by Rachel Hanna
She continued to watch them for several minutes, letting her mind wander over the amount of work involved in running the ranch. To many city dwellers the idea of life on a ranch sounded glamorous but Sophie now had a good understanding of what went into ensuring the ranch thrived. There was never a day off. You couldn’t just decide to put things off until later because there were always more tasks waiting to be completed. Things had to be done on a schedule or the ranch would fall apart. That being said, Sophie still viewed the work as rewarding. There was a sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing the ranch was functioning as it should, that the people and animals on it were happy. There really was a sense of family here.
The sky was considerably lighter by the time Sophie decided to return to the house. Her aunt and uncle would be up soon and she decided she would have coffee waiting for them when they got downstairs. The dogs sat patiently by the table as she brewed the coffee, hopeful expressions on their faces that a breakfast biscuit might come their way. Rewarding them for their patience, Sophie gave them each a biscuit as her aunt and uncle came downstairs, before enjoying a warming meal and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
After breakfast Sophie borrowed a book from her aunt and read on the couch for an hour, snuggled under her blanket. She had asked her aunt and uncle what tasks they needed help with that day but they had told her to enjoy a day off. Knowing that they were trying to make her feel better but wanting to focus on doing something productive, Sophie had decided to experiment with a new recipe for lunch. She was going to use the leftovers from Christmas to make a casserole, and thought she would try her hand at one of the cakes her aunt had made for her friend’s birthday party.
Closing her book an hour later, she reluctantly left the cocoon of warmth and headed to the kitchen where she busied herself with cooking and baking. The casserole would be ready just in time for lunch and the cake had been iced and currently sat well out of reach of any inquisitive dog that might happen to nose its way into the kitchen. Glancing at her watch, Sophie saw there was enough time for her to visit the stables before lunch. Grabbing her jacket, she made her way outside to the stables, an apple in her pocket for Blizzard. She had grown rather fond of the mare and wanted to check how she was doing. The other horses would be out with the ranch hands by now, carrying out various tasks, but Blizzard would be by herself in her stall and would probably appreciate a nose scratch and some company for a while.
Sophie’s footsteps on the concrete stable floor drew the horse’s attention and Blizzard poked her head over the stall door, watching Sophie’s approach with interest. On reaching the horse, Sophie gave her a gentle scratch on the forehead and nose before producing the apple.
“Merry Christmas, Blizzard. Sorry it’s a bit late.” Sophie held the apple out to the horse, who promptly snaffled it off her palm in a contented crunch. She stroked the horse’s neck as it nudged her hopefully.
“Sorry, girl, I haven’t got any more apples.” Sophie laughed as the horse’s warm breath tickled her ear.
“An apple is a tough act to follow, but you can try a sugar cube.”
Sophie continued to stroke the horse’s neck, calming her heart rate that had begun to speed up as she murmured, “I’m sure she’d love one but I don’t have any.” Turning her head slowly, she looked over her shoulder at Miller. He stood a few feet behind her, an uncertain expression on his face.
Taking a few steps forward, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cube, offering it to her. “Here, have this one. I keep a supply since they’re a favorite of Blizzard’s.”
Sophie’s fingers grazed his skin lightly as she took the cube from his outstretched palm. Turning back to face the horse, she offered the sugar cube. Blizzard didn’t waste any time in accepting the treat, no doubt pleased to receive not one but two treats in such a short space of time. Giving the horse one last stroke, Sophie stepped back and turned around. “I’ll get out your way; I just came to see how Blizzard was.”
She stepped past him but Miller murmured “You’re not in my way.”
Pausing, she didn’t turn around as she uttered “It’s okay. I have to get back to the house anyway.” She started to walk off again but Miller called out to her.
“Sophie, wait. Can we talk?”
Sophie stopped and turned back to look at him, sliding her hands into her pockets. “I guess so. What do you want to talk about?”
Miller couldn’t miss how distinctly uncomfortable she looked. Her appearance mirrored how he felt inside. “I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday.”
Looking slightly taken aback, Sophie shrugged. “It’s okay. You weren’t the one getting high.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t change the fact that you were right.”
“Right about what?”
“I didn’t know anything about you. I knew the surface details, but nothing about your life back in San Francisco. I made certain assumptions about your character without knowing all the facts. I believe your phrase was ‘self-righteous jerk’, which seems fitting.”
Sophie stared at him for several seconds, looking embarrassed and unsure what to say. Eventually she murmured quietly “You were right. I did take Uncle Philip and Aunt Kay’s hospitality for granted. I wasn’t trying my best around the ranch when you were trying to show me things. I did the minimum to scrape by under your radar. To top it off, I ruined Christmas for everybody. I let my problems affect everybody else and that was selfish.”
“You didn’t ruin Christmas, Sophie.”
“You were there. We both know that’s not true.”
“It was certainly the most eventful Christmas we’ve had in a while but it wasn’t ruined. My parents aren’t blaming you. They understand now why you acted the way you did. To be honest, they gave me a talking to for how I handled the situation. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
“You were just upset on Kay and Philip’s behalf and your own, with good reason.”
