by Emma Woods
“Hi, Rosie,” Heather called and came in to give me an awkward side-arm hug, holding Jacob on the other side. “He just spit up, so be careful or you’ll be wearing it.”
And then she was gone. I watched my sister-in-law leave and felt the empty space between us that should have been filled with a sisterly relationship. Why was I never interesting enough for Heather to bother talking to? Was I just her husband’s little sister and therefore of no consequence, other than to babysit and fill in at the family business from time to time?
I wandered into the kitchen, where Mom put me to work peeling potatoes while she asked about my life.
“It’s been a pretty normal week.” I shrugged. “I filled in at reception. I caught a movie with Nick. Oh, and we had a new woman move into Bumblebee House.”
“Really? Is she nice?” Mom asked, only slightly distracted by the recipe she was trying to read through her bifocals.
“She is. I like her a lot so far. She’s Rosa’s best friend from way back, so that speaks well of her.”
Mom nodded thoughtfully and frowned. “Is she working somewhere in town? I’m trying to think where she might have gotten a job, but nothing comes to mind.”
“Danielle says she works for an international company. She does all her work online.”
“The world has certainly changed since my grandmother was a girl,” Mom began the familiar lecture.
I gritted my teeth and braced myself. Why did my mother feel the need to take every opportunity to educate me on family history? Couldn’t we just have a normal conversation? I’d heard of mothers and daughters who talked as if they were friends. Why did my mother insist on acting as if I was a kid still in need of instruction?
“Oh, you’re here! I didn’t hear you come in.” Ty bounded into the room and came over to throw his arm around my shoulders.
I had to focus on the potatoes and not on the wonderful feeling of his welcoming warmth at my side. “Hi, Ty. I see you’re back again for Sunday dinner.”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Mrs. Donovan’s famous ham logs and party potatoes are legendary!”
Mom swatted a hand at him, but her smile told us just how much she enjoyed his flattery.
I elbowed him gently in the ribs. “And how, exactly, did you know we were having ham logs and party potatoes? I didn’t know until I got here.”
He threw me a guilty grin. “Me either. But now that I know about it, I’m glad I’m not missing out.”
Ty moved off to play with Abby, and Dad came in and planted a kiss on the top of my head. We finished lunch preparations just as Matt arrived. He and I set the table and chatted lightly about church.
This time, I wasn’t seated near Ty. I had to suffer through an entire meal listening to Luke and Dad discuss the ranch. The pair of them liked to kick around the same topics of conversation they had for years. Neither of them ever changed their stance or opinions, and so it was like listening to the same discussion for the tenth time.
I was excused from clean-up duties and took Abby out back to jump on our old trampoline. I dragged out one of Mom’s ratty old blankets, which we used during cool nights around the fire pit or sitting and watching a four-year-old try to coordinate arm motions along with her less-than-coordinated jumps.
“Mind if I join you?” Ty’s voice floated over my shoulder.
I started. “Oh. Yeah. No problem.” Then I kicked myself mentally. I knew he was here. Why did I act so spastic at the mere sound of his voice?
He was carrying a plate containing a third helping of Mom’s freezer cake. He hunkered down into the chair next to mine and shouted encouragement to Abby.
“So, how was your big night?” he asked without any preamble.
“What big night?” I was lost. I’d spent the previous evening on the couch watching a mildly entertaining rom-com with Jill and eating popcorn.
“Your date,” Ty prompted.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, you seriously need to let go of the idea that I was on a date. In fact, Nick and I talked about how we are not a couple. He wants to actually date a girl he works with.”
“Ouch. Are you okay?”
I let out an exasperated laugh. “Ty! Are you not listening? I don’t want to date Nick. He doesn’t want to date me. Maybe we almost sort of considered possibly getting romantic, but it never happened, and we are both relieved about it.” Okay, the last part was more my interpretation of events. Nick hadn’t said as much, but I was relieved enough for the both of us.
