“You owe Mary an apology for screwing up her evening and your brother’s evening. Grow up Billy, drinking is fine and we all enjoy a beer or two. You’re a grown-ass man who needs to start acting like one,” Buck stated angrily.
Mary entered the dining room with a large platter of bacon, eggs and sausage. ‘Happy New Year everyone,” she said cheerfully, trying to pretend she didn’t know there had been an argument going on just moments before.
Billy got up from the table and said, “Mary, I’d like to apologize for my behavior last night. I’m sorry I ruined your evening with Adam. It won’t happen again.”
Mary suddenly realized the cat was officially out of the bag. Everyone at the table now knew that she and Adam were seeing each other. With no opportunity to think about how to respond, she simply looked Billy in the eye as she set the platter down and said, “Don’t let it happen again,” and with that, she returned to the kitchen. Adam smiled at the way she chose to handle things. Once she left the room, everyone focused on eating breakfast and on what chores needed to be done that day.
At the end of the working day, Buck said, “Good Night Mary and thanks for everything,” as Mary had finished up her work and was heading over to the in-law apartment to spend the evening with Beau. Buck returned to the table where his brothers were enjoying the meal she’d prepared for them.
“Is Mary gone?” Carter asked.
“Yeah, I just saw her head over to the apartment. Why?” Buck asked.
“We need to have a Chadwick meeting.”
“What’s up?” Adam asked between bites.
“When Katherine was staying at Mary’s the other night, Mary mentioned that Beau has a father/son event coming up at school. Mary told Katherine that Beau is the only boy in his class without a daddy and the other kids bully him about that.”
“That’s a shame. What’s that got to do with us?” Billy asked, looking briefly at Carter before pulling a slice of homemade bread from the platter in front of him.
“What if all four of the Chadwick brothers agreed to stand in for Beau’s dad? There won’t be another kid in that school who can claim to have four daddies, let alone four cowboys for their dad,” Adam suggested.
“Are you serious? When is it?” Buck asked.
“That’s a great idea,” Billy said enthusiastically.
“I don’t know when it is, I’ll ask Mary in the morning,” Carter said.
“I’m in,” Buck said before taking a bite of the beef stew Mary had prepared for their dinner.
“Count me in,” Billy echoed.
“Okay then, it’s unanimous, Beau is about to get four dads at once,” Adam said with a smile.
The following morning when Mary came in to work, Carter stepped into the kitchen while she was frying eggs.
“Mary, got a minute?”
“Sure Carter, what’s on your mind?”
“A little birdie told me that Beau has a father/son event coming up at school and the other boys were ragging on him because he doesn’t have a dad.”
Mary looked surprised and hurt at the same time, “You heard right. I’d forgotten how cruel kids can be, but it seems like every other week Beau reminds me, after some horrible incident at his school comes up to hurt him.” She refocused her attention on making breakfast for the brothers.
“I mention it because Adam made a suggestion and I spoke with my brothers last night and we took a Chadwick family vote.”
“What does that mean?” she inquired with a smile while placing the eggs on a platter that she’d just pulled out of a warm oven.
“We’ve voted and it’s been decided that all four of us will represent your late husband for Beau’s event … if you’ll have us.”
Mary set the frying pan down and stared blankly at Buck for a moment before he could see her lower lip quiver. “Carter Chadwick, no one has ever done anything that kind for me and Beau in our entire lives. Yes, of course I’ll have you and I’ll be grateful to you and your brothers for the rest of my life. Come over here so I can give you a hug,” Mary insisted, moving decidedly toward Carter. He awkwardly hugged her back, not quite sure what was considered proper.
“While I appreciate the hug, it was Adam’s idea, just for the record,” Carter said.
Not even trying to hide the fact that she was overjoyed, Mary said, “If you’ll go get ready for breakfast, I’ll be out with it in a minute and I’ll make sure to personally thank Adam. Carter, thank you.”
