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“Holy shit, that’s bigger than New York City!” Her eyes grew huge and she slapped her hands over her mouth. Peeking around the seat, she breathed a sigh of relief that Cooper had fallen asleep at some point. I knew exactly when his eyes couldn’t take in the sight of any more cows. It was about thirty minutes ago, and he fought it like a champ.
“How many head of cattle do you have? Yes, I know I’m not supposed to ask, but I am, anyway. Working here should give me that right. Right?” She winced a little and averted her eyes from mine.
“Right now 25,000. The plan is to hit 50,000, but that will require more ranch hands and good ones are getting harder to find. The five of us, with the help of my mom and a few ranchers that agreed to stay on their property and work for us, keep a good eye on them.” Making the last curve, the house was visible, and I slowed down a little, watching Nora out of the corner of my eye.
“Oh. My. God,” she said softly, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean for me to hear it.
“My great-grandfather built the original two-story house in the mid 1900s, that’s the dark wood timber section. Before that, they were living in an old wooden granary that they’d repurposed into a house. Then, my grandfather added on and tried to match it as much as he could, so that’s where the lighter log home part starts on either side and then my father made a few changes that blended in with what his father did. And before you ask, it’s 5,000 square feet.” I grinned, and she finally ripped her eyes away from the house and looked at me.
“Do you all live in the house?”
Nodding, I replied, “We do. You really don’t know anyone else is around unless we’re in the same room for a meal or a meeting. We’re together all day usually, so when the day ends, we retreat to our own area and stay there. When we first moved here, it was a party all the time, but over the years we’ve settled down and fell into a routine that works. You will be the only woman in the house, and I assure you there won’t be any problems, but I suspect you’d be able to take care of yourself if there were.”
I thought back to how she verbally sparred with Fred, and how she didn’t take any of his shit. She was probably good for that place, but I hated seeing a woman having to deal with shit like that. It put me on edge, and made me worried for her, but now that was over and she’d have a good place to work.
The house sat on a hill, so you could see it for a few miles as you drove in. We made the rest of the trip in silence. I wanted to know what she was thinking, how she felt about this being her new home, but quizzing her wasn’t what needed to happen right now. She needed to get settled in, and I needed to get supper ready for the others. I’d spent far too long in town, so again it would need to be something thrown together last minute.
CHAPTER FIVE
NORA
“Grab a bag or two of groceries, and I will bring your stuff in,” Kipp said as I got out of the truck. He handed me bags, and I loaded as many as I could onto my arms. Kipp looked at me like I was crazy, but I shrugged.
“Why make more than one trip if you don’t have to? Oh, what about Cooper?” I asked while my arms were about to give way to the pounds and pounds of groceries I was carrying.
“I will get him.” He put down the suitcases and opened the door. “Come on, little man. We’re home. Time to wake up and see where you’re going to be living.” He effortlessly unbuckled the car seat and lifted Cooper out. My son wrapped his arms around Kipp’s neck and mumbled something I didn’t hear. Kipp laughed and rubbed his back. “I think we can do all those things,” Kipp crooned as I followed him into the house.
“Shoes off, it keeps the place cleaner, and is a rule my mom used to have.” I watched him balance and pull off his boots. I’d never really looked at a man's shoes before, but his were different. They were work-worn, scuffed, covered in dirt and other things, but they were what carried him to do his work, step up the stairs to his home every night, and continue the legacy of his family's property. What the hell was I thinking? They were a pair of boots. It was like the second I looked into his eyes on that street, I’d been put under a spell.
Following him to the kitchen, I lifted my shaking arms and put the bags on the counter. The kitchen would have been a dream for any cook. Top of the line appliances, an island with a sink for prep, and more counter space than I’d ever seen in my life.
Growing up in an old farmhouse, I could remember my mother always lamenting she needed more cupboard space and countertops, but I could cook here for days and never run out of room. Slowly, I pulled my arms out and let them fall to my side.
Kipp waved his free hand, the other still wrapped around my son.“Well, obviously, this is the kitchen. I’m not set on things staying where they are. The last cook we had put everything where it is, so if you want it moved, go ahead. The only thing I ask that doesn’t move is the coffee mugs. That spot is just habit at this point,” he said, pointing behind me to a cupboard directly over the coffeemaker. “Not much for fancy coffee here, just a regular drip pot. I hope that’s okay.”
“You mean you’ll survive without those fancy lattes the town buzzes about?” I joked as I leaned up against the counter.
“The town’s only buzzing about them because you were making them. You see people, Nora. You kept people coming into that place. Friends of mine who couldn’t care less where their coffee comes from came in to see you. To have a quick visit and leave with your beautiful smile in their mind.” He let his eyes fall from mine and I wanted to know how he knew that, but the slight reddening of his cheeks made me realize I just needed to drop the conversation.
Cooper woke up and squirmed out of Kipp’s arms and grabbed onto my leg, looking around the kitchen. “Come on, Coop, let’s go find your room.” My boy didn’t need to be asked again. He ran to Kipp’s side and took his hand. Kipp looked down at his hand and then back to me. I couldn’t help the smile on my face. Instantly, I knew I’d made the right decision, not just for the new job, but for what this will do for Cooper.
“So this room is special. It’s the one I grew up in. I think you’re going to like it a lot.” We walked down the hallway, and he opened the door to the room. It was immaculate. A big circular rug in the middle of the floor looked like it had been hand tied, and it was antique. A quilt on the bed was also hand done, not something you buy from a store. I could feel the love that went into every stitch.
“Are you sure you want him to use this room? I mean, he can stay with me,” I said as I walked around the room, letting my fingers trail over the timber bed frame that was the same color as the large beams in the rest of the original house.
“Nora, a boy needs his space. You won’t be far, either.” He smiled as he walked past me and opened the door that led to the room I would be living in. “My sisters grew up in this room, so when dad added on to the house, he made this entrance so we weren’t running up and down the hallway all the time.” Kipp motioned for me to go in, and I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around.
The sun was shining brightly through the windows on the south and west end of the room. I’d never seen a bedroom take advantage of the outside walls and put windows at the corner of each wall to let as much light in as possible. A large king size bed sat in the middle of the room.
“I made the bed frame for this room years ago, and I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.” He smiled and I could tell how much it meant to him to have his own mark on the house.
“This is too much, Kipp. I can’t take this room.” I brought my hands to my mouth as I looked at all the details of the place I was to call home.
“The quilt on the bed was a wedding gift to my parents years ago. The dresser came from Virginia with my great-grandmother when her husband was ready for her to come west and most of the other things -well I’ve long forgotten their stories, but my mother would be able to recite them if asked.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around the room again. I stood there shaking my head. I opened my mouth to try and make him see this was too much, but he just smiled. “Nora, I want you to enjoy this room, make it yours, and live in it. This house needs life again and needs to have the laughter of a child.” I looked up at him, and I couldn’t hide the tear that ran down my cheek.
Life hadn’t ever been easy for me, and then when I got pregnant, it all became ten times harder. I loved being a mother, but some days I just wanted to be Nora, the girl who was free, full of life. Now I felt like I was being given just a little of that back, with all of this. “I don’t know how I will ever repay you,” I whispered, wiping my cheek. Nora, get it together, he’ll think you’re a basket-case.