“I still shouldn’t have lost my temper, and certainly not in Kay and Philip’s house. It wasn’t the right way to deal with things.” They stared at each other, neither of them speaking, until Miller sighed. “Look, can we call a truce? What’s happened is done.”
Sophie looked at his outstretched hand before reaching out and shaking it. “Okay, truce.” The subsequent silence between them stretched on until she suddenly laughed. “This is so stupid; what is this? Like the second time? Oh well, here goes. Hi, my name is Sophie. I’m a troubled teen filled with angst – well, actually, not so much anymore. Maybe we can hang out sometime.”
Miller grinned at her. “Hi, I’m Miller. I can be a self-righteous ass. I think your angst will complement my self-righteousness very well. We’re bound to get along like a house on fire.”
Sophie returned his grin before glancing at her watch. “So I was wondering…it’s about lunch time and I’ve made a casserole. If you’re not doing anything, do you want to come over? If you’re busy though it’s fine…”
“I’d love to. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Great.” Sophie turned and headed out the stable, Miller walking by her side. As they neared the house, he paused suddenly, a questioning look on his face.
“This isn’t some clever attempt to get me to lower my guard so you can poison me, is it?”
Sophie looked at him in surprise before noticing the teasing smile that twitched at the corners of his lips. Scowling good-naturedly, she replied “No, that would be far too obvious. If I was going to poison you I’d put it in your serving of Aunt Kay’s food. I guess from now on until I leave, you’ll just never know for sure whenever you have one of her meals.” Then she offered him a charming smile before leading the way into the house.
***
Though Sophie was mortified at the way in which her secret had been exposed to Miller and his family, she couldn’t deny that having the truth out in the open had done wonders for her relationship with him. They began spending an increasing amount of tim
e with each other, whether it was helping each other with tasks or simply hanging out when they both had free time. They laughed and joked together, swopped stories about their vastly different childhoods and even discussed their plans for the future. A genuine friendship had begun to develop between the pair, one that was strengthened with each passing day.
As Sophie handed Miller the wire-cutters while he mended a damaged part of one of the ranch fences, she couldn’t ignore the sense of sadness that soon her time at the ranch would be up. New Year’s Eve was the following day and she would be going back to San Francisco three days later. She had come to love her aunt and uncle and would miss them greatly when she was back home but she would also miss Miller. Would their blossoming friendship fizzle out after she left or would they stay in contact with each other?
“Miller, can I ask you something?”
“Uh huh.” His mind focused on the task at hand, Miller kept his gaze on the fence.
“Are you going to miss me when I go back home?”
Pausing in his work, Miller turned to face her. “You know what? Call me crazy, city girl, but I think I just might.” He gave her a wink before turning back to the fence.
“So…do you want to keep in touch?” Sophie tried to sound casual but all the while her mind echoed say yes, say yes, say yes.
“Of course. Don’t you?”
Smiling in relief at his back as he worked, Sophie kept her voice nonchalant. “Yeah, definitely…”
Finishing off the last of the mending, Miller gathered his tools and stood up. “So, are you going to miss me?”
“After all the drama we’ve been through together? That stuff’s like superglue; we’re bonded for life.” The words had meant to sound light-hearted but they were out before she fully comprehended how they sounded. Trying to backtrack, she continued on quickly “Uh, I mean, if you’re ever in San Francisco look me up. I can give you a couch to crash on or whip up some impressive-looking cake with my awesome baking skills.”
He gave her a slow, easy smile. “Thanks, Soph. That means a lot. One day when I have my own place I want you to come visit. I’ll get you on a horse.” He grinned at her as she scowled. It had been an ongoing attempt on his part over the past few days to get Sophie to ride a horse but she kept refusing. The fact that she liked horses as animals didn’t mean she wanted to risk breaking every bone in her body by actually riding one. The ranch horses were a lot bigger and stronger than Sophie was, and she would feel like a sack of potatoes sitting on one. If it decided to bolt, she was sure gravity would apply the same laws to her as it would to a sack of potatoes on a horse. Nope, two feet on the ground was much better than two feet in stirrups.
The pair made their way back from the fence, parting ways at the main house to help their families with various tasks for the New Year’s Eve party that was to be held in the ranch barn. Sophie was helping her aunt to make food for the event, while Miller was helping his father and a few of the ranch hands to decorate the barn. Kay and Philip’s New Year’s Eve parties were legendary and guests would be coming from all the nearby farms and ranches. The night would be packed with music, dancing and general socializing and promised to be a night to remember.
From the morning of the next day it was non-stop action as Sophie helped Kay and Philip to finish off last-minute details. Tables and seating were set up, food and drink supplies were carted from the kitchen to the barn and the musicians who had arrived early had to be shown where to set up. With guests arriving soon, Sophie rushed upstairs to get ready. The smart blue jeans and snug white wool sweater would suit the pair of brown leather boots her aunt had loaned her for the night. That morning her aunt had deposited them in her room with a wink, murmuring “Trust me, honey, you’ll need a good pair of dancing boots tonight.”
