Eddie called after Kate as she got up and tugged at his shirt for him to follow.
"I want you to take a look at this place and tell me what you think. It's only a mile down the road, you can see it from here."
"A mile is gonna feel like twenty when we come back and still have more than half a day's work left," he replied.
"Oh come on, Eddie, you owe me."
"How do you figure that?"
"Because Lisa and I have become friends, I'm teaching her Marge's recipes and telling her how great ranch life is so when you two get married and you buy that farm you've always dreamt of, she'll leave her job in Jackson City and help you shovel manure."
"Funny as hell, Kate, you're one humorous city girl. Fine, I'm coming."
They walked the mile down the road, it only took them ten minutes.
"Ah, you're interested in Elizabeth's place," he remarked as they approached the little white farmhouse.
"I've seen this place before from taking walks out here alone or with Molly. But I never got in close." she whispered, peeking through the windows.
"She's dead, no need to whisper," he laughed at her. "The door's open, we don't have to lock our doors around here. Go on in, take a look."
"Are you sure it's all right?"
"Yeah, look, the place is vacant. Her son already emptied it out."
"Okay, come in with me."
"Why, are you spooked?" he smiled.
"Maybe."
"Oh brother, you're not afraid of a bull about to charge, but you are afraid of walking into an old lady's house."
"Don't try to figure women out, just shut up and follow me," she retorted.
She stepped inside with Eddie trailing behind her. The house was vacant except for a few old pieces of weathered furniture that Kate immediately saw potential in . A small table sat in the large kitchen, walking through the archway led to a spacious living room with big windows and a fireplace, followed by an airy dining room with a long farm table sitting in it, old-fashioned moldings crowned every doorway and window, and a small powder room completed the downstairs. Upstairs were three bedrooms of a decent proportion and a full bathroom. The banister was comprised of thick, solid wood that had some nice carved detailing. There was also an unfinished attic and basement.
"This is bigger than I thought, but not too big. It's just right, I love it. I absolutely love it," Kate exclaimed.
"It is nice, just needs some work. But how do you think you're gonna be able to buy this place, hell, I wouldn't mind buying it myself to get the land. Those hundred acres are what I'm interested in, that's prime farming land with rich soil."
"I don't care about the hundred acres, I just want the house," she commented, walking around the home again. "That's it," she suddenly proclaimed. "I don't want the hundred acres."
"Good for you, Kate," he replied, looking at her funny.
"No, Eddie, why don't we buy this property together, pool our money. I just want the house and the acre it sits on. You can have the rest of the land and build that log home you're always talking about. We can get the land and the house appraised separately and put in the appropriate amount. I should have enough saved for an FHA down payment on the house."
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. But I don't know how we'd go about this, dividing the house from the land and all, we don't even know if the property's allowed to be divided."
"Let's talk to Burt about it tonight at supper after everyone else has gone, then we can have some privacy."
"All right, but don't get your hopes up too high 'cause you'll be crushed if things don't work out," he warned her.
"I know, but they're up there already. I can't help it, this house is great and I could make it beautiful."
Eddie shook his head at her as they headed back to work.
Following supper that night, after all the cleaning up and talking was done, Burt went into his spacious den, lit his pipe and sat down with the newspaper. Marge settled on the sofa, turned the television on quietly and took out her cross-stitch. Molly took her place at the desk in the corner of the room and labored at her schoolwork.
Kate and Eddie were nervous as they entered the room and sat in a couple of wing chairs positioned on either side of the fireplace.
Kate began, "Burt, Eddie and I wanted to ask your advice about something."
"Uh-huh," he mumbled as he perused the paper, glancing their way now and then.
"Um, it's about Elizabeth's place," Eddie interjected, "Kate and I would like to buy it."
"Really," he remarked, putting the paper down. Marge looked up from her stitching.
"That's right," Kate added, "I'm interested in the house and Eddie would like the land. We were hoping to pool our money in order to buy it. We're not exactly sure how
to go about this transaction or if the property can be divided from the land."
"The township usually doesn't want to go through the trouble of separating homes from their land and too many ranchers are after that prime acreage anyway. They don't need to wheel and deal to sell that property," Burt informed them.
