by Amber Kelly
I look past him to Silas and Sonia. Both of them are watching us closely but trying to act like they aren’t paying us any attention.
“Fine, you’re forgiven.” I give in, but then I lean in close, so only he can hear me. “But I can fight too. If you pull that crap again, I’ll show you just how unfair I can be.”
He grins and licks his lips at my challenge. Grr, I guess I’m not exactly convincing with the threats. Either that or threats turn him on.
“Noted,” he says, and the growl in his voice says it’s most assuredly a turn-on.
“Uh, Walker?” Silas calls.
He looks back to his friend. “Yeah, man?”
“It’s getting late. I could sure use a ride to the house. Chloe’s been waiting for me to eat,” he says as he continues to look between the two of us.
“Sure, buddy. I need to speak to Sonia real quick, and then we can go.”
He turns back to me, takes his phone out, and taps the screen a few times. “There you go. Sent,” he says.
I take three steps and wrap my arms around his middle. “Thank you—and I don’t just mean for the pictures. Thank you for the whole night and for remembering,” I say into his chest.
He brings his lips to my hair and says low, “I remember everything when it comes to you, Elle.”
Then, he quickly kisses the top of my head before he calls out to get Sonia’s attention and speaks to her about his mom.
Afterward, he waves as he and Silas walk to his truck.
Sonia walks up beside me, and we watch them get in and drive down the driveway and out the gate.
“I think you might be in trouble,” Sonia observes.
I think she might be right.
Walker
“What was that?” Silas asks as I drive him home.
“What was what?”
“The scene back there with Elle.”
I sigh. “That was an apology. I had been an ass to her earlier today, and I don’t like her being mad at me. I know how much she loves snowball fights. So, I thought it’d be a good way to break the ice. I appreciate you hanging back and helping me out with that, by the way,” I explain.
He nods his understanding.
“Be careful with that, man,” he warns, his tone suddenly serious.
I cut my eyes to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean, Walk. It’s Elowyn Young. She’s Braxton’s baby sister and like Jefferson’s daughter. We’ve all watched her grow up. She’s off-limits, brother,” Silas informs me unnecessarily.
“You think I don’t know that? It’s not like that between us. I hurt her feelings this morning, and I wanted to make it up to her; that’s all. I’m not interested in little Elle beyond that. I care about her, same as you and everyone else on the ranch,” I insist.
“Just be sure it stays that way, man, for both of you. I saw the way she was looking at you tonight too. Don’t encourage that and play with her feelings.”
“And how was she looking at me?” I ask, curious as to what he thinks he saw.
“Like you hung that damn moon,” he says.
She did?
Something in my chest tightens at the thought of having done that for her. To be the one who brought a happy memory to life for her.
Shit, Si is right. I need to be careful.
“Nah, I think you misread her,” I say.
“Maybe. Hell, I hope so, but if she is developing a crush or infatuation on you, you need to squash it,” he suggests.
“Understood,” I say with my eyes straight ahead.
“Good,” he says as he slaps my arm. “Can you come and get me for work tomorrow? I want to leave my truck for Chloe in case she needs to go anywhere. I don’t like her driving around in that car in the snow.”
“Yeah, I’m going to run by Mom’s first, and then I’ll swing by and scoop you up.”
“Sounds good. Are you heading home now or going to Butch’s?”
I consider it for a moment. Finding a woman to buy a few drinks for and spin around the dance floor with might take this edge I’m feeling off. But the thought just doesn’t appeal to me tonight for some odd reason.
“I’m wiped. I think it’s straight home and to bed for me tonight.”
I pull up to his house, and the front porch light blinks on. Chloe opens the door and waves as he gets out. I wave back at her as Si climbs the steps and wraps her in his arms. She throws her head back, laughing, as he backs her in the house and kicks the door behind him.
It must be nice, coming home to a welcome like that after a long, hard day of work. All I have waiting for me at the shack is an old hound dog and a fridge full of ice-cold beer, which isn’t too bad but it’s not the warm arms of a woman either.
I drive home, walk into my shack and take my dog out. He hops off the porch into the snow and does his business as fast as possible. Then, he scrambles back up the steps.
“Not a fan of the snow, huh, buddy?”
“Woof,” he voices his displeasure.
I look out at the blanket of cold white.
“I don’t know, buddy. I think it’s growing on me,” I disagree.
He just puts his nose in the air and ambles back through the door and into the warmth of the shack.
I wake up early, so I can check in on Mom before starting another long-ass day of fencing at the ranch.
When I enter the house, it’s dark and quiet. Mom used to be up with the sun. Now, she sleeps later and later.
I sneak quietly down the hall and peek in on her. She is peaceful.
I check the thermostat and turn it up just a bit to make sure to knock the chill off before she stirs.
I go out to the truck and bring in the bag of groceries I brought and put them away. Then, I go ahead and start a pot of coffee for her before I leave.
Before I took Silas home last night, I talked to Sonia about having her start coming out on weekdays and check on Mom for me. She works in home health care and freelances as an adult sitter of sorts when she is off. With her medical training, she’d be perfect for Mom, and I have heard that her elderly patients adore her.
