by Lisa Prysock
HOURS LATER, HE HELD Nicole in his arms tightly as they slow danced around the kitchen and foyer to soft music after Amy had been tucked into bed. The lights had been dimmed and the candle on the kitchen table flickered. Her head leaned against his chest, and everything felt just right. All he could think was how remarkable it was holding one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in his arms and how perfect it seemed. Josh Baldwin was singing “Stand in Your Love” on the stereo. He was sure they were letting the words sink in as the guitar strings strummed out the country western praise. Their hearts were melting and soaring all at once and no words needed to be spoken as she allowed him to lead her in a long, slow dance. It seemed as if they’d been together all of their lives, and yet they were a mystery to each other.
Dinner had been a huge success. The girls had loved his spaghetti. How could they not? Cheryl Anne had been a Lorenzo and he’d learned how to make Italian food from her. Of course, he’d brought a few things along from a quick trip to the grocery store in Lander, including a bouquet of red roses for Nicole, fresh grated parmesan cheese, real garlic, and a loaf of Italian bread from The Sweetwater Ranch bakery.
Oddly enough, over the wonderful Italian meal, they talked about Nicole’s French and Irish ancestry and his Germanic, Irish, and English ancestry. Amy listened quietly to most of their discussion and when he prayed for the meal, she was happy to fold her little hands and bow her head without being told. They’d had more popcorn with extra, extra butter and watched only one movie this time, Secretariat. Nicole had insisted on reading a story to Amy before bed, and they’d all sat on the sofa with Amy in the middle for a reading from On the Banks of Plum Creek.
“You know she’s going to want a pony when we leave the ranch, right?” she whispered into his ear softly when a new song came on the radio.
“I kinda figured.” As he held her close in his arms, supporting her so she didn’t have to put much weight on her ankle, he nuzzled his cheek against her soft dark curls.
A hundred emotions coursed through his heart and mind. He couldn’t have imagined he would ever be able to hold anyone again the way he had his Cheryl Anne. Was the Lord giving him this lovely lady as his future bride? Some part of him wanted to protect Nicole and keep her close, but faraway and deep within, something nagged his soul. Nicole had some things to work through regarding her shredded faith.
She didn’t have to say it. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in the story she’d told him the night before. Could he love her enough to help guide her through it? He wasn’t sure he was ready for Amy, but his heart had already fallen into caring for both of them. So many other things had gotten in the way of a normal upbringing for the sweet, rambunctious eight-year-old. Maybe this friend of Nicole’s, Brooke, had been able to pour some normal into their lives. At this point, he could only hope they had a chance to be together. It was too early to tell.
Chapter 11
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”
—Earl Nightingale
The next day offered a warm weather spell over the Lander area as sunshine melted much of the snow. This time, Nicole and Amy were dressed for riding properly since they’d been able to purchase cowboy boots and flannel shirts in town on the day they’d gone to the grocery store. They were also excited about hearing Redemption Revolution perform at a chuck wagon BBQ dinner scheduled for later that night since Nicole’s ankle was almost completely recovered.
On the way to breakfast as they walked to the main barn-shaped house, Amy looked down at her ankle. “Mom, you’re not hobbling anymore. Looks like you’re all better.”
“I feel better,” Nicole smiled. “No more pain with every step. It’s amazing what a few days of rest can do. Plus, my new cowboy boots give my ankle a lot of support.”
She heard her cell phone ring and fished around in her purse until she found it. Brooke was calling. Nicole answered. “Hey, great to hear from you. We’re all settled in.”
“How’s it going?” Brooke asked. “My guess is it’s gorgeous there this time of year.”
“It is. The leaves are all turning beautiful colors, but we’ve had a little bit of snow, too. We’ve done a lot of horseback riding and went ice skating. I sprained my ankle, but a handsome cowboy carried me away from the rink.” Nicole summarized their vacation quickly.
“Wow!” Her friend laughed. “Sounds incredibly fun, especially the handsome cowboy part.”
“Talk to me, girlfriend,” Nicole teased.
