There was one booth against the wall open, so she sank into it and looked around her. Kelsi, the youngest of the Weston siblings, was waddling around. She looked like she was about to collapse from the weight of her stomach, but she had a huge smile plastered to her face. She dropped a menu on the table. “Welcome to the ranch, Mrs. White!”
“Call me Debbie. Everyone around here is on a first name basis. You can’t leave me out of that!”
“All right. I’m going to bring you some fried cheese curds, because Bob is pushing them today, and as his mother-in-law, you get no choice. What can I get you to drink?”
“Iced tea would be great.” Debbie looked down at her menu, struggling to decide. “What’s the special?” she asked as Kelsi was starting to waddle away.
“Bob’s going to be so glad you asked. Chicken and dumplings. He guarantees they will warm you from the inside out.”
“Okay, I’ll probably have that, but I’m going to look over the whole menu first.” Debbie had been there several times with Miranda when she was visiting for Christmas, but she hadn’t really taken the time to study what was there, just going by Miranda’s suggestions.
A minute later, Kelsi was back with her tea. “We’re out of tables, and Frank here is in a hurry. He’s our pilot. Do you mind if he shares your table?”
Debbie was a little startled, but she shook her head. It wouldn’t hurt her to share. “No, that’s fine.”
The man—who looked to be in his late forties with salt and pepper hair and a nicely trimmed beard—sat down across from her. “Thanks for being willing to share. I have a flight in an hour, and that’s enough time to eat if I don’t have to wait for a table.”
“I’m happy to share.” Debbie couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat alone at a table with a man who wasn’t her son. She had carefully avoided men since her husband died twenty years before. “I’m Debbie White.”
“White…are you Miranda’s mom?”
She nodded, used to being identified by her children. “I am. Today’s my first day working on the ranch.”
“Welcome to River’s End. You’re going to love it here. I think we all feel like we’re a big happy family.” Frank took off his ball cap, running his fingers through his full head of black hair. There were silver strands running through it, but he was an attractive man.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Five years. I’m retired air force.”
“My husband was in the air force. Thank you for your service.” The words were automatic, and she could now mention her husband without sadness.
“Why did I think you were single?” Frank shook his head. “Just my luck. All the pretty ladies my age are married. Where am I supposed to find a good woman?” He sighed dramatically.
Debbie shook her head. “You misunderstand. My husband was killed in the line of duty when Miranda was two.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Frank studied her. “That’s a long time ago. You never wanted to remarry?”
She shrugged. “It never seemed right. I’ve had kids at home until the past couple of years, and it never seemed like the right time to divide my focus. I had to work hard to make a living for us, and the kids deserved every spare moment I had.”
“Kids? How many?” Frank eyed her slender figure. Most women his age had packed on at least a few pounds—especially the moms—and he couldn’t help but be attracted to the pretty lady sitting across from him.
“Just two. I was pregnant with my son when I lost my husband.” She’d said the words a million times, and she waited for his talk about how tough it must have been.
“Well, you did a great job with Miranda at least. I’m assuming your son isn’t a drug dealer or murderer?”
Debbie laughed. “I hope not. If he is, he hasn’t gone to prison for it yet, and he’s hiding it well.”
“What more can you ask for in a kid?”
“Oh, I can ask for a lot, but truly all I care about is them being happy. Miranda is so in love with Bob it’s kind of scary at times.”
Frank nodded. “The ranch seems to spark that kind of love. I think it’s something Bob’s putting in the burgers. It wasn’t quite like this before he got here around this time last year.”
Kelsi came back to the table, sliding a soft drink in front of Frank. “What are you two getting?”
Debbie hadn’t looked again, being absorbed in conversation instead. “I’ll have the chicken and dumplings.”
Frank shrugged. “I’ll take the same. And we’re on one ticket.”
Debbie shook her head adamantly. “No, I’ll get my own.”
“It’s my welcome to the ranch meal. How do you know I don’t do this for all the new ranch employees?”
She frowned. “I don’t, but I have a feeling you don’t.”
Kelsi grinned. “One ticket sounds good to me and little Widget.”
Frank shook his head at her. “Widget? You’re starting to repeat yourself, Kelsi. It’s time for a real name.”
“She’ll get a real name as soon as she’s born. Shane and I are still in final negotiations.” Kelsi turned to go put in their orders, leaving Debbie staring after her in bemusement.
“Widget?” she asked.
Frank sighed. “She’s used at least a hundred different names for that baby since she announced her pregnancy last summer. I swear she’s going to drive poor Shane absolutely bonkers before too terribly long.”
“Too late! I’m there!” a man in a sheriff’s uniform called from the next table over.
Frank raised a hand in greeting. “Howdy, Sheriff! We’re all on your side in the great baby naming debate of 2017!”
“You’d better be! No one, and I repeat, no one wants that woman naming a baby. She’s lost what bit of sanity she had before the pregnancy. I don’t know what we’re going to do with her!” The sheriff nodded a greeting at Debbie. “I think I saw you at the Christmas festivities. I’m Shane Clapper. The father of that poor baby who is going to end up with a name like Marble, just to amuse my crazy wife.”
