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Tono proved to be the perfect gentleman. They chatted easily, and he didn’t ask any awkward questions about her visit. Ellie found she liked him a lot.
“I know the ranch is off grid,” she confided as they bumped along a sparse track, barely discernible from the rest of the surrounding land. “But I wasn’t quite prepared for this level of ‘off-road’.
“Will that be a problem for you?” Tono asked, giving her a slight sideways look.
“No, notatall,” Ellie said with confidence. “I’m a complete homebody. Nothing I like better than cooking and taking care of everybody. I’m not much for bright lights and the big city.”
“You know much about ranch life?”
“Of course!” She wondered how much he knew about the Carson brothers’ plan to advertise for wives. “I was born and raised on a ranch in Idaho.”
They’d been driving for an hour before the ranch came into sight. Half the journey by road and half by the vague tracks, mostly through the forest. The final fifteen minutes of the scenery opened up and Tono told her they were on Triple C land. In the distance she could see mountains and more trees. A small sigh slipped past her lips. It was beautiful.
She had yet to meet the men who lived here and didn’t know what they might be like, although Tono seemed to have a certain respect for them which was reassuring. All three were in their thirties and the rest remained to be seen, but Ellie could already imagine making a place like this her home. She could feel the resonance of the landscape calling to her soul already.
Tono helped her with the luggage she had brought with her and dropped her bags inside the open porch way, but a quick knock on the door got no reply.
Tono scratched his head and checked his wristwatch. “This time of day they’ll most probably be out doing chores.”
It was clear he didn’t know quite what to do with her, and Ellie felt acutely awkward herself, too. She tried to make light of the situation, though.
“Perhaps I could tag along while you check on the mare?” She asked hopefully.
Tono smiled. “Certainly, wouldn’t say no to the company. We might find Cody or Syrus, they both knew I was visiting this afternoon.”
The barn smelled of fresh hay and horse, and dust motes danced in the streams of sunlight that bled through the doors and skylights. A wave of nostalgia swept through her as it reminded her of her childhood.
“Hey girl. Aren’t you a beauty,” Ellie crooned to the chestnut mare with a neat white flash between her eyes. According to the brass nameplate on the lower part of the stable door, she was aptly named ‘Blaze’.
Ellie stroked and nuzzled with her while Tono performed his checkup. When he’d finished, he was wreathed in smiles and clapped her on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Ellie. You obviously have a knack with horses. This is Blaze’s first foal, so she’s skittish. You really helped soothe her.”
“That you Tono?” A deep voice called from the doorway. Ellie had the impression of broad shoulders and an impressive height, but that was all she could make out from the silhouette which stood against the late afternoon sun.
“Hey Cody.” Tono sauntered towards the other man and Ellie followed behind him, suddenly feeling unaccountably shy.
“You got yourself an assistant?” The cowboy in the doorway asked, looking her over. The shyness turned to embarrassment.
Tono frowned and looked from Cody to her. Then he shrugged and said, “Actually, I brought Ellie up here to see you guys. She didn’t realize she wasn’t going to get here in her own car.”
The brother called Cody stilled and stared at her for a couple of seconds, and Ellie could feel Tono gearing up to say something. Maybe offer to take her back again, since this man was giving the impression that she wasn’t supposed to be there.
“Um, Ezreal, er… invited me,” Ellie stammered self-consciously. Even close up she couldn’t read his face since the brim of his black stetson was pulled low over his eyes, but what might have been a generous mouth was pulled into a thin line.
The tension seemed to escalate to breaking point. It swirled through the air like it might snap at any moment. Then Cody relaxed his shoulders and nodded like it was nothing. “Of course,” he said with a completely neutral tone. “I told Tono we were expecting company this week. Ezra just forgot to mention to me and Syrus that you were arriving today. We were expecting to meet the bus.”
Ellie breathed a sigh a relief. “I drove from Washington State. I didn’t really understand about the bus, but luckily I ran into Tono while I was trying to get directions.”
Cody gave a short, sharp nod and turned on the heel of his battered cowboy boots. “Well, we better get you settled and let him know you’re here. Thanks, Tono. I assume everything’s okay with Blaze?”
The two talked horses for a few minutes and Ellie waited politely until they were done before saying a genuine, grateful goodbye to the vet.
Cody Carson seemed somewhat grim as he led her back to the house, stopping to collect her baggage on the way.
“Is this all you have with you?” he asked cursorily.
Ellie just nodded, her heart sinking a little. This man sure as heck didn’t seem too pleased to see her, and the fact that the brother she’d spoken to hadn’t mentioned her arrival to the others didn’t bode well either. She hated that she’d only just arrived and already seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot.
