Where I Belong

by Charlene Bright

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  The snow stopped early that morning and the roads had been cleared so the trip to the Underwoods’ home was quick and easy. Their place was less than five miles from Jyl’s. As they made the turn onto the long dirt road where the ranch began, Gabriel said, “Look at that cow’s horns, Mama.”

  She smiled. “That one is a bull, sweetness, a longhorn.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “A cow is a girl and a bull is a boy.”

  “How do you know he’s a boy?”

  “Um …” She started to say it was his horns, but she didn’t want to lie to her son and have him confused about it later on. “He has boy parts, sweetness.”

  “Can you stop so I can look?”

  Laughing, she said, “No, baby, just take my word for it this time.”

  The house was beginning to come into view and it was just as she had pictured it in her many talks with Kat. It was a two-story ranch house with a wraparound porch and big windows to let the sun in all the way across the front. A big red barn with a black shingled roof sat behind it to the right, and to the left was a small holding pen. On the left of them was the pasture where Gabe had seen the bull, and to the right was what looked like a large garden, dormant for the winter months. There were chicken coops alongside that as well.

  She parked the little car close to the house and wondered how Kat did it all. Kat had told her that she mostly took care of the day-to-day operations of the ranch so Scott could take the ranch foreman job after their third son was born. Between that and three young boys, the poor thing must be exhausted, thought Jyl.

  Kat stepped out on the front porch with a little dark-headed boy in tow as she and Gabriel got out of the car. The young woman looked just like her pictures, and Jyl marveled at the fact that she lived way out here, worked like a ranch hand, raised three boys, and still managed to look like a model. Her dark blond hair was pulled to the side in a stylishly messy braid. She was dressed in a pair of faded Wrangler jeans, tan cowboy boots, and a green t-shirt with an interlocked “U” and “R” insignia on the front. She made it all look better than a lot of the women in New York who never stepped out onto their stoops without their designer clothes and shoes.

  She left the boy on the porch and came down to greet them. “Jyl! I’m so glad you made it.”

  Jyl held out her hand, but she ignored it and wrapped her up in a hug.

  “It’s so good to finally see you in person, I already feel like I’ve known you for years.” She looked down then. Gabriel was holding on to his mother’s leg, looking at her suspiciously. “You must be Gabriel. I’m Kat. I’m so happy to meet you.”

  She didn’t try to hug Gabe. Instead, she put her hand out to him. Gabriel continued to only look at her.

  “Gabe, shake Mrs. Underwood’s hand.”

  He only clutched tighter to his mother’s leg.

  “Gabriel!”

  Kat smiled. “It’s okay. I don’t like to shake hands either. How about a high five, or some knuckles?” She put her fist down where he could reach it and he looked up at Jyl.

  “Go ahead.” He let his little fist come out and after their fists bumped, Kat pulled hers back and opened her fingers and made an explosion noise.

  “You blew it up, little man!” Jyl looked down at her son, who was smiling. “Come on and let’s get y’all inside where you can meet all of my crazies.”

  They followed her up on the porch where the little dark-haired boy still stood staring at them. His hair was so dark that it was almost jet black and he had the most amazing pair of blue eyes Jyl had ever seen. He must have gotten them from his daddy because Kat’s were a pretty shade of hazel. “This is my middle boy, Heath. Gabriel, Heath is the same age as you are. Heath, say hello to Mrs. Landry and Gabriel.”

  “Hi,” the four-year-old said. He and Gabriel were eyeing each other suspiciously.

  Jyl tapped her son on the back of his head and he said, “Hey.”

  Kat led them inside where they met six-year-old Scotty, two-year-old David, and Kat’s husband, Scott. “Why don’t you boys take Gabriel and show him the toy room?”

  Scotty and Heath looked at Gabe. Gabe looked back at them, and then suddenly all three of the big boys took off, their feet pounding on the wood floor. The toddler tried to keep up, but he fell flat on his little face in the doorway and started to scream. Kat’s husband jumped up and got him, kissing his boo boos away as he carried the boy down the hall where the others had gone.

  “Whew!” Kat said with a smile. “I’m sorry it’s so chaotic. I would love to say it’s not always like this … trust me, I would really love to say that.”

  Jyl laughed. “I can’t imagine how you do it. One is more than enough for me.”

  “I couldn’t do it without Scott. He’s amazing with them. It makes a big difference when you do it together.”

  Jyl nodded.

  “So how do you like it here so far?” Kat continued.

  “I love it,” Jyl said, honestly. “It’s such a big change, but it’s such a good one that the culture shock isn’t killing the thrill of it, you know?”

  “I’ve only left Shiloh Falls once for more than a few days and that was to go to school. Scott and I lived in an apartment in Denver for almost three years and we came home on the weekends. I think we were both in culture shock the whole time, and Denver is no New York.” She opened the lid of the pot on the stove and an amazing aroma wafted out.

  “That smells delicious.”

  “Thanks, it’s a stew that Scott’s mom makes. The recipe getting passed to the daughter-in-law on her first anniversary is kind of a tradition. His family is huge on tradition. It took me a little getting used to. My parents … not so much.”

  “That’s nice. I lost my mom a few years ago to cancer. My pop is still going strong but he moved to Florida about a year after my mother died.”

  “I’m sorry. You’ve had a lot of loss already in your not-so-long life.”

  Jyl gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s been hard. With Mom, it has gotten easier. I’m still working on Josh.”

  Kat put her arm around her and gave her a one-armed hug. “I’m glad we met, Jyl. I think we’re going to be really great friends.”

  “I do too.” She already felt right at home.

  Even more so when Kat let go of her, handed her a knife, and said, “You want to butter up some of that cornbread for the heathens?” Want to continue Jyl and Grant’s story? Download or purchase, I Saw Mommy Kissing a Cowboy, it’s $.99 or FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

  About the Author

  Charlene Bright is the author of several contemporary western romance novels. She’s a lifelong resident of the American South and currently residents in southern Oklahoma on a family-owned cattle ranch. She greets each morning with a hot cup of coffee and an optimistic smile. Traveling to America’s national parks is her favorite pastime. After rearing her children, she and her husband recently became empty-nesters. With the peace and quiet that comes with that, she began to hear the characters in her head begging for their stories to be told which is when the author inside her was set free.