“Marble?” Debbie asked, wrinkling her nose. “She wouldn’t really name the baby Marble, would she?”
“She’s been trying to get me to agree to Widget for months.”
“Widget’s a better name than Marble!” Kelsi said, frowning at her husband. “I never once suggest Marble as a name, and I wouldn’t. I have standards, you know!” She slipped two bowls of the special onto the table in front of Debbie and Frank. “Please don’t listen to my husband. He’s apparently lost his Marble!” She walked away laughing at her own joke, obviously moving slowly.
Debbie looked over at Shane. “How much longer does she have to go? That baby is huge, and your wife is pretty small!”
Shane looked over at Kelsi, his eyes full of love. “She’s due in another month. I’m not sure she’s going to make it that long, though.”
“It might be good with as little as she is. I went two weeks early with both of mine, and my doctor said it was a blessing. I wasn’t really large enough to carry a big baby.” Debbie took a bite of her chicken and dumplings, and sighed contentedly. “As annoying as Bob can be, his food is to die for.”
Frank nodded. “I totally agree. His chicken and dumplings are one of my favorite things on the whole planet.”
“What are your other favorite things?” Debbie asked, growing fascinated by the man across from her. It was strange how the simple act of eating with a man suddenly seemed so intimate.
“Bob’s Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday specials, of course.” His eyes were twinkling at her. “I eat here at least one meal a day, but usually two.
“You don’t cook?” she asked.
“Oh, I can cook. I just don’t like to for only one person. It seems a waste of time to get out all those pots and pans when I’m the only one who’s going to enjoy it.” He took a sip of his drink, studying her over the rim. “I don’t suppose you’d let me cook you a welcome to the ranch supp
er, would you?”
Debbie bit her lip. “I haven’t gone out with a man since my husband Dale died.”
“Then it sounds like it’s time to me. I understand you closing yourself off from men while you’re raising your kids, but they’re grown now. Let me make you dinner. If you don’t like it or me at the end of the night, then no harm done. If you do…maybe we can get to know one another better.” He took his last bite of food and pushed his bowl to the middle of the table. “I’d sure like the chance to get to know you.”
She considered for a moment. She’d come here to start anew, and maybe going out with someone was just the right answer. “I’d like that. When?”
“Tonight. Where are you staying?”
Things were moving faster than Debbie would like, but she knew if she spent too much time thinking about it, she’d put the brakes on the whole thing. “I’m in the staff cabin.”
“I’ll come get you at six. Does that work?”
Debbie nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be ready at six.” And she would. She never went back on her word. She wasn’t sure what her kids would think about it, but they were now grown, and it was time for her to start living her life for a change.
“Good.” He leaned to one side as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a twenty on the table. “That’ll cover lunch and a tip. I’ll see you tonight.” As Frank left the café, all he could think about was the pretty woman he’d just had lunch with. He’d seen her at Christmas time, sitting with Miranda and a young man, but he hadn’t dared approach. When Kelsi had sat them together, it felt like fate was smiling down at him. Fate or Jaclyn’s fairies. He was sure Jaclyn would claim it as a victory for the fairies. She always did.
He hummed as he walked across the ranch toward the airstrip. Suddenly the prospect of flying a couple of spoiled twenty-something boys around in his helicopter all afternoon didn’t bother him. He was flying without his wings. He was going to knock her socks off.
Debbie watched him go, wondering what she’d just agreed to. A date with a man she’d only just met? Dale had asked her out six times before she’d agreed, and she agreed to Frank after talking to him for forty-five minutes? She didn’t think she’d lost her mind, but she was sure acting a lot more wild and free than she usually did.
She left the café and walked over toward the Old West Town, stopping into the bakery to see Miranda. There was a short line, but at least it wasn’t all the way out the door like it had been at Christmas time.
When she reached the front of the line, Miranda smiled. “What can I get you, Mom?”
“I want a chocolate chip cookie, but only if you put twelve chips in it and not fifteen.”
Miranda rolled her eyes. “You must have had lunch with Bob.” Miranda and her husband had fought over the correct number of chocolate chips in a cookie for months before they started dating. Mostly because Bob was difficult.
Debbie grinned. “I had lunch in the café, but Bob stayed in the kitchen where he belongs. I had lunch with Frank.” She hadn’t meant to tell Miranda about her lunch, but the words just kind of popped out.
“You did? What do you think of Frank?” Miranda’s eyes were excited, though her face was pale.
“Are you sick?” Debbie asked.
“I’m fine. What did you think of Frank?”
“He seemed like a very nice man. He’s going to cook dinner for me tonight.” Debbie studied her daughter’s face, worried that it would bother her if she started dating. It had been so long for her.
“Sounds good to me. I’ve heard he makes fabulous steaks. What’s he making for you?”
“He was in a hurry, so I have no idea. I just know he’s going to pick me up at my cabin at six.”
“Your cabin.” Miranda smiled happily. “I’m so glad you’re living and working on the ranch, Mom. And you’re doing something you enjoy. You always hated being in real estate.”