Carter returned to the dining room where his three brothers were just entering for breakfast. A few moments later, Mary emerged from the kitchen with a platter of eggs and bacon.
“Don’t get comfortable,” Mary insisted. “I want all of you standing for this.” The Chadwick brothers looked at each other with confusion on their faces. “Carter told me what you voted on last night and first, I want to say thank you and secondly, I want to give each of you a hug before you eat.” She started with Carter, who was closest to her, looking him straight in the eye and saying, “I’ll never forget this for as long as I live. Thank you, Carter,” followed by a firm hug.
“It’s my pleasure Mary.” He squeezed her tightly.
“Billy, you come over here. You’re next,” she said, heading around the table for him. “You’re a special man Billy Chadwick. You often act like an idiot but underneath all that, you are a special man and I appreciate what you’ve offered to do for me and my son. I’ll never forget this kindness,” she said sincerely, hugging him firmly before heading for Buck.
“Buck Chadwick, you don’t get to eat until I give you a hug, too,” she said, heading over to him at the end of the table. Buck looked very uncomfortable as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Buck, I’ll never forget this kindness and I thank you,” she said staring him in the eye before heading for Adam.
“Adam, I know this was your idea and it’s the single kindest most treasured thing anyone has ever given me for my son. You, Adam Chadwick, are the dearest man I’ve ever known. Thank you!” she said sincerely, hugging him warmly before caressing his face in her hands and kissing him passionately in front of his brothers. Adam kissed her back with equal enthusiasm and for a moment, time stood still between the two of them. Adam held Mary in his arms for a few moments longer before they both cleared their throats.
“Okay, now that I’ve thanked everyone properly, I’ll get out of here so you can eat your breakfast. I’ll let you know the day and time later today after I check my calendar,” Mary said before heading back into the kitchen, the smile on her face stretched from ear-to-ear.
“Let’s eat boys, we’ve got cattle to move today,” Buck said, breaking the tension in the room.
Later that morning after the brothers had finished moving cattle, Adam and Beau headed down to the horse barn to work with Sassy.
“Okay, let’s talk about taking care of your horse,” Adam said as they approached Sassy’s stall.
“Yeah! Are we going to ride today?”
“Not today. Today, you’re going to learn how a cowboy takes care of their horse. Remember, without a horse, you’re not a cowboy because so much of your work is done on horseback. From riding fence, to moving cattle, a cowboy could easily put in eight to ten hours a day in the saddle and without a good horse you’ll burn through a lot of boots from walking!” Beau laughed.
“What do I do first?” Beau asked, his enthusiasm bubbling over.
“On a normal working cattle ranch, you’re day starts by feeding and watering your horse. After that, it’s stall cleaning and then it’s grooming, saddling, bridling and then you start your work day. At the end of the day, you’ll do the same list of chores but in reverse.”
“Can we feed Sassy?”
“Sassy was already fed this morning but starting tomorrow, you’ll be in charge of making sure she gets fed. Come with me and I’ll show you what she likes for breakfast.” Adam headed for the feed room where there were stacks of rich, sweet smelling, bright green bales of
hay on one side of the large room and on the other, there were silver trash cans with bungee-corded lids on each of them. Each one had the name of a different horse on it.
“Do you see how green that hay is?”
“Yes, it smells good too,” Beau said.
“That is rich alfalfa hay that comes from our own hay fields. Because our horses are working horses, they eat hay and grain like superman. You would never feed what we feed if your horse was standing around at home doing nothing. Since our horses are ridden for many hours each day, they are fed like superheroes. I’m telling you this, Beau, because the feed we use is very powerful so be careful not to overfeed Sassy. If you want to give her treats, bring carrots or an apple down from the house. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I’ll feed her only the right amount of superhero food but I can give her carrots and apples for treats?”
