by Juliet Chase
That night, Tess lay in the pretty white bed and tried to sleep without success. True to his word, Nate had left his bedroom door ajar about ten inches. She’d planned to keep hers closed, but Daisy had scratched at it until she’d relented. She’d heard the dog go into Nate’s room, and his low voice greeting her. Tess’s ears strained to catch his words. She felt oddly rejected by Daisy’s preference for his room, even though she usually preferred sleeping in the kitchen anyway. When she got up a few hours later to use the bathroom, she saw a light on in his room and couldn’t resist peeking in. Daisy had pushed the door farther open, and now lay stretched out on the bed, molded against Nate’s long legs. He was sitting up against the mahogany headboard reading a stack of papers. Sleek metal reading glasses sat on his nose, giving him an older and more serious look. He glanced up. “You can come join us. There’s plenty of room.”
“No thanks.”
“You know, Daisy is a pretty cool dog. It’s a lot more fun reviewing case files with her company.”
On hearing her name, Daisy rolled over and smiled at Tess upside down. Nate reached out a hand and rubbed her tummy, which just made the tail go faster.
“She’s offered some excellent legal insights and derogatory comments regarding opposing counsel that I wholeheartedly agree with.”
Tess didn’t care what the experts said. She knew Daisy understood every word, and probably had a project plan for how this should proceed, but she didn’t feel like cooperating. “Told ya—you should consider getting a dog or even a cat when we leave.”
“Why mess with success? I don’t know that another dog would be as good at legal review as Daisy, and she’s here already.”
“But she’s my dog.”
“You can stay too.”
“Gee. Maybe I need to speak in a language you can understand. What if I go out and buy a crib, will that convince you we don’t have a future?”
He gave her a long, slow look over the top of his glasses. “No. I think if you went out and bought a crib I’d do my damnedest to make sure it was put to use as quickly as possible.”
Oh my. It was suddenly unseasonably hot in the hallway, and she felt a little breathless. She didn’t have a response for that—how had the conversation twisted from dogs to making babies? Oh yeah, she’d helped. She had to stop giving him openings like that.
Tess pivoted and went back to her room. Sometimes retreat was the wisest course of action. She got back into bed and pushed her pillow into a comfortable shape, but she knew it was useless. Her mind kept replaying the last few minutes and added some extended slow motion for that look Nate had given her. She shifted and put her legs out on the diagonal. It didn’t really help fill the bed, especially compared with the companionable tangle next door. Maybe if she counted mini cows? She dutifully tried to imagine each of their little faces as they’d been loaded on the truck that morning. But when she got to the calves, her mind was back on babies, human ones with dark hair and cheeky grins. Damn.
Tess woke groggily to a cheerful rap on her door. “Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. The cows are calling your name, and I have to leave for an early meeting, so you’re on your own.”
Tess cracked open one eye. Her door was still shut. She rolled over and put her face in her pillow.
“Tess? You awake?”
“Yesss,” she called out from the pillow.
“Anything you need? Coffee’s made and Daisy’s been out.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“See you later, then.”
She could hear his cheerful whistle trail down the stairs. That did it. Any remote chance of even a brief relationship actually happening was out the window if he was going to be that damned cheerful before it was even light out.
When she came downstairs dressed in her barn clothes, she found a pair of new rubber boots in her size waiting by the front door with a note from Nate: Housewarming Present #1. She headed into the kitchen for coffee and came across a shiny new key lying on a blue sticky note by the phone: Present #2—your new house key. Well, she couldn’t fault that one. She did need to be able to lock up if she went into town for supplies.
She went to find her purse and fished out her key ring. Swearing a little, she managed to get the new key on the main ring with only a handful of attempts and just one chip to her thumbnail. As she fought with it, she remembered the key she’d found in the kitchen drawer at Gran’s. What did that go to? Maybe she should look into that the next time she was over there. She grabbed her coffee and decided she didn’t have time for breakfast until after the cows. She wanted to make sure they’d settled into their new home all right.
Nate’s barn didn’t have refrigeration anymore, so the milk would have to be thrown out, which seemed like such a waste. She needed to talk to Mike about letting the cows go dry and what that entailed. There didn’t seem to be much point in all the milking if nobody was benefiting from it. And if all she had to do was feed, water and clean, she’d have a chance of getting some other things done. On the other hand, maybe she shouldn’t be making plans to make her life easier. That kind of assumed she was staying awhile, or didn’t mind staying or something. She should set a deadline for leaving. In two weeks? Her mind said, Yes! But her stomach dropped a little. She’d sleep on that one then. Maybe she just needed more of her personal plan figured out before deciding when to implement it.
But for now she needed to get on with it. She pulled on her new rubber boots and headed out to the barn. The boots were hardly the most romantic gift, but she was delighted with them, since the path from the house to the barn was really muddy. And maybe after that she’d better check around the house and make sure the boots and key were all he’d left.