Ty took another bite. Abby called, “Aunt Rosie, watch this!” for the five hundredth time.
“Are you, like, on the rebound?” Ty finally inquired.
I sat up, turned to him, and smacked him on the arm. His face broke into a smile as he ducked away from me. Good, he was just teasing. It appeared he finally, finally understood that Nick and I weren’t a couple.
“Wow, Rosemarie, you’ve turned violent.” Matt’s baritone voice announced his arrival on the scene. “Scoot over and let me have some of that blanket.”
I slid down and readjusted so that my brother could snuggle down next to me. One of the great things about Matt was that he was cold almost as often as I was. Once the two of us were sharing a blanket, it got toasty quickly.
“Hey, do you think Rosa would mind if I came to supper tomorrow?” Matt inquired.
“Probably not. I’ll let her know to expect you. I think she’s cooking tomorrow night.”
“What’s she making?” Always alert at the first hint of food, Ty jumped into the conversation with relish. “Can I come?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Matt said quickly and pulled out his phone. “I’ll text Rosa and ask if we can both come.”
I narrowed my eyes at the two of them. This was all happening a little too smoothly. Had they planned this? I was a bit annoyed at Matt, and a bit intrigued by Ty. Why did he want to come to supper at Bumblebee House? Instant butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the answer I didn’t dare put into words.
10
Miraculously, Heather had found someone to watch Abby and Jake by the next morning. When I arrived at the ranch, I was surprised to see her enthroned at the reception desk with an absurd headset on, as though the volume of phone calls she expected to receive warranted such advanced technology.
“Good morning, Rosemarie,” she chirped.
“Morning, Heather. I take it the babysitter arrived as planned.” I took a bracing sip of coffee from my travel mug.
“She was even ten minutes early. So, I’m going to cover the front desk. Luke got a call from Rusty in the stables. His sister has cancer and he’s headed to Arizona to spend some time with her. We were hoping you could fill in for him.”
After making this announcement disguised as a request, Heather flashed me a cute smile and turned her attention to her email, not waiting to see if I had an opinion about this assignment.
Normally I wouldn’t have cared. In fact, I probably would have welcomed the change from the front desk. However, working in the stables meant that I wouldn’t be sharing an office space with Ty. It meant I’d be sweaty and smelly in no time. In short, it was a disappointment.
Ty sailed in the door just about then and stopped short when he saw Heather behind the desk. The phone rang, and she tapped something on the phone’s base before putting on her most refined voice and answering, “Good morning, Triple Star Ranch. This is Heather. How may I help you?”
Ty leaned over and whispered, “I take it you’re not going to be in the office today.”
“Nope. I’ll be in the stables today.” I sipped nonchalantly from my cup while carefully analyzing his reaction.
It was most certainly disappointment that flashed across his face, I was pleased to see. “I’ll miss hanging out with you all day. Any chance we can still do lunch?”
I downgraded my beaming smile to friendly grin and shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe. It depends on when they let me take my break.”
“Well, I’ll be in there betw
een noon and one. I hope to see you at least for a little while.” He bumped me with his shoulder, and I felt my face flush.
“You and Matt are still coming for supper tonight, right?”
“Yes. We are definitely on for tonight.”
I bumped his shoulder back. “Good. If lunch doesn’t work out, I’ll see you around six for supper.”
And then, as though it didn’t matter at all, I turned and strode out of the office. All the way to the stables I congratulated myself for my casual exit. The last thing I wanted was for Ty to realize just how nuts I was about him.
“Hey, Rosie! Are you working here today?” called Butch.
Butch was over six feet tall and solid as a brick wall. He was quick to laugh and one of my father’s best friends. He’d cared for the horses at the ranch for as long as I could remember. In many ways, Butch was like a second father to me. I never minded being put under his management. He worked his employees hard, but he worked right alongside us and made us laugh the whole time.
