by Darcy Burke
He laughed. His folks had always had him pegged. “Oh, I am, and I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long with Jamie too.” He winced. “I don’t know how much more I can take, though.”
“Oh no, is it bad? It seems like you’re getting along so well.”
“We are. It’s just a small house, and we have different…living styles.”
She reached inside the car and set the casserole tote on the passenger seat. “You were always much tidier. What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure what I can do. Good rental property in Ribbon Ridge is tough to come by.”
“True. Maybe it’s time you bought something. You can afford it, can’t you?”
He could. He’d dumped a lot of money into the winery two years ago, but he had enough to buy something small. If he wanted to. “I’m not sure I’m ready for those kinds of roots.”
She touched his arm. “What are you afraid of, Luke? You’ve always been so careful and so…uninterested in forming deep relationships. You never really had a best friend growing up.”
He couldn’t dispute anything she said, just as he couldn’t answer her question. “I don’t think I’m afraid. I’m just…here.” Waiting. Yes, waiting. Maybe that was it. He’d settle down, as she put it, when it was right. So far, it hadn’t been right.
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I love you. See you soon.”
“Love you too. Say hi to Dad.”
She climbed into the car with a nod. “Will do.”
He watched her fire up the engine and pull out of the driveway. Instead of going back inside, he inhaled the night air and started walking. When he reached Main Street, he paused, realizing he’d given zero thought to his destination. Or if he even had one.
He turned left and found himself approaching The Arch and Vine. Without hesitating, he walked inside and strode to the bar. George must’ve had the night off because it was another of their bartenders, Mick. He made a killer Moscow mule, so Luke ordered one.
“You got it,” he said, grabbing a copper mug from the shelf above his head. “What brings you in here tonight?”
“Just out for a stroll and thought I’d stop in.”
Mick mixed the drink with expert hands. “Excellent. So my wife joined your wine club the other day. She’s really excited about the dinner coming up.”
Right, their first wine club dinner was in a few weeks. “Cool. I’m glad you guys joined.”
“Wouldn’t miss it. You know how much I love pinot.”
Mick didn’t look like a wine connoisseur with his tattoos and piercings, but he had a fantastic palate and worked part-time as a sommelier for the wine-and-cheese shop next door.
Just then, Kelsey entered Luke’s line of sight. Or had he been looking for her? She took an order at a booth and turned toward the bar. He knew the exact moment she saw him. Her eyes widened slightly, and there seemed to be a hitch in her step.
He felt an answering hitch in his chest. Her beauty threatened to steal his breath. Hell, when had his mild interest in her become something more?
He didn’t know, but it had. He’d been utterly disappointed when she’d turned him down last night. And yet here he was, seeking her out—and yes, he could be honest with himself and admit that was exactly what he was doing.
She walked up to the bar. “Mick, I need a Crossbow and a Maid Marion.”
Mick set Luke’s mule in front of him before grabbing two pint glasses. “You got it.”
“Hey, Kelsey,” Luke said, picking up his ice-cold copper mug. He sipped the mule, the delicious ginger spice awakening his tongue.
“Hi, Luke, how’s it going?”
“Great, thanks.” This felt stilted. Awkward. He hated that. He never should’ve asked her out. Or maybe she should’ve said yes, a tiny voice argued at the back of his mind. He mentally told that voice to shut the hell up. “Working again, huh?”
She grinned. “Always. How late did you work tonight?”
“Seven. I cut out early.”
She laughed. “Slacker.”
He couldn’t help but smile. Okay, maybe this wasn’t awkward. They could be friends. He was glad.
“Be right back,” Mick said. “The Crossbow keg just blew.” He unhooked the empty, hefted up over his shoulder, and headed toward the back.
Luke sipped his drink again. “It’s a good thing you turned me down the other night. I don’t think either one of us has time to date.”
Her smile faded, but she nodded. “Very true. And now I have a houseguest. My grandmother is here visiting from Chehalis.”
