by Danni Roan
Chapter 9
“Lisa it is not a romantic getaway,” Audrey insisted over the phone later that night. “I’m here with his brother and his mom.”
“Yes, his brother is just as good looking as he is.”
“No, stop telling me to make a pass at him.” Audrey held the phone away from her ear as her friend cackled wildly.
“Yes, I’m glad he came to get me as well,” Audrey said now that her friend had decided to be serious. “It could have been hours or worse days before anyone found me out there. Have the roads cleared at all?”
“No I didn’t think so.”
“I hope I can make it home tomorrow. If not, James says everything is under control.”
“Yes, I’ll call my aunts and let them know what happened. Now go away,” she finished clicking off the phone.
Audrey toppled back onto the comfy bed in the room she was using and took a deep breath. If she called her aunts, they would fuss at her and lecture her about not being careful enough.
Then when they found out about Holden, they’d insist she bring him home with her for Christmas and lecture her about settling down.
If she didn’t call them, and they found out what had happened, she would never here the end of it.
Sighing she rolled over and hit the speed dial button. Maybe they wouldn’t have too much to say.
***
Audrey woke the next morning with her aunts’ voices still ringing in her head. Her Aunt Lou had put her on speaker, and they’d all been talking at once.
Everything she had expected happened in a rush. First she was chided for driving in such bad weather. Then she’d been asked why she hadn’t brought this young man home yet, and when was she going to get married. After that discussion which she’d finally put an end to by stating clearly that Holden was a business colleague, she was berated for not trying to find someone to settle down with. Finally, she’d been able to get off of the phone and slip beneath the crisp sheets seeking blissful sleep.
A soft tread outside her door told her that others were up already, so she rose, slipped into her clothes from the day before and prepared for the day.
Walking down the stairs, Audrey could hear Holden’s voice as the smell of pancakes and bacon drew her to the kitchen once more.
“Good morning,” Kris greeted. “I hope you slept well.”
Audrey smiled. She needed coffee and she needed it now.
“Coffee?” Holden asked pouring a cup from the coffee maker and handing it to her. “I seem to remember someone saying they were useless without it.”
“Thank you,” she said hugging the mug to her and inhaling the aroma.
Kris Bays laughed, “Like two peas,” she whispered flipping a flapjack. “Take a seat dear, breakfast is almost ready.”
Audrey sipped her coffee and smiled across the table at Holden. “I called my aunt’s last night to let them know I was alright,” she said. “I’m afraid they had a great deal to say about the matter.”
“You’re aunts?” Kris queried.
“Yes, I was raised by my aunts. There are four of them, and they all live together on the old family farm.”
“What happened to your parents?” Holden asked his eyes meeting hers.
“They were flying enthusiasts, and one weekend when they went out, their plane disappeared without a trace. Oh that was almost twelve years ago now.”
“I remember that,” Kris said placing a platter full of pancakes on the table then lifting fried eggs onto individual plates from the large iron skillet on the stove. “You’re the little girl they left behind.”
Audrey nodded. She’d grown accustomed to speaking about her parents over the years. She had great memories of them and focused on those instead of the sad years.
“My aunts, my father’s sisters, took me in and did all they could to make me happy. I’m sure it was hard for them as well.”
Kris placed a plate in front of Holden and another in front of Audrey. “You’d better eat up,” she said with a smile. “I think you’ll be taking the grand tour as soon as the sun gets a little higher.”
“Thank you,” Audrey said, looking down at the plate before her and wondering where the others were.
“Don’t worry about me or Handley we’ve already eaten,” Kris finished, wiping her hands on a towel and exiting the room.
“I’m sorry to hear about your folks,” Holden said pouring syrup over his pancakes then handing her the bottle. “We lost Dad about two years ago now, and it’s been pretty rough.”
Audrey took the syrup bottle her fingers briefly touching Holden’s hand sending a charge of electricity up her arm.
“It’s one of the reasons Handley’s excited about the idea of hosting a party. He’d like to get the ranch free and clear, so Mom won’t worry so much.”
“Have you lived here your whole life?” Audrey asked. Turning back to her plate to hide the effect he was having on her.
“Yes, this place has been in my family for generations. It means the world to Handley and Mom.”
“And you?” Audrey didn’t know what made her ask the question but she did.
“I love it too, but I understand things change.”
Audrey smiled, “It’s the only constant right?”
Holden chuckled, and she joined in the laugh. Despite her questions about the kiss the day before she was comfortable with Holden Bays and it was nice.
“Hey big brother,” Handley swung into the kitchen his coat buttoned to his chin. “When you’re finished, I got the path cleared for ya. Mornin’ Audrey,” he added with a hopeful smile.
Grinning Audrey dug into her breakfast handing over her now empty mug to Holden as he returned to the pot.
She was looking forward to seeing his place and discovering if it would suit her needs. If it helped this family out as well, then even better.
Chapter 10
“You’d better take this,” Holden said offering Audrey a warm red coat. “It’s Mom’s barn coat and is much warmer than the one you have.”