Gram used to come out and sit a spell with Mom at least once a week. Since Gram passed last year, Mom doesn’t get many visitors, except me and her neighbors who help keep an eye on her for me. I wish I could get her out and about more, but she doesn’t have much interest in leaving her home these days.
Sonia said she and Elle would come out this week to meet Mom and see how they get on. If it’s a good match, Sonia will start in a couple weeks, which will be a huge relief for me.
I check on Momma once more and give her a kiss on the cheek before I head out to Rustic Peak.
She smiles in her sleep, and I hope that wherever she is in her dreams, she is having a good time.
I let myself out and lock up behind me. Then, I head to pick up Silas and to get this workday started.
Jefferson is coming out of the house as we drive up.
“You fellas ready to deal with snow today?” he asks as we exit the truck.
I look up at the sky. It’s still filled with snow clouds.
“Yeah. You think we are going to get more today?” I ask.
“It’s possible. Braxton got here early this morning. We hitched the snowplow attachment on the front of his truck, and I hopped on the tractor. We cleared as much as we could. So, we have a pretty good area to work with today. I left the tractor out there in case it starts falling again and we need to clear as we go. I also added another crew. They’ll be here shortly.”
Sounds like he does not plan on playing with getting these new acres ready to go.
“Let’s get to it, then. We’ll tend to the horses and Madeline’s horses before they arrive,” I say. Then, I turn to Silas. “Get the new hands up here to shovel the walkway, ice down the steps, and clear a path from the house to the barn and the stables for the women. I don’t want them tramping around on this ice,” I order.
“Got it. I’l
l tell them and then meet you in the stables,” Si answers before walking toward the main barn.
“I appreciate you taking care to make sure my girls don’t have to deal with a shovel,” Jefferson says.
“They are my girls too, sir,” I say.
He slaps my shoulder and grabs the back of my neck. “I reckon that’s true, son,” he agrees. “They do belong to us all.”
When the other crew arrives, we load up into four trucks and ride out. We spend the next ten hours working our asses off, digging holes. We have to set up large heaters to heat the ground before pouring the concrete to hold the posts. It’s a tedious job, but it’s necessary to ensure the proper curing of the cement and to prevent cracking as the water in the mixture freezes and expands.
What the hell were we thinking, taking on this expansion at the end of October? Spring is definitely the better time of year for laying fence, but with the busyness of the calving season, now is the only time we have to get the new pasture and herd going.
When we make it back up to the house, we are all soaking wet from sweat and freezing our asses off. Before the laborers take off, Jefferson tells them to be back at the same time tomorrow. Silas, Braxton, Jefferson, Emmett, and I wash the mud off of us and remove our work coveralls before dragging our exhausted asses into the kitchen to eat.
Sophie, Doreen, Ria, and Madeline are there to greet us as we take our seats.
I look around the kitchen for Elle, and she isn’t there.
Once our plates are loaded and it’s clear she isn’t coming to eat with us, I look at Doreen and ask, “Where’s Elle this evening?”
“Oh, she went to have dinner with Elaine and Brandt tonight. Elaine wanted to thank her for her help with the carnival,” she answers.
“Oh,” I mumble, clearly disappointed.
“Did you want to see her tonight for some reason?” she asks.
I clear my throat and answer, “Nah. I was just wondering where she was off to. I didn’t realize she and the doc were still seeing each other.”
She looks me in the eye. “I guess they’ll figure it out.”
“I reckon so,” I agree.
“I know what you were doing last night with that ambush,” she says as she reaches and takes my hand. She smiles and squeezes it. “That was sweet of you to do that for her.”
I shrug. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“I bet it was to her.”
I swallow and lower my eyes, and she lets go of my hand. I start shoving food in my mouth, not really tasting it. I don’t like Elle not being here at this table. She belongs here with us.
I notice the look that Emmett and Doreen exchange across the table.
Shit. I’ve got to get myself sorted.
Elle
Sophie tosses a box of doughnuts between our two desks and plops in her seat.
I look up from my computer and grin at her. “What’s got you in a mood this morning?” I ask.
“I’m ready for this dang fence to be done already,” she huffs.
“Just another week or so, and it should be up,” I assure her.
She groans and puts her head in her hands.
I giggle.
“Weren’t you the one who convinced Pop and Uncle Jefferson that this was a good idea?”
“Yes,” she snaps. “But I didn’t realize my new husband would be up at an even more ungodly hour than usual and dragging his exhausted self home so late every evening that he could barely shower and walk to the bed before passing completely out. I feel like we are ships passing in the night. Hawkeye actually growled at him when he came to bed last night. His own dog doesn’t recognize him,” she complains.
“It won’t be much longer. They are just working extra hard, trying to get it all finished up before we leave for Fort Collins. Find the strength to hang in there,” I say sarcastically.
She looks up at me and blows a piece of hair from her face. “I need to call Charlotte. She’s so much better at the fake empathy than you are,” she gripes.
“Sorry. I have to save up all the believable fake empathy I can for Sonia and her disastrous relationships. I don’t have any left for you. Besides, you have a great man. I’m not going to baby you because you’re spoiled rotten and, for a couple weeks, he’s too tired to worship you when he gets home.”