I was bummed when it didn’t work out for me to make it to lunch before Ty left, but I left at the end of the day feeling very cheerful. I’d cleaned stalls and tack, helped with feeding time, and brushed horses until my arm was ready to fall off. And I’d talked and laughed along with the other guys in the stables the whole day through.
When I got home, I hopped right into the shower. My long brown hair didn’t take much care, and it looked best when I let it air dry hanging straight. Tonight, I wanted it to look as good as possible. I selected my clothes with care. I wanted to wear something other than my usual jeans and polo shirt. On Sundays, Ty had seen me in my church clothes. Now, here was a chance to wear something cool and casual.
I knocked on Jill’s door still wearing my robe. “Help! I have no idea what to wear!”
She put down the stack of papers she’d been grading seated cross-legged on her bed. “What are you dressing for?”
I took a deep breath, felt my face light up, and admitted, “Ty is coming to supper tonight with Matt.”
Jill’s eyes lit up, and she hopped off the bed. “Really?” In an instant, she began flipping through my closet and drawers.
“Hmm… Do you think a skirt would be too fancy?” she asked when I ground to a halt.
“Maybe. I don’t want him to think I’m dressing up for him.”
Jill pulled a stretchy A-line skirt out of a drawer. “This one looks amazing on you, and you could totally wear it with a t-shirt. So it would enhance your best features without looking like you’re trying too hard. Plus, it would be super comfortable.”
“Comfortable is always good,” I nodded. “What would I do without you?”
“Luckily, you’ll never have to find out,” Jill said seriously.
“You and Tom are going to have to move into a duplex so I can live right next door,” I teased.
A twinkle lit Jill’s eye. “What makes you think Tom and I are going to get married? We can’t even start officially dating until after Sophie is no longer my student.”
I snorted. “The two of you talk on the phone for hours every night, and then you float around all day with this dewy smile on your face. Start shopping for a duplex, girl.”
Jill positively sparkled. Falling in love suited her, I decided. With her blond curls and adorable fashion sense, it just seemed like it was part of her beauty regimen. Would I look like that if I fell in love? Would I ever get the chance? My mind drifted to Ty as it always did, and I began to feel jittery.
“Look, Jill,” I said quickly, “would you not make a big thing out of Ty coming for supper? I’m not really ready to have everyone know how I feel about him.”
My best friend reached up and hugged me. “Rosie, I know how private you are. You can count on me to keep quiet about him, but one look at your face and there won’t be any question about how you feel.”
I groaned and lifted my hands to my cheeks. Jill was right: sneakiness was just not my thing. It’s probably why I took so long to open up about things that really mattered to me.
Jill left so I could finish getting ready. Then I skittered downstairs and gave Danielle and Mae a hand setting the table with Rosa’s gorgeous hand-painted dishes from a trip she took to South America. If I spent a little extra time fussing over the napkins and place settings, no one seemed to notice.
We were pouring drinks and bringing out steaming dishes when the front door opened and Matt called his hello. My heart took off at a gallop, and I hurried to greet my guests.
To my surprise, it was only Matt standing in the foyer.
“Hi!” I called too brightly.
He raised a dark eyebrow at me and drew me into a knowing hug. “He’s on the porch,” Matt whispered into my ear. “He got a phone call from his ex-fianceé just as we were pulling into the driveway. It sounds like they’re working through some serious stuff.”
I gave him another quick squeeze before pulling away. “Come in and meet our newest housemate, Danielle.” We headed off to the dining room and I threw a hopeful glance back toward the closed front door. I hoped Ty would wrap up his business with Jenna quickly and we could move on to our supper together.
But the minutes ticked on and he didn’t appear. Emily and Nate came in the side door. Rosa clicked into the room, casserole dish in hand. Mae skipped into the room, bursting with a funny story from work that had everyone in stitches.
Finally, I told the group to start eating. “I’ll go and check on Ty.”