Now that they were in a barn big enough to fit all of them and probably more, the cows looked even smaller. Their bellows and moos of welcome echoed off the metal roof far above their heads. What they hadn’t been able to bring over from Gran’s were the milking stands. And Nate had long ago sold off the automatic milking equipment, so he’d jury-rigged a stool for her out of some out-of-date law books bound together with duct tape. By the time she was done her back was killing her, and the cows didn’t really seem to enjoy her more awkward angle either. This would definitely move up her personal deadline if Gran didn’t show soon.
When she went back in to the house, she headed into the kitchen to fix herself some scrambled eggs for breakfast. There she found a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge—that was gift number five—and a brand new pink umbrella with fuchsia-colored rhinestones by the back door. That was labeled number three. So where was number four? She retraced her steps through the downstairs of the house and came up empty. Had he left something in the barn that she’d missed? It was possible—the place was huge—but before she trekked out there maybe she’d better do a run through the upstairs.
She looked in his office, but there wasn’t anything telltale there, and she didn’t think he’d want her pawing through his official papers. The empty rooms were still empty. She knew he hadn’t come in her room, so that left his. The door to his bedroom was just slightly ajar, but more closed than it had been the night before. Strange. She pushed it open and Daisy came bounding up the stairs, zipped in and jumped up on the perfectly made bed. Tess guiltily realized that her own bed next door was still in a state of wild disarray. She really hadn’t slept very well at all. She stood in the middle of the room at the foot of the bed and looked for more telltale sticky notes. She finally spotted it protruding just slightly out of the drawer of the nightstand. Should she open it? Wasn’t she prying a little too far into his private space? Ah, to hell with it. He’d started it. She walked over and opened the drawer.
The note was indeed for her, and loosely attached to a bottle of jasmine-scented massage oil. #4 Made you look! Whenever you’re ready, the offer stands. Tess rolled her eyes. She was tempted to try to put the note back the way it had been and pretend she’d never been in here, but guessed he’d figure it out an
yway. She pocketed the note and left the oil where it was. She scanned the rest of the drawer’s contents before she shut it. It was reassuringly average. There was a box of condoms at the back—but the labeling wasn’t making any crazy promises—a handful of pens and highlighters, another handful of loose change and some unscented lip balm.
The phone by the bed rang, making Tess jump. She let it ring a couple of times before answering it. She wasn’t sure why. “Hello?”
“Tess? It’s Nate. Did you find all your housewarming presents?”
She sat down on the edge of the bed. How to answer that? “How many were there?”
There was a pause before he answered, “If you found the champagne, then you’ll know.”
“Ah yes, I did find the champagne,” she said dryly. He couldn’t possibly tell she was still in his bedroom, could he?
“I just want you to feel at home.”
“Ah Nate? About that…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think you’re sort of putting the cart before the horse here? We barely know each other, we only met a few weeks ago and you don’t exactly have a compelling history of long-term relationships, as witnessed by the entire town of Anacortes. And you haven’t even asked me out.”
“Well about that, see… the first rule a good attorney learns in the courtroom is never ask a witness a question you don’t already know the answer to.”
“Er. Okay? What’s that got to do with it?”
“And the second rule,” he continued, “is never ask a question where the answer you already know doesn’t benefit your side.”
“So let me get this straight. You’re not asking me out because you know I’d say no and you don’t want to hear it?”
“Basically,” he said cheerfully. “My plan is to sneak in under your defenses and catch you off guard.”
“Umm, aren’t you defeating yourself by warning me?” She was starting to enjoy this conversation.
“Possibly, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve, and your dog is on my side. She’s a very tough negotiator.”
Tess glanced over at Daisy, who was snuggled up against the pillows. He was right—Daisy was definitely on his side.
“Just remember I’m not staying.”
“Yup, got it.”
She frowned. Shouldn’t he be trying to convince her to stay?
“And I’m not sleeping with you.”
“At the moment, that is a true factual statement. We’re not even in the same zip code right now.”
“Going to. I’m not going to sleep with you in the future, either.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Tess. Listen, I’ve got a meeting here in a minute, so I’ll have to go. Do you want me to get anything for dinner?”
Ugh. She hadn’t thought about grocery shopping, and there really wasn’t much in the fridge besides the champagne.
“I suppose you’d better. Is there any good Chinese around here?”
“There’s some—the Thai is generally better.”
“Thai’s fine, medium spicy for me.”
“Got it. I’ll get a selection. I should be home around seven… darling.” He hung up.
Tess growled with frustration. He’d slipped the last word in at the very last second, when she couldn’t counter it. And he’d probably done it as much for someone else’s benefit at the other end. Someone who probably contributed to the pool, or worse.
“Come on, Daisy.” She headed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. No point now in hiding that she’d been in there. It was time to work on finalizing her future plans. She got out her laptop and starting researching towns she could live in, and checking the indie job boards for projects that she could apply for.
After two hours, she felt she’d made some significant progress. She’d sent off her resumé and writing samples for a couple of job postings and found a couple of towns in Idaho that were rural but close enough to civilization and major roads to not leave her feeling too isolated. She would check rental rates and business taxes after lunch. She closed the laptop with a satisfying snap and wandered into the kitchen to see what she could scrounge up.
