by Kahlen Aymes
“Hmmm,” Missy said, her cheeks turning a becoming shade of pink. “We’re working on it.” She reached for a brownie from the plate.
“Come on, Teagan!” I slide the plate closer to her. “You’re eating for two and besides, no calories on a cowboy weekend!”
Fifteen minutes after I’d shown Teagan and Missy to their respective rooms, I met Missy back downstairs. She’d changed into some faded old blue jeans, sneakers and a baggy Denver Bronco’s T-shirt.
“Your favorite team?” I asked as we walked outside. Teagan had chosen to lie down with her little boy and take a nap after their long trip. They’d been up early to catch a flight from Atlanta and had spent many hours on planes and in airports.
Missy waved it away. “Oh, this? Nah. I just get a ton of team shirts on my job. My wardrobe consists of suits and jerseys. I brought some for Ben. When I first got the ESPN job, I’d get shirts and signed balls for Dylan and he’d get all bent out of shape, so I brought him a suitcase full this time.”
“That’s so sweet of you. I’m sure he’ll be surprised.”
We walked across the yard and then over the dirt driveway toward the barn. We could hear Ben inside speaking to the kids as we approached the open door.
“He’s so cute!” Remi’s voice echoed through the high rafters.
“He’s just two weeks old,” Ben explained. “He’s too little to eat hay or oats like his mom. Just like human babies, he needs milk.”
“He’s little, but he’s big for baby and he can already run around?” Dylan asked.
“Yep. I was there when he was born. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It was only a couple of hours before he was up on his feet.”
“I wish we could have been here,” Remi said.
Both kids were sitting on the top of the gate to Siri’s stall. Ben was between them with an arm around each of them so they wouldn’t fall off.
“Well, maybe if one of the other horses has a baby, or maybe if Siri has another one, we can arrange for you to be here,” I said once inside the barn.
Both kid’s heads snapped around with bright smiles on their faces.
“Really?” Remi said.
“Awesome!” Dylan replied at the same time. “This place is super cool!”
“Yeah! I wish we could move here!” Remi put in. “We could just play with Gemmy, and ride horses all day long. Every day!”
Missy was petting the nose of one of the other horses, and Siri came toward the gate once she saw me. She neighed loudly and snorted. I reached out my hand and she walked forward and butted her forehead against my open palm.
“Wow! Can I do that?” Dylan asked.
“Sure! Come over here and stand on this lower rail in front of me. Siri is a gentle horse. She won’t hurt you.”
“Me, too!” Remi exclaimed.
“Take it easy,” Ben mentioned. “Remember what I said about moving too fast and spooking them.” He lifted them down one at a time. They both climbed up and I stood right behind them with a hand around them.
“Okay, put your hand out like I did. It’s okay Siri, girl,” I said to my horse.
She snorted and moved her head from one to the other.
“She’s so smart!” Missy proclaimed.
“Hi, Siri,” Remi murmured, rubbing her head. “You’re a good mommy, aren’t you?” She bent and placed a kiss on Siri’s face as Dylan rubbed her neck.
“Are they all this tame?” Missy asked.
“Most of them. Dark’s daddy is more aggressive, but only in that he likes to run fast.”
“You guys want to help me feed them? It’s time,” Ben asked.
“Cool!” Dylan said.
“Okay! I get to feed Siri!” Remi jumped down from the railing.
“Wow! Look at all the special help I have taking care of my horses! Thank you!”
Missy and I chatted while the kids hauled multiple buckets of oats to the horses. Ben had to lift them up in order to allow the children to dump them into the feed bins on the other side of the stall walls. It took a lot longer than normal, but it was a joy to watch his gentle interaction with the children. He was so patient and kind in every word and action. It only made me fall more in love with him.
“Ben seems to have a knack for this ranch life,” Missy observed, knowingly. “It’s about time,” she murmured with a satisfied exhale.
After the horses were fed and Dark was happily nursing with both kids installed back on the top of Siri’s stall gate, Ben walked over to us. “What do you think, sis?”
