Jennifer's Journey

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Let’s keep working on the puzzle for a while. It’s not like either of us need to be up early.” She sat down in the chair he had been sitting in earlier.

  “Hey, that’s my spot!”

  “I think it’s a good idea for us to change perspectives. We’ll find more pieces faster this way.”

  He looked at her for a moment before shrugging. “I guess it’s always good to see something from other people’s point of view.”

  They worked on the puzzle in silence for a few minutes before he asked, “Should I call a real estate agent so we can look at houses on Monday?”

  “That would be great if you don’t mind. Are you ready to buy now? Or should we wait a little while.”

  “Let’s just go ahead and do it. I don’t have any reason to wait. As far as I’m concerned, our marriage is going to last the rest of our lives, so we might as well find the house we want to raise our three dozen children in now.”

  Jennifer stared at him for a minute. “I thought we agreed to just getting a puppy?”

  “No, we’re having dozens and dozens of kids.” Maynard winked at her, and Jennifer blushed. She realized then that no one had ever really teased her. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.

  “Do you always tease?” she asked softly.

  “You can tell when I really like someone by how much I tease them,” he said. “If I don’t like you at all, I’m extremely polite and kind. If I love you, nothing out of my mouth is anything but tease.”

  “So I guess I’m falling somewhere right in the middle right now. I guess we’ll need to work on that.”

  He laughed. “Now you get it.”

  She realized she did get it. She would tease him right back, because that’s what he expected from her. It would be good for her to have a different kind of relationship with him. She thought for the millionth time that day that she was glad it was him Dr. Lachele had chosen for her. She would have felt as if she was cheating on him with anyone else. “I’m going to go ahead and make up the couch and get linens for you. I’m not quite ready for bed, but when I am, I’m not going to want to have to get the couch ready.”

  He watched her move through the cabin with quiet efficiency. He could not imagine why she had never married. In his eyes, she was practically perfect in every way. Why, she was a modern-day Mary Poppins!

  Jennifer woke early the following morning and immediately went to the kitchen to start the muffins she’d promised Maynard. She walked quietly, hoping she wouldn’t disturb him. It was strange having a man sleep in her home, but she was going to have to get used to it. Being married meant living together.

  She had just popped the muffins in the oven when she saw him standing quietly, watching her. He was wearing just a pair of shorts, and her eyes were mesmerized by his chest and shoulders. “G’morning, Maynard.”

  “G’morning, Jennifer.” He swooped in for a quick kiss. “I like watching you cook.”

  He reminded her a bit of a girl she’d shared a cabin with at camp when she was in sixth grade. She’d woken up to the other girl watching her sleep, and she had freaked out. She’d insisted she be allowed to change cabins and never have to do another activity with the girl, because she’d been so creeped out by her. She felt warmed by Maynard watching her though. That was probably a good thing.

  “I’m not sure how exciting it could possibly be, but I’m happy to entertain you.”

  “I thought we could go over to Quinn Valley today. I’ll drive you around and show you that house I like. Maybe we can have lunch there in town, but I don’t know if the taco truck will be out.”

  “I’ve eaten those tacos for lunch two days in a row. I can probably live without eating there again today. The restaurant at the hotel is nice, and there are some smaller restaurants around town. Roxane mentioned something about her cousins owning a pub if you want to stop there.”

  “Could be fun,” he said with a shrug. “Let’s just play it by ear. I’d love to drive around the countryside too. See how high we can drive into the mountains maybe.”

  “We could rent four-wheelers over at the hotel there, too. Then we could spend the day exploring on those.”

  His eyes lit up at that. “I’d love to explore the mountains that way. See if the house I’m looking at is really the best one for us. Do you know of any good trails in town?”

  “No, but I’m sure the hotel has maps. They provide everything.”

  He rubbed his hands together. “That sounds like fun. We’ll spend the morning driving around town, checking things out. Then we can spend the afternoon on the four-wheelers doing the same thing.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She pulled the muffins from the oven and flipped the pan over, dumping the muffins onto her freshly scrubbed counter. “Milk with that? Or coffee?”

  “Just milk. I only drink coffee when I need the jolt of caffeine to start my day.”

  She grinned. “Me too actually.”

  They ate the muffins, and he hurried off to shower, obviously excited by their plans for the day. He wanted to get started exploring the town they’d chosen as their new home the same as she did.

  As she was cleaning up the kitchen, her eyes fell on the invitation she’d received at work a couple of days previously. She looked at it again, trying to find a clue as to what she was being invited to do. There was no clue there, though. She wondered if she went if she’d be allowed to take a date.

  A half hour later, they were out the door, and on their way to Quinn Valley. The other town had been populated by the Quinns, as the name indicated, but the Quinns were actually a very odd family from what she could see. Each generation seemed to have five children, and then each child would have five children, and each of them would have five children…no one seemed to have the ability to have a number other than five for anything.

