by Emmy Eugene
“I need to go slow,” she said, closing her eyes and tipping her head back, an open invitation for him to kiss her.
“I know that, baby,” he said, sliding his fingers around the back of her neck and into her hair. His lips touched hers in the next moment, and kissing Russ was like coming home. He took his time like he’d really missed her, and Janelle knew that he had. She hoped he could feel that she’d missed him too, and that she was sorry she’d freaked out about him meeting her kids.
The following afternoon, she picked the girls up from school and said, “Okay, we have a new project.”
“Another one?” Kelly asked, adjusting her backpack between her feet. “Mama, we’re still making the brownies tonight, right?”
“Yes, yes,” Janelle said, smiling at her oldest. “Chocolate and caramel swirl.”
Kelly smiled. “So what’s the new project?”
“It has to do with that dog someone brought over last night.” Janelle made the left turn out of the school pick-up lane.
“You took it over to the ranch,” Kelly said. “And then brought it back.”
“They don’t have room over there, and I told Russ we could put a few dogs in our stable. So we need to get it cleaned up for them.” Janelle knew seven was more than “a few,” but she didn’t want to think too long about it. Otherwise, she’d wonder how she was going to keep them all happy and fed.
But it couldn’t be that hard. The girls could help her put out fresh food and water morning and night. She had a fenced backyard they could romp around in while she went to work and the girls went to school. And then she wouldn’t have a canine sleeping in her bed, like she’d had last night.
She turned onto their street while the latest and greatest song came on. “Mama, turn it up,” Kadence said from the back seat. Janelle smiled as she did, so glad she’d been pulling her hours back at the firm so that she could be there to pick up her girls in the afternoons.
She’d had a nanny for the past three years—since Henry had moved out—but she didn’t want Mallory to be the one who knew her daughters. She didn’t need to work as much as she did, and she wanted to be as good of a mother as everyone believed she was as a lawyer.
So she put up with the tween pop song her daughters knew every word to. Even Janelle could sing along, because the song was completely overplayed. She pulled into the garage and waited for the song to finish before turning off the car and getting out.
“Everyone in,” she said. “Wash your hands and change your clothes. We’ll work for an hour in the stables, and then it’s brownie-making time.”
Kelly cheered, and Janelle smiled at her. She’d taken off a huge bite this holiday season, but her ten-year-old loved baking and cooking, and Janelle had said they could put up a post every Sunday, asking all the clients and followers of the Bird Family Law social media to suggest the things they should make that week. And they’d make at least three of them.
The fun had only been going for a week, and since there hadn’t been school last Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, they’d made five of the dozens and dozens of suggestions.
This week, they’d chosen caramel swirl brownies, carrot cake muffins, and mini cheesecakes. They’d already made the carrot cake muffins last night, and Janelle wouldn’t be surprised if they made five additional desserts that week.
The employees at the firm enjoyed the leftovers, and now that Janelle had gotten Russ to forgive her, she’d have another reason to pay the sixteen-year-old next door ten dollars to sit with her sleeping kids while she ran out to the ranch after dark.
She felt giddy at the idea of seeing him again that night, and she told herself that a woman her age shouldn’t be sneaking off to see her boyfriend. But she wasn’t sneaking off. She’d go out to his ranch for a few minutes, and then she’d bring him back here to see her shed and eat brownies.
As if on cue, her phone chimed and it was Audrey from next door, asking if she was still coming over that night.
Yep, Janelle sent. Thank you so much.
She got a smiley face and a thumbs up in return, and she put the step-stool in front of the sink so Kadence could reach to wash her hands. “Kel, did you wash?”
“Yes,” her daughter called as she ran down the hall, and Janelle had the suspicion that her daughter had not washed her hands. Janelle was a bit of a germaphobe, as she worked with a lot of people. Always in and out of her building, with their kids, and their babies, and her daughters went to school with a plethora of kids who could have anything.
