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“You already made the promise. I’m just collecting what you owe. You remember how you got sick that time and needed someone to come take care of you and the horses.”
Ah shit. This was going to be a huge favor.
“Yeah, Ms. Mel, I remember.”
“Well, I need you to do something for me.”
“I’m listening.”
“One of our guests had a surprise delivery. The room they’re in was promised to someone else but they can’t leave for another week or so. I was wondering if you could take on the guest I’m putting out.”
“Can’t do that. Call, Beau.” Beauden Phox had a horse and cattle ranch not too far from me and with twenty thousand acres. He needed to keep a steady flow of money in the winter. To make that happen, he turned a portion of his ranch into a bed and breakfast so this would be more his thing than mine.
“I did. He’s filled to the max. Got a group from Florida staying this week, for some leadership conference. You know that’s how he makes money this time of year.”
Damn it.
“Come on, Ms. Mel, can’t you think of anything else?”
“If I could, I wouldn’t have called. My hands are tied, Wilde ,and you owe me.”
I did.
“But that’s a lot to ask, Ms. Mel…”
“And cooking, cleaning, caring for your whiny ass and all your horses isn’t a lot to ask?”
I groaned then smiled, shaking my head. “I wasn’t whiny.”
“Yes you were. Acting like you were five years old all over again but I’ll leave that alone for now. You need to head straight to the train station. She arrives soon. Might already be there and it’s gonna be rude if no one shows up to greet her.”
I hadn’t agreed to a damn thing but she was already moving on like I had. There was no way in hell I wanted to spend my Christmas week with a stranger, much less a stranger who would be staying at my house. I hadn’t planned on celebrating Christmas at all since it was just me this year.
“Ms. Mel, that’s not a good idea and what makes you think she’ll agree?”
“You have six empty rooms at your house, Wilde. Surely you can let her have one. She was going to be out there with you anyway at some point. She scheduled the True Ranch Experience.”
Something I only did as a favor to Melvina. Tourists could come experience a guided tour of the ranch, ride horses, and have a bonfire. She paid well, although most times I refused her money and did it for free; unless there was a large group and I needed to pay my ranch hands extra to help out. It allowed them to make extra money.
“A tour is not the same as staying here. Speaking of, how long is she in town for?”
“A few days, maybe a week. I’ll have to check.”
“Ah, shit, Ms. Mel, that’s a long time to be holed up with a stranger.”
“You’ll be just fine.”
I groaned again.
“Where’s she from?”
“Boston.”
“Fucking great,” I muttered. Some city girl who wanted to slum it in the country but had no clue what ranch life was like, which meant a lot of complaining.
“She’s sweet,” Melvina asserted.
“You met her?”