He turned on the barstool to face her. “Is that good or bad?”
“Oh, it’s great. It was a surprise, but I’m thrilled to have her here. She’s probably the person I feel closest to in the whole world.”
He could hear the love in her tone and thought her grandmother must be pretty special. “Lucky her,” he said softly.
She blushed slightly. “Yeah, well, we’re just close.”
“That’s nice. How long will she be here?”
“I’m not sure. She doesn’t know either. She’s currently without a home, actually. She sold her property last spring and was staying with my folks until she couldn’t stand it anymore.”
Luke thought of his own situation. “I can so relate.”
Kelsey’s brow shot up. “Oh?”
“I live in a nine-hundred-square-foot house with my brother. One bathroom. You do the math.”
She made a face. “Yikes. I get you.”
Luke picked up his mug. “Well, it’s nice she has you to turn to. Ah, here comes Mick, carrying that keg like it’s a nearly weightless blanket.”
“I’ll go hiking with you.”
Luke had brought the mug to his mouth, but his hand stilled. He peered at her over the rim, wondering if he’d heard her correctly or if his hopes had made him hear something that hadn’t been said. “What?”
“I said I’d go hiking with you. On Monday.”
Warmth spread through his chest as he took a sip of his drink. He set the mug back down on the bar. “Okay. Great. I’ll pick you up at ten. Do you have a hydration pack?”
She shook her head. “I don’t. Should I get one?”
“No, I have extras. And don’t worry about food—I’ll take care of everything. Any food allergies?”
She shook her head again.
“Where should I pick you up? I don’t know where you live.”
She gestured toward the door. “Across the street, basically—over the hair salon. I’ll meet you outside.”
He smiled at her, so glad he’d decided to come here tonight. “Perfect.”
Mick had hooked up the new keg and now brought the two pints over to Kelsey. “Here you go. One Maid Marion cider and one Crossbow fresh off the brand new keg.”
“Thanks, Mick.” She pushed her hair back behind her ear and swept up the glasses. She looked toward Luke. “See you Monday.”
He watched her go and couldn’t stop smiling.
Mick came over to where Luke was seated and leaned on the bar across from him. “Did McDade just agree to go out with you?”
“She’s joining me for a hike on Monday.”
“So that’s a yes. Damn, brother, good job. She keeps to herself mostly. It’s nice to see her do something social.” Mick left to attend to a couple at the other end of the bar.
Luke’s gaze found Kelsey bussing a table. They had so much in common. He couldn’t help but anticipate spending more time with her. On a date. Because that was exactly what it was.
He held up his mug in her direction and thought to himself: introverts unite!
“Turn left here,” Gram said.
Kelsey put on her signal and made the turn.
“It’s just up ahead on the right.” Gram looked up from her phone.
Catching sight of the sign that read “County Historical Society,” Kelsey pulled into the parking lot. “You’re an excellent navigator, Gram.”
“Thank you. I’ve gotten pretty good at using this phone. Malcolm’s taught me all the tricks.”
Kelsey smiled, marveling at how savvy young kids were with electronics. She saw it all the time at the library as kids sat down at the computers. At that moment, her phone pinged. Since she was still driving, she ignored it, but Gram picked it up and looked at the screen.
“Who’s Luke?”
Kelsey parked the car and shut off the engine as her heart picked up a bit of speed. She took the phone from Gram. “Just a friend.”
“Who you have a date with?”
The text read: Can I pick you up at ten thirty instead?
“It’s not a date. We’re going hiking.” It was sort of a date. Wasn’t it? She’d gotten a little thrill when she’d brazenly and rather thoughtlessly blurted that she’d go with him—just like when you agreed to a first date. She hadn’t been on very many of those, but she remembered.
She didn’t even want to date. What was she thinking?
Clearly, she hadn’t been. Thinking. He’d walked into the pub last night looking all sexy in dark blue jeans and a dark-green T-shirt that had displayed his rugged, athletic frame to drool-worthy effect.