“I think it’s great! I can’t wait until Jensen and Chase show up and you make them muck out the stalls!”
“What?” Ben casually butted shoulders with his sister. “I was leaving that part for you.”
“Hahaha! Um… nope,” Missy protested.
Ben laughed and locked eyes with mine. “I’m starving!”
I offered a smile in return, my heart soaring. “Well, the chores aren’t done, ranch hands! Don’t you have a tent to pitch and a fire to build? I’ll go rustle us up some grub to cook on the open fire! How do hotdogs and beans sound?”
“That’s real cowboy food!” Dylan was so happy, and I could see the same joy reflected in Ben’s features.
“Okay, come on crew!” Ben called. “You heard the boss! We have chores to finish. We can’t eat without a fire.”
Dylan jumped down from the gate with excitement and Remi waited beside Ben.
“Mom, this is the best vacation, ever!” Dylan shouted as he and Remi started after Ben.
“Yeah! I think we should come here every summer!” Remi announced.
I giggled happily. It was so amazing to see this excited reaction to the place I grew up.
“Wow,” Missy said with raised eyebrows. “You even beat out Disney World. That’s a major accomplishment.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” I said, proudly. Uncle Leonard would have loved these kids and their exuberance for his ranch. That dude ranch idea was looking better and better. Of course, I’d need a ranch hand or two. I couldn’t wait to discuss it with Ben.
BEN
As I watched the firelight flicker across Marin’s face, I knew there was nowhere on earth I’d rather be then right here beside her. I wanted to see that face every day for the rest of my life. I was thankful for Davis insisting I move to Wyoming, thankful for being a firefighter and even thankful for the awful blaze that brought us together. As far as I could tell, it was destiny and part of a bigger plan.
I used my pocketknife to carve points on a few limbs I’d taken from a live oak behind the house and passed them out for everyone to use for dinner by the campfire. They needed to be green so that they wouldn’t burn while roasting the hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire.
Earlier, Dylan found some large rocks and made a circle while Remi’s job had been to collect dead sticks for kindling, and later, they both helped me pitch one tent about twenty feet away. They struggled and it was a job, but we’d finally managed to get it up in the yard between the pasture and the farmhouse. It was still closer to camping out than either one of these kids had ever experienced and I was wary of taking a pregnant woman into the wilderness, at least until her husband showed up and came with us.
I was amazed at how well the kids got along, worked together, and shared food or their things. They were raised side by side, but in different households. They were best friends but didn’t fight like brother and sister.
It was incredible how, even at this young age, Dylan was so protective of Remi. When her hotdog fell into the fire, he offered her the one he’d just finished roasting and then wiped off her stick with a napkin and asked Marin for another dog and began the roasting process all over again for himself. I was extremely proud of him and admired the job that my sister and her new husband were doing in rearing such a fine young man. I had an intense desire to be a father during my observation of his behavior. Maybe it was Dylan, Remi, and Jace’s cuteness that got me thinking about it, or maybe it wa
s meeting Marin that spurred the desire. I sighed at the intense emotion that overtook me.
Marin’s face reflected how awed she was at the gesture of the little boy as she reached into the cooler and handed him another. As Dylan put the second hotdog on the stick and returned to sit on one of the six logs we’d placed in a circle, a safe distance from the fire, I winked at her. Her smile only got wider, the adorable dimples I’d grown to love making an appearance. I wanted to rush to her, pull her up into my arms and kiss her for all I was worth. My heart swelled inside my chest so much my lungs had no room to expand. I sucked in another life-saving breath and finished the hotdog in my hand.
Teagan held little Jace on her lap and helped him hold his hotdog over the fire, though he was quite impatient, and Missy sat on her own log to Dylan’s left. It was an incredibly clear night and twilight was upon us, turning the sky lavender and purple as the stars began to appear… this was heaven on earth.
No words were spoken by the adults for a while as we enjoyed the evening, though Jace began to fuss until Teagan was able to hand him a finished hotdog and it wasn’t long before Remi and Dylan both had another over the fire.
