“Do you like your new school supplies and clothing?” Jill asked as she watched Zach squeeze an excessive amount of ketchup from an old-fashioned squeeze bottle on his fries.
“Yes, Mommy,” Savannah nodded, the pink ribbons on her pony tails nodding with her. “I love my new lunch bag with the princess on it… and my new pink cowboy boots!”
“That’s nice, honey,” Jill smiled at her youngest.
“I really like my new jeans and shirts, but the leather western boots rock!” Jackie sounded happy about her new school clothes. “I guess I will wear those with the plaid shirts and jean jacket you found for me. I should fit right in… but don’t think I’ll be giving up my fifties clothes entirely. I do love everything we found though, and especially those fifties saddle shoes. Thanks Mom! They’ll probably give us a list of more items to buy tomorrow,” Jackie pointed out as she added mustard to her burger and tossed the tomato slice aside.
“I’m glad you like the boots and saddle shoes, Jackie. We followed the school’s supply list exactly. Do you really think they’ll require us to buy more items?” Jill sipped the chocolate shake to see if it was the way she remembered.
“Probably, since we’ve had to go shopping almost every single day on the first day of school for more items,” Jackie reminded her.
“Can I have your tomato slice?” Zach asked his older sister. Jackie nodded and Zach brightened, eagerly stabbing the tomato with his fork to add it to his own burger. “We’ll be fine, Mom. Quit worrying! Everything you got for us is great.”
“Do I sound like I’m worried? I don’t mean to sound that way,” Jill explained. “I just want to be sure you have everything you need. If your teachers tell you we need anything else, we’ll go get it tomorrow night.”
“Okay, Mom,” Jackie answered for all three of them as the others chewed bites of their burgers. They had worked up quite an appetite with all of the walking and shopping they’d done.
“Now, remember kids, if you want to make friends, you must be friendly and outgoing. Introduce yourself and be nice! Try to be yourself, but just be nice… even if the other kids aren’t nice. Oh, and listen to your teachers. Don’t embarrass me or disgrace your father’s memory by getting into trouble in our hometown. Remember, some of these teachers may even remember me… or your father. They all probably know who Betty Anne Fontaine is, so try not to do anything your grandmother wouldn’t like you to do.”
“Yes, Mom, we know,” Zach nodded and bit into a crunchy dill pickle. “When do we get to go see Dad’s parents, our other grandparents?”
“I’ll give Grandma Joan and Grandpa James a call soon when we’re feeling a bit more settled,” Jill promised, realizing the children remembered one of their visits to New York.
The next morning, Jill put on a brave face for her children as they left the house for school. Savannah rode the elementary age school bus with Micah. Half an hour later, the middle school bus arrived for Jackie, Zachary, and Grace. At least they were not entirely without friends on their first day.
Later that morning, Jill sat her desk and clutched a mug of spiced cider in the cheerful peach office beside her attic bedroom. She sipped on her drink while reflecting on a few changes she’d noticed in the children since moving to Wyoming. Savannah still climbed the stairs at night and found her way to Jill’s queen size bed. Most mornings, she still awoke to the child wrapped about the pillow beside her. On the upside, Savannah’s dark circles had diminished, she was eating better, and the child’s sorrow had been almost entirely replaced by renewed cheer and laughter. She seemed to be enjoying her front facing bedroom to the right of the staircase on the second floor. Her dolls, paper dolls, and doll house all had a lovely home in the pleasant room that used to be Jill’s bedroom as a child. The best part, Savannah’s color looked better. Her rosy cheeks were returning and a slight summer tan from spending time outside.
