Rolling Like Thunder

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “I really admire their solution.”

  “I’m really grateful for their solution. The ranch is perfect for how they used it, especially once they added the cabins. You won’t be able to see them when we drive in, but you’ll see the barn and a corral off to the left. The front porch is nice, but it’s not positioned to give you a mountain view like the one at the Last Chance.”

  “Not many places are like the Last Chance. So what kind of special meal do you think she’s fixed to welcome you home?”

  “I have a pretty good idea. All of us loved it when we lived here. When I tell you, you’ll probably laugh.”

  “Lay it on me.”

  “Tuna casserole.” He looked to see her reaction.

  She didn’t laugh, but she smiled. “With green peas in it and potato chips on top?”

  “Yep.” He could already taste it. “Nobody makes it like Rosie. I’ve tried, but it’s never the same. I always ask for it when I visit, but I forgot this time because I wasn’t coming straight here.”

  “I haven’t had tuna casserole in years. My mom used to make it when I was a kid, but then she took a cooking class and got into fancy things with exotic ingredients. Tuna casserole disappeared from the menu.”

  “Too bad.”

  “I know! I hope Rosie makes it because now I want some.”

  “If she didn’t, there’s always tomorrow night. I guarantee she’s got the fixings. Okay, here’s the turnoff. Wow, somebody’s put up a new sign.” He pulled onto the dirt road and stopped so they could look at it.

  “Very nice.”

  “No kidding.”

  Thunder Mountain Ranch was spelled out in elegant brass letters on a slab of polished wood positioned between two sturdy posts. From the bottom hung a second sign. Home of Thunder Mountain Academy was painted in the academy’s colors of green and brown.

  “I’ll bet Damon made the hanging part after I called on Saturday. That would be like him.”

  “Or he and Phil did it together. You said she worked with him on the cabin.”

  “Could be. Whoever made it, it’s beautiful.”

  “Let’s remember to mention it when we get there. They might have worked hard to finish and hang it before we arrived.”

  “I’ll bet they did.” He glanced at Chelsea. “I’ve always known how much this means, but that sign...”

  “It’s very special,” she said softly. “Now let’s go meet your family and eat tuna casserole.”

  He smiled at her. “I like that you said my family.”

  “Well, they are, right?”

  “They absolutely are.” He started down the dirt road and was gratified at how smooth it was. Cade had probably been out here with the tractor recently. They rounded the bend and there stood the house. The eaves had recently been repainted and so had the Adirondack chairs on the front porch. Now the chairs alternated between Academy brown and Academy green.

  “I love it, Finn,” Chelsea murmured.

  “Good. I was hoping you would.” As he pulled into the gravel circular drive, one of the few similarities to the Last Chance Ranch, the front door opened and they all came out—Rosie, Herb, Cade, Lexi, Damon and a redhead who must be Philomena. His family. Heart full, he climbed out of the SUV and hurried around to open Chelsea’s door.

  But she was already out and moving toward the group spilling down the porch steps. “That sign is awesome!”

  “I know!” Rosie held out her arms and gathered her in for a hug.

  Finn stood transfixed by the sight, because it seemed so natural, as if Chelsea had been here dozens of times before.

  Then Cade and Damon swarmed him, punching him on the arm and slapping him on the shoulder.

  “I remember this hat!” Cade grabbed Finn’s and switched with him, his gray eyes filled with laughter. “I wanted it but you saw it first.”

  “Yeah, and it looks a lot better on O’Roarke.” Damon wore a battered straw cowboy hat over his sun-bleached hair. It would take a while for his surfer-dude image to fade after he’d spent four years in California. He glanced at Cade wearing Finn’s hat. “Doesn’t look broken in yet. You been hiding it in the closet, O’Roarke?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “See there?” Cade settled it more firmly on his head. “He doesn’t deserve such a fine hat. Hats get lonesome if they’re not worn.”

  Finn laughed. “Then keep it, loser. I’m going to see my best girl.” He spotted Rosie heading in his direction with a big grin on her face and love shining in her blue eyes.

