by Elena Aitken
“What became clear?”
“How spoiled rotten I am. How trivial I am. I want beautiful things. I want a beautiful home. I want to be up to date on the latest fashions and hop from trend to trend. I want a shiny stainless-steel kitchen in a restaurant so avant-guard that just being in it shocks your senses. And here were all these people cooking over fires and focusing on the things that really matter.”
“Wow. That’s some pretty heavy stuff.” Autumn concentrated on her omelette, but Sunshine knew she was listening to every word. “Still, Cole says you spent over a year in those kind of places before heading for Europe.”
“You should have seen Cole. He fit right in everywhere we went. He could talk about herding animals and living off the land and hunting and protecting the ones you love. Everywhere he went he talked guns with the men.”
Autumn chuckled. “I can imagine.”
“The thing is, he could live like that. Forever. A tent, a fire, a gun, a set of clothes. He’d be fine. He’d work all day, provide for his family, come home at night and sit out under the stars. He’d make a few friends and be content.”
“But you wouldn’t?” Autumn said softly.
“For a minute there I thought I could. It scared me to death. It was like I had no ambition at all. I wanted to just… be.”
“Is that so bad?”
“It is for me. I don’t want to be a housewife. Besides, there’s one big difference between them and us.”
Autumn slid the omelette onto a plate. “What’s that?”
“They’re never alone. There’s always another set of hands. A grandmother to hold the baby while you cook. A niece to run for water or wood. A friend to chat with on your way to the market. Again, I don’t want to romanticize it. It wasn’t romantic at all. Those women work so hard.”
“But they have company.”
“Right.” Sunshine was lost in thought for a moment. “I can’t help thinking that when I start a family, it’ll all be on me. I’ll have to run my restaurant—if I have one—take care of my child, do the housework—how will I handle it all?”
“Cole will be there.” Autumn bit into her omelette. “Yum. That’s good if I do say so myself.”
“He’ll have his own work,” Sunshine protested.
“Here’s the thing; you’re right—it is hard to balance home and family and work. I’m lucky because I don’t have to leave home to get my work done, and because I’ve been able to hire help. But I also have friends right here on the property. I guess my situation is a little like the one you’re describing with those women. I watch Lynn or Jack, sometimes both. Claire and Morgan’s children,” she clarified when Sunshine looked at her blankly. “They watch Arianna in turn.” She grew serious. “In this day and age you have to be imaginative to create a life that works. Finding ways to share the workload is definitely a start.” She took another bite and chewed. “So, what happened in the end? Did you ever go back to the more rustic places?”
Sunshine frowned. “I spent the rest of the trip dragging Cole around Europe—Munich and Paris and Rome and London,” she confessed. “As far away from those little villages as I could get.”
“You have to be true to yourself. Otherwise you’ll be miserable. If you’re a city girl, you’re a city girl.” Autumn waved her fork in emphasis.
She wasn’t going to be one anymore, though. Not now that she’d bought the ranch. “You used to be a city girl, right?” Hadn’t Autumn lived in New York before she met Ethan?
“Emphasis on used to be. When I met Ethan I was dying to have a baby, and this is exactly the kind of life I want to live now. I’m pregnant again, which means things will get even more hectic, but I know what I want—a big family. I’ll forgo sleep—and Fifth Avenue—if that’s what it takes.”
Autumn was pregnant? Sunshine longed to share her own news, but she didn’t think she should tell anyone before she’d told Cole. Instead, she said, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I bought Cole a ranch for Christmas.”
“You did?” Autumn plunked her plate down on the counter. “Does that mean you’re staying in Chance Creek?”
“Ye-” Sunshine shrieked when Autumn leapt across the kitchen to give her a bear hug. Arianna laughed and danced around them.
“I’m so glad! Ethan and the others were afraid they’d lose Cole all over again if you decided you liked Chicago better. They thought maybe you just came back to sell the shooting range and apartments.”
“No.” She took a deep breath, surprised at Autumn’s excited reaction. She hadn’t said this out loud yet. “I’ve decided we should stay. I mean, we decided.” She made a face. “Actually, Cole has always been clear he wanted to live in Chance Creek. I was the one on the fence, but I’ve made up my mind and I plan to stick with it.”
As she said the words, she hoped they were true.
“That’s a big step. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”
“Yes. My trip convinced me,” Sunshine said staunchly. “Those city women in Europe should have been happier, but somehow it was the country women who were.” She hoped she’d be happy too.
“It’s all the fresh air,” Autumn said. “Makes our husbands frisky.” She returned to her omelette.
“Is that the secret?” Sunshine pretended to think it over. “Cole must have saved it up over the years. City, country—doesn’t seem to make a difference.”
Autumn laughed. “That’s because he loves you. So—are you going to get married?”
Sunshine turned back to her task. “We haven’t set a date.” She hoped to do so soon. In a perfect world it would all be settled before she told him about the baby, but since she’d always said they should wait to marry until after their trip, she couldn’t blame Cole for holding off.
“Let me know as soon as you do.”
“You can’t tell anyone about the ranch. It’s his Christmas present.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut. But when do I get to see it?”