Logan and Micah had stopped by several times to help Zach work on the treehouse. They were making progress since she’d located photos of the original Alex had built in New York. Zach also roamed the grounds with his sisters or Micah and Grace when they were able to visit. They continued to explore the shed and barn, bond with Molly… and of course, Daisy, the Fontaine cow. Every day, Zachary and Savannah followed Grandma to the barn to help with the feeding chores and mucking out the stalls for the one horse and milk cow Grandma Betty maintained. A small hen house and coop nestled up to one side of the barn, providing hours of enjoyment to the children as well as brown eggs for breakfast. Zach had even played catch with Micah and Savannah a few times. He seemed to be settling into his Wyoming environment and enjoyed asking questions about Grandpa Max.
Jacklyn wasn’t moping about the house like she had in New York. She had finished decorating her new room and had even cut out her first pattern to make a new fifties style skirt. She seemed invigorated by the change as much as the rest of them. She spent more time with the family, though she did still hold back a little. It would take more time for the pre-teen. She needed to experience a lasting change in the family.
One thing was clear, all of the children were happier and it had only been a few weeks. How they settled in at school would make all the difference. She could only hope they would make new friends easily.
Her relationship with her mother was better, too. Betty was enjoying the process of getting to know her grandchildren and having more family around. She cooked up a storm of good food daily to nourish everyone. Though they missed Eddie, there was something about Mama’s home cooking Jill realized she had missed. They prayed before meals, but so far, in the three weeks she’d been home, no arguments had erupted over religion. Her mom spent time each morning on the front porch or in the dining room reading and studying her Bible, and Jill appreciated that faith was quietly modeled rather than made an issue.
Now that things were finally settling down, she could concentrate on her writing career and visiting The Sweetwater River Ranch Resort… and the old steamer trunk of letters beckoning her attention from a corner of her bedroom. She’d read a few of the letters at night before bed. They continued to fascinate her with the amazing history of her ancestors. She hadn’t had time to visit Alex’s parents yet, either… but all in good time. An hour passed by and Jill’s thoughts drifted to Logan. She wondered what he was up to this morning with the kids off to school.
As if Logan had read her thoughts, a text from him made her smile:
The kids are off to the first day of school. How about that tour?
She texted back:
Sure… what time?
He replied:
Eleven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.
She texted:
I don’t mind walking. It’s not that far.
He replied:
No. I want to give you the red carpet treatment. I’ll pick you up.
She replied, with butterflies in her stomach:
Okay.
Promptly at eleven, Jill peeked out the window as Logan arrived in a new, shimmery, silver truck. She emerged from the door wearing a mid-calf length, blue-jean skirt with lots of gathers and white lace trim, a white blouse with the sleeves rolled up beneath a jean vest, and tan leather cowboy boots. She wore her hair down around her shoulders, golden-brown wavy curls peeking out from beneath a cowboy hat.
“First day of school!” Logan grinned cheerfully as he held open the door for her. His blue eyes held excitement in them. “We’re free and you finally get to see the ranch!”
“Yes, we are! Thanks for picking me up!” she replied, accepting his hand as he helped her climb into the truck. As petite as she was, Jill felt like she was climbing into a monstrosity, but she liked how sitting up in a truck gave her a better view of the road. “We sure do have a lot of first day of school memories!”
“Yeah, we sure do!” he said when he walked around the truck and slid easily into the driver’s seat. Jill was impressed with the leather seats and clean interior. It sure sounded better than the old,
blue, work truck he sometimes drove.
“Remember the year the school bus never arrived and you gave me a ride to school on your horse?”
“How could I ever forget that?” he chuckled. “The principal called my folks and asked them to pick up Ginger. At least we didn’t get into much trouble. After all, it wasn’t our fault the bus didn’t come around.”
“Do you still have Ginger?”
“Yep, we sure do! She was a brood mare for a while, but you know she has surprised us all. She is still healthy for her age. She likes to go on short rides,” Logan explained.
“What are you going to show me first?” Jill asked.
“Well, do you remember the great big, old white barn?”
She nodded. “I sure do. How could I forget? We must have jumped out of that loft into that huge pile of hay about a hundred times a week during the summer.”
