“Does recess count?” Cass asked. At a look from her mother, she started giggling. “How about lunch?”
Cady released an exasperated sigh. “It is quite obvious her father and uncles have a strong influence over her.”
“Only a smidgen.” Harper winked at Cass.
“We’re very proud of Cass. She always brings home good grades and does her homework without much prompting.” Cady wrapped her arm around her daughter’s small shoulders. “I have a feeling her brothers won’t be anything like her academically.”
“That’s because they can’t sit still. Daddy said he might have to glue their bu…”
“Alrighty, then,” Cady interrupted, giving Cass a gentle nudge toward the door. “Let’s take a break and then we can get started on your list, Tess.”
Harper and Bailey helped Tess to her feet then they all went downstairs to the kitchen. While Lindsay set out a plate of cookies, Cady poured lemonade into glasses and handed one to Harper.
She sat next to Tess, admiring the spacious kitchen with granite counters and beautiful tile floors. Tess and Travis were very fortunate to start out married life with such an amazing home.
“I absolutely love your house, Tess. It’s incredible.”
Tess beamed at her, tickled by the compliment. “Thank you so much, Harper. We love it, too. The man who used to live here, Mr. Drexel, left behind some wonderful antiques when he moved. I adore all things vintage, so it just seemed perfect for us to live here.” She glanced over at Lindsay. “Although, I still feel occasionally guilty that we got the bigger house.”
“Bigger house?” Harper asked.
Lindsay nodded her head. “When the Thompson brothers purchased this place right before Trent and I wed, I was renting the house down by the highway where we still live. I had many offers and opportunities to move in here, but I like my little house. It’s perfect for the three of us. Since our family won’t be expanding, we don’t need more space.”
Surprised Lindsay didn’t want more children, Harper vaguely recalled someone mentioning something about her not being able to have more.
“It’s such a cute house, Harper. You’ll have to see it sometime,” Cady said, smiling encouragingly as she guided the conversation away from Lindsay’s lack of future babies.
“Let’s see your list, Tess,” Bailey said, brushing cookie crumbs from her fingers after she finished the last of her lemonade.
Tess waddled across the kitchen and took a notepad from a drawer. She carried it over to Bailey then resumed her seat.
“This isn’t a very big list, Tess. We should be able to get most of it done today,” Bailey said, passing the notepad to Cady.
“It seems like a huge list, since I can’t get most of it done on my own and I hate to ask Trav to help now. He’s been sweet about so many things. After the wallpaper fiasco, I mentioned I’d like to paint the walls pale green. I had some paint samples and we agreed on a color we both liked. Two days later I came home from work to find the room painted.”
“Oh, that’s awesome, Tess,” Harper said, smiling at her friend.
“Maybe he just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t bring home more wallpaper,” Cady teased.
“Probably,” Tess said, rising to her feet as the rest of the women stood. “I’ll do the dishes if you want to get started on the first item on my list.”
“That we can do,” Cady said, leading the way into the living room. Tess wanted the furniture rearranged to make room for a new padded rocking chair Travis had purchased for her. Right now, the chair was crowded into a corner.
After discussing multiple options and possibilities, Bailey drew a grid on a piece of paper. They measured all of the furniture and cut scale-sized pieces of paper representing each piece, placing them on the grid in different configurations.
Once they agreed on where to move everything, they started pushing aside tables and chairs to move the big couch and entertainment center.
Tess walked in and grinned. “Tee is going to have a fit about this, but I want everything to be just right.” She started to pick up a side table, but Lindsay grabbed it away from her. “No carrying anything heavy, young lady. Sit in that rocking chair over there and give us your orders.”
Harper was in the middle of helping Bailey move Travis’ recliner when her phone rang. She ignored it, but it rang a second time.
When they finished, she took it out of her pocket and forced herself not to do a dance of excitement when she saw a call and text from Ben.
Unwilling to call him with all the women listening, she sent him a text.
