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“Let’s go.” He walked toward a large, shiny black truck. The chrome accents shone like a mirror, and I was sure it cost a pretty penny. He opened my door and motioned for me to get in. I didn’t think I was clean enough to get in, so I brushed my jeans off, and hoped I didn’t have anything on my pants.
“Just an old ranch truck, not the Queen’s limo,” he said as he closed the door. This might as well have been a limo, because it was the fanciest vehicle I’d ever sat in. “Where’s your place?” Pulling away from the sidewalk, he headed down Main Street.
“Left on High, and right on Kensington. It’s the last house on the right.” I sat quietly, unsure of what to do next.
We drove past homes that were older but taken care of, and then we entered the forgotten part of town. The area no decent resident went into after the sun started to set.
“This is where you live?” he asked as he looked out the window at the house I was renting. The shingles had almost all come off. The porch looked like it was about ready to detach itself from the house, and a cat jumped out of a window I hadn’t even realized was broken before now. When did that happen?
“I’ll just be a minute,” I said as I opened the truck door.
“You’re not going in there alone.” He climbed out of the truck and walked ahead of me.
“I go in there alone all the time,” I quipped as he stepped on the first stair to the porch. He stopped mid-step and turned to look at me. “Fine, lead the way.” I motioned with my hand for him to carry on, but couldn’t help shaking my head. “Men,” I huffed quietly
The rickety porch groaned under his weight, and he had to use his shoulder to open the door thanks to the shower of rain we’d gotten last night. We walked into the house, and I started pulling down the clothes I had been drying on the shower curtain rod. I wadded them up and fired them into bags. I didn’t have a dresser or anything to keep our clothes in, so I was still functioning out of suitcases, mostly because I could close them and keep any animals out that might wander in.
Taking one last look around, I realized what it must have looked like to him. How could a mother willingly let her child live in this place? I wondered that to myself every time I walked in, but it was a roof over our heads and we were out of the cold. It might not look like much of anything, but, to me, it was independence. I didn’t need to rely on anyone and hadn’t in the last five years.
“I guess that’s it.” Reaching down, I went to grab one of the suitcases, but he beat me to it and effortlessly strode out the door. Grabbing the car seat, I followed him. I was mesmerized by this man, who with very few words and no persuasion convinced me to quit the job I had, and move to the middle of nowhere to work on a ranch I wasn’t even sure was real. “Oh wait, I didn’t close the door.”
He stopped mid stride and turned around. “I really don’t think that matters.” He frowned and headed to the truck. He was right. It didn't matter at all. The car seat installation went smoothly, and I climbed into the front seat. We drove away from the little house that had kept me safe and provided a roof over my head since we got here, but I wasn’t sad to see it behind me.
“So, are you going to tell me your name or shall I just say ‘hey you’ forever?” Shifting in the seat, I looked at him and waited.
CHAPTER FOUR
KIPP
Pulling up to the stop sign, I turned to her. Did she really not know who I was? There wasn’t anyone in this town who didn’t know my name. “Kipp Miller.” I searched her face for recognition, but there was none. “How long have you been in town?”
“Three weeks.” Pulling up to the daycare, she climbed out of the truck. “I will only be a sec.” She slammed the door, and I ground my teeth together. There was no need to slam it. Just because the truck was big didn’t mean the door weighed any differently. I watched her walk quickly up the sidewalk and disappear into the building that used to be the school I grew up attending. It was rundown and needed a coat of paint like everything else in this town, but it was still serving a purpose. The school division decided it was more cost effective to build a new school in the town over and all the kids from here would be bussed there. That decision alone was what caused the town I loved to fall apart at the seams. Nobody wanted to stay here with no school. That took jobs away for teachers, custodians, educational assistants and the groundskeepers. It was the deadly blow we didn’t need.
I didn’t know what to expect when she said she had a son, but the child clinging to her neck was not it. He looked to be four, maybe five years old. She pulled open the back door and set him in his car seat. With amazing speed, she had him bucked in and ready to go. “Cooper, this is Mr. Miller. We’re going to work on his ranch. So, that means we’re moving and you won’t have to come to daycare anymore. You can stay with me while I work.” His big, sad eyes looked from her to me.
“You have cows?” His little voice went up on the word cow, and it was cute.
“I have lots of cows, Coop.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. His eyes were wide and his smile lit up his entire face. Nora climbed into the truck and buckled up before looking back at her son. “Let’s go find you some cows, kiddo.”
Flat prairie gave way to small hills, and the mountains loomed in the distance, like forbidding giants protecting the inhabitants of the valley. I’d always dreaded how far I lived from town, but the drive back home today was pleasant. Cooper’s oohs and awes at every cow or horse we passed made me look at my surroundings a little differently. Maybe life wasn’t bland and boring, especially when looking at it through the eyes of a child.
Slowing the truck, I made a left turn onto my private road. “From this point on, it’s ranch property. To be honest, we’ve been driving along ranch property almost since we left town.” I looked out the window for the first time in a long time and appreciated the beauty.
“Why does that diamond have wings?” Nora asked when she looked up as we drove under the ranch marker. She turned and looked behind her once we’d passed it. I laughed and pulled to a stop.
“Flying Diamond 5. It’s the name of the ranch. It’s also what we brand our cattle with.” She turned back to look at me with a frown. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re one of the people who can’t handle branding cattle? It’s the only permanent identification we have. Rustlers can cut out ear tags and RFID buttons but a brand stays put.” Huffing, I stepped on the gas and Nora was pushed back into her seat.
“I’m not ‘one of those people’.” She raised her hands and used air quotes as she imitated me. “I was going to ask what it represents?” She crossed her arms and shifted so she was sitting properly in the seat.
“It was always the Flying Diamond M, but when I took over and expanded, we changed it and it represents me and my four business partners. The original ranch belonged to my family. A few years ago, the ranches around me went up for sale, so four of my friends and I pooled our money and were able to buy it all. Now, we’re the biggest ranch in the area.”
“And when you say big, how big do you mean?” She arched her brow and smirked.
“Big, Nora. Very big.” Turning to look at her, I noticed a blush had crept over her cheeks. I felt bad for making her blush, but I wanted it to happen again.
She was gorgeous with her long brown hair that reminded me of the horizon just before sunrise. There was a barely noticeable dimple in her left cheek, and her hazel eyes watched everything so intently as if she was taking everything in so she wouldn’t ever forget. It made me a little weak in the knees.
She’s stunning, Kipp, get it together. A boner isn’t going to do you any good. My mind managed to win this battle, but I couldn’t guarantee it would come out on top again. “200,000 acres.”