“Well, I’ve had it completely remodeled into a ten bedroom house,” Logan explained as he pulled into the long drive leading to his family property and the new Sweetwater River Ranch Resort.
“Wow, I can’t wait to see it!” she said, holding onto the truck dashboard as they hit a deep rut in the dirt road.
“Sorry about that. I guess I’m not paying close attention because I’m so excited for you to see everything we’ve done,” Logan admitted as he slowed down and tried to navigate the drive more carefully. “A gravel truck comes next week to level and gravel the drive… and fill in the holes. We’ve had a ton of heavy construction equipment and delivery trucks out here. It’s one of the last things to have done before we officially open.”
The truck passed the thick line of trees along the drive between their properties and circled around into the clearing as the ranch came into full view.
“Over to our left in the front corner of the property with a prime view of the mountains to the west is my parents’ new log cabin,” he pointed out. “It’s been their retirement dream to have a log cabin.”
“That’s really nice. I’m happy for them. Where’s your original childhood home?” she inquired, looking for the old ranch house.
“Don’t laugh, but it’s been gutted, dragged to the row of barns behind the main house, and made into a bunk house.”
“Wow!” Jill could hardly believe all that she saw unfolding before her eyes. It was magnificent! Even though she’d grown up in Wyoming, she’d only been to one dude ranch before and it wasn’t as scenic as Logan’s ranch now appeared before her. She could hardly wait to explore the whole place.
Many changes caught her attention as he parked in front of the massive white barn, now a beautiful house. Logan parked in front of the porch leading to double, glass-windowed, front doors. He turned off the ignition.
“Ready for a tour of the house?” he asked, a wide grin on his face when he saw the look of surprise on her face.
“Logan,” she breathed, “It’s absolutely beautiful and ginormous! Look at all of those window shutters and window boxes. Nice touch!”
He jumped out of the truck and she noticed a slight limp again as he came around to open her door. He’d probably been working too hard again.
“Wait until you see the inside,” he said, taking her hand as she hopped down to the ground beside him. He seemed to tower over her when she looked up. She had always admired his height.
Crossing the new covered front porch added onto the barn, now filled with pleasant benches and rocking chairs for seating areas, they were soon inside, standing on a raised platform foyer leading to an enormous sunken living room. Upstairs, instead of one loft, double lofts on each end of the house caught her attention. A wide staircase on one side of the living room led upstairs to a balcony running along both sides of the barn, overlooking the living room and connecting the two lofts.
“The front loft above the foyer contains private family quarters, including five bedrooms and a private family room… for times when the family may need to retreat from guests,” he explained. “The back loft, straight ahead, contains five bedrooms equipped with private baths for guests.”
“Wow, you’ve thought of everything,” Jill replied, completely amazed. “It’s remarkable!”
“Come meet our cooks, Corky and Mrs. Wright.” He led her into the spacious, open, modern kitchen equipped with stainless steel appliances and an enormous island to the right of the living room and staircase. She saw a large stove to her left, a sink straight ahead beyond the long island, and three refrigerators on one end of the large kitchen.
“Hello,” Jill smiled warmly as Logan introduced her to the sweet elderly married couple seated at the island. “Pleased to meet both of you…”
“They have prior dude ranch experience as cooks, but wanted to relocate to the Lander area to be near their grandchildren,” Logan explained.
Corky was shorter than Mrs. Wright and had kind eyes. He stood up to shake her hand like a true gentleman when a lady entered a room. Mrs. Wright was a pleasantly plump lady wearing an apron over her blue dress and comfortable work shoes. Her eyes sparkled with love and joy as she talked.
“We worked at a ranch up near Yellowstone for about twenty years,” Corky mentioned. “I do a lot of the outdoor cookin,’ but my wife is the mastermind behind most of our recipes and techniques. My specialties are cast iron stew and barbecued ribs slow roasted over an open fire.”
“Sounds delicious…” Jill nodded. “Guests are going to love you!”
