“You texted?” Colt said.
“Yeah.” Shawn finished wrapping the sandwich in his hand and put it on the pile. “I know the timing isn’t great, what with Mr. Marshall’s passing, but I’ve got to give my notice.”
“What?” Colt froze. “Don’t tell me someone is paying you more—”
“Nah, my brother was in a bad accident in the city, and he’s going to need my help running his drywalling business while he recovers. I said I’d come out, and I have no idea how long that’ll take. Weeks? Months? No clue.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Colt said, his mind spinning ahead to job postings and interviews. “So...how much time will you give me?”
“I’ve got to leave in the morning,” Shawn said.
“That soon!” Colt choked. “I don’t have anyone to fill in. Are you sure you can’t give me a few more days?”
“My brother has a big contract he has to complete, and his leg has been broken in two places. If I don’t come, he’ll have to break his contract and that will be costly. So I’ve got to get out there and lend a hand. I said that I would. I’m sorry, Colt. Ordinarily I’d give more notice. You know that. I’m not the kind of guy to just leave a place hanging.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Colt said with a sigh. “I’ll figure it out. You’ve been loyal and reliable the last three years, and I’m glad to have worked with you. All the best to your brother on his recovery.”
“Thanks.”
“So...what do I need to know to keep this kitchen running?”
“I’m doing some wrapped sandwiches to stick in the fridge to get you through for a bit. I’ve got some frozen lasagnas ready to thaw and stick in the oven, and there’s the burger fixings, too. That’ll get you through a couple of dinners. The sandwiches are for pack lunches, and if you can cover breakfast—” He paused.
There would be meals to be served while Colt put out an ad for a cook. He was on a skeleton crew as it was... That had been Beau’s way—and maybe that was just the way it had to be to keep this place above water. But there was one extra person on the ranch right now, and if she’d agree to pitch in for a day or two in the kitchen, and if Peg would watch the twins in the meantime, this might go a bit smoother. But whatever happened, he couldn’t let Peg anywhere near that kitchen. She meant well, but her cooking was terrible and the men would mutiny.
“That would be great,” Colt said. “I’ll figure out the rest. If you’d be so kind to stash as many sandwiches in the fridge as possible, I’ll get your check cut for your last payout. I appreciate the time you’ve given us, Shawn. If you ever want to come back and work this ranch, the door is open.”
They shook hands and Colt pushed down that rising anxiety as he headed for the door. He was the boss now—his work had only just begun.
Chapter Three
Jane came back inside the house carrying the last bag from the trunk of her car. She dropped it on the kitchen floor and wiped her forehead. The toddlers, who had been corralled by Peg for the few minutes it took for Jane carry in the bags, came shooting toward her with squeals of delight.
“Look at that!” Jane said, picking them both up. “I’m back!”
Every time she came back into the room, her daughters acted like it was the biggest event of their little lives. And maybe it was, but Jane loved it. Being a mom was both the hardest and the most satisfying role of her life.
Peg dished up some of the apple crisp onto a plate and slid it across the table in Jane’s direction.
“You must be hungry,” Peg said. “You’ve had a long day. I’ll set to making some dinner, but in the meantime, eat that.”
“Thanks.” Jane looked down at the grayish mass on her plate. She looked up at the older woman and met with a pointed stare. She was expected to eat this, and while she was hungry, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. She put the toddlers back onto the floor, closed her eyes and said a quick blessing before she picked up a fork and took a bite. The crisp was tasteless and slightly gluey. Jane swallowed with difficulty.
“I never had kids, but I do know that a mother has to eat on her feet or not at all,” Peg said.
“That’s the truth,” Jane said with a smile. “Those two keep me hopping.”
Peg leaned back against the counter. “So what do you do for a living, then?”
“I worked for a maid service,” Jane said, grateful for an excuse to put her fork down.
“And just took the time off to come out here?” Peg pressed, raising an eyebrow.
