Nate puffed out his chest. “Welcome to the Double B. Are y’all rip-rarin’ to have yourself a hog-killin’ time?”
A few of the businessmen glanced at each other, questions written on their faces. They shrugged, but their enthusiasm in responding to Nate dimmed.
Not that my brother would let that stop him. “Now, I can see y’all are down but nine, but you’ll catch on in a twinkle of a bed-post. My brother Malachi here”—he turned and gestured toward me—“is our big sugar. Gran and my sister Miriam are the biscuit shooters. And me, well, I’ll be helpin’ y’all with them beeves out yonder. In a few minutes, we’ll be showin’ ya your diggings—fellers in the doghouse and fillies by the river. Now, we don’t expect ya to know how to fork a hoss right away, but before the week is up, you’ll be afly, or my name ain’t Nathaniel Thomas.”
Brows folded over confused expressions.
I leaned down to whisper into Miriam’s ear. “Should we rescue them?”
She shook her head, her twists dancing across her shoulder. “Give him another minute. I haven’t seen him do one of these since he got back.”
“We aim to make a mash with you’uns on our spread, but feel free to come to one of us if yer balled up, even if it’s picayune.”
The woman with honey eyes leaned over to whisper into the ear of the man with the palest skin. Some color returned to his cheeks as he snickered in response to whatever she’d said.
Nate zeroed in on the whispering. “Well now, little filly, you joshin’ behind this pie eater’s back?”
She took a half step forward, as if accepting the challenge Nate had dropped at her feet. “I was just telling Donald here that he should go get his angora chaps for you. You’re talking the talk, but you’re just shy of walking the walk.”
He squinted one eye at her. “Are you callin’ me a flannel mouth, ma’am?”
“I’d say if the cowboy hat fits, but you aren’t wearing one.”
Her colleagues seemed to hold a collective breath until Nate threw his head back and laughed. “You’re gonna be all right here at the Double B, Miss...?”
She took another step toward Nate and held out her hand. “Jocelyn Dormus.” She turned toward her peers and introduced each one down the line. Her eyes sparkled when she faced Nate again. “So, you want to repeat that greeting in English this time?”
Miriam’s hand fell from my arm as I moved from the shadows and joined Nate in the center of the barn. When we’d agreed to open the Double B to guests, the actual people part had grabbed ahold of my windpipe with the strength of a bronc rider. Animals I understood. People, not so much. But I’d discovered keeping things on a professional level eased my nerves. Center conversation around the ranch and what we did here and I could string words together with the rest of them. Women made my skin itch a little more, like ants crawling along at a picnic, but the more of them there were, the looser my tongue. One-on-one with the females though… Well, I shied away from that like a green-broke stallion and a tarp flapping in the wind.
I clapped Nate on the shoulder. “What my oh-so-eloquent brother said in the most convoluted way possible is welcome to the Double B and our home. I’m Malachi and this is my sister, Miriam.”
She stepped up to join us.
“Gran’s up at the house making supper, so I hope y’all are hungry. We’re excited you could join us, and hope you enjoy your visit. Now, if the men would like to follow Nate, he’ll show you to the bunkhouse where you’ll be staying. You ladies follow me, and I’ll show you to your accommodations. Dinner’s at six o’clock, and Gran’s whipped up something special, so be sure not to be late.”
Nate had a shuffling of lost pups behind him as he led the way to the bunkhouse, which was really a cabin filled with lodgepole pine furniture and hand-made quilts. Our guests may be searching for an authentic experience, but we wanted them to be comfortable as well.
Scout trailed beside Miss Jocelyn, and I snapped my fingers at him to heel by my side. He looked at me…then completely ignored the command and pressed his speckled fur against the woman’s leg. Traitorous mutt.
“I have to admit”—Miss Jocelyn ran tapered fingers across my dog’s snout—“I’ve never been camping before. Just the idea of it made me freak out a little at first. But the pictures on your website are beautiful. Almost glamorous.”
Miss Tonya snorted. “That’s because the set up here is glamping. Isn’t that right, Mr. Thomas? True camping consists of sleeping bags and a pitched tent.”
I didn’t really care for the woman’s snooty tone, but even vinegar could be sweetened with a little honey. “Malachi is fine, ma’am. And we want all our guests to have a relaxing place to kick off their boots after a day on the range.”
Miss Jocelyn let the condescending tone of her coworker roll off her like water from a duck’s back. We approached the campsite, the bright white canvas we’d special ordered in a circular yurt design billowing gently against the cedar support beams. The wooden deck I’d built over the winter added a level of hominess I hoped our guests would appreciate. By the intake of Miss Jocelyn’s breath, I’d say I succeeded.
She climbed the small risers and stared into the tent, its flaps tied back to reveal two full-sized wrought-iron beds with bright white quilts covering the mattresses. I’d reasoned for darker linens, but both Gran and Miriam had argued for an all-white palette. White didn’t make sense on a ranch full of dust and grime, but watching the rapture overtake Miss Jocelyn’s smooth features, I conceded to their better judgement.
She studied every detail, pure delight in the moment making her seem so light she could fly. “This isn’t comparable to homeless living at all. It’s more like a dream I never thought to imagine.”
What sort of dreamshadshe imagined?
Not that the desires and wishes of the heart of one of our guests was any of my business.
“You sound as if you’ve never done anything or been anywhere. Really, Jocelyn, if you don’t watch the words that come out of your mouth, you never know what people will think of you.”
Miss Tonya effectively took a pair of shears to the wings of Miss Jocelyn’s imagination. With the wind removed from under the little sparrows wings, she shuddered.