“I did. But I was good at it, and I was able to raise you kids. That’s what mattered at the time.”
“Promise me that you’ll be the one to matter now!”
Debbie smiled. “I was just telling myself that over lunch. I’m not living for you kids anymore. It’s time to live for me.”
Miranda handed her the cookie and a bottle of water. “I’m glad.”
Epilogue
“Last one. Is this one straight?” Travis asked as he held the corner of a picture frame. Dani stood behind, her head cocked as he hung the last of the family and ranch photos that now covered the wall behind the couch in her cozy cabin.
“I think so. What do you think?”
He stepped back, looping his arm around her shoulder as he eyed the wall. Pictures of all the Westons, current ones and when they were all kids, covered the wall and he nodded contentedly.
“Much cozier now. A lot different than when I stayed here.”
They’d first talked about getting married right away, having him move into the cabin with her and Kitty as soon as possible. She’d never seen Kitty so happy as when Travis had walked back through the door. She twisted between his legs so fast that he had to pick her up or get knocked over.
But she’d told him she wanted to wait. Her parents had missed the wedding of each of their children, and since they’d be home soon—just a few weeks—for Kelsi’s delivery, it mattered to her that they be there to see at least one of their kids get married. And she’d realized over the past few weeks that she wanted that as much as they did.
He’d moved into Kelsi’s old room in the Main House until they could be married. Dani hadn’t let up on Andrew until he at least removed the boas from the ceiling, but there still was quite a bit of girlie stuff. Travis said over and over he didn’t mind. He was patient, he said, and would wait.
For now, they were happy to spend evenings together in the cabin, cooking together and cuddling Kitty as they planned their future. It had been a shock to Dani that Travis was wealthy—apparently, his racing career had been very successful and lucrative. So they were able to leisurely decide what he wanted to do, although she kept working every day. The weather had been pretty calm, so rescues were on the low side for this time of year, so they’d hunkered down by the fireplace, just enjoying each other.
She nestled her head on his shoulder and laughed as Kitty crept out from under the blanket at the end of the sofa and walked straight across her lap and plopped down on his.
“See? She doesn’t even like me. I’m not even a good cat mom,” she said.
“Ah, like I said before, don’t take it personally. Cats are finicky. You’ll be a great mom someday.”
She felt her cheeks heat. They’d never really talked about having children…not about them having children. She supposed before they were married might be a better time than after, so she took a deep breath.
“I don’t think I’d be even close to as good a mother as Kelsi will be, but how do you feel about having children?”
He craned his neck and looked at the pictures behind him—kids frolicking everywhere. Splashing in the lake, sliding down hills in bobsleds. “I want as many as you want. But I think we’d make really cute ones. And they’d like to ride snowmobiles—fast—just like we do.”
She laughed and squeezed his hand. Sounded to her like they were on the same page there, and she’d just practice with Kitty until the time came for a human baby.
“You know, along those lines, I’ve been thinking about what I might do here at the ranch,” Travis said.
“I thought house husband sounded particularly helpful,” Dani said, a twinkle in her eye. “You’re a great cook, and—”
“Very funny. I’m too young to do just that for the rest of my life. How do you think the family would feel about maybe putting in a small go-kart track? Elf could help with the karts, and I could give lessons. It’d be fun in the summer, and we could do it next to the Kids’ Korral.”
Dani thought for a moment about what her parents had asked for—a complete facility for kids where their par
ents could leave them or join in the fun with them if that’s what they chose. The Kids’ Korral was well underway.
“That sounds like something we could pitch to the family. Wade’s usually open to anything that makes the guests happier, and having a resident racing pro onsite couldn’t be a bad thing. Could be a real draw.”
She melted at his smile, and she could see the wheels turning.
“Just so long as you don’t go too fast. They’re kids, you know. Safety first.”
He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling in that way that made her heart melt. “Nope, not too fast. Not with them, anyway. I’ll save the really fun rides for you.”
She laughed out loud, picturing them careening through the mountains on snowmobiles with their children. And just as she squeezed his hand, Kitty stood, stretched and yawned, and plopped herself right on Dani’s lap for the first time ever.
Read on for a sneak peek at the next
River’s End Ranch book:
Flyboy’s Fancy
by Kirsten Osbourne
Sneak Peek
Flyboy’s Fancy
by
Kirsten Osbourne
Chapter One
Debbie White pulled over to the side of the road when her phone started ringing. She was finished with clients for the day and headed to her lonely home in Boise Bench. She’d purchased the home years before, right before her daughter Miranda had started school, because it was the best ranked school system in the area. Her children had been her life for so long, she almost wasn’t sure what to do without them.
She grabbed her phone, noting the number was from Riston, Idaho, where her daughter lived. She swiped her finger across the screen and answered it. “Hello?”
“Mrs. White, this is Wade Weston. I’m the manager of River’s End Ranch. I was calling about the application you put in to be the director of our new child care center.”
Debbie blinked. She’d put the application in at the first of January and done the interview then. It was mid-February. Surely this was a courtesy call to tell her she hadn’t gotten the post. “Yes?”
Discovering Dani (River's End Ranch Book 20) Page 10