Later in the afternoon, Tess stood eyeing the large ringing wall phone in the kitchen. Was it Nate again or someone else? Apparently Nate really did use his cell phone so much that he hadn’t bothered to upgrade his landline to cordless. So there wasn’t even a chance of caller ID. Should she answer it? She had given her family this number, so it could be important.
“Hello?”
“What in tarnation is my granddaughter doing consorting with the enemy?”
“Gran!” Tess breathed out a sigh of relieved excitement.
“What are doing living in sin with Nathan Hale?”
“I’m not living in sin with him, Gran. I’m here taking care of your cows!”
“Which had a perfectly nice barn of their own.”
“Gran, you know you have too many. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, I agree with Nate and Mike that you have to scale back.”
Dead silence greeted that remark.
“Gran? Gran? You can’t hide forever. If you don’t get back here soon they’ll end up being sold.”
“You can’t sell my cows—they’re my property. And that’s part of why I called. Walt talked to his nephew yesterday.”
“Who, Brendan?”
“Yes, the little shit.”
Tess raised an eyebrow. Brendan was annoying, but that seemed a bit harsh.
“Walt revoked the power of attorney he’d given him, so don’t you go letting him mess with my cows.”
“Okay, I won’t let Brendan touch them. But Gran, he’s the least of your worries. If the officials decide they’re taking them, there isn’t much I can do.”
“They can’t do that!”
“They can if there’s no one taking care of them. I can’t stay here forever, you know. I’ll do my own disappearing act if I have to.”
“How could you leave those poor creatures to fend for themselves?”
“How could you? Do you know what that barn smelled like when I got here?”
“Well… I’m glad you came, but I don’t want my family butchered!”
“Neither do I, so you’d better come back and be part of the solution.”
“Did you have to let the attorney get hold of them? He’ll hold them ransom.”
“I doubt that very much—he doesn’t seem to be too big a fan of cows. I don’t think he wants them around any longer than necessary.”
“Couldn’t you find someone else, then?”
“Nobody else offered, Gran. At least this way they won’t be impounded immediately for health and safety. And Nate’s place is still zoned as farmland, so the neighbors won’t be complaining; they all have cows too.”
“Hmmph. Well, the other reason I called was about Pointless. I don’t want you doing anything to her until I get back.”
“And when will that be?” Tess asked sweetly. She was out of patience. She could still feel the twinge in her lower back from this morning’s milking, and she was dreading having to go back out there.
“In a few days—definitely by the end of the week.”
“Well then, I’ll just book an appointment with Sarah for Monday morning. If you aren’t back by then you can disinherit me, but I’ll be making sure Pointless doesn’t suffer any more.”
“Darn right I’ll disinherit you! Your generation has no sense of patience; it’s just hurry, hurry, hurry.”
“Yep, Gran, that’s absolutely true. I’m thinking maybe you should disinherit me anyway, because I really don’t want you leaving me all these cows in your will.”
Tess suspected by the long silence that followed that Gran had done exactly that.
“Okay, Gran, I look forward to seeing you and Walt by the end of the week. You know where to find me.”
“Ha! Blasted attorneys,” Gran grumbled.
“Bye, Gran.”
Tess looked down at Daisy, who was standing
patiently by her empty food dish. “Dais, we may just survive this after all.” Daisy stuck her nose in the dish to make her point. Tess glanced at the clock on the stove. Sure enough, it was Daisy’s dinnertime. She dished out the dry food and topped up the water bowl. Probably time to get started on the cows again, too.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Nate’s truck pulled in just a few minutes shy of seven, as he’d promised. Tess saw him pull two big bags of takeout boxes from the truck and head inside. Her eyes widened at the amount of food he’d brought. She hurried to clean up the dining room table, which she’d been using as an office.
Her mouth started watering when she smelled the high notes of lime and basil mixing with the earthier scents of duck and pork.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I got a variety.”
“Well, I guess I know what I’m having for lunch for the rest of the week.”
“We’ll see. I always find I can put away a surprising amount of Thai food.” He set the bags down on the table and started taking out boxes.
Tess fetched plates and blurted out, “Gran called.”
“What’d she say?”
“She’s coming back by the end of the week. She’s mad the cows and I are here.”
“I’ll bet she is. Callie has some control issues.”
“She is elderly, you know, living on a fixed income. Have some sympathy.”
“This town is full of senior citizens living on fixed incomes. But as far as I know, only one of them felt the need to start dairy farming after they moved here.”
It was a surprisingly nice and civil dinner. They chatted about movies and music. Tess sampled a little of everything, and decided the chicken pad Thai was her absolute favorite. She went back for more of that and finished off the carton.
After dinner, Nate went up to get some more work done in his office, and Daisy opted to go with him. Tess wandered around downstairs for a bit, a little uncertain what to do with herself. It was still a little too early for bed, she wasn’t in the mood for TV or email and Daisy had abandoned her. She should go over to Gran’s soon, but she didn’t think she’d better make her first attempt in the dark. She poured herself a glass of wine and went to sit on the front porch. It was a little chilly, but the stars were out. She practiced her deep breathing and felt herself unwind. Things would work out—she was sure of it.