Gram sent her a skeptical glance as she opened her door. “I don’t care what you call it, it’s a step in the right direction.” She smiled before stepping out of the car.
Kelsey wasn’t sure it was the right direction, but it was a step.
She got out of the car and locked it, then joined Gram in walking to the front door. Once inside, Kelsey smiled. The scent of old paper and curiosity filled her nostrils—the smell of a library. She felt perfectly at home.
“Hi, can I help you?” The question came from a young man behind the front desk.
Kelsey went to the counter. “Yes, we have an appointment with Darryl Gray.”
“You’re looking at maps today.” He smiled at her. “That’ll be fun.”
“I think so.”
The door opened behind Kelsey, and she turned her head to see the other three women enter. They’d offered a ride to Kelsey, but she’d declined since Gram was with her.
“Hello!” Crystal called out. She immediately went to shake Gram’s hand. “You must be Kelsey’s grandma.”
“I am. Please call me Ruby.”
“I’m Crystal.” She let go of Gram and gestured to introduce Alaina and Brooke.
Gram’s eyes rounded. “Oh my goodness, you really are Alaina Pierce. Kelsey told me you were a friend of hers, but I just couldn’t quite believe it.” She laughed as she sent Kelsey a look of apology.
Alaina laughed. “I’m plain old Alaina Archer around here. It’s nice to meet you.” She shook Gram’s hand, and Gram looked a little starstruck.
“Good morning.” A masculine voice broke up their grouping, and they all turned to see the new arrival. He was a beefy fellow, probably in his fifties, with a shock of white-blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses. “I’m Darryl.”
Kelsey reached out and shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Kelsey McDade. Thank you so much for meeting with us.”
“My pleasure. I have everything ready for you, if you’ll just follow me.” He led them down a hallway and to the right into a conference room. A large table was covered with several maps.
Darryl moved to one end. “Down here is the oldest map—from 1880. I believe the homestead you’re looking for is here.” He pointed to a black square on the yellowed paper.
They all gathered around and looked down at the map, which showed the topography of the area as well as what Ribbon Ridge had looked like at that time. There were maybe a dozen black squares around the present-day town.
“Wow, there’s hardly anything there,” Crystal said.
Darryl nodded. “Early days for Ribbon Ridge. The place you’re looking for—the Bird’s Nest Ranch—is one of the first homesteads built in the hills.” His fingers moved west over the map. “Here’s the first one. That belonged to the Archers. This structure is still standing.”
“And it’s still in use,” Alaina said. “My daughter likes to play pretend at what she calls ‘the old cabin.’”
“Remarkable.” Darryl’s tone reflected his keen appreciation. “As you know, the Bird’s Nest Ranch is long gone. If you look over the maps, you’ll see it just vanishes somewhere between 1901 and 1919. We can’t find any maps from between those years, and it’s not on the 1919 map.” He walked to the other end of the table and smoothed his hand over the place where the homestead would have been.
They moved as a group to the 1919 map. “Well, this gives us something to go on,” Brooke said. “At least we can narrow our research to this time frame to try to find out what became of Dorinda.”
Crystal looked around at them. “I wonder what happened to the homestead?”
“Don’t know,” Darryl said. “But I did find a death certificate for Dorinda Olsen. She died in 1902.”
There was a collective intake of breath as they all looked at each other. Sadness was reflected in their gazes.
“Did it say how she died?” Brooke asked softly.
Darryl shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
“I don’t suppose you could find out if she had any offspring?” Kelsey thought they could maybe track down the family and see if they had any knowledge of what had happened.
“Not that I could find. I admit I did a bit of research since I spoke to you the other day. I love this sort of thing. From what I could dig up, Dorinda’s husband, Hiram, died in 1881, and she lived another twenty plus years at Bird’s Nest Ranch.”
“By herself,” Alaina mused aloud, saying what they were probably all thinking.
“I can’t imagine her working that land alone,” Kelsey said. “But perhaps she had help.”