Her rule to wash hands after school eased her mind, though it probably didn’t do anything to actually eliminate the germs she could be exposed to.
“Snacks?” she asked.
“That white popcorn,” Kadence said, soaping up really good.
Janelle pumped some soap into her hands too and shared the running water with her daughter. “White popcorn comin’ up.” She washed, dried, and got down the bag of white popcorn before Kelly came back down the hall. She now wore an old pair of plaid pajama pants and a T-shirt that had been bleached at some point. “What do you want for a snack?”
“Cheese quesadillas,” Kelly said.
“That’s a meal,” Janelle said. “We’ll eat dinner while the brownies bake.” She didn’t have time for cheese quesadillas either.
“Granola bar,” Kelly said.
“Great,” Janelle said, giving her daughter the side-eye. “Wash your hands and get the box down. Let’s go change, Kade.” She gave Kelly a don’t even try to lie to me again look as she guided Kadence out of the kitchen. “Pick something that can get dirty, okay?”
Kadence skipped into her room, and Janelle went into hers to change out of her pencil skirt and silky blouse. She kicked off her shoes, missing the cute heels she used to wear. But she had bunions now from all those adorable shoes she’d worn in her twenties. She’d been wearing orthopedic flats for over a decade now, and she actually really liked them.
Several minutes later, she and her daughters went outside, where the dog that had been dropped off last night came over to greet them. He jumped away when Kelly reached for him, and Janelle said, “Go on back to the stable, girls.” She herded them out of the gate, because Russ had warned her that stray dogs were unpredictable.
“What should we name the dog?” Kadence asked.
“Name him?” Janelle stepped through the gate too.
“Yeah, if we’re gonna keep him, he should have a name.”
“Oh.” Janelle took her daughter’s hand. “I don’t know how long we’re going to keep him, baby. But what do you want to name him?”
Kadence thought while they walked back to the stable. “King.”
“King it is,” Janelle said, smiling. She wished she could bottle up seven-year-olds, because they seemed to have the magic of the world inside them. Kadence skipped everywhere, and even mundane things like dandelions intrigued her.
Janelle reached the stable and opened the door, the smell of something old and dusty coming out. “Oh, boy,” she said, looking at the wreck that existed inside the stable. Her first thought was to call Russ and invite him over right now. But that wouldn’t be fair, because he had a ton of work to do at his own ranch. With his brother gone, Russ was working more than usual, and she’d agreed to go consult with him about taking on half a dozen dogs that night, after the girls were down for the night. He’d said he’d then come look at her stables for a couple of minutes.
Janelle turned back to her kids. “Kelly, go grab the broom from the garage. Kadence, see if you can get the garbage can we use for weeds.”
The girls turned to go do the things she wanted, and Janelle reached for a pair of gloves on the shelf by the door. She could do this for one hour, just to be able to tell Russ that she hadn’t done nothing that day. She didn’t want him to think she was using him, and though he’d kissed her last night and said they were good, Janelle knew he didn’t trust her completely.
She also knew trust was built one brick at a
time. One day at a time. One good experience at a time. So she’d put the girls to bed, drive out to the ranch, and hope she could have another amazing night with Russ Johnson.
Her phone blitzed out a high-pitched noise, and her heartbeat leapt over itself. She’d assigned that chime to Russ, and while she could hear Kadence pulling the garbage can across the cement, she hurried to pull out her phone.
I have something to show you tonight.
Great, she tapped out. Can’t wait.
Oh, and how does hot chocolate sound?
“Amazing,” she whispered, a smile crossing her face.
Can I take you to dinner too? he asked next. You could come out to the ranch at say, five-thirty or six instead of eight.
Janelle very much wanted to go to dinner with him, and her thumbs flew as she texted Audrey to see if she could come earlier.
Sure can.
“Great,” Janelle said under her breath. She texted Russ that dinner would be lovely, and she added, “Can’t wait,” out loud and via text.
“What, Mama?” Kadence said, arriving behind her out of breath.
