Since I had a long day ahead of me, I made myself a cup of coffee and then grabbed my tablet before going to sit on the porch stairs.
It was early enough that the only sounds were some moos from the cows in the distance and the rustling of the breeze. There was a bird somewhere, making itself known, too. A barn cat yowling and another one answering it.
It was all very calming and beautiful, but it also meant anyone could sneak in. If someone wanted to do harm to this family and was determined enough, they could. Of course, nothing could mitigate the risk completely, but if there was someone trekkingacross the pastures somewhere with a few Molotov cocktails in their backpack right now, who would know?
A light turned on in the cabin next to mine. I saw Crew walk past the window that had to be the kitchen.
I looked at my map, zooming in and out of it, and trying to place Bodhi’s business on it. I had an approximate location, but I’d need to go there and see where he planned on putting everything. That meant having to actually have discussions with the man.
I really, really needed to stop gritting my teeth.
Looking at the list of people who were outside of the core group of Harringtons, spouses, children, and Russ, there were three hands living on the property in the bunkhouse.
There were others who didn’t live on the property who needed to be able to come and go freely. All in all, there weren’t quite as many staff as one would think, mostly because this wasn’t a cattle operation, nor did they grow anything other than the hay for their own animals.
I decided to tackle each separate business as their own unit. The ranch was one big puzzle formed from smaller puzzles with various amounts of pieces.I found myself smiling as I thought of the challenge. It was very different to what I normally did and what I’d done for the past decade. I was looking forward to it.
Jenn had let me know in no uncertain terms that I was expected at the house for breakfast and lunch, and if I chose to, dinner, as well. I wasn’t going to deny the matriarch.
As I stepped out of the cabin, dressed in my comfiest jeans, boots, and flannel, Crew peeked out of their cabin.
“Morning! We’re not joining you at the house this morning, but I’ll see you at lunch?”
“I thought breakfast at the house was mandatory?” I grinned at him.
He chuckled. “It used to be, but there are certain allowances for our little family units. We tend to have breakfast at our cabin most of the time.”
“Makes sense. See you later!” I raised a hand, and saw Payton waving madly through the window.
That boy was special. His idea about dogs was actually really good, and I needed to call my buddy who raised and trained guard dogs for a host of situations. But I could do that after breakfast, because as soon as I walked closer to the house and caught the scent of cooking bacon wafting through the cracked open kitchen window, that was all I could think of.
I made sure my boots were clean, then knocked on the door twice before stepping in.
“Good morning, Ville,” Jenn said, smiling over her shoulder as she piled pieces of bacon onto a large plate. She’d made them in the oven, which made total sense, given how many people there would be around the table.
“Morning, Jenn.”
Mike walked into the kitchen and greeted me, then went to his wife, embraced her from behind and smooched her cheek, making her giggle.
I grabbed one of the already lined up mugs from the counter and poured myself a coffee as they whispered to each other. It was easy to see where their kids got their loving nature.
I took a seat at the table and sipped at my coffee, humming happily. Gemma was the next one to appear, then Fern right after her. Quiet morning chatter filled the kitchen. Then finally Emery came into the room and the way he seemed to light up when he saw me made me grin.
“Morning,” I told him, unable to keep my voice from being a bit huskier than when I’d greeted his sisters.
“Morning.” He went for the coffee while Fern helped Jenn with the rest of the breakfast.
“Is this everyone?” I asked, a bit surprised at the lack of people.
Mike nodded behind his mug. “On average, yes. Hawk tends to grab breakfast at Carter’s place. Demi, Luke, and the kids live in town, so they take every morning as it comes based on their schedule. Crew, Mal, and Payton come for breakfast occasionally. At the moment the younger twins are home, but I don’t think they’ll be getting up this early.”
I’d forgotten the youngest siblings momentarily. Then again, there were so many, who could blame me?
Bodhi walked in through the front door, which seemed to surprise nobody. He gave me a glare and greeted everyone else quietly.
Emery sat next to me with his coffee after he filled his plate and dug in without paying attention to me. While we ate, Emery pressed his knee against mine. It was very cute, and I found that I enjoyed the contact.
I chatted with Mike about the ranch, and then Gemma told me what time Hawk arrived most days, in case I wanted to chat with them about the security. Apparently they were less busy the next day, so I made a mental note of that.