“Say, your agent called me because he sent a package to your Santa Monica address and it was returned to him. I gave him your Wyoming address. I hope it was okay. Remember, I’m your emergency contact?” Brooke reminded her.
“Sure, that’s great. I completely forgot to tell him we were going to be in Wyoming.” Nicole paused as they arrived at the front porch of the main house. “Listen, I’ll have to let you go, we’re about to go into the dining hall for breakfast, but our cabin is gorgeous, Amy’s lessons are going great, and we’re really enjoying it here. Thanks for telling me about this place.”
“You’re welcome. Have a great day!” Brooke hung up and Nicole tossed the phone back into the depths of her purse. They went inside and filled their plates at the buffet, then sat down beside Jill and the Haven kids.
“Nicole, I’d like you to meet my mom, Betty Anne Fontaine. She lives on the farm next door to our ranch. And this is my aunt, Meredith Johnston. Aunt Meredith owns a resale shop in Lander called Second Chances. If you like shopping, be sure to stop in sometime.”
“Pleased to meet you both, and do I ever love shopping! I think it’s my main hobby.” Nicole meant every word, but all three of the ladies seated at her table cracked up laughing.
“We’re laughing with you. I think we love shopping as much as you do.” Jill smiled as she used her fork to cut a small bite of the made-to-order veggie omelet on her plate. “How’s your ankle? I see you’re up and moving around, so you must be feeling a lot better.”
“I am, thank you.” Nicole turned to Jill’s mom and aunt. “I tried to do a jump while ice skating and do a little spin, but I took a hard tumble a few days ago.”
“I’m glad you’re recovered and am so delighted to meet you, Miss Beaumont. I’ve seen every single one of your movies and always look forward to the next one,” Betty Anne gushed as she clasped a cup of hot tea in her hands. She seemed to have lost interest in the delicious food on her plate. Her plate held an orange Danish, a slice of bacon, and a few scoops of scrambled eggs, but she’d barely tasted her food or even looked at it since Jill had introduced them. She continued smiling and staring at Nicole. “I can hardly believe I’m sitting here right next to you.”
Nicole blushed and returned the smile, accustomed to some fans reacting a bit on the star-struck side when meeting an A-list actress. No matter how long she remained an actress, the added attention often made her blush.
“Come on by Second Chances anytime. We’d love to have you visit our little shop. We have clothing for children and adults.” Aunt Meredith’s words seemed a little more natural to Nicole. Meredith Johnston took meeting her in stride and showed as much hospitality and warmth as Jill’s mom. Their voices and smiles were warm, friendly, and inviting.
“Thanks for the invitation. I look forward to visiting your shop. I can hardly keep up with Amy’s growth spurts,” Nicole admitted as she sipped some of her coffee.
“Can we go outside and play, Mom? I finished eating all of my French toast.” Amy stood at her side, pleading.
“Can we, Mom?” Savannah looked toward Jill for approval.
“Oh sure, but you all need to be back for lunch and stay close by. I expect regular checking in with me every hour,” Jill Haven replied firmly.
“I suppose you can, but we�
��ll be going riding soon, so only for a little while. Can you meet me on the front porch of the main house in about thirty minutes?” Nicole asked. “I need to drink more coffee and finish my breakfast before I’m ready to go on a horseback ride.”
“Thanks Mom, sure!” Amy nodded quickly and took off with Savannah and Micah. Grace Anne, Zachary, and Jackie, the three older Haven kids followed at a slower pace.
“Is that hot sauce you’re pouring on your omelet?” Betty Anne asked her daughter, her mouth dropping open.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. For some reason, I’m craving it.” Jill stared at the hot sauce bottle in her hand. “I know, it’s not good for nursing mothers and it’s probably not very good for pregnant mothers, either. However, this is mild hot sauce. I’ve never craved hot sauce when pregnant before, but this baby has a mind of his own.”
“Or her...” Aunt Meredith interjected.