“Perfect.” Adam went on to explain the exact amount of hay and grain Sassy was to receive with each feeding before they left the feed room and headed over to her stall. “Because you’re going to be at school each day, is it okay with you if one of the other cowboys rides Sassy during the day? She’s going to miss being out with her friends otherwise.” Adam asked.
Beau thought about it for a minute before saying, “That’s okay with me. I don’t want her to miss her friends just because I have to go to school.”
“Great. So, early in the morning, before you head out to catch the bus, you’ll come down to the barn, feed Sassy and make sure her water bucket is full. Then, when you come home from school, you’ll do the afternoon feeding after you clean her stall. There’s an empty stall next to hers so I suggest you put half of her afternoon feed in there and move her there while you clean her house. When you finish cleaning, you can put the rest of her dinner in her normal stall before you move her back. That’ll make life easier for both of you and it’ll be safer. Be sure that her water bucket is full as well. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, but how do I clean her stall? Mom uses a vacuum cleaner in the house to clean the floors. Do you have a vacuum cleaner for Sassy’s house?” Beau asked. Adam smiled, acknowledging to himself that Beau’s question made perfect sense.
“I wish we had a vacuum that could do the job. We use a pitch fork and a rake. When we clean all the stalls at one time, we use a big tractor too but you’re not tall enough to drive the tractor yet so you’ll use a wheelbarrow instead.” Adam went on to demonstrate in the empty stall exactly how to properly clean and bed Sassy’s stall as she watched the two of them through the wall.
When the wheelbarrow was just about half-full, Adam warned, “I wouldn’t put anymore in there until you have some practice moving it. It can be pretty wobbly and we don’t want to work hard to fill the wheelbarrow, just to have to do it all over again because it tipped over while you were pushing it to the manure pile out back.”
The two of them carefully moved the wheelbarrow down the barn aisle and out the back door to the manure pile where Beau struggled to dump it. When they came back into the barn, they were both surprised to find Mary there with a cooler bag hanging over her shoulder.
“There are my two favorite cowboys,” she said. “I brought you all some snacks.”
“Thanks,” Adam said, glad to see her.
“Mom, we’re doing cowboy stuff,” Beau said, his voice filled with excitement.
“I can see that. Do you think I could hang out with the two of you while you do cowboy stuff? I brought cookies and drinks and I even brought a treat for Sassy.”
Beau looked up at Adam silently. Adam leaned in and whispered to Beau, “Your mom isn’t a cowgirl yet but she’s never going to learn if we don’t let her watch. Besides, she brought your horse a treat. What do you say?”
Beau considered his options for a minute before saying, “Ok Mom, since you brought Sassy a treat, you can stay.” Adam winked at Mary who couldn’t hide her smile.
“Thanks. Can you two take a little break?”
“I have to fill Sassy’s water bucket and put her back in her stall before I can take a break,” Beau said.
“Okay,” Mary was pleased to see how seriously Beau was taking his responsibilities.
“Beau and I will be done in a few minutes and then we can take a break before we groom Sassy,” Adam said.
“Yeah Mom, I have to finish my chores first because that’s what cowboys do,” Beau insisted, dragging out the long green hose that was attached to the water pump before sticking the end of it inside her hanging water bucket.
“I’ll turn the water on for you when you tell me you’re ready,” Adam said.
“Thanks, I’m ready.”
It only took a couple of minutes for the water bucket to fill to the top. “Let me know when you’re almost full and I’ll shut off the water for you,” Adam said.
“I’m almost full.”
“Okay,” Adam got up and turned off the pump, disconnecting the hose from the pump so it wouldn’t freeze overnight. He draped it up over a hook on the wall so it could drain. “Beau, do you see how I’m hanging the hose? I do that so we get all the water out of it before night time, otherwise, it will freeze and then we’ll have to carry buckets of water.”
“I understand,” Beau said seriously, studying everything Adam was doing. “I’m going to move Sassy back into her stall now.”
