There was a hook in a spot above where the entertainment center would likely go if we had one. Something about the placement suggested that a family photo should hang there, but we’d never been family photo people.
Not with how things had gone with my dad and not with how things had gone with Vera. The situations were different andmaybe we should’ve celebrated our tiny little family unit more, but I liked to show love in practice, not hang a demonstrative piece of paper on the wall.
I did recognize that there was some weird fucking irony in how both myself and my son lacked one parent now. Neither had been in the cards back in the day.
I straightened the frame a little. Jaina was sixteen two, a gorgeous bay with four long socks and a blaze. Her mane was glossy black and in the picture she stood in the light from the setting sun that tinted her even more red than she really was.
She’d been my best friend and confidante for seven years, ever since I’d bought her from an auction at two years old. She’d been a big, gangly thing. Mostly legs and ears, but there’d been a wisdom in her eyes that none of the other younglings had had.
The seller had said she was an oopsie baby. Mom was a Clydesdale and dad was unknown, since the mare had come to the seller pregnant and they hadn’t wanted the filly. At least that’s what he’d said at the time, but I’d learned since then that maybe that wasn’t the case.No.I wasn’t going to dwell on that now.
“Daddy?” Tony stepped into the room, then his gaze went to the picture. “Oh.” He walked to me and hugged my leg, pressing his head against me. “I miss her, too.”
It was a lot for him to say, because he didn’t really care about horses. But she’d been the first horse he’d ever been on as a tiny little thing that still fit in the crook of my arm.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, bud. I do, too.”
He squeezed me hard, then looked up. “I think I’m done for now, but could I maybe help put the kitchen stuff away?” His expression was so hopeful that my heart clenched.
“Of course. Let’s go see what the right boxes are.”
We both had that thing where we loved a certain glass, mug, fork, you name it. We’d collected a mishmash of things thatmade no sense to anyone else, but we loved. I’d once seen a meme online that said it was “on the spectrum” behavior, but I couldn’t have cared less. I was doing fine and so far so was Tony. If that changed for either of us, I’d look into it with the help of a professional.
We agreed where everything should go and then Tony got to work. There was a step stool that was high enough that he could reach into the lowest cupboard shelves just fine, so I wasn’t worried. For all he wasn’t outdoorsy, Tony was agile and had loved climbing since he realized he could do it. I made a mental note to ask Crew if there were any good spots on the property. Trees, rock faces, I wasn’t fussy, and neither was Tony as long as he didn’t have to deal with anything “icky” while climbing.
Jenn’s welcome basket had some food items, including a sneaky casserole dish of mac and cheese, which happened to be Tony’s favorite. I assumed she’d asked him and then used that knowledge to make our first evening a bit easier.
We still needed to go get some staples, but I’d do some research on the best grocery stores in town or maybe call Jenn to ask . She would know, given that she was the master chef of the ranch and needed to feed quite a few mouths both time and cost efficiently.
There wasn’t space for a chest freezer in the kitchen, which was a bit of a bummer, because I’d wanted one for a while. Even with a smaller one, you could save some serious money by freezing stuff and bulk buying became a real option. At least the pay here was decent so I didn’t have to count every penny, especially with no rent to pay.
The appliances—a fridge and a microwave—didn’t look that old, so that was good. I didn’t mind not having a dishwasher when it was just the two of us, and the coffee maker and the toaster we had would fit perfectly in the small space left.
I opened one of the boxes I had had sealed since moving off the farm and chuckled.
“Guess what I found?”
Tony put his favorite mug on the shelf, then grabbed the edge of the counter and turned to look. “What?”
I lifted the little red radio we’d had in the farm kitchen once.
“Oh yay!” Tony beamed.
Turning it on, I found a country station. Immediately, the familiar tones ofAway from You, one of my favorite songs by Wren Paxton, filled the cabin.
Tony wiggled and grinned. For a country ballad, the song was one of his favorites, too.
“Don’t fall off,” I warned him.
“I won’t!” Pointedly, he made sure he had good handholds as he got off the step stool and went to figure out where our utensils might go.
We made the drive to the grocery store and familiarized ourselves with the town a little bit while we were out there. We found the library, which looked small but would no doubt be the light of Tony’s life in no time.
There was a diner too, because of course. We didn’t go in, but I promised Tony we would one day soon.
“I really hope their milkshakes are as good as at the old one,” he said wistfully as we drove past.
“Me too, buddy.”