“I—” Jane cast about, looking for a way to avoid revealing her financial situation, but it didn’t seem possible. “I’m going to tell you the truth, Peg, because it’s easier than trying to avoid talking about it. I lost the house Josh and I bought together. I couldn’t make the bills on my own, and paying for day care is hard these days. I was balancing work with childcare costs, and trying to be here for my girls...” Tears pricked at her eyes, and she sucked in a deep breath. “I was laid off from my job at about the same time I sold the house. I didn’t have a whole lot to lose by coming out here.”
“What were you hoping to find here in Montana?” Peg asked quietly.
“I don’t even know,” Jane admitted.
“So you’re looking to be supported,” Peg concluded. “In memory of Josh.”
“No.” Irritation boiled up inside her. “I was looking for God’s leading in the next step of my life. This is a time of transition—and I’m not here looking for handouts. As soon as we get this inheritance sorted out, I’ll stand by my word and leave.”
“And the cattle—you’ll sell them back to Colt?” Peg asked.
“That’s the plan,” she replied. “What use do I have for cattle?”
“And the girls—” Peg said. “What about their inheritance?”
“I haven’t had long to think about it, but I always did want to buy a house and start a bed-and-breakfast,” Jane said. “It might work well with their inheritance, because when my girls are grown, their inheritance will have grown, too. It’ll be secure in the value of the land. I have no intention of nabbing their money and making off with it. I want to build a life for them.”
Peg eyed her for a moment, then nodded and said, “Smart.”
“Thank you.” Jane picked up the fork again and took another bite. No matter how it tasted, she needed to eat.
“There are women who go for all they can get,” Peg said. “I was never one of them.”
The inheritance... Peg hadn’t been named in the will. Was she going to suffer because of Jane’s daughters being remembered?
“Your brother’s ranch—” Jane began.
Peg waved her off. “My late husband left me money. I’m fine.”
“Oh...” That made Jane feel a bit better. “So what women are you talking about?”
Before Peg could answer, the side door opened and Peg turned away again. Colt came back inside, taking off his cowboy hat as he crossed the threshold.
“Hey,” Colt said. “So, the cook quit.”
“What?” Peg whirled around. “No notice? You can’t stand for that!”
“His brother was in a bad accident. He’s got to go help him out with his business. It’s understandable,” Colt replied.
“What will you do?” Jane asked.
“Well...” Colt rubbed his hand through his dark hair, his gaze flickering toward his aunt uncertainly. “I’m going to post a notice that we need a cook ASAP, and...we’ll have to cover until then.”
“You mean, you want one of us to cover in the kitchen until then,” Peg retorted.
Jane raised an eyebrow and met Colt’s gaze.
“We’ve got twenty ranch hands who live on premises,” Colt said, turning to Jane. “We run a canteen to feed them, and until I can bring in another cook, I’m going to need some help out there.”
“I’ll do
it. I’ll do it,” Peg muttered.
Colt shot Jane a grimace. “Actually, Peg, I was going to see if Jane would help me out in the kitchen. I mean, if she’d be willing to do it. And if you might be willing to watch the babies for a few hours a day.”
He looked over at Jane again, and she could see the pleading in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” Jane said. “I mean, the girls are used to day care, but they don’t know Peg yet, and—” Why not just have Peg do it? That’s what she was wondering but didn’t quite want to say.
“Could we talk outside?” Colt asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.
Jane pushed herself to her feet and followed him to the side door. Peg’s sharp gaze seemed to dig into a spot between her shoulder blades and they stepped outside. Colt closed the door firmly after them.
“They’ll quit on me, Jane,” he said seriously as the door shut. “My aunt is a terrible cook. I’d have a mutiny on my hands, and I’ve got some well-trained ranch hands who are in demand. They’d walk on me, and I’m on a skeleton crew as it is. I can’t afford to lose them.”
“Is she that bad?” Jane asked with a short laugh.