"Why do you want that house, Kate? I thought you were happy where you are," Marge inquired.
"I am, I'm very happy with my living situation. It's been comfortable and I'm grateful. But as you know, Marge, there's nothing like owning your own place. I long for that, I want a place that's really mine, with my own garden that I can work in and come home to everyday."
"I understand what you're saying, Kate, but it's also a huge responsibility. There's constant repairs and work that come along with home ownership, things you don't expect will go wrong and something always needs fixing," Marge reminded her.
"And that's a lot of land, Eddie, you think you're ready to take on farming your own spread along with your responsibilities here?"
"Yes sir, it's my dream, it's what I've been working for, it's what I want more than anything else."
"Well, I'll talk to Drew at the bank, see what's up with the property and the actual price of it. You guys have good credit I hope, 'cause that's what it takes to get a mortgage," he informed them.
"Yes I do," Eddie replied.
"I, I really don't have any credit to speak of," Kate said quietly, forgetting that her past credit history didn't even exist anymore.
"You never had any personal loans, charge cards, car loans?" Eddie asked her incredulously.
"No, I used cash or didn't buy," she told him, unable to reveal the truth. She'd had a few of those things in the past but they were under a different name.
"Then you'd have to give Eddie your money and trust he could get the mortgage on his own," Burt surmised.
"You two better think about this, it's a serious commitment you'd be making with each other, you'd need to have a contract between you clearly spelling things out. It could get complicated," he warned them.
"It could affect your friendship," Marge added.
Suddenly the whole thing seemed a lot more complicated than they'd envisioned, to the point of being overwhelming. Who did Kate think she was, why did she believe she could handle a mortgage payment and home ownership. Insecurities came flooding into her mind.
"Well, Kate and I better discuss this some more," Eddie remarked as he stood up. "Thanks for the advice, Burt."
"Sure, I'll get back to you with the information," he replied, shaking Eddie's outstretched hand.
"I'm gonna get going too, tomorrow's a workday," Kate said as she followed Eddie, making the effort to smile.
Marge watched her walk out, she knew Kate was upset and probably wanted to be alone.
Once outside, Eddie and Kate didn't have much to say to one another. A heavy blanket of disappointment hung over them and they each went their separate ways. Kate's eyes brimmed with tears as she walked back to her bungalow and shut the door behind her. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up about the house, but she couldn't help it. She fell in love with the old place and made the mistake of picturing herself living there.
"Hey, Kate," Marge smiled as she entered the milking barn where Kate was busy hooking up the cows.
"Hi."
"You've been so quiet lately, been thinking about the house?"
"Yeah, a bit," she admitted.
"If you really want something, you gotta fight for it. You've done that before, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Well then, don't quit now," Marge said over her shoulder as she walked through the barn.
"Lunch, Eddie," Kate called to him as she drove up to the stables on the south side of the ranch.
"Coming," he replied as he finished baling fresh hay to the horses.
"Where are we eating today?"
"Over by those rocks," she answered, walking to a nearby grassy knoll that had some large boulders sitting around it. The sun-baked boulders radiated warmth and also shielded them from the wind as they sat down in front of them.
"That looks good, better than mine," Kate remarked, checking out Eddie's menu.
"Lisa made it. What's wrong, doesn't Tray make your lunches?" he teased her.
"Not quite, but let's get back to business."
"Oh no."
"We can't give up, Eddie, just because trying to buy this place is going to be more of a pain in the ass than we thought. I really want it and so do you."
"Yeah, so what's your plan."
"You have perfect credit, so I'll give you all my money and you'll have to apply for the mortgage yourself, but maybe we can get someone to co-sign," she explained.
"In this town, you don't need a co-signer, a man's word is good enough. If my dad or Burt vouches for us, that should do it. I don't want to tie them to our mortgage though, if something ever happened, my dad would never be able to make our payment plus his own," he pointed out.
"That's true, then we'll do as you said and try to obtain it ourselves with a good word from your parents and Burt. Then we can have an attorney draw up a contract for us outlining the specifics."