“Nothing.” Janelle pocketed her phone and reached for the garbage can. “Nice job, Kade. Now, we’re going to fill this thing up.”
She’d work, and she’d bake with the girls, because there would be nothing better for dessert than hot chocolate and caramel swirl brownies.
Chapter Three
Russ’s excitement over the new dog enclosure was probably ridiculous, but he leaned over the blueprint paper Travis had left on the kitchen counter. He’d gone to shower, and he’d be down soon enough. Russ needed to make hot chocolate, as he planned to keep warm a couple of different ways while he and Janelle examined the stables she had to keep dogs in.
His brother came into the kitchen, and Russ cleared his throat as if Travis could see what he’d been thinking. “I don’t see why it has to be lesser than the one we have,” Travis said, tapping and swiping on his phone. “And we have those plans right here.”
“You want to build the exact same thing?” Russ looked at him incredulously. Travis was a master carpenter, having spent years working with some of the best cabinetmakers in the business. He could build entire homes with his bare hands, with custom kitchens, baseboards, linen closets, exposed wood beams in the ceiling, all of it.
Why would he want to build something he’d already designed?
“No, because the orientation would be wrong.” Travis glanced up at Russ as he opened the fridge and got out cream and milk. “But we need the kennels. The outside doors. The shelving in the pen and the pantry near the front door. We need the outside entrances.”
He picked up a pencil, and Russ set a pot on the stove and then watched. Travis had a unique ability to pull his thoughts out of his head and make them appear on paper, and it was beautiful to watch. “How many can we get in the space we have?” he asked.
Travis paused for a moment, his pencil hanging in midair. “Eight.”
“Only eight?”
“Wait, I have an idea.” He erased and redrew, pulling the bottom lines longer. “We don’t need twenty feet to get to the enclosure if we do it this way.”
Russ leaned over, and Travis looked up at him. “You better go shower before Janelle shows up,” he said, smirking.
Russ got up, realizing how late it was getting. “I want to see that when I’m done.” He showered and shaved, trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. Rex and Griffin had gone for the day. Darren had invited Russ over to his cabin to play cards, but Janelle was coming to the ranch, and he’d declined.
He didn’t have to say why, not to Darren. Millie was coming over that night to set up a Christmas tree with Travis, and Russ had promised not to be underfoot. He felt bad making Janelle drive all the way out to the ranch, but their relationship had never been one where he picked her up at her place. If he did that, he might meet her girls.
And Janelle didn’t want him to meet them yet.
Twenty minutes later, Russ returned to the kitchen and his hot chocolate. Travis had sat at the bar, and he leaned away from the blueprints, shaking out his fingers. “Sixteen,” he said. “We can do them in a double stack, with a door out the front leading to the range. The pens can be left open for a double-long area or closed so dogs can be isolated.”
Russ studied the blueprint, taking in all the details Travis had been able to capture. Seth would love this, and more enthusiasm built inside him. It was insane. He was insane. He had plenty to do around the ranch, especially with Seth gone for the next two weeks.
And Russ loved it. He loved getting up early in the morning, before the sun. He loved watching the golden light transform the flat, gray landscape of the Texas Hill Country. He loved the goats, the chickens, the hay fields. He loved all of it, and he couldn’t imagine doing anything but running a ranch.
This ranch.
He loved Chestnut Ranch, and while Seth was the oldest and loved the ranch too, Russ was the foreman. Russ ran things, and Seth worked the land alongside him.
“Entrance on the side. Brilliant.” Russ looked at Travis, a smile appearing on his face. “This holds more than the one Seth currently has.”
“But not even all the dogs we have right now,” Travis said, a bit of misery in his eyes. “And it’ll take at least a month to build.”
“Let’s call Seth.” Russ picked up his phone and started tapping on the screen.
“We can’t call Seth,” Travis said, reaching for Russ’s phone. He bobbled it and ended up setting it on the counter. “He said not to call unless something was on fire or one of us was in the hospital.”