“Or her,” Jill smiled, patting her protruding tummy. “Say, Nicole, I’d like to invite you to a series of quilting sessions we’re having on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Sweetwater Library here in the main house. Some of the ladies from our chapel have gotten together to organize this. We’re donating the quilt to a needy family in Lander and praying over it as we’re sewing. The family we have in mind lost everything in a fire about a year ago, so we think they’ll really appreciate it. Some of the other Sweetwater guests and ladies may join us.”
“Wow, thanks, I’d be happy to consider joining you! What a great thing to do for this family. I’m not much of a seamstress, though. I can barely thread a needle. My mom kind of gave up on teaching me how to sew, but I did make it through home economics class in high school.” Nicole took another bite of her omelet, thankful for the invitation. Maybe it’d be good for her to try something new. Plus, it would be nice to meet some of the other ranch guests after being cooped up in the cabin for two days with her ankle injury.
“You can bring your daughter, too. We’ve got a sewing corner for the little ones. They’re making doll clothes from sewing scraps.” Betty Anne Fontaine, Jill’s mom, had finally relaxed and took a bite of her scrambled eggs.
“LAST ONE ACROSS THE bridge is a rotten egg!” Micah hollered and raced on ahead. Savannah and Amy exchanged looks and ran to catch up with him as fast as their legs would carry them, avoiding running in the patches of melting snow. It was so warm, they didn’t need hats and coats, only their warm flannel shirts, jeans, socks, and cowboy boots.
Zach, Grace Anne, and Jackie wandered off in the direction of the barns. A few minutes later, Micah, Savannah, and Amy crossed over the covered bridge and stopped to catch their breath.
To Amy’s relief, Micah didn’t call them rotten eggs when he raced across the bridge first, beating them both. She took in the pretty view of leaves changing colors, enjoying the countryside surroundings, and navigating around the little patches of melting snow. Micah bent down and picked up a few pebbles in his hand from the banks of the rapidly flowing creek beneath the covered bridge. Then he threw pebbles into the creek, trying to make them skip and bounce across the top of the water, enjoying the sound they made when they plunked and splashed. Savannah began plunking rocks in the creek, too.
Amy looked all around at the wide open spaces. She could see mountains in the distance all around them. They had a nice view of the rest of the creek cutting across the pasture behind the row of big barns. Further out from the barns, in an easterly direction—at least she thought it was east since the morning sun hovered there—she could see a small airplane had landed recently by a big warehouse type of building. To her right, when she looked in the direction from where they’d came, beyond the pavilion and rodeo area, she could see the zig-zag row of cabins where they’d been cooped up for the past few days. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air enjoying the sunshine. The cabins were adjacent to the big main barn-shaped house. She took in the view of a long row of shops on the other side of the street from the cabins.
Turning around, Amy could also see a little white country church, and a cow eating a few purple flowers poking up through the bit of snow on the ground. She wasn’t too surprised there were flowers left that hadn’t frosted over yet, or withered away. Many of the planter containers at the ranch still had flowers growing in them, but she knew within a few weeks they’d all be frozen and buried under snow drifts. She remembered snow from her visit to Wisconsin and the time they spent in New York City when her mom sometimes had to make a movie there.
“Hey guys, look! There’s a cow!” Amy pointed at the spotted cow.
Micah and Savannah dropped the pebbles and small rocks in their hands and ran towards the cow. When Amy caught up with them, Micah was tugging on the leather strap around her neck to lead her towards the front porch steps of the church. “Let’s ride her!”
“Ride Betsy?” Savannah asked. Amy thought the idea of riding a cow sounded fun.
“Sure, why not?” Micah pulled harder to get the cow to cooperate. He paused to explain. “You two push and I’ll pull. We’ve got to get her over to the steps so we can jump on.”
“Okay,” Savannah giggled and looked at Amy.
Amy burst into giggles and they started pushing the cow as hard as they could from behind. No matter what they did, that cow would hardly budge. Finally, Betsy arrived at the bottom of the church steps. Then she started to take off in another direction.
Micah jumped in front of the stubborn animal. “Oh no you don’t, Betsy! Guys, push her into that corner by the steps.”