I’m at your sister’s house with all the girls. Can’t talk now unless you want them to know you have my number.
She’d only taken two steps with the floor lamp she’d picked up when her phone rang, letting her know he’d replied.
After positioning the lamp next to a chair, she glanced at the message.
Oh, I’ve got your number all right, Tinker Bell. Don’t tell that bunch of nosy chatterboxes, though. Give me a call when you can. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier.
She sent another quick text letting him know she’d call later then returned to helping move the furniture.
The ringing of her phone drew several gazes her direction.
“You better talk to whoever that is. They are either annoyingly persistent or desperate to speak with you.” Tess grinned at her.
“I think maybe both.” Harper fished the phone out of her pocket and stepped outside on the porch, returning Ben’s call.
“Hey, Harper, I didn’t expect you to call.” Ben’s voice wrapped around her, enfolding her in comforting familiarity, much like a cozy blanket on a chilly day. Harper wanted nothing more than to sit and listen to him speak for hours — or a lifetime.
“Well, what did you think would happen when you kept texting me? Tess suggested I answer so I can get some work done.”
“I’d give you a message for my bossy sister, but in light of the fact I prefer to stay anonymous, I guess I’ll have to bite my tongue today.”
“What’s up? Is there something I can do for you?” Harper happened to glance toward the living room and noticed Tess and Lindsay watching her.
Casually, she stepped off the porch, pretending to admire the fall flowers blooming out front. In the event one of the women inside had lip reading skills, she thought it best to move far enough away from the house to make it impossible.
“There is something you can do for me, Miss Hayes. Allow me to take you on a real date. I know I asked the other day and I meant to call you with a time long before now, but things have been a little hectic at work.”
Thrilled he still wanted to go out with her, Harper barely suppressed the urge to do a happy dance right there in Tess’ front yard. “No worries, Ben. I know you’re a very busy man.”
“Well, I don’t like to be too busy for my friends. Anyway, I was wondering if you’d be free Thursday evening. I could pick you up and take you to The Dalles for dinner and a movie.”
“That’s an awful lot of driving for you for a date. I can meet you in The Dalles.” Harper didn’t want to inconvenience Ben.
“It’s only an extra hour each way and I’m planning to be at the ranch for the weekend anyway. After I take you home and steal a few kisses, I’ll head out to the ranch.”
Thoughts of just how much she looked forward to Ben’s kisses made heat burn her cheeks. Harper grinned. “What makes you think I’ll let you steal any kisses?”
His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. The husky rumble in his tone made Harper plop down on the bottom porch step as her legs morphed into rubbery stumps, incapable of holding her upright. “I think you’ll let me steal as many as I like, because you enjoy it every bit as much as I do. If I’m wrong, you better be willing to prove it.”
“There’s no need for that,” Harper said. Even if she’d have to wait almost another week, she was excited at the prospect of seeing Ben again. The days would pass quic
kly, she hoped. “I will freely admit I enjoy your kisses. With the right persuasion, I may even say they’re the best kisses I’ve ever experienced.”
She could almost see the cocky, teasing grin on Ben’s face when he spoke again. “They should be the best kisses to ever smack your luscious lips. After all, you are covertly seeing one of the most dashing, debonair men to grow up in Grass Valley — maybe even Sherman County.”
“And he’s so humble and modest, too,” Harper said with a laugh. “I better get back inside before they send Cass out to listen to my conversation. I’ll look forward to Thursday, Captain Morgan. I’m really glad you called.”
“I’m glad you decided to talk to me. I’ll get in touch with you Wednesday to confirm on the time,” he sighed. “I hate to tell you goodbye.”
“I kind of hate that part, too, especially when there aren’t any kisses involved.”
Harper thought she heard Ben make a choked sound before he cleared his throat. “Goodbyes aren’t all bad, especially when it means I’m that much closer to our next hello. Enjoy your day, Harper, and don’t listen to anything my sister might say about me.”