  Chelsea was now talking to Lexi and Phil, so Rosie must have made sure those three were hooked up before coming to see him. How like her. He pulled her into a bear hug that lifted her off her feet. “I love you, Mom.”

  “Same here, you big galoot. Now put me down. You’re messing with my new outfit.”

  He set her down and surveyed the red jeans and sparkly top. “Nice job.” Her blond hair had recently been styled and her red nails had some kind of glitter on them. But the main thing he noticed was that she looked healthy. Thank God.

  “She bought her new duds three weeks ago after we found out you were coming.” Herb moved in for his hug. “Good to see you, son.”

  “Good to see you, too, Dad.” Finn could tell the guy had put on some much-needed weight. He’d always been wiry, but when Rosie was sick, he’d worried off some pounds he couldn’t afford to lose. Now he felt solid again.

  Herb stepped back and glanced over at Rosie. “You were right about the red. It looks good.”

  “It does, doesn’t it? Never had red jeans before, but I decided Finn’s arrival warranted something flashy.”

  “I’m honored.”

  “You should be.” Rosie straightened the hem of her top. “And by the way, she’s great.” She angled her head toward Chelsea, who was carrying on an animated conversation with Lexi and Phil.

  The three women made an interesting group with Lexi’s short brown hair that tended to curl and Phil’s red hair that reminded him of Lily’s. Then of course there was his innovative Chelsea, who was forever adding interesting streaks of color to hers as if not satisfied to be plain blond. He watched as Damon and Cade walked over to be introduced. Chelsea gave each of them a big smile and shook hands. Lexi said something he couldn’t hear and they all laughed.

  Finn turned back to Rosie. “I’m glad you like her, but that was a really fast evaluation.”

  “Easy, though. After only a few minutes she’s already comfortable here. She didn’t wait for you to introduce her to me. She came right over on her own. And she’s a good hugger. Not tentative or shy about it.”

  “She hugged me, too,” Herb said. “She told us both that she admired our work with the foster program. That was nice to hear.”

  Finn glanced at Chelsea, who was listening intently to something Phil was saying. “She was eager to meet you.”

  “I was eager to meet her,” Rosie said. “I went on her website and she normally charges a bundle for her services, but she’s not charging us a dime. Of course, I know that’s partly because she’s in love with you, but still, she’s being very generous.”

  In love? The simple statement caught him off guard. He supposed it was true, just as he supposed he was in love with her, but they hadn’t said it to each other.

  It wasn’t an oversight on his part and he didn’t think it was on hers, either. She’d probably come to the same conclusion he had. Using the L word should be saved until they’d made it through their trial run of living together. Any sooner than that would be asking for more heartache.

  Rosie peered at him. “Are you feeling okay? You suddenly went sort of pale. I know you’re paler than you used to be, but this was on top of your usual paleness. Come on inside and I’ll get you some water. You’re probably dehydrated.” She
turned toward the house.

  “I’m fine, Mom. Don’t worry about getting me any water. But I would like to know where you decided to put Chelsea and me tonight.”

  She turned back to him with a gleam in her eye. “Before we talk about that, you really need to meet Phil. She’s been looking forward to you two getting here.”

  “Well, sure. That would be great.” He tamped down his impatience.

  “Come on over.” She started toward the group gathered by the front steps. “Phil, you haven’t had a chance to meet my boy Finn yet. Finn, this is Philomena Turner.”

  Phil had an open smile and a friendly blue gaze. She held out her hand. “It’s good to finally meet you, Finn! Damon talks about you all the time.”

  “That must get annoying.” Returning her smile, Finn shook hands with her. She had a firm grip, but then, this was a woman who could operate power tools, so no surprise there.

  “Not annoying,” Damon said. “Entertaining. She especially likes the one where you glued all the toilet seats shut and forgot that you had to use them, too. That gets a laugh every time, particularly the part where—”

  “Yes, yes.” Rosie rolled her eyes. “We’ve all heard that story a hundred times.”