"The land is worth much more than the house, I'll probably have to put down a hell of a lot more money than you."
"We don't know the exact figure yet, Eddie. I want everything to be fair, I want things to work out well for both of us."
"We've gotta wait for Burt to get back to us," he stated, taking another bite of cold fried chicken.
"I hope it's good news. Speaking of good, let me have a piece of that."
"Here, take the breast, I don't like white meat that much," he replied as he handed it to her, "In case it's not good news, you better stop taking walks by that house. You're getting more attached to that place every time you see it," he cautioned her.
"I've endured disappointments before, I can handle it," she assured him, "look at this clear September sky, I've never seen anything so blue."
"I'm sorry guys," Burt remarked as they sat at the table for the evening meal, placing his hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Elizabeth's place is going for more than I expected. The estate lawyer said there's no need to go through the trouble of dividing the house from the property either. Some folks from out of state are interested in it. Drew said they wanna turn it into a dude ranch. That's just what we need around here, another dude ranch for those jack-ass tourists."
"Something else will come up, but thanks for looking into it," Eddie responded bravely.
Marge was watching Kate, who gave no indication of being upset.
"How about some dessert, Kate?" she asked her, noticing she hadn't eaten much.
"Nah, thanks anyway. I'm full."
"Why don't you skip clean up tonight, Molly will help me. Most of the guys didn't come to supper anyway."
"Are you sure?" Kate checked.
"Yup," she smiled at her.
"Okay, thanks."
Kate practically ran out of the house, just in time for the tears to start flowing. It was over, her little dream was dead. That house would go to someone else. Why had it felt so special to her, it was ludicrous. She didn't feel like being alone at home. She jumped in her old truck and drove to Tray's place.
Tray was just winding down with his newspaper and a mug of decaf when he heard a soft rap at the door. Huck and Missi got up from where they were cozily sleeping on the rug in front of the fireplace. The mid-September evening was quite cool, he'd rather use the fireplace to take the chill out of the big house rather than turn on the heat. He padded over to the door in his sock feet.
"Kate, hey," he said in surprise, giving her a kiss, "Come in. This is a nice surprise."
"I hope I'm not bothering you by just dropping over like this."
"Of course not, I wish you'd do it more often." He took her hand and led her into the great room.
She had her hair in a long french braid, wore faded jeans, a long sleeved cotton sweater and clogs.
She looked adorable, even with that solemn expression on her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen to get her coffee, preparing it the way she liked.
"How did you know I came here to whine?"
"I know you well enough to be able to tell when something's bothering you."
"I'm not used to someone knowing me that well," she replied.
He smiled at her innocent comment.
"So," he sat down next to her as he placed the cup on the wooden table in front of the couch, "what is it?"
"I was hoping to be able to buy Elizabeth's home, as you know. Eddie and I thought we had a chance, but it isn't going to work out after all. I tried not to get too attached to the idea of my living there, but I did anyway. It just seemed perfect; small enough for me to take care of by myself, close to Burt and Marge, it had a fireplace and carved woodwork and that special charm of an older place..."
"I know you had your heart set on it, even though you denied it. It did have a lot of potential, I can see why you liked it so much," he paused as they both looked into the fire for a moment, "you could have asked me for a loan."
"No, I appreciated your offers, but I wouldn't feel comfortable taking money from you or anyone else. I've always made my own way and that's how I prefer to remain."
"There's no shame in accepting a little help now and then," he pointed out.
"I know, but I've had my share of help, having to live off the government as a kid because my mother wouldn't work. As soon as I was old enough to work and support myself, I did. I don't think I could ever take money from anyone, that's a real sore point with me."
"I understand. But I hope that if you ever find yourself in a bind and do need financial help, that you'd bend your pride enough to ask me," he said seriously, looking into her dark eyes.
"I know I can count you, I know," she replied quietly.
He leaned over and kissed her, continuing it for quite some time. The dogs glanced at each other for a moment in bewilderment, then returned to their napping.
"Stay over," Tray whispered to her between kisses.
She nodded her head, he pressed it to his chest as they sat in an embrace while gazing at the fire, content in its warmth and in each other.
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