“I can’t wait for you to fall in love. It’s going to be fun to watch you navigate it,” she says.
“Yeah, well, I have no intention of falling in love with a rancher. That way, I don’t have to put up with their crazy hours and them never taking a day off,” I vow.
“That’s cute,” she muses.
“What is?”
She leans over and snatches a doughnut from the box. “That you think you can control who you fall in love with. Trust me, if that were possible, your brother and I wouldn’t be married today.”
That’s true. They were not each other’s biggest fan when she first arrived in Poplar Falls.
The door opens, and we both turn as Sonia prances into the office.
“Good morning,” Sophie greets.
“Hey. Mrs. Hillman’s son is in town, so I just had to pop in and give her an insulin shot, and he is handling lunch today. I thought I’d come hang out with you guys until you were done, so we could ride out to Walker’s mom’s house,” Sonia says before making herself comfortable on the couch by the window.
“What are you guys doing with Walker’s mom?” Sophie asks.
“He wants to hire a caregiver to check in on her during the week. He asked if I was interested in taking her on as a client. Elle and I are going to ride over and meet her this afternoon and see how she and I mesh,” Sonia explains.
Sophie smiles. “I was hoping his raise would help him out with his mom,” she says.
“Looks like it is,” Sonia agrees.
“I have things covered if you want to go ahead and get out of here. Oh, and you guys are coming to our wine-and-design pottery class tonight at the Holly Bush Pottery Shop,” she invites.
“Wine and design? What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s something new they are trying for the holidays. They have clay vases, bowls, mugs, ornaments, and platters. We get a group together, and we hand-paint them. We can personalize them or decorate them for Thanksgiving or Christmas while we drink wine. They’ll glaze them in the kiln, and we can pick them up this weekend. It’ll be fun. So far, it’s me and Dallas, Aunt Doreen and Aunt Ria and Dottie, and you two if you can make it.”
“It sounds fun. Count me in,” Sonia accepts.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Great,” Sophie says excitedly. “If this goes well, they might even start offering classes where we get to actually use the clay wheel and make our own pottery pieces.”
Sophie loves creating art.
“That would be fun,” Sonia agrees, then looks to me.
“Are you at a stopping point?” she asks.
“Yep. I’m just researching what I need to do to become an occupational therapist assistant,” I answer as I shut down my laptop.
“I didn’t realize that was something you were interested in,” Sophie says.
“I’m just looking. I really enjoy working with Aunt Mad and the children. She can give me more responsibility if I get certified, and I can even work in the school system with some of the special needs kids if I get my associate’s degree. A lot of my classes will transfer over, and I can do most of it online, I believe. Don’t worry. It won’t interfere with me helping here,” I tell Sophie.
“I’m not worried. We work here because we love the ranch and want to contribute, but I have my other passions too. This job can fit into your life, so you don’t have to work around it,” she encourages.
“We’ll see. I have to see if I can get into a program first.”
“Well, good luck. Now, you two go on and get out to Mrs. Reid’s house, and I’ll see you at supper,” she says as she shoos us out of the office.
We pull up to Walker’s mom
’s house and she is out in front in her housecoat, sweeping the snow from her sidewalk with a broom.
“What is she doing? That straw broom isn’t going to clear that snow,” Sonia says as she puts the car in park.
When we climb out, she stops what she’s doing and looks in our direction.
“Hello. Can I help you?” she asks as we approach.
“Hi, Mrs. Reid. I’m Elle, Jefferson and Madeline Lancaster’s niece. I used to come and visit you with Gram,” I introduce myself.
“Oh, yes. You were just a little bitty thing. Look at you, all grown up and as pretty as a picture,” she says with a smile.
“Thank you, ma’am. This is my best friend, Sonia. You probably know her mom. She owns The Cottage Boutique in town.”
She cuts her gaze to Sonia, and I can see her mind working behind her eyes.
“Yes. I think your mother used to do my alterations for me,” she says, connecting the dots.
“That’s her,” Sonia confirms.
“What brings you two out this way this afternoon?” she asks.
“We were just in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop and bring you some baked goods from Bountiful Harvest.” Sonia hands her the basket of goodies we picked up from Dallas on our way.
She takes the basket and looks down at it and back up to us.
“How thoughtful.” She sniffles. “Would you girls like to come in for a cup of tea and to share one of these treats with me?”
“We’d love to.” Sonia beams.
She pulls the collar of her housecoat together and drops the broom into the snow. “Forgive me for letting myself get caught in my nightclothes. I don’t get many visitors, and I guess I was a bit lazy this morning,” she says, embarrassed as she leads us into the house.
“Oh, we don’t mind. We would still be in our pajamas if we were at home. Besides, we are the ones who dropped in on you, unannounced.” Sonia brushes her comment off as we follow her into the kitchen and watch as she fumbles with the teakettle.
Sonia carefully observes her as her hands shake when she tries to fill the kettle. She turns on the left burner of the stove but sets the kettle down on the right. When she turns to the cupboard, Sonia reaches over and places the kettle on the lit burner.