“This was a perfect set-up because Teagan and Jace can sleep in the house with Marin,” Missy commented as she took a sip from her can of Diet Pepsi.
“Uncle Ben,” Remi began, “Can Gem sleep in the tent with us?”
“Yeah, and can you sleep in the tent with us, Uncle Ben?” Dylan wanted to know.
“I wouldn’t think of letting you sleep out here without me, buddy. It would be my pleasure. And of course, Gem can sleep with us. She’ll be a good watch dog.” We were right on the edge of Yellowstone and so coyotes and bears were possible, though rarely this far south and west of the mountain range.
“Remi, I think your hotdog is done,” Missy said. “Marin has the buns, baby. Go get one.”
Each of us had a plate with a scoop of pork and beans from a cast iron pot that was warming on the edge of the fire and Dylan had gobbled his down before he’d roasted his first hotdog.
Remi walked over to Marin, who put her plate down and reached in the top of the cooler to hand over an open bun so Remi could put her hotdog onto it. She then closed it around the hotdog.
“Now, pull on the stick, Remi,” Dylan instructed. “Yeah, just like that.”
The pretty little girl did as she was told. She looked a lot like her mother, except her vibrant green eyes were like her famous father’s. I watched the interaction between the two, Remi making a funny face at Dylan’s instructions and Teagan laughing under her breath, wondering what it was all about. Surely some secret, inside joke between the two.
“Hand me the stick, sweetheart,” I said, then Marin handed her the completed meal.
Teagan shivered. “It’s so cool here. I thought it would be warmer in July,” Teagan said, hugging Jace, with a blanket wrapped around him, on her lap. He wiggled free and went over to sit next to Dylan and Remi unperturbed about the temperature. “Be careful, Jace. The fire is hot.”
He glanced back at her “Spicy hot?” Jace asked, wide eyed.
“Temperature hot.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
“I’ll help him, Aunt Teagan,” Dylan assured.
Teagan smiled and nodded. “Perfect. It was in the eighties earlier, but now that the sun has set the evening air is so much cooler. I can’t get over it.”
“The mountain range in the west hides the sun much earlier than you’re used to in Atlanta,” Ben explained. “Plus, we’re a lot further north.”
“I wish I could sleep outside in the tent with you guys. It will be good sleeping weather,” Teagan commented.
“Maybe you can when Daddy gets here, Mommy,” Remi said wisely, walking over and sitting down on the log next to her mother. She was munching on her hotdog but leaned her head on Teagan’s shoulder. It had been a long day traveling and they were clearly tired. They needed an early night so that they’d be refreshed tomorrow.
“Sure, you can,” I offered. “One for you and Jensen, too, sis. We can pitch a couple more tomorrow.”
“Marin, can you sleep outside with us tonight, too?” Remi asked.
My heart warmed at Remi’s request and the delight that erupted on Marin’s face. “I’d love too!”
“Goodie! Thank you!”
“Let’s make s’mores and then turn in. It’s been a big day. We can save the campfire songs for tomorrow night when your dad’s show up. Deal?”
“Can we tell ghost stories in the tent, then?” Dylan asked.
“No!” Remi shook her head. “Cowboy stories! Ghost stories are scary.”
“Duh. That’s why they are called ghost stories! Girls are sissies,” Dylan moaned.
“Well, I told ya, boys are dumb!” Remi retorted cheekily.
I almost laughed out loud, but managed to hold it in.
“Do ya think Uncle Ben is dumb?” Dylan goaded. “He’s a boy!”
“No, he’s not. He’s a grown up man,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Kids,” Missy admonished. “That’s enough.”
“How about we roast some marshmallows before any stories, okay?” Marin suggested with a smile, and a knack for diverting their attention. “We don’t want to miss dessert! I bought those fudgy covered graham crackers so we can just smash the marshmallows in between.”
“Yeah!”
“Okay!”
The children answered in unison and Dylan, who was always keen on sweets was quick to get one roasting over the fire while Remi finished her hotdog but left a couple of bites on her plate. “Marin, can Gem have this please?”