“Any time. I need to pick up the keys and get over there to check it out. The house needs a lot of work and there’s so little time. I could use some help.”
“I’d be glad to help!” When the front door opened, Autumn glanced at the clock. “That must be Claire here to get you. Are you all packed? Cole said he’d follow you over later. He wanted to help Ethan with the chores.”
“Okay.” She envied her fiancé’s clear knowledge of who he was and what he liked. Would she ever know herself so well? “I’ll run up and get our bags.”
“How about I come get you after lunch and we can go look at the place together?” Autumn trailed her to the stairs.
“That sounds wonderful. Thanks.” Once again, a vision of Fran came uninvited into her mind. Had she jumped the gun buying a house and property?
She forced the thought away. She couldn’t change what she’d done now.
A half hour later, her luggage deposited in a spare bedroom, Sunshine followed Claire, a slender woman with sleek, dark hair that fell to her shoulders, on a tour through her home. Sunshine thought Claire was as fashionable as her house, with an air of contentment that suited her.
“We built the house a couple of years ago, when Jamie bought into the ranch,” Claire said as they walked through the first floor.
“All of Cole’s friends seem to have grown up so much while I’ve been gone. Not that they were childish,” Sunshine rushed to add.
Claire laughed. “Ethan and his friends seemed like children to me back then—until suddenly they weren’t. I guess while they grew up, I got younger. At least, I feel younger these days than I used to.”
Sunshine secretly agreed. Wedding photos of Claire and Jamie hung in the living room. In them Claire looked far more severe. Back then her hair had been cut in a blunt bob and she’d been thin enough her cheekbones stood out. She was softer now.
“Jamie must be doing something right.” Sunshine spun in a slow circle, taking in the living room. �
��This is beautiful. It’s obvious you’re an interior designer. How on earth do you keep things so clean when you have a toddler? And what have you done with your daughter?” The log house was decorated in a distinctly western style with authentic weavings on the walls and a color palette of burnt reds, sienna browns and mustard yellows. A tree in one corner of the room was decorated with western themed ornaments. Tiny hand-crafted saddles, boots, and horses hung from its boughs.
“It’s never this clean normally,” Claire confessed with a laugh. “I hired a service to come in and help for once because we’ve got company coming. Between my work and caring for Lynn, the house is usually a disaster. Lynn’s in daycare today because I wanted to show you something. We’ll pick her up on our way home.”
“Our way home from where?”
“You’ll see.”
Chapter 3
“So Ethan tells me your horse breeding business is going gangbusters,” Cole said to Jamie when they met up in the stables on the Cruz ranch. “You got a horse to sell me?”
“You got a place to put it?” Jamie cocked back his hat. He had a wiry build and dark hair, and the countenance of a man who spent his days outdoors. “Business is going well. But I’ve been working with horses in these parts since I could stand up. People know exactly who they’re dealing with when they buy from me.”
Cole was glad Jamie didn’t seem to expect an answer to his question about a place to put a horse. He wasn’t ready to talk about buying a ranch until he knew if he could afford one.
“From what I hear, this isn’t the time to try to get into raising cattle.”
Jamie led the way down the row to a stall where an Appaloosa stuck his head over the door curiously. “This is Achilles.”
“Something wrong with his heel?”
“Nope.” Jamie grinned. “He’s strong. Great work horse. As for cattle…” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Would you recommend horse breeding?”
Jamie shook his head again. “And not because I’m afraid of the competition. It’s just there’s already too many men in the game. I’ll be all right because I’m established, but three other outfits opened up just this past year. That’s too many.”
“Hell, maybe I should just be a farmer instead.”
He expected Jamie to protest. Instead, Jamie turned thoughtful. “Since we’ve got company coming tomorrow, I called around to find you another place to go. Rob’s got a room. You should talk to him; he and Morgan have started a vineyard, you know. They’re a few years off from making wine, but they’re putting it all together.”
“A vineyard.” Cole was impressed. “I guess I will talk to him.”
“How about a ride?”
“Hell, yeah. It’s been far too long.”
Cole helped Jamie to saddle up and soon they were picking their way down a snowy trail. It felt damn good to have a horse beneath him. Cole could make sense of the world perched up here.
“You should see my daughter ride,” Jamie called back over his shoulder.
“Your daughter? She can’t be old enough for that!”
“Nineteen months. I ride with her, but she’s not scared at all. She loves it. I swear she talks to the horses and they talk back to her.”
“Jamie Lassiter, a family man. Who would have thought it?”
“I love it. I want more, but Claire says we have to space them out.”
Cole directed his horse to follow Jamie’s lead. Once again he felt a twinge of jealousy. Would his ranch—should he manage to buy one—ever ring with children’s voices?
He sure hoped so.
“What do you think? About the horse?” Jamie asked.
“I’ll take him. Just as soon as I have a home to bring him to.”
“What is it?” Sunshine asked, looking around the small, empty building Claire had brought her to. It fronted on Main Street, but whatever purpose it once had, it had been stripped clean. She’d called Autumn to tell her she’d be out with Claire for a while. They were still slated to meet and take a look at the ranch later.