“I’ll come with you and then we can all have a snack.” Adam said. The two cowboys headed over to Sassy’s stall, hooked her lead line to her halter and Beau led her back into her stall, following the safety procedures as Adam explained them to him. Mary was touched to see how patient Adam was with Beau and how seriously Beau was treating everything. While they were doing that, Mary was taking pictures of them with her cell phone.
“Oh Mom, we’re trying to work,” Beau insisted when he realized she was chronicling the entire event.
“You’re only going to be seven years old for a minute and before you know it, you’re going to be married and have children and then it’ll be too late for me to take these photos.”
Beau turned to Adam with a serious look on his face and said, “Did Mom tell you that I’m going to marry cowgirl Crystal?”
Thankfully, Mary had already warned Adam of Beau’s big plan so he wasn’t taken by surprise. “She’s a great cowgirl. Any man would be lucky to be married to cowgirl Crystal. Have you asked her yet?”
“Not yet. Mom says I have to wait until I’m eighteen, so I have some time,” Beau said as the two casually walked over to the tack trunk Mary was sitting on. Adam couldn’t hide the smile on his face as Mary was busy snapping photos of the two cowboys.
When they stopped by her tack trunk, Mary set her phone down and opened the cooler bag she’d brought down with her from the house. Inside were cold sodas in cans, three carrots for Sassy and a bag filled with cookies that she’d baked the day before.
The three had a wonderful time and Sassy enjoyed her carrots before Mary left to let the cowboys get back to work. As she walked back up to the house alone, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, knowing how lucky she was to have Adam in her life and in her son’s life.
Chapter 20, Beau’s Big Day
Thursday, January Tenth
It was the following Thursday morning when all four Chadwick brothers arrived at Beau’s school, dressed in their best. Luckily for Mary, Adam was taking control of the schedule so he was able to drag Billy out of bed with enough time to get dressed up for the event. Carter was dressed in a beautiful Armani suit. Adam was wearing his professorial tweed suit coat. Buck and Billy were both dressed in clean jeans, western shirts and polished cowboy boots. Mary met them at the front door of the school with Beau eagerly awaiting their arrival.
“Wow, the other boys are going to shit when they see the four of you!” Beau exclaimed.
“Beau. Language!” Mary demanded.
“Sorry, Mom, but there’s no other way to say it, they’re going to shit!” The brothers all laughed at his comment. They knew t
hat when all the Chadwick brothers entered a room, it was pretty alarming. Their size alone was enough to make people take notice.
“What would you like us to do, Mary?” Adam asked.
“Everyone will be in the gymnasium. The boys will be seated with their dads and one-by-one the principal will have each boy and his dad stand up. That’s when the principal will introduce you to the audience.”
“Do we need to say anything?”
“No. Once the introductions are done, everyone will applaud the dads and then we’ll break for refreshments so all the dads can meet each other. That’ll last about an hour and then we’re all done.”
“Great. Even Billy can handle that without screwing it up.” Everyone laughed at Carter’s joke.
“Okay, we’re all yours. Where will you be while we’re sitting with Beau?” Adam asked.
“I’ll be in the bleachers, burning out my cell phone taking photos of every breath you take. I want to have as many photos as possible to mark this moment.”
“Oh Mom,” Beau said, his voice sounding strained. “She’ll probably be crying while she’s taking the pictures, too.”
“You’re absolutely right but when you’re rich and famous, you’re going to thank me for documenting this moment in your life. I promise you that,” she said with certainty, ruffling Billy’s hair before taking Adam’s arm and giving it a sincere squeeze of gratitude. Once again, their eyes met and time stood still.
Thirty minutes later, the four Chadwick brothers were flanking Beau in the bleachers ― Adam and Billy on one side and Buck and Carter on the other. When the announcer came to Beau and introduced his surrogate dads, one at a time, the audience erupted in applause and his classmates looked on with envy. As the four brothers took their seats, they realized that in that moment, they were once again a family of brothers.
Chadwick Ranch, Book 1: Winter Holiday Romance Page 15