“Thanks,” Audrey smiled, surprised when he helped her into the coat.
“Are you comfortable with farm animals?”
Audrey laughed. “My aunts raise goats, chickens, and sheep, so yes, or at least those ones. I’ve never been around horses much, but I like them.”
“Your aunts still raise stock.”
Again Audrey laughed. “If you want to call it that. Most of the animals are more like pets.”
Together they walked down the steps of the farm house into a winter wonder land, with a single snow shovel wide path leading around the buildings.
“Aunt Lou raises sheep. She sells some of the wool but cards and spins the rest of it making hand crafted sweaters, shawls, hats and gloves.” She wiggled her fingers in her mittens with a smile.
“I see so Lou has sheep.”
“Yes, “Lois prefers the goats. She raises them for milk, but does sell off a good many of the youngsters. She makes soaps, hand lotions and specialty fudge from the goats milk.”
“Do you make fudge too by chance, I could find us a goat,” Holden teased.
“Alas, no. Apparently, I did not inherit the Albertons’ cooking skills, but I make a wicked hot chocolate.”
Holden grinned, “What about the other two?”
“Linda’s the artist. She makes all of the designs for the soap, lotion and fudge packaging. Her favorite thing though is to find little stones and transform them into different animals.”
“Talent. So I take it your last aunt has the chickens.”
“Yes Lydia is in charge of the chickens and selling eggs. It’s actually a pretty big operation, and she supplies many of the local and organic stores with eggs year round.”
“And you gave up all that to become a party planner?”
“My aunt’s always told me to follow my dream, so I did,” Audrey shrugged.
“Well I’m glad your dream brought you this way,” Holden said. “So let me give you
the grand tour, and then we’ll figure out if this will work for you.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Audrey agreed. “Lead on.”
Holden walked Audrey into the barn and along the neat even stalls. Horses busy munching their hay lifted their heads or whinnied at the people examining their space.
“You have great division here,” Audrey mused. “Do you think you’d be open to having pictures taken in the barn?”
“I don’t see why not,” Holden spoke. “What do you mean by division?
“Well the aisle is wide and the horses have a narrow gate for their heads so people would be able to walk in, sit on a hay bale and have a picture taken without worrying about getting bitten.”
“That makes sense,” Holden agreed moving on along the concrete path. “We tend to discourage biting though,” he added with a laugh.
They made the turn out of the back of the barn and along a sturdy wooden fence piled high with snow.
“Could you put saddles out here?” Audrey asked walking to the paddock and brushing off some snow before climbing up on the fence to take a seat.
“We wouldn’t want to leave them out in the weather, but on a fine day there’s no reason we couldn’t use tack for show.”
“Exactly,” Audrey beamed. “You’d be surprised how many people just dream of walking through a ranch and seeing saddles on a rail fence. They’d think they’d found the real old west.”
Holden chuckled. “Really?”
“Yes, it’s all about the illusion; the feeling that you’ve gone someplace special, but didn’t have to give up everything that is familiar or well loved.”
“And people pay big bucks for this kind of thing?”
“Yep, all the time. You can’t imagine the things I’ve had requests for. One of them wanted a circus theme with a real elephant. I drew the line there,” Audrey laughed.
Holden studied the young woman sitting on the fence rail. She was full of some spark he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Something dazzled about her, an enthusiasm for what she did.
“You really love your work don’t you?”
“I do,” Audrey admitted jumping off of the fence into the snow like a little kid. “I love seeing how excited and please people are when they get the experience they want.”
“What was your favorite party?” Holden asked leading Audrey around the ranch yard toward a tall pine tree with a swing suspended from the lowest branch.
“I had a little girl, who was a cancer patient, and all she wanted was a Cinderella party with a real prince.”
“A real prince?” Holden asked raising a brow. “How’d you manage that?”
“I made James dress up in the most authentic costume we could find. He even had to take dance lessons so he could twirl her around the dance floor.”
“Is James your boyfriend?” Holden asked before he could stop himself.
Audrey giggled, “No he’s my right hand man. I’ve known him since high school. The real problem was getting glass slippers.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, we had them specially made, just to fit her feet. You should have seen her face.”
Holden smiled touched by her story. “That must have been an expensive party.”
Audrey shrugged turning to examine the porch swing hung from the tree. “It was worth every penny.”
Holden smiled realization dawning slowly. “You didn’t charge them did you?”
Audrey turned her dark eyes full of light. “How’d you guess?”
“I don’t know,” Holden admitted. “It’s as if I could see you doing just that. I’ve only known you a couple of days but it seems much longer.”
Audrey studied Holden’s face. He was a very handsome man, but there was no arrogance in him.
Looking into his eyes she could understand what he meant. From the moment she opened her front door for him at the crack of dawn, she’d felt safe and comfortable with him.
“I don’t know what to say,” Audrey admitted. Why did Holden make her feel the way she did?
Holden shrugged making his heavy sheepskin coat rise and fall over broad shoulders.
“So what do you think?” he finally asked awkwardly. “Will this place work?”