  As they drove, she told him what she knew about the Quinn Hotel and Spa. “Roxane is my Quinn contact, and her father bought the hotel in 2008 or so. He’s done a full makeover of it and constructed the spa. Her mother owned a little shop that she did her work out of before the spa was opened, and Roxane calls her a redneck witchdoctor. She told me what her mother does, but it was something I’d never heard of, so I’ve forgotten. Some sort of natural healing, I think.”

  “Sounds like they’re a busy family.”

  “Oh, you don’t know the half of it! Her father just bought out the water park in town, and he’s planning to have it completely enclosed by winter. So then they’ll have more for families to do in the winter. Some of the people I work with have said that they like to go in the winter, because they’d sled or ski all day and then they’d go and sit in the natural hot springs at night. I was in those springs on Friday, and they’re just amazing. I’m not sure if they have the natural healing that everyone claims they have, but I do know they feel good when you’re in them.”

  “So you really like the idea of moving there, don’t you?”

  “I absolutely do. I love the idea of raising kids in an environment like that. I wouldn’t mind raising kids at River’s End Ranch, but most of the people who have families who work there live in Riston and commute. I love that I could live right there in town and be able to walk to the hotel for the hot springs.”

  “I haven’t spent a lot of time looking around Quinn Valley, but I’ve researched good places to buy homes near River’s End, and Quinn Valley comes up over and over. I think it’s where I want to be.”

  Jennifer smiled. The few people she’d offended since she moved to Idaho were all on River’s End Ranch. She would be starting with a fresh slate again. Perfect for a woman in her position. She looked over at Maynard with a smile. “It’s where we’ll be.”

  8

  When Maynard drove her by the house he liked, Jennifer was impressed at the look of it. A lot of the homes in Quinn Valley were older, but this one seemed very well-preserved. “I think I like it. At least the outside of it. Have you seen the inside?” she asked, watching over her shoulder as
they passed it slowly.

  “Only in the pictures on the internet,” he answered immediately, watching her face as she looked at the outside of the house.

  “I love that huge tree in the yard. Our puppy can have a treehouse there.”

  “Our dozens of children, you mean?”

  “Maybe you can build a dog house.” Jennifer had to turn her face away so he wouldn’t see her grin. She’d never really had someone she could tease with before, and she liked it. She liked it a lot.

  They drove around the little town, noting different features that interested them. “That grocery store looks just big enough to buy the essentials as long as you don’t care if you have a choice between brand names and generic,” she commented.

  “I like the little shops that line the main street. I can’t believe there’s a shop called Earth Mother in town. What could that be?”

  “I think they have a little of everything here. I love that there’s a bathing suit shop, so if someone forgot theirs, they can just buy one. I bet it’s only twice the price of what a swim suit would cost in a bigger city.” Jennifer liked the feel of Quinn Valley a little more with every street they drove down, and she was certain they made it down every street in the whole town.

  When they finally stopped for lunch, she was more enchanted with the little town than she had been the previous day, and she was ready to move in as soon as someone would let her.

  They went to the pub for lunch, wanting to support one of the businesses run by the Quinn family who fascinated Jennifer. The food was good and the service was exceptional. “I will be coming back here,” Maynard said as they left. “This is the kind of place that I really enjoy eating.”

  Next, they went to the hotel and rented two four-wheelers. “They’re our last two,” the front desk girl told Jennifer. “This is our last weekend of summer, and everything is a little bit crazy.”

  “I’m glad we came in when we did then!” Jennifer glanced over her shoulder at Maynard, who was looking around the hotel. “Aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am. I don’t know how I could have spent the next few hours with my new bride if there was no four-wheeler involved.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him as she finished signing the paperwork for the vehicles. “Do you have a map of the trails that we can take?”

  The front desk person handed her a map. “Any of those are just fine. They’re also our snowmobile trails in the winter if you want to come back.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of us,” Jennifer said with a smile. It was funny, but she’d never enjoyed doing things outdoors back home in Silver Springs, but Idaho brought out the outdoorswoman in her. She spent hours every week walking around the ranch and sitting on the lakeshore. She was glad there was a river here in Quinn Valley, because she didn’t think she could give up her time by the water. It reenergized her like nothing else ever had.

  Soon they were on the trail they’d chosen, and Maynard was leading the way. He turned away from the main trail and followed a less-traveled one. After a while, he slowed down, pulling to a stop, waiting for Jennifer to stop beside him. “Are we supposed to be looking for Bigfoot?” he asked.

  “No, not here. Kelsi wants proof that Bigfoot lives on River’s End Ranch. I don’t think she would be pleased at all if we found him in Quinn Valley. Maybe we should be looking for a sea monster here.”

  “A sea monster? Don’t tell me there are tales of a sea monster.”

  “Well, sure there are. There have to be tales of monsters, or it wouldn’t be Idaho, now would it?”

  “I think I’m just a mid-west boy at heart. This place scares me a little with all the monsters.”

  Jennifer laughed, leaning toward Maynard to kiss him. “You wanna know something?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “I think I really like you, Maynard. Name and all.”