“I make just about everything, but my specialties are chili and cornbread, pulled pork sandwiches, BLT’s, pies, and roast beef dinners.” Mrs. Wright added, “I also make a mean lasagna.”
Turning to Logan, Jill remarked, “Sounds like you found the perfect cooks!”
“Gracie and Micah love her homemade corndogs and onion rings,” Logan noted. “But wait ‘til you taste her apple pie and custard.”
“My secret is to add plenty of honey in the batter for the corndogs.” Mrs. Wright smiled as she patted her recipe box on the island. “We were just going over the menu for the month of October.”
“Thanks so much. We’ll leave you to your work then,” Logan nodded as he steered Jill out of the kitchen toward the dining room facing the front of the house. “The Wrights have a bedroom on the other side of the kitchen just beyond the pantry.”
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1
Chapter 7.
Chapel Trace
The house barn on the right side of the property was truly impressive, but Jill also found herself delighted and mesmerized as she surveyed the eight, well-crafted, log cabins of various sizes and shapes running alongside the left side of the property. These ran in a zigzag row with plenty of new shrubs, ornamental grasses, new trees, and landscaping providing each cabin with plenty of privacy and shady areas leading to the entrances. The first three cabins Logan showed her were two-bedroom, one-bath cabins with a loft; next they toured two one-bedroom, one-bath cabins; and the last three in the row were three-bedroom, two-bath cabins with lofts.
Each cabin had a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a full bathroom with a garden tub, and stone fireplaces. The cabins contained hardwood floors throughout, rustic brown leather furniture, and wood plank tables in the dining areas and on the private decks. Custom, handmade quilts and wooden, hand-carved headboards adorned the beds. Each of the cabins contained a western picture painted and framed by a local artist from Lander.
The final touches to each cabin included features matching the rest of the property: outdoor lantern lights, stone walkways, small covered front porches with swings and rocking chairs, forest green window boxes and shutters to match those on the barn house, and shepherd hooks with hanging baskets of geraniums, snapdragons, and petunias. Wooden buckets, wagon wheels, and barrels throughout the property contained flowers or spruced up flower beds. Flowering periwinkle, sweet woodruff, and White Nancy ground cover brightened the shady areas. In sunny, dry spots, achillea blossomed. Purple and blue morning
glories and a variety of honeysuckle with orange and golden trumpet flowers adorned stone walls, lamp posts, and trellis areas.
“Logan, this is absolutely remarkable,” Jill breathed when they had finished touring all eight cabins. “The colors are so rich and vibrant. I love the style of logs and windows you’ve chosen for the cabins, not to mention the coordinating color schemes. Everything is simple, convenient, beautifully done, and spacious. How did you manage to accomplish all of this work?”
“Well, we had to hire extra crews to get the work completed on time as each of our cabins are hand-crafted, but the decorators finished the cabins up about two weeks ago,” Logan explained. “As you noticed, the same interior decorator coordinated everything to match the main barn house. We also had the same landscaping company coordinate the entire property to bring out the beauty of Wyoming. Many of the flowers and plants we’ve used thrive here in this habitat. We’re using mostly purple and red flowers for annuals which we’ve decided to make our theme colors for the ranch.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finding people to come enjoy the ranch with this kind of quality and beauty all around,” Jill replied.
“Ready to meet our wranglers and tour the barns?” Logan asked as they climbed back in the truck.
“Sure am!” Jill tipped her cowboy hat back on her curls.
As they continued along Bridge Haven Road from cabin one where he had parked the silver truck, he pointed out the completed gift shop, beauty salon, and workout club and spa across the road. Amongst these were future sites for a stone-fired pizza café and a coffee house with a bakery, still being constructed. “These will be open to the general public from Lander.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize it… but you’ve really thought of everything.” Jill replied, pleased with the front porch, welcoming, country atmosphere in front of each log cabin style shop.
Dreams of Sweetwater River (Whispers In Wyoming Book 3) Page 5