“Oh, we’ve already discussed you. Bye, Ben.” Harper hung up with a giggle. She half expected him to call her back and pump her for information about why his name had come up and what had been said.
Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, she returned inside the house to a fun day with good friends.
Chapter Eleven
Every goodbye takes a little piece of my heart with it.
Harper Hayes
“Girlie, if you don’t quit pacing across the floor like that, you’re gonna break your dang neck in those shoes or wear a hole in the floor. Either way, it ain’t gonna end well.” Cletus grinned at Harper when she scowled at him.
She perched on the arm of the couch and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Cletus cackled and pointed a gnarled finger her direction. “It’s only been two minutes since the last time you checked. Who are you going out with that’s got you so worked up?”
“I told you, it’s just dinner with a friend.” Harper brushed a stray dog hair from the skirt of her dress. When she got home from work, she’d given General a thorough brushing in an effort to keep from getting dog hair on her after she got ready for her date with Ben.
Regardless of what she told her uncle, she considered the evening a date.
“Sure, honey, whatever you say,” Cletus said in an agreeable tone. “The fact that it’s just a friend is why you got all gussied up. Is that right?”
She smoothed a hand over her skirt. “Well, we’re going to The Dalles for dinner and I wanted to look nice.”
A smile filled her uncle’s weathered face. “You do look nice, Harper. I’d say the young men will have a hard time keeping their eyes off you tonight.” He narrowed his gaze. “As a matter of fact, maybe you better stay home. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”
“What idea would that be?” Harper asked, distracted. Ben was ten minutes late to pick her up and she’d been ready for twenty. What if he’d changed his mind? What if he wasn’t coming?
“That you’re one of them fancy city girls out for a good time.”
Harper turned her gaze from the window outside to Cletus and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Let’s just say if I was a young buck out with you, trouble would be trailing along a few steps behind.”
Harper walked over to her uncle and kissed the top of his head. “I appreciate your concern, but I promise you I’ll be fine. My friend is a gentleman and I have no doubt that he’ll be on his best behavior.”
“He better be or he’ll answer to me. I’ve still got a mean right hook.” Cletus jabbed his fist into the air, making Harper laugh.
“Okay. You save those moves for later. If I need your help when he brings me home, I’ll yell the word kumquat.”
Cletus scoffed. “Kumquat! That’s a stupid code word if I ever heard one. You need a word you’d use in a regular conversation so it doesn’t sound like a code word. Say banana or blue jeans, something like that.
“You’re right. The code word is hortatory.”
The glare that met Harper elicited a round of giggles. “If you don’t know what it means, you’ll have plenty of time to look it up while I’m gone.”
“On your date,” Cletus said, with a haughty grin. “Tell me who this boy is, Harper. He’s gonna come to the door to pick you up anyway.”
“Actually…” Harper resumed pacing across the floor. “I was going to go out and meet him when he pulled up the driveway.”
“Oh, no you aren’t. If that boy ain’t got the good manners to come to the door for you, I’m not letting you leave.” Cletus puffed up like an irate banty rooster. “No man worth a plugged nickel would let you run out to his car instead of walking you from the door. You better call him right now and tell him you can’t go.”
Harper refrained from rolling her eyes, but her uncle did have a point. With Ben’s nice manners, he would come to the door. In the event her uncle needed to get in touch with her during the course of the evening, she would feel better if he knew the man she was with, just in case he couldn’t reach her cell phone.
“Fine, Uncle Cletus. I’ll tell you who I’m going with but only if you promise you won’t tell anyone else. I mean no one but you, me, General, and the man in question knows about this. Deal?”
“Deal, now spill your guts.” Cletus rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Who is it? Some guy you met at the grain elevator? Is he a friend you knew in Boise? Is he a local boy? Did you meet him in The Dalles when you were grocery shopping? Or was it someone who…”
Unable to keep up with her uncle’s questions, Harper blurted out the name. “Ben Morgan!”
