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It was a good thing Bull was off somewhere running the ranch. Gunner wasn’t sure he could out-mattress the both of them.
Chapter 32
Nova was awash with sweat when she saw the white van pull into Gunner’s driveway. The sudden geyser of tears caught her off guard. She hadn’t realized she had been holding that much emotion back. She wiped her eyes and smoothed her sweaty hair back from her face. She knew she looked a fright, but it was too late to do anything about that now. They had focused on getting the house ready, and getting herself ready had been the sacrifice. They’d had to choose, and she thought they had chosen wisely.
Not even knowing for sure that her three siblings were in that van, she flung the front door open and then was dismayed to see a single goat escapee in the front yard. Oh well, at least it was only one goat and not a herd. And then she saw Gabby climb out of the van, and the tears surged again. Nova ran down the front steps as Gabby helped Mona out of the van and then Nova was there sweeping Mona up into her arms and kissing her on both cheeks. The little girl giggled and pushed Nova away, but she knew the rejection was just for show. Mona didn’t like so many snuggles when there were witnesses. She wanted to be a big girl, and she was almost there.
Gabby looked up at the house and said, “We’re going to live here now?” Understandably, she didn’t sound so sure about that.
“Yes, we are,” Nova said with more confidence than she felt. She turned to look for the van’s driver, expecting to see Priscilla, but Priscilla was nowhere in sight. A different woman had escorted the children to her house. This woman wore a gray pantsuit and a tight smile. Nova opened her mouth tointroduce herself, but Gunner was already shaking her hand and introducing them both. She hadn’t taken him for such a diplomat but apparently when the cards were down...
“Why is there a goat?” Conley said.
Nova wished that she knew this particular goat’s name so she could share it, but she didn’t. She looked at Gunner, but he was still busy with Mrs. Pantsuit. “This is a ranch, and it has lots of cows and lots of goats.”
Mona clapped her hands. “Really? Can we pat them?”
“You sure can, but not right now.” Nova had no idea if this particular escapee was one of the friendlier goats.
He didn’t even look familiar, but then Gunner was saying, “You can pet him. This is Duke.” Gunner grabbed one of Duke’s small horns loosely.
Nova thought he meant to pull the goat closer, but he didn’t move him it all. He let the goat stay where he was and kept a loose grip on the horn, and Nova realized it was a safety precaution. She appreciated his wisdom. She didn’t know Mrs. Pantsuit, but she didn’t think a goat’s horn to a little girl’s cheekbone would leave a good first impression.
“Why don’t you show Christina inside?” Gunner said to Nova.
Okay, so the woman had a name, and it was Christina.
But the tour was going to beNova’sjob? Nerves attacked her heart, but she forced a smile. “Of course. Right this way.”
Christina smiled encouragingly. “It’s just a formality, and it can be brief. I’ve already been here when I worked with Kash’s family.”
Oh. That was good news, right? “Great,” she said, still feeling nervous. She left the kids with the goats and headed for the house.
She went up the steps fast—apparently too fast because it took Christina a minute to catch up. But then they were in theliving room, which was much cleaner than it was when Nova had first arrived at the ranch.
“It’s a bit cluttered,” Nova found herself defending the house right away, “but it was the family home, and there are still lots of ...” Her face burned. Why was she trying to explain things she didn’t understand? Why was she suggesting that things weren’t already up to snuff?
“Artifacts?” Christina offered. She smiled gently. “We see that a lot. Nothing to worry about. And it looks great. You folks have made some changes since I was here last.” She gave Nova an encouraging smile. “It looks great. I can see the woman’s touch.”
Nova relaxed—a little. “Thanks for saying that. Let’s see the kitchen.” She led her into the next room and then felt foolish as she showed her the pantry and the fridge, but she was pretty proud of how much food they had stockpiled in such a short time.
She showed her the bathroom, self-conscious about its size, but she managed not to comment on the fact that it was the only bathroom in the house or that it would be shared by seven people.
Another reason to be glad that Rocky was gone.
Nova took the tour up the stairs and showed each of the bedrooms except for Bull’s. Christina did not blink at how barren the rooms looked, nor did she ask to see what was behind the closed door number five. “This looks great,” she said, surprising Nova.
That was it? The interrogation was over already? Noah forced a smile. “It is pretty great,” she heard herself say. They stood there awkwardly at the top of the stairs for a moment before Nova realized that she could probably go back downstairs.
She found Gunner and the kids inside and was relieved that they hadn’t brought the goat along.
Christina surprised Nova by asking if they had any questions. Nova had thought that she would be the one to ask the questions. She could see surprise on Gunner’s face as well.
Gunner shook his head slowly. “No, ma’am. I think we’re in good shape here. We’re just excited to have them home.”
A chill danced down Nova’s back at his use of the wordhome. She was surprised he was already using that word for three kids he’d met ten minutes ago.
Christina handed Nova her business card and said, “Call me anytime if you need anything. We are here to help. We just want what’s best for the kids.” She smiled. “I have a feeling we are all on the same page there.”