Colt’s expression remained grim. “Yes.”
“How do you know I can cook?” she countered.
“I don’t. I’m hoping you’re better than Peg.” He smiled slightly. “Are you?”
“I’m not bad,” she replied. In fact, she was good enough that she felt confident in opening that bed-and-breakfast, but she wasn’t here to start any new family feuds. “I hold my own. But Peg has already agreed to do it, and I don’t see how you’re going to get out of that without hurting her feelings. And who’s to say she even wants to babysit two little live wires? My girls are sweethearts, but they know when they outnumber someone.”
“Leave that to me,” Colt said. “It wouldn’t be for more than a day or two, until I get someone else in there. That’s what it’s like on a ranch like this one—we’re a small outfit, and the profit margin is slim. We pitch in. Granted, I don’t normally impose on guests, but I figure you’re family, so...”
Jane smiled at that. “Well, you’ll have to smooth it over with Peg.”
“Her bark is worse than her bite,” he replied, catching her eye, and he smiled in a way that made his eyes warm. “I can promise you that.”
“Is it?” Jane asked with a low laugh.
He shrugged. “You’ll have to take my word for it. She’s a teddy bear if you know how to talk to her.”
He brushed past her, his hand lingering on her shoulder, then he headed back up the steps, opening the side door again. “Peg?”
This Jane had to see, so she followed him inside. Peg had filled a sink with water and was about to start washing dishes. She looked up as they came in, raising her eyebrows, but staying silent.
“I was hoping you could do me a favor,” Colt said.
“Besides cooking for the men?” she retorted. “That’s ambitious of you.”
“Jane’s willing to cook down at the canteen, and I’m just thinking about your knee. It was pretty bad last month, and I don’t want to make it worse.”
“It’s fine, now,” Peg interjected.
“Yeah, but still. Jane’s willing to cook for a day or two until I hire someone. I’ll show her the ropes, and pitch in where I can. But I was hoping you could watch the girls, and at the same time help me in the hiring process. You can see right through someone’s lies and garbage, and I need that. If you could stay here, watch the babies for Jane, and I could bring any possible hires by you...”
Peg softened, and she dried her hands then put them on Colt’s shoulders.
“I’ve said it for years, Colt, and I’ll say it again. You’re a good rancher. You’ve got good instincts.”
“A second opinion with a new hire never hurt,” Colt replied. “I might have good instincts, but you’ve got the experience. What do you say?”
“If Jane’s okay with it, I am,” Peg said.
Colt gave Peg a grin. “Thank you.” Then he turned back toward Jane. “I’ll bring you out there first thing in the morning. It’s an early start—four a.m.”
There was no apology in his voice for the early start.
“Sure.” Jane looked over at Peg. “The girls always sleep in until seven. Will that be okay with you?”
Peg shrugged. “I might not have had children of my own, but I’ll be fine. Give me your cell phone number in case I need you, but I don’t anticipate a problem.”
Jane would be pitching in. The last thing she wanted was to be remembered as the freeloader after she left. She’d help where she could, contribute where Colt asked, and when she did leave she could do so with her head held high. She wasn’t a charity case, no matter how tenuous her current situation. God was providing.
* * *
The day slipped by, the girls keeping Jane busy as she fed them, changed them, took them outside to play, gave them some supper then bathed them together in the bathtub.
Peg made dinner that night—dry meatloaf, mashed potatoes that had been smashed into a virtual soup—and when the girls had been bathed, Peg headed out to the store for more milk and some bread. Honestly, Jane thought that Peg was making a run for it in order to get a few minutes to herself, and Jane didn’t blame her a bit. Two toddlers were precious, but they overran everything.
“You look tired,” Jane said, shooting Colt a smile.
“I always look tired,” he replied with a low laugh. “But it’s been a busy day. I posted the ad for a cook, so I’m praying for a quick reply.”