  “I haven’t.” Chelsea smirked at Finn. “At least not all the way through.”

  “Well, Finn can tell you later.” Rosie slipped an arm around her waist. “Right now let’s take a walk so you and Finn can see the new cabin and the foundation for the rec hall.”

  Good thing Chelsea had worn her running shoes and not her sandals, Finn thought. “You’re building a rec hall?” He glanced at Damon. “I haven’t heard about that.”

  “We need one,” Damon said as he fell into step beside Finn. “It’ll be a combination dining hall, classroom and rec center. We decided the rec room in the house is too small for that many older teens, plus we don’t need to have them bothering Rosie and Herb. They’re students, not foster kids.”

  “I get that,” Finn said, “but they’ll need to be supervised out there.”

  “That’s where I come in. Me and my new hat.” Cade tipped it in Finn’s direction. “I’ll ride herd on ’em.”

  “Are you putting in a kitchen?” Finn hoped they weren’t expecting to ferry food from the house.

  Damon nodded. “Yep. You can add your two cents’ worth on the choice of appliances if you want.”

  “I might just do that.” He liked the idea of being involved in the nuts and bolts of the operation, and he had some expertise after supervising the remodeling of the space for O’Roarke’s Brewhouse. “So did you make the academy sign this weekend?”

  Damon grinned. “Like it?”

  “I love it.”

  “Phil thought we should put one up after Rosie relayed your message on Saturday. We got Ben, our saddle maker guy, to help with the lettering. We didn’t finish it until around noon. The paint’s barely dry.”

  “Well, it’s gorgeous.”

  “I helped hang it,” Cade said.

  “What he means is that he stood there and straw-bossed the operation while Phil and I worked our asses off.”

  Finn nodded. “Yep, I can picture that.”

  “I knew my supervisory talents weren’t properly appreciated.” Cade sighed. “Without my discerning eye, that sign would’ve ended up all cattywampus.”

  “You were lucky it didn’t end up around your neck.” Damon made a grab for the hat.

  “Hey! Hands off! Get your own.” Cade settled it more firmly on his head. “Maybe O’Roarke’s got another one tucked away in his closet, gathering dust.”

  “Nope. That’s the only one I kept.”

  Damon gazed at him. “Not into the cowboy thing anymore?”

  “I wasn’t, but lately...” Without thinking, he looked over at Chelsea walking with Rosie.

  Damon obviously noticed because he chuckled. “I see how it is. Nothing like boots and a hat, right, bro?”

  “Let’s say this. It doesn’t hurt.”

  They reached the meadow where two months ago only three log cabins had stood. Now there were four, which created a semicircle around the large fire pit where he’d spent so many evenings roasting marshmallows and singing camp songs. The bathhouse looked the same, stretched out behind the group of cabins. Over to the right a foundation had been laid for the rec hall.

  “Which one’s the Brotherhood cabin?” Chelsea looked around the semicircle.

  “The first one.” Rosie pointed.

  “You’ll probably want to take a look at it,” Phil said.

  “Oh, definitely.”

  “But first let’s show you the new one. Damon and I are really proud of it.”

  “That’s fine. I want to see the results of your hard work. It looks great from the outside.”

  “Sure.” Finn would show Chelsea the Brotherhood cabin later. He had a feeling they wouldn’t be sleeping in it, though, which was disappointing. “You did a great job of matching it to the others.”

  “The main thing we changed was the foundation,” Damon said as they all walked past the fire pit on their way to the cabin. “It’s cement instead of block.”

  “You mean the floor won’t squeak?” Finn couldn’t imagine it.

  “’Fraid not.”

  “I told him that went against tradition,” Cade said. “If the floor doesn’t squeak, how can you play music on it?”

  “My point exactly. I got really good at ‘Jingle Bells.’”

  Damon looked pained. “Oh, for God’s sake. A cement foundation’s sturdier. From a construction standpoint it makes sense.”