Marin smiled. “Sure! She’s been waiting so nicely just make sure to give her small bites and tell her to be gentle.” Remi nodded and proceeded to offer the yummy remnants of her meal to the puppy who took it from her hand gently, but delightedly devoured it.
The stalls were left open and there were a few horses roaming in the pasture nearby, casually grazing. I decided that once we were finished eating, I’d get them settled inside their stalls but leave the top halves of the doors open so they wouldn’t be over heated. Siri and Dark were already settled in for the night.
Dylan grabbed two marshmallows and shoved them onto his stick. “I’ll make one for Jacey, too!”
“Sounds good, buddy. Make sure you get them firmly on there and be careful, so they don’t touch the flames, or they light up like a match.”
“I will, Uncle Ben.” Dylan sat down beside me and leaned forward so his marshmallows were hovering over the fire. I’d made the sticks long enough that their little hands would be far away to protect them, but I was still watching closely.
I helped Remi get her stick loaded and then watched as she took a seat next to Marin as she carefully held her marshmallow over the fire.
“Like this, Uncle Ben?” she asked, bright eyed. I nodded.
“Can we have s’mores every night, Marin? Can I call you Aunt Marin? Jace calls my mom aunt, even though she’s not really his aunt,” Dylan said.
“It’s Auntie Marin, Dylan. And I call Uncle Ben, Uncle Ben even though he’s just Dylan’s uncle. I love him like my uncle, so he says it’s okay,” Remi corrected.
She rambled on and my lips pressed together as a closed-mouthed smile split my face. I met Marin’s eyes as she put an arm around Remi and squeezed her shoulders, pulling her closer. She bit her lip, then beamed.
“That’s perfect, actually. I’m an only child so I won’t get to have any nieces or nephews of my own, so I’d love to think of you three as such. I’d love it if you’d call me Auntie Marin.”
Boom! And just like that, Marin was one of the family. A short laugh broke from my chest.
Dylan got up and walked over to Marin. “‘Cept, I’ll call you Aunt Marin, since I’m a guy, and all. Kay?”
She laughed at the seriousness of my eight-year-old nephew. “Of course, I understand completely.”
“Sorry, Marin,” Missy said. “They get a lit
tle carried away.”
“Not at all. I think they are incredible,” Marin replied.
Teagan yawned. “Awwwww! If you don’t mind, I’ll head to bed as soon as Jace has his dessert. This little guy needs to sleep almost as much as his mama.”
“Would you like a s’more, Teagan? I can make it,” Marin offered. “I can do two like Dylan.”
Teagan nodded. “Sure, thank you.”
“I want s’more!” Jace demanded.
“You’re getting one, Jace,” Remi said. “Jeeze.”
The rest of the evening wound down and Marin took Missy, Teagan and little Jace into the house to get settled, though Jace was upset he couldn’t stay in the tent with us and cried all the way in as Teagan assured him that he could the following night when his daddy was at the ranch.
“What do we sleep in, Uncle Ben?” Dylan asked.
“Well, if we were out in the wilderness, we’d probably stay dressed, but you can put on your pajamas or sweatpants. Did you bring some?”
“I only have Jeans and leggings, but Mommy made me bring old ones.”
“Leggings work, kiddo. Hurry in and change while I fill the canteen and lay out the sleeping bags. Brush your teeth.”
“We will, Uncle Ben! Thank you for inviting us!” Remi came up and threw her arms around my waist and hugged me hard.
My hand settled on her little back and I patted her gently. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” Remi had been through so much and even though I didn’t know her when she had cancer, my heart still seized up knowing such a little child had to go through something so awful. Looking at her now, you’d never know she went through two rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She was a vibrant and healthy child.
“I wish we lived closer,” Dylan said sadly. “You’re so lucky to live here.”
“Every place has its good qualities. You can go swimming in the ocean where you live.”
“So? The ocean all looks the same. I love the mountains. They’re all different.”
“Well, what about all of those soccer friends and the fun you have with Chase and your dad? Jensen and your mom wouldn’t be able to get you all that cool sports gear I’m always hearing about if they didn’t work at ESPN.”