“Or not,” Gram interjected. “I ran our little farm for a couple of years after your grandpa passed. Granted, it was just goats and chickens and some trees we sold to a local nursery. My point is, don’t discount Dorinda because she was alone, and definitely don’t do it because she was a woman.” The fire in her gaze warmed Kelsey’s heart. Gram was so strong and independent. Hopefully these were traits Kelsey had finally learned to take advantage of.
Alaina looked at the others. “So what do we do now?”
“I’d still like to try to find the house,” Crystal said. “Maybe we’ll discover something helpful.” She moved back to the other end of the table. “This shows us where it was.”
They all gravitated back to the first map.
Darryl flicked a look toward Alaina. “Did you say you planned to hire an archaeologist? I can give you some names.”
Alaina nodded. “That would be great.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He walked from the conference room.
They broke off into smaller conversations, and Kelsey took a picture of the location of the Bird’s Nest Ranch homestead with her phone. Then she meandered to the other end of the table to look at the newest map.
Brooke joined her. “Your grandma seems pretty great.”
Kelsey looked over at Gram, who was chatting with Crystal. “She is. I’m really glad she came to stay with me.”
“Is it a temporary thing?”
Kelsey still wasn’t really sure. They hadn’t talked about Gram’s long-term plans. Probably because Gram didn’t have any yet. “I think so.”
“Your apartment is only one bedroom, right? If this isn’t temporary, you should reconsider my loft—it has two bedrooms.”
“I misspoke. It is a temporary thing. I just don’t know how temporary. Anyway, it’s fine. I like having her with me, even if it means sleeping on the couch.”
Alaina sidled up to them. “Did I hear you say you’re sleeping on the couch? Why?”
“Gram’s got the bedroom,” Kelsey said. “It’s all good. She’s just figuring out what she wants to do next.”
“Well, if she needs a place to stay for a bit, she could almost certainly stay with the Archers. They have a fantastic apartment out a
t their place—over the garage. Your grandma would be more than comfortable. I’ll ask them about it.”
Kelsey shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be. It’s for your grandma. And she wouldn’t be intruding either. The Archers love helping people.” Alaina looked over at Gram. “Hey, Ruby, how’d you like to move into a furnished luxury apartment just outside Ribbon Ridge?”
Gram blinked at her, and Kelsey saw that she was interested. “Does such a thing exist?”
Alaina nodded. “Absolutely. Let me work out the details, but I bet you could be moved in this weekend.”
A smile curved Gram’s lips. “Oh my goodness, Ribbon Ridge is full of just the nicest people. But it’s only temporary. I suppose I have to get back to Washington at some point.”
“Why?” Brooke asked. “You could stay here. We all did.” She looked at Crystal. “Well, except her. She comes and goes like the wind.”
Crystal smirked. “Ha. Funny. I happen to work in LA.”
“But you don’t have to. In fact, your boss would love it if you spent more time here,” Alaina said sunnily before flashing her best friend a smile and then blowing her a kiss.
Crystal rolled her eyes.
“Now that I think about it, I guess I could do whatever I like,” Gram said. “I’ve earned it, right? Maybe I will stay here.” She looked over at Kelsey and winked. “Then I could be with my favorite girl.”
Warmth spread through Kelsey’s chest, and she hoped Gram decided to stay. How nice it would be to have family close by. Well, the right family. She shuddered to think of having her mother in the same town.
Darryl came back into the conference room and handed Alaina a list of archaeologists.
Her lips curved into her trademark thousand-watt smile. “Thanks, Darryl, we really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve got some work to do now, but stay as long as you like.” He nodded before leaving the room.
Crystal held her hand out. “I’ll call them.”
Alaina handed her the paper. “Thanks.”
“Let me talk to Luke Westcott first,” Kelsey said. “Now that we know where the structure was located, I want to make sure we won’t be disrupting any of their vines.” She tried to picture where the homestead would be in terms of the present layout and couldn’t really figure it out.