“We need to get started on this,” Russ said. If they wanted to have something ready for their brother before he got back, supplies needed to be ordered. Equipment rented. Russ would gladly pass off other chores so he could work on this building, and he wanted to clear things with Seth.
“Yeah,” Travis said. He got up and retrieved a notebook out of a nearby drawer. “And we don’t need Seth’s permission. He knows we need another building. Let’s just start on it. It’ll be his Christmas gift.”
Travis started making a list of the things they’d need to order and have delivered to the ranch. While he did that, Russ turned to the stove and turned the knob to light the flame. He poured water into the pan and added sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla.
Whisking, he hummed, bringing the mixture to a boil and then adding the cream and milk. He loved working in the kitchen and around the ranch. He loved seeing things come together, and he loved making other people smile with a simple meal—or a hot mug of liquid chocolate.
The doorbell rang, and Russ jerked his head toward the front door.
“What time is it?” Travis asked, a bit of shock in his voice.
Russ glanced at the clock on the stove. “Five-thirty,” he said. “Holy cow, Janelle is going to be here soon.”
Travis abandoned the blueprints on the counter. “That means that’s probably Millie.”
Russ practically jumped in front of him, a smile on his face. “I’ll get it.”
His brother glared at him, and Russ could see how much he liked Millie. He couldn’t hide it, even if he’d tried. “No, you will not.”
Russ held up both hands and faded back to the stovetop.
“Feed Winner, Cloudy, and Thunder. I’ll bring Millie to meet you.” Travis nodded and slicked his palms down the front of his jeans.
Russ chuckled as his brother went to answer the door. He did need to feed the dogs, and he set about doing that while voices came from the front room. Russ wouldn’t want Travis up in his business either, so he didn’t go intrude. Rex would have, and Russ was glad his brother had chosen to live in town instead of out here at the ranch.
Seth had moved next door already, and Travis didn’t love ranch work. Russ had thought about suggesting Travis do something else, but he didn’t want to bring it up. And Travis never had, so the conversation had never happened.
He
stirred the hot chocolate on the stove, his stomach grumbling for something more than just sweets. Janelle should be here soon, and they’d go to dinner. He was hoping for some good old fashioned Texas barbecue, but Janelle loved to eat at more…adventurous places. Russ had tried more foods in the past couple of months since starting a relationship with her than he had in his entire life.
He didn’t hate everything he tried, and in fact, he’d grown to sort of love the bento box at Ramen Nation. Maybe he’d suggest there, because Janelle loved soup as a meal, though Russ couldn’t understand such a thing.
If he made soup for dinner, there was always bread and salad and maybe even a sandwich to go with it.
He flipped off the burner and the flame went out underneath the pot of hot chocolate. He got two thermoses down from the cabinet above the refrigerator and turned to get a ladle. It was almost December, and once the sun went down, the temperatures could take a nosedive. He filled the thermoses, and a feminine laugh filled the front room.
Russ ladled some hot chocolate into a mug and moved over to the doorway. Travis and Millie were laughing in the living room, Travis leaning over one of the boxes they’d hauled inside. Russ cleared his throat, and they both looked at him.
“Oh,” Travis said, straightening out his smile. “Millie, this is my older brother, Russ. Russ, Millie Hepworth.”
“So great to meet you.” Millie strode forward and shook his free hand. “I mean, I’ve probably met you before, but not for a while.”
“True,” Russ said. “Your brother is Chris, right?”
“One of ‘em,” she said, smiling. “Are you going to help us with the decorations?”
“No, ma’am.” He chuckled. “I’m pretty useless with that stuff.” He took a sip of the hot chocolate and wow. If this didn’t win over Janelle, nothing would. “But I wanted to let you two know I made hot chocolate if you want some.”
He glanced at Travis, who knocked into the end table on the other side of the couch. The lamp fell to the floor with an earsplitting crash, and Travis looked like he might topple over. Russ smothered a laugh and a smile while Travis found his footing.