I told myself firmly to stay calm and be a good friend as I hurried to the porch. The last thing Ty needed was for me to jump all over him like a lunatic as soon as he hung up with Jenna. I needed to be cool and collected and listen if he needed to vent or something.
I pulled the front door open slowly, not wanting to disrupt Ty’s conversation with overly loud noise. He was pacing back and forth, gesticulating dramatically. All lightheartedness left me as I began to understand that he was really angry with Jenna.
“I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation,” he said tersely into the phone. “You were just as glad we broke up as I was. You have no business asking me to do you favors.”
I sank into the nearest chair and hugged its flowered pillow to my chest.
“Yes, it is a favor. You’re asking me to drive all the way to Minnesota to take possession of the dog you begged me to buy you for your birthday. I spent almost a thousand dollars on that dog because you said it was the only thing you wanted!” He raked his hands through his hair as he listened to Jenna’s response. “Yeah, I bought him for you. He is your dog!”
Ty twirled on his heel and caught sight of me. He grimaced but kept his full attention on his phone call. Finally, he blew out a frustrated breath and said, “I can’t talk about this anymore, Jenna. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He poked at the screen and shoved the phone into his back pocket as if it was to blame for his troubles. He paced back and forth a few more times, clearly trying to calm down. Finally, he sagged against the railing and said, “Sorry for getting into this now. I shouldn’t have picked up the phone when I saw who was calling.”
I shrugged and offered a brave smile. “I understand. So, I’m guessing that Jenna wants you to take custody of her dog.”
“The vet has recommended the dog have hip replacement surgery, and Jenna refuses to pay for it. She says I bought the dog for her, so I either have to cough up half the cost of the surgery, or else go to Minnesota and bring him back here to live with me.” Ty rubbed tiredly at his forehead. “I’m right in thinking that’s totally unreasonable, right?”
My eyes bugged. “Yeah, of course it is! You said that she asked for the dog in the first place.”
“She even picked it out from the rest of the litter.” He chuckled cynically.
“It kind of seems to me like she’s trying to manipulate you into doing what she wants.” I played with the tassels on the pillow and plunged ahead. “And it sounds like she’s done that throughout your
relationship. She changed how you dressed, how your apartment was decorated, and even your haircut. It’s time to stop letting her get her way.”
Ty stood digesting that with a faraway look on his face. I chewed my lower lip and wondered if I’d said too much.
Finally, he nodded and pulled his phone from his back pocket. He clicked a few buttons and held it to his ear. I waited on pins and needles, curious to hear what he was thinking.
“Jenna? Yeah, it’s me. Listen, you picked out Jackson. It was the gift you wanted. He is your dog. I bought him for you and paid for his shots and everything. My responsibility toward him and you ended when you called things off. If you can’t afford the surgery, maybe you should sell the ring I gave you to pay for it. That’s all I have to say on the matter. Good night.” He hung up and looked up at me as though he’d freed himself from prison.
I grinned at him. “Nice job. Are you ready to go in and eat?”
Ty beamed and rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, I’m starved.”
“When are you not starved?” I teased as I got up and led the way inside.
He grabbed my elbow as I reached for the door. I felt a jolt of electricity and looked up at him in surprise.
“Thanks, Rosie,” Ty said warmly.
“Anytime,” I replied, my face heating up.
11
The rest of the evening went as well as I could hope. I mean, as well as I could realistically hope. Ty did not get down on one knee, confess his secret love for me, and ask me to marry him.
The mood around the table was light, and there was much laughing and passing of dishes. Ty and Matt volunteered to do dish duty, and Nate jumped in to help them. Then a few of us ended up on the back veranda, sipping decaf coffee that Matt conjured and enjoying a fire in Rosa’s brick fire pit.
I was especially glad for the time with Ty that night, because I didn’t see him at all the next day. I was back in the stables again. Even though it was another good day for me, I was sorry to miss my special friend at lunch again.