  “From a musical standpoint it sucks,” Cade said. “But I didn’t get a vote. Finn would’ve voted with me, too.”

  “I would have.”

  “Can’t please everyone.” Phil climbed up two cement steps and opened the cabin door. “We’ve all seen it, so why don’t you two go in and look around?”

  “Okay.” Chelsea stepped inside and gasped. “Oh, my God.”

  Finn hurried in after her, afraid she’d found a giant spider or a snake. Instead she stood staring at a queen-size bed made up with sheets, a comforter and extra pillows. There were no bunks, but a couple of end tables had been placed on either side of the bed along with lamps. He whirled around and found Rosie leaning in the doorway.

  She looked incredibly smug. “Will this do?”

  16

  CHELSEA WAS IN LOVE with these people. Rosie had welcomed her with open arms, literally, and because of Finn’s earnest request, they would sleep in a real bed inside a brand-new log cabin. Over a celebratory dinner of tuna casserole in the cozy kitchen, Phil explained that they had discussed different configurations for the bunks and desks but hadn’t decided yet how they wanted to build them.

  “Phil had a great idea,” Damon said. “She thinks if we create four loft beds in there with desks and a dresser underneath each one, it’ll give each student his or her own territory. Now that the academy’s a go, I’m in favor of retrofitting all the cabins that way.”

  Chelsea remembered her own teen years. “I would have loved it at that age.” She glanced over at Rosie. “And in case I forget to say so, this is the best tuna casserole I’ve ever had in my life. But if you should meet my mother, you can’t tell her I said so.”

  Rosie smiled. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “I believe I’ll have some more.” Finn picked up a casserole dish, one of two on the table, and began spooning more onto his plate.

  “Yeah, me, too.” Cade held out his empty plate. “Appreciate it. And a little extra for Ringo.” He’d brought his gray tabby up to the house and Ringo was curled in a cat bed in the corner. A scoop of tuna casserole plopped in his food dish brought him running.

  “Leave some for me.” Da
mon grabbed the casserole when they were through. “Anybody else? I don’t want to be a pig.”

  “Too late. I believe this is your fourth helping.” Cade got up from the table. “Anyone need another one of the beers Finn so generously shipped over?”

  “It’s great beer,” Herb said. “I’ll have another one. Besides, we need to drink a few more toasts to the academy.”

  Chelsea also loved how they all raved about Finn’s beer. It was good, but to hear them talk, no beer in the history of brewing had ever been so fine. Their loyalty warmed her heart.

  “Speaking of pigs,” Finn said, “I met a couple of awesome ones in Shoshone. It got me to thinking.”

  “No, Finn.” Rosie met his gaze over the table. “No pigs. We had this discussion years ago. I love you to death and you brew a great beer, but we don’t need pigs at Thunder Mountain.”

  “You should see his pictures, though,” Chelsea found herself saying. “These are amazing pigs. One is named Harley and the other is named Wilbur.”

  “Wilbur’s the name of the pig in Charlotte’s Web!” Phil sat straighter. “I adored that book. I want to see your pictures, Finn.”

  The debate about pigs lasted for the rest of the meal with people choosing sides. Chelsea, Finn, Cade and Phil were pro-pig and Lexi, Damon, Rosie and Herb were antipig, at least as far as keeping one on the ranch. Despite Rosie’s initial reaction, though, Chelsea thought she could be swayed.

  After dinner and a quick cleanup, everyone decided to sit in the newly painted Adirondack chairs on the front porch. Most everyone had another beer, but Chelsea asked Rosie for some coffee laced with Bailey’s. Rosie was delighted, and once she’d fixed their drinks, she chose a seat next to Chelsea.

  Chelsea sipped her concoction and sighed. “Perfect. And thank you for setting us up in that cabin. It’s awesome.”

  “All I did was come up with the idea. Damon and Cade dismantled one of our guest beds and hauled it down there along with a couple of nightstands and lamps. Lexi and Phil made up the bed. It was a group effort.”

  “Well, thanks to everyone, then. I can’t imagine anything more special.”