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It didn’t take me long to make a pass around the rescue barn and make sure all the horses were doing okay, but I wasn’t in any hurry, so I went to the tack box that sat at the end of Daisy’s stall. I’d brought her with me when I came to the Double C, and Cruz had insisted that if I wanted her, she was mine to keep. I should have told him no because I didn’t have a place of my own to take her to if I left the Double C, but I felt a bond with her I hadn’t felt with any of the other horses I’d worked with, so instead I’d agreed and then set out to train her to be the best darn cut horse around. We weren’t there yet, but she was making progress.
I pulled the brush out of the tack box and stepped inside her stall. “Morning there, beautiful.”
She gave a little snort and then nuzzled at my chest like she knew I’d just given her a compliment. I moved beside her and started brushing her coat, talking to her while I worked.
“Don seems to think I need to have some fun, Daisy. What do you think?” She turned her head to look at me. “Oh, so you agree, do you?”
I let out a sigh and scratched her between her eyes. “Y’all are probably right. I haven’t been over to the club a single time since I came to work here, and there was a time I never missed a Daddy night. I should probably go soon. Not that I’m in any position to have a boy of my own at this point. Maybe down the line when I’ve saved up enough money to buy us a little land of our own. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, girl?” I kept brushing as I thought about where that idea was coming from.
I blamed Cruz, Reed, and Raffie. I hadn’t realized there was such a large group of men here in River Gorge who were part of the lifestyle. Not that it surprised me. As my momma always said, like attracts like. But still, it was different to see so many committed Daddy/boy couples instead of it mostly being club hook-ups. I sighed. Seeing the way they all were together, it made a quickie at the club seem much less appealing.
After a few minutes, Daisy seemed to get a little restless, letting me know she’d had enough brushing for the day, so I gave her a treat and promised to take her out for a ride when I got back from town. I didn’t really have a reason to go anywhere today, but I needed to take a day off, and I knew myself well enough to know that if I stayed here at the ranch, I’d get bored and end up staying out in the barn with the horses. Then Cruz would feel the need to bitch at me for not taking time off.
I figured I’d go grab some coffee and then figure out where to go from there. For the most part, I preferred life in a small town like River Gorge, but there wasn’t much to do to kill time on the weekend. I’d probably end up at The Watering Hole throwing darts or maybe playing some pool to kill a few hours.
Spencer
I couldn’t help but smile as I picked up the knitting bag that sat on the coffee table. I had no idea if I would be able to use half the supplies that were in it. I chuckled to myself. All it took was a casual mention that a new knitting shop had opened up on Artist Row here, and maybe I would take lessons so I could learn to knit like my late mother, for my gramma to swing into action.
Not only did a gift certificate for a set of lessons show up in my email inbox, but a few days later, a box arrived with a monogrammed bag stuffed with knitting supplies. Gramma Patty never did anything halfway. If I managed to learn to knit, I would for sure make her something special.
My hand ran along the afghan that hung over the back of my couch. I had so many memories of my mother sitting in her rocking chair in our living room with her lap covered in colorful rows of yarn that would end up being a blanket or scarf. I wished I’d been old enough for her to teach me how to knit herself. Unfortunately, that was just one of many things I wished for where my mother was concerned.
I took a deep breath and made an effort to shake off the melancholy that typically accompanied thoughts of my mother. The way my life would be different if she hadn’t died when I was just a kid wasn’t something I liked to think about. Instead, I tried to focus on things like how lucky I was to be part of the Reynolds family and how much I thought she would have loved them.
Because Witty Weavers was located a few blocks down the street from my apartment, there was no need to take my car, but before I headed in that direction, I wanted to pop in and say hi to Cody. He didn’t normally work on Saturdays, but he’d mentioned earlier in the week that Eli would be working an event at the rodeo grounds this weekend, so he was planning to come in and work on the classic car he was restoring. I would walk right by Cap’s Coffee and Cake so it wouldn’t be any trouble at all for me to see if he wanted me to bring him back a cup of coffee.
My apartment had an exterior exit that led down the alley where I parked my car, but the back door opened to a stairway that led down into the customer area of Cody’s shop. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d used it because I didn’t want to impose, but since I was looking for him, I didn’t think he would mind.
I kept the door that led to my apartment locked, but Cody never locked the one that led into his shop. He’d said it was because he wanted me to have another exit in case of emergency, which made sense to me but also felt a bit like overkill since there was also a fire escape on the bedroom window. I was thinking there was a story behind the heavy-duty locks, lighting that lit up the whole alley, and his concern about me getting trapped up there, but he hadn’t volunteered it, and I didn’t want to seem nosy by asking.
I made my way quickly down the stairs and pushed open the door. The lights were off since the garage wasn’t actually open, but enough light shone through the windows for me to see where I was headed.
“Cody, it’s Spencer,” I called out to let him know it was me.
There was a clanging sound from the garage area, and he yelled back. “Hey, Spencer, I’m in the garage. Just come on in.”
I walked through the open doorway that separated the customer area and the place where the actual work happened and made my way over to the big black car he was working on. Cars were never my thing, and I had no idea what kind it was, something my Uncle Nathan’s husband, Alex, would be appalled about. All I knew was it was obviously a muscle car of some kind and probably older than either one of us.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“Good. They don’t make engines like this anymore, but once I get her going, she’s gonna purr like a kitten.” He’d been leaning over the hood when I’d walked in, but he stood up and was using a towel to wipe off his hands. “Is there a problem? Did you need something?”
“No, not at all. I’m going down to Artist Row for a bit, and I thought I would see if you wanted me to stop by Cap’s and bring you back a cup of coffee or something to eat. I know you said you’d be here most of the day today.”
“I’ll never turn down a cup of Cap’s coffee, so if you want to bring me a hazelnut mocha, I wouldn’t be mad about it.”
“Right? The coffee there is so good. I could have made myself a cup at home before I left, but the coffee at Cap’s is so much better than anything I could make. Plus, they have the most delicious muffins I’ve ever eaten, and that says something since I’m originally from Austin, which is known for its food.”
“For me, it’s the scones. Have you tried them?” he asked.
“Nope, I always get the cinnamon streusel muffins. It started before I even moved here.” I laughed. “For the six months that I made that forty-minute drive from my grandparents’ ranch here to work, I stopped there for breakfast every day. By the time I moved into the apartment, I was hooked. I don’t know what they put in their baked goods, but they’re addictive.”
“At this point, it doesn’t matter what they use, we’re all junkies.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, but I waved him off.
“It’s my treat. You can get it next time. It’ll be a couple hours, though. I’m going to take a knitting class over at Witty Weavers, but I’ll grab you something on the way back by.”
“That works. Hopefully, I’ll have made some good progress by the time you get back.” He motioned over to the car.