“But then she’ll mess up the flower bed there,” Savannah pointed out.
“It’s already a mess. There’s some snow there.” Micah got in front of Betsy and gave her a push toward the corner.
“True,” Savannah agreed, joining Micah in pushing the cow into the corner.
Miraculously, Betsy backed up close to the steps and Amy’s eyes grew wider than ever.
“Amy, you’re going to have to jump on first,” Micah instructed.
She nodded, ran up the porch steps, and then hoisted herself over the hand rail. Now she was standing on the edge of the porch. With a grin a mile wide, Amy paused. She took one look at the cow and jumped right onto its back while Micah steadied the patient animal.
“Go, Savannah, your turn,” Micah insisted. Savannah ran up the steps, shimmied her way over the hand rail, and took a leap onto the back of the cow with her eyes squeezed shut. When she landed behind Amy, she started giggling. “I did it!”
Amy laughed and tightened her grip on the leather strap holding a bell on the cow’s broad neck. “Hold on tight!”
“C’mon, Micah!” Savannah hollered. “She’s gettin’ frisky, as Uncle Buck would say.”
By the time Micah reached the top of the steps, Betsy decided to lunge forward at a steady pace. He tried to take a flying leap off the church porch and landed in a pile of snow. Nonetheless, Betsy kept going, carrying the girls towards the covered bridge. Amy glanced behind her and saw Micah scrambling to his feet.
“Hurry, Micah!” Amy squealed, bursting into more giggles as the cow’s slow movements propelled them forward. Riding a cow was fun! It was kind of hard work, but it was fun once you were on, she decided.
“I WONDER WHERE THOSE kids could have wandered.” Nicole ran a hand through her shiny black tresses and put her tan, suede, cowboy hat back on over her thick locks of wavy hair. She scanned the property quickly after rounding the corner from the main house, hoping to spot Amy’s location. It might be time to consider buying a cell phone for her daughter, but she was trying to put it off for as long as possible.
She stood on the corner of Sadie Lane and Bridge Haven Road looking toward the barns and the covered bridge, but she couldn’t see any sign of Amy anywhere. She heard a horse galloping at full speed heading in her direction and stepped out of the way. The horse whizzed by, taking the corner so fast she barely had time to see it was none other than Jack riding the gorgeous chestnut horse like the wind.
“Ya
w! Yaw!” Jack hollered, beating the side of the horse with his bare hand.
The horse bounded down the lane and when Nicole looked closer down Bridge Haven Road, all she could see was a cow heading toward a trail they called number four. Then she did a double-take, squinting her eyes with a hand over her brows to shade her eyes from the bright sky. Was that Amy and Savannah, riding a cow?
Before her feet could take more than a few steps, Jack caught up with the children and lassoed the cow. His horse sidled up next to the cow as he pulled the excess rope into his hands and then scooped both of the little girls up and onto his horse. When the girls were safely in his arms, he turned his horse and the cow toward the barns.
As he approached where Nicole had observed the whole scene, she flashed him her friendliest smile. “Cowboy Jack, how can I ever thank you?”
“Not a problem. It was my pleasure. I actually enjoyed the excitement.” His eyes twinkled down at her as he pulled back on the reins to stop his horse and then handed both girls down to her one at a time.
“Mom, mom, we rode a cow!” Amy jumped up and down, excited about the unusual experience. Turning to look up at Jack, she shaded her eyes from the sun melting the remaining snow. “Thanks, Cowboy Jack. We weren’t sure how to stop her.”
“Yeah, Betsy gave us a real nice ride, but we couldn’t figure out how to make her stop,” Savannah chimed in, flipping one braid over a shoulder. “Wonder where Micah is? He missed a good ride.”
“Micah’s the one who came and told me the girls needed a little bit of help. He’s at the barn having a talk with Uncle Buck about why we shouldn’t ride the milking cows.” Jack chuckled.
“We shouldn’t?” Savannah sounded surprised.
“No, we really shouldn’t.” Jack laughed again, a big hearty laugh.