  “You don’t have to like my name. You just have to deal with it,” he said, a grin on his face as he started his machine again. It was nice to hear that she liked him. Even his name.

  When Maynard called a real estate agent the next morning, he agreed to meet the man at the house at one in the afternoon. He was excited but almost afraid to express it to Jennifer. Everything was falling into place a little too smoothly. He and Jennifer hadn’t even had a fight yet, and he was seriously considering picking one, just to see how they dealt with an argument. Of course, he was enjoying the peace too much for that.

  “We’re seeing the house at one. Does that work for you?”

  Jennifer nodded. “It sure does. Then we can get tacos on the way there.”

  “You’re still obsessed with that taco-truck, aren’t you?”

  “Well, the tacos are wonderful. Have you ever had a sopapilla?” she asked.

  “What’s a sopapilla?”

  “You just wait. In a couple of hours, you’re going to understand my obsessions with tacos and that particular taco truck. I have no designs on the man, I promise. Just his tacos!”

  Maynard laughed softly. “I have no doubt you’re after his tacos. I can see the drool forming at the corner of your lips just because you’re thinking about them.” Without thinking, Jennifer reached up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. When Maynard started laughing harder, “You believed me, didn’t you?”

  “I’ve had his tacos. And sopapillas. I will never again be happy with less. Never!”

  “I guess we’re having tacos for lunch. Do we eat them in the car?”

  “Nah, there’s a pavilion next to the truck. I think he had it commissioned.”

  “He? You don’t even know his name, and you salivate when you see his truck?”

  It was all Jennifer could do not to wipe her mouth again. “It was something odd. I don’t know!”

  Maynard shook his head at her. “I’m going to shower. Be ready to go in an hour.”

  “No problem.” She had no idea why he wanted her to be ready in an hour, but she wasn’t going to complain. The man was making her head spin at times, but she knew she was falling for him a little more every day.

  She cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher before going into her bedroom and making sure her hair was brushed out well.

  When she left her room, he was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, just looking at her. “You’re beautiful, you know.”

  “I’m not!” Jennifer shook her head. “I’m your average every day boring girl.”

  “No, you’re anything but average and boring.” Maynard reached out and pulled her toward him, holding her close. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. Why do you think I was obsessed with you even before I knew you were going to be my wife?”

  “Oh, you weren’t obsessed with me!”

  “I spent at least four hours watching you work. Ten minutes here and twenty minutes there. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

  Jennifer put her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. “Are you making all that up to try to get me to fall for you?”

  “No, I’m telling you how I fell for you.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers, before deepening the kiss.

  When he finally lifted his head, Jennifer felt as if hers was spinning. “Now that was a kiss, Maynard Butts.”

  “Hey, you’re improving. You said my name with no flinching at all!”

  She laughed. “I had to do some self-hypnosis, and I’ve been working hard on it, but it looks like it’s all finally paying off.”

  He laughed. “You’re a brat, Mrs. Butts. Did you know that?”

  She did wrinkle her nose then. “How about Ms. Olson?”

  “How about Mrs. Butts?”

  “We might have to talk this out later.” Jennifer grabbed her purse and walked toward the door. “I don’t know why we’re leaving so early, but if it makes you happy, then I’m willing.”

  “We might get caught in an Idaho traffic jam,” he said with a straight face.

  “What exactly is a
n Idaho traffic jam?”

  “Three ranchers on four-wheelers and a bunch of cattle in the middle of the road.”

  “I got caught behind that just the other day! I couldn’t believe it!”

  “It seems like every time I go somewhere, I get caught behind cows, deer, or road chipping equipment. I swear, there’s no real traffic here, but you get caught behind stuff all the time!”

  Jennifer grinned at him. “And we’re going to buy a house here? What’s wrong with us?”

  “We love Idaho, I guess.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked outside. “Let’s walk by the lake before we head to Quinn Valley.”

  “Why? Are you going to ask me to marry you?”

  “Of course, I am. What else would I do?”

  She stopped walking. “Hey, Maynard?”

  “Yes, Jennifer?”

  “We’re already married.”

  He laughed. “We are, but you still deserve a marriage proposal you can tell our grandkids about. Don’t you?”

  “I’m not sure…” She still didn’t feel like she deserved much. Every minute she spent with him felt like a major deception to her.

  “You are worth so much to me. You know that, don’t you?”

  She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. “Don’t. Just don’t.” She wanted to run from him, sobbing her heart out, but she could just stand there and feel like a fool.

  “What did I say? Is it time for me to invoke the chocolates from our wedding night?”

  She sniffled, but laughed at the same time. “You know you could let me have a good cry, don’t you?”

  “Not on my watch.” He wasn’t sure exactly what was wrong, but he put his arm back around her and walked toward the lake. He couldn’t imagine how his words would have made her cry, unless there was someone else she was in love with. Wanting to ask, he realized he really didn’t want the answer. No, he’d wait. For a little while longer. “Have your parents gone back to Colorado?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. They left yesterday morning.”

  “Does that make you sad?”