“Is it always this hectic?” she asked. “I mean when something goes wrong.”
“Yeah. Well, it wouldn’t be if I had more manpower around here, but I don’t dare hire extra employees beyond what we’ve currently got until I’ve done the math. Beau was a lot of things, but he was also good with numbers.”
“That’s understandable,” she said. “But with Beau gone...isn’t that one less person working?”
“Beau had left most of the running of the place to me,” Colt replied with a shake of his head. “He took care of the finances, though, and this place is mortgaged up to the hilt. So I’m going to trust his choices for the time being.”
Micha dropped the Cheerios she’d been munching on and started to whimper, and Jane scooped her up. She rooted through the diaper bag and pulled out a couple of formula powder packets. It took only a few minutes with Micha on her hip for Jane to shake up two bottles. It was almost bedtime, and the girls would be just wiped after so much excitement today. As if on cue, Suzie started to whimper, too, so Jane headed in the direction of the living room and sank onto the faded old couch.
“Come on, Suzie,” she called.
Suzie stood in the kitchen, stubbornly refusing to come. Jane glanced around and realized she’d left the other bottle on the counter in the kitchen. She sighed—it had been a long day.
“Would you pass me the bottle?” she called to Colt in the kitchen. “Suzie is going to want it.”
“Oh...yeah...” Colt scooped up the bag, held it open and perused the contents, then pulled out the bottle. Suzie clutched at Colt’s leg and let out a wail. Micha started crying again—that little grizzle of tiredness—and Jane felt a wave of exhaustion of her own. Nothing was easy with twins, and a strange setting would only make this harder.
“Actually, could you just pick her up?” Jane asked hopefully.
Colt looked around himself, as if searching for an escape, then down at Suzie. Suzie fixed her big brown eyes on him, her lower tip trembling, and Colt bent down and lifted her up.
“Hello,” Colt said softly.
“Bubba,” Suzie whimpered.
“Her bottle,” Jane translated. “They’re both tired enough that they’ll knock out pretty quickly with a bottle and a snuggle.”
Colt handed Suz
ie her bottle, and she popped it into her mouth and leaned her head against Colt’s shoulder. Those dewy brown eyes had a way of melting pretty much any heart, and Jane smiled over at him.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“I guess not,” Colt replied, and he sank into the easy chair across from her, the toddler in his arms. He adjusted Suzie on his lap and she let out a soft sigh, sucking away on her bottle as her eyes drooped. It felt odd to see her daughter in a man’s arms. Jane had been on her own from the very beginning with her children, and yet she’d imagined what it would be like for Josh to hold them—to lend a hand when she was overwhelmed—countless times. A dad... Her girls didn’t know what they were missing out on, did they?
She didn’t, either, for that matter. Because as sweet as it would be to have some support, she wasn’t willing to commit again. She sighed, dropping her gaze to the toddler in her lap.
Both girls were too old for their “bubbas” as they called them. But Jane was a single mom, and with the two of them a bottle just helped the girls relax enough to sleep. She’d take all the help she could rustle up at bedtime, including this cowboy sitting across from her.
“Thanks,” Jane said with a smile, and she looked down at Micha in her arms. Micha’s eyes were shut, and a dribble of milk leaked out one corner of her mouth. They were still babies in so many ways—the bottles, the diapers, the chubby legs and cheeks...but they were growing up, too, and one of these days she’d have to put them into a day care again and she’d miss out on all of this.
“They do look like Josh,” she said quietly. “I wanted my girls to look like me so badly. I imagined these identical little mini-mes running around, and—” Tears misted her eyes, and she blinked them back. “Considering that Josh didn’t make it home, maybe I should be glad they look just like him.”
Colt’s dark gaze was locked on her, and when she met his eyes, he cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” he explained. “About marriage. I wasn’t meaning to undermine what you had with my cousin or anything like that.”
Her Twins' Cowboy Dad Page 4