Looking out the window, she could see cars approaching. With a building sense of excitement, she made her way back downstairs to grab the last of the prepared food and met up with her aunt who was ensuring everything was laid out correctly in the barn. Within half an hour the barn was packed, the band was playing and people were dancing or chatting happily.
“Look who’s embracing the Texas rancher look for the night. Nice boots.”
Sophie turned around to find Miller grinning at her. She surveyed his crisp white shirt, black jeans, brown boots and black hat. The first thought to slam into her was that he looked every inch the sexy cowboy. “Nice hat,” she replied evenly, eager for him not to notice how his appearance had left her momentarily lost for words. Forcing herself to gaze around the room in an effort not to stare at him, she murmured “I’m a bit depressed I don’t have a hat of my own. It seems it was in the dress code for tonight but I somehow missed that part.”
Miller laughed as he followed her gaze across the sea of hats. “Welcome to Texas, city girl. Here, have mine.” He swept his hat off and placed it on her head before giving her an assessing once-over. “Yup, definitely looking the part now. So can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure.”
“What are you drinking?”
Sophie grinned. “Whatever you recommend. My aunt and uncle have given me free reign to have whatever I want tonight. I think it’s because they know I’m not going to risk doing anything stupid in front of so many people.”
“Is that so? How unfortunate. I was looking forward to a Sophie spectacle.” Miller smirked at her and then laughed as she punched him lightly in the arm. “Okay, okay. Hmm…well since it is New Year’s Eve, I would recommend a cool beer. Trust me, you’re going to need the refreshment.” Wandering off to find the drinks, he returned shortly with a beer for each of them. They sat and chatted until about halfway through their drinks when Miller grabbed her hand and hauled her up. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Sophie laughed as she stood.
“We’re going to dance.”
“I don’t know a lot of those moves…”
“I’ll teach you.” Miller started to lead her towards the dance floor that had been set up in the center of the barn.
“What about our drinks?” She grinned as she fell into step behind him.
“Bring them with. We’re going to welcome the New Year in with style, Sophie Morgan.”
***
He never usually did stuff like this. It was true that he enjoyed the occasional dance every now and then, but with Sophie here he never wanted to sit down. Each dance was an opportunity to touch her, to see her grinning or laughing as they spun around, and he didn’t want to waste any of it. If his body was tired, he didn’t feel it. She gave off an energy that replenished him anew with each song. It was eventually Sophie who led them off to the side.
“I’ve got to catch my breath…” She smiled at him as she sat down. “I had no idea that under that exterior was a tireless dancing cowboy.”
“Hey, if you’re going to dance, New Year’s Eve is the night to do it.” He scooped two cold beers from the ice bucket nearby before sitting down and handing one to her.
“Can’t disagree with you there.” Sophie clinked her bottle to his and then took a long drink. He couldn’t seem to look away as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck. Raising his own bottle to his lips, he drank, tasting the beer flowing softly over them; though there was something else he would much rather taste with his lips…
Geez, what’s gotten into you…well besides probably too much alcohol?
The thing was, he hadn’t drunk that much. He’d only had two beers and the constant dancing had burned off the effect they normally would have had on him. No, he knew what had gotten into him. He was looking right at her.
Sophie sat across from him, her drink resting in her lap as she eyed him thoughtfully. For several seconds she said nothing, though she looked like she was debating with herself whether to speak. Eventually she decided to proceed. “Can I ask you a question?”
Miller nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Do you ever get scared when you think about life in the army?”
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“Scared in what way?”
“Scared that you’ll get hurt.”
Miller considered the question. “No, I’m not worried about that. I’m scared I’ll let myself and my family and my country down, that I won’t be a good soldier.”
“Typical,” Sophie scoffed good-naturedly.
“What?” Miller eyed her enquiringly.
“You’re more concerned about doing your duty admirably than whether you could get seriously injured…or worse…” Sophie’s expression suddenly turned serious as she leaned forward and grasped his free hand with her own. “Miller, promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Are you worried about me?” He offered her a smug grin but then, noting the worry in her tone and expression, his grin changed to what he hoped was a confident smile as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’ll be careful, Sophie.”
“Okay, good. You better be or I’ll kick your ass.” Sophie took a swig from her bottle as she eyed him meaningfully and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re going to Kick a U.S. Army soldier’s ass? I might have to get myself in trouble just so I can see you try.”
“Don’t you dare.” Sophie directed a warning stare that for some reason he found hopelessly endearing.
“Sophie, I’m really going to miss you…” He sighed. “Can I ask you a favor?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Will you write to me while I’m away? I can’t guarantee regular computer access or mail access but if you could email me and write to me…well I would really appreciate it.”
“Of course, Miller.” She smiled at him. “You’ll get so many messages you’ll wish you hadn’t had this conversation.”
He laughed at her words. “I doubt it. Anyway, let’s change the conversation. This is meant to be a fun night after all. So do you have any New Year’s resolutions?”