Cletus stared at her in shock with his mouth hanging open. After a long moment passed, he snapped it shut then began another round of questions. “Ben Morgan? Our Ben Morgan? Mike and Michele’s boy? That Ben?”
“Yes, Uncle Cletus. Ben Morgan.”
When Cletus slapped his leg and chortled with glee, Harper wished she hadn’t said anything.
“I knew it! I knew that boy was sweet on you.” Cletus grinned so broadly, Harper thought he might drop his dentures.
“Do you need a new battery in your hearing aid? I don’t think it’s working, otherwise you would have heard me say Ben and I are just friends.”
Cletus shook his head. “No one dresses like that to have dinner with a friend.”
The sound of tires crunching on the gravel outside drew a relieved sigh from Harper. “I don’t know why I even talk to you, Uncle Cletus.”
“Because you love me and I keep things lively for you.” Cletus shifted in his easy chair so he sat up straighter and rubbed a hand down his beard.
“True as that may be, please don’t say anything to embarrass me, or Ben for that matter.”
At the sound of a knock, Harper pulled open the door.
“Hi, Ben. Come on in,” she said and stepped aside for him to enter.
“Hi, Harper. Sorry I’m late. Someone was moving a big piece of equipment on the highway and held up traffic for about ten miles,” Ben grinned at her then smiled at Cletus as he bent down to pet the dog. “Evening, Mr. Keller. How are you doing?”
“Just fine, Ben. Just fine. Where are you and Harper off to?” Cletus eyed the young man as he continued casting interested glances at his niece. He’d been right all along — Ben Morgan had it bad for Harper.
Since he held nothing but admiration for the Morgan family, Cletus didn’t mind the idea of Harper and Ben marrying. After all, it would mean she’d stay close to the area and probably even come visit him with some regularity.
“We’re going to dinner in The Dalles and then, if it isn’t too late, we might catch a movie, unless you need her home sooner.” Ben gave General a piece of bacon he took out of a resealable bag then rubbed the dog’s head. When he finished with his tre
at, General licked Ben’s hand and leaned against his leg.
Cletus grinned. General didn’t make friends with just anyone. The fact he seemed to be quite fond of Ben was a good sign. “No, you two go have fun. The dog and I can keep each other company.”
Ben gave General one more piece of bacon along with a good scratch behind his ears then smiled at Harper. “Do you mind if I wash up before we go? I don’t want to take a chance of getting bacon grease on your dress.”
She showed him to the bathroom then returned to the living room. Silently, she picked up her purse and a light jacket in case it cooled down before she made it home. Although the early autumn days were still gorgeous, the evenings turned chilly.
“What makes him think his hands are going to get close to your dress?” Cletus asked in a loud whisper.
Harper scowled at him. “Hush up, you old coot. He’ll hear you.”
“I’m just saying…”
Ben walked back into the room and smiled at Harper. “Ready to go?”
“More than ready,” Harper said as she took a step toward the door. “Uncle Cletus, you stay out of trouble and don’t forget to take your medication before you go to bed.”
“I won’t forget. You two kids have a great time.” Cletus winked at Harper when she turned to glance at him before she walked outside.
Ben closed the door then took her elbow in his hand as he escorted her down the steps and across the walk to where he’d parked his pickup.
“You look incredible, Harper,” Ben said, downplaying the impact she had on him in her deep blue dress. Although the hem fell below her knees and it had a conservative neckline, the dress outlined all her curves. The moment she opened the door to greet him, his mouth had started to water. With her golden hair hanging in gleaming layers around her face and those gorgeous blue eyes, he was a goner.
“You don’t look too bad yourself, Captain Morgan.” Harper had nearly drooled when she saw Ben. He wore pressed jeans, boots, and a cream and tan striped shirt with a dark brown sports coat. The cowboy hat on his head was the cherry on top of one undeniably handsome piece of beefcake.
The Cowboy's Last Goodbye (Grass Valley Cowboys Book 6) Page 15