“A restaurant!” Claire spun around. “Look at the place. It’s perfect! Central location. Great layout. I thought you’d be able to see the possibilities. Granted, there was another space that was much better, but it got snapped up a week or so ago, unfortunately. Still, I think this one has a lot of potential.”
“I thought you were an interior designer, not a realtor.”
“I am, but I’ve got friends in the business, and one of them mentioned it the other day. When I heard you were coming, I knew you had to see it. It’s a very reasonable price.” She named a figure.
Claire was right; compared to a restaurant in Chicago, it was very reasonable, but after putting a hefty deposit on a ranch, she couldn’t afford a place like this. “The renovations would be expensive.”
Claire rattled off another number. “I priced out appliances and tables and chairs. Everything. Top of the line, of course.”
“Of course.” Sunshine shook her head. “I’m sorry, Claire. It was really thoughtful of you to go through all the trouble, but I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Really? I thought you had a sizable inheritance.”
“I did, but I spent it.” Despite herself, she walked around the space, running her hand over the counter where the hostess station would be, and doing a quick mental calculation of the number of patrons she could seat. In truth, the restaurant was kind of small. She’d always hoped to run a larger establishment, but this was Chance Creek, after all. Maybe this was as big as she could get.
“On your trip?”
“No—on a ranch.” She explained what she’d done. “It’s Cole’s Christmas present. I hope he likes it.”
“Your trip must have changed you.” Claire followed her around the room. “From what I heard I never thought you’d settle down in Chance Creek. I expected you to run away again the first chance you got.”
“But you showed me a restaurant?”
“You need something to keep you here.”
That seemed to be the general consensus, Sunshine thought. “I was a city girl,” she said slowly. “Maybe I’ll always be, but you learn things about yourself when you travel.”
“Well, too bad you can’t buy this place. I think it’s got real possibilities.”
Claire was right. She could make something special out of it, but first things first—they needed a home. Someday she’d get a real restaurant.
Maybe.
After watching how hard Autumn had to work to balance her job with raising her daughter—and the way Claire had to pay for childcare to get her job done—she wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Maybe she’d have to shelve her dreams until the baby grew up.
“Thanks for showing it to me,” was all she said to Claire.
“I’d love to see the ranch you bought.”
“I’d love to get your professional opinion about the house,” Sunshine said. “If you don’t mind, we could go pick up the keys right now. Then we can meet up with Autumn and go see it.”
Claire agreed and an hour later all three women, and Arianna, were on their way to the ranch. Away from the restaurant, and too busy chatting with the others to think about Fran, excitement buoyed her mood and she clasped her gloved hands together to keep from fidgeting. This wasn’t just going to be Cole’s ranch, after all. This was going to be her home—her family’s home. She wanted to love it and she was anxious she might have chosen badly.
Autumn, sitting behind her in the back of Claire’s car, leaned forward and squeezed her shoulder. “It’ll be great,” she said.
“I hope so. Maybe I was stupid to buy it before I even walked the property.” Her realtor had told her to make an offer fast, though, if she wanted it. Ranches didn’t last long in this market and someone else had expressed an interest.
Arianna, in her car seat, squealed happily as they pulled up in front of the place. Sunshine wished she could, too. They had to park on the
street because the lane hadn’t been plowed. The house was set back from the street, but just like in the photographs online it sat proud and square on the property. Their boots crunched as they walked up the long driveway and an icy breeze made her shiver. It definitely felt like Christmas.
“Oh, I love it,” Autumn said.
“It’s not fancy, like your house. Or anywhere near as grand as yours, Claire,” Sunshine said, but she too immediately felt the charm of it. The main house was two stories, its clapboard siding painted white and the trim around the windows and door a forest green. The door itself was black with a plain wreath on it. Sunshine wondered if a realtor had put it up in deference to the season. On one side, a single-story wing jutted out from the house. Sunshine knew from the photographs she’d seen it contained a family room that had been added on to the structure. The builders had done a good job integrating it into the rest of the house, however. The siding, paint and trim all matched perfectly.
The front porch was generous. Sunshine imagined flowers massed in front of it and shrubs to either side of the steps. She’d put up hanging baskets every spring—and maybe a birdhouse, too.
“Let’s go. I can’t wait to see inside,” Autumn said, breaking into her thoughts.
Sunshine was so nervous when they got to the front door, she fumbled with the keys before she could open it. Finally she unlocked it and stepped over the threshold.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Claire said, coming in behind her.
Sunshine was so thankful to hear her say so. She loved it, too. The entryway was flanked by a living room to the right and a dining room to the left.
“A perfect Colonial,” Autumn said. “It’s similar to Crescent Hall. Have you met the Halls, Sunshine?”
“Minus a floor and about half the square footage,” Claire said. She bit her lip. “I mean, not that this is small.”
“It’s okay,” Sunshine assured her. “I haven’t met the Halls, but I’m not jealous of their big house. This is perfect for us, because we don’t have a big family. Besides, it has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Plenty of room for us to grow into.”