“Um?” Audrey hummed lost in his blue eyes.
“Can you use the ranch?”
“Oh,” Audrey blushed. “Yes, I think we can.”
“Handley will be glad to hear that,” Holden said, his voice had grown sultry as he looked down at the girl who had such a strange affect on him.
“Only Handley?”
Holden’s gloved hands fell to Audrey’s shoulders as he gazed into her eyes sinking deeper and deeper into their dark depths.
Audrey leaned forward in anticipation. She suddenly wanted nothing more in the world than to have Holden kiss her.
His lips were descending toward hers and she closed her eyes expecting to feel his warm lips on hers instead a shower of snow falling from the branches above doused both of them snapping them back to reality.
Shaking the snow off her head and shoulders Audrey peeked at Holden whose dark Stetson was mounded with snow making it stand six inches taller than normal.
Audrey pointed up, a bright smile spreading across her face as a giggle bubbled within.
Holden tipped his head back trying to see what she was pointing out only to make the snow avalanche down his back causing him to gasp from the cold beneath his collar as Audrey began to laugh.
Chapter 11
“What’d you think?” Handley asked as Holden and Audrey made their way back into the house.
Holden looked at Audrey who started laughing again, making Handley stare at them as if they’d lost their minds.
“I’m sorry Handley,” Audrey said. “Something happened outside.” Her giggles continued for a few seconds until she got herself under control. “I think this will work perfectly for what we have in mind.”
Handley smiled broadly. “That’s great. I called Uncle Joe, and he looked over the documents you showed me, and he thinks it’s a good idea.”
“Handley stop keeping them out there in the cold,” Kris called from the heart of the house. “You kids come in and have something hot to drink.”
Holden took Audrey’s coat nodding toward the kitchen as he eyed his younger brother before hanging the coat up and shrugging out of his own.
“It sounds good doesn’t it?” Handley said, his blue eyes bright with hope.
“It sure does,” Holden agreed as his eyes followed Audrey into the other room.
“You like her don’t you?” Handley asked as Holden continued to stare at the doorway into the kitchen long after Audrey had disappeared.
Holden shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll be headed back to her job in the city tomorrow if the weather’s good, and then we’ll only see her when she has some western themed event.”
“The city isn’t that far away,” Handley said.
Holden shook his head, “We’re worlds apart.”
Handley looked at his big brother weighing his words before he spoke, “I guess it all depends on what kind of world you want to live in.”
***
“You must be frozen,” Kris Bays said standing from where she’d just slipped a tray of cookies into the over. “Did you have a good time?”
“It’s a beautiful place,” Audrey said looking at the brown paper covering nearly every space in the kitchen.
“I’m baking Christmas cookies,” Kris said gesturing at the rows and rows of cut our sugar and ginger bread shapes spread out on the paper.
“It looks like you’re making enough for an army,” Audrey said with a grin, “and maybe the Air Force, Navy, and Marines as well.”
Kris chuckled, “We make care packages for the elderly, and those who don’t have much in the community, though I have been known to fill a shoe box or two.” She smiled warmly. “There’s hot cocoa on the stove, help yourself.”
Audrey walked to the stove as Kris pi
cked up a mixing bowl full of frosting and began measuring it out into cups and piping bags. Cups hung from a rack next to the stove, and it wasn’t long before she had a cup of cocoa in hand. “Can I help?” she asked sipping the creamy delight and nodding to the cookie covered space.
“I’d love that,” Kris sighed. “It seems the boys are just too busy or too old to help anymore, and my oldest, Rose and her kids, can’t make it with the storm.”
Audrey settled at the table and lifted a plump brown gingerbread man. “I’m no artist, but I’ll do my best.”
Holden stood in the doorway watching Audrey and his mother sipping hot chocolate and decorating Christmas cookies. Audrey seemed full of life even as she smeared multi colored frosting on cookies while his mother dotted them with cuffs, eyes, mouths, and even tiny rows of buttons.
Christmas cookies had always been a family affair, but now with his father gone some spark had seemed to diminish. Standing there watching Audrey decorate with pure abandon, he smiled feeling a flicker of something come back to life that he’d nearly forgotten.
“Holden, there you are,” his mother smiled. “Come get a cup of cocoa and help us.”
Audrey looked up her eyes shining as she popped the last little piece of a crumbled cookie into her mouth and his breath caught.
Today he would enjoy the chance to spend a little fun time with a pretty woman. Today he would take what he had before returning her to the big city tomorrow and letting her slip away.
Grabbing a mug he ladled out some chocolate then took a seat at the table scooting a batch of cookies toward him as his mother answered the bell on her oven and retrieved the next two dozen.
“I thought you didn’t do this anymore?” Audrey teased. “You’re mother says you got too old for it.”
“I guess sometimes it’s good to be reminded of childhood fun.”
“Don’t you even help with your nieces and nephews?”
“I’m usually out working,” Holden answered honestly. “Since Dad passed, we’ve been working constantly just to keep the place going.”
