Finding Home

by Lois Greiman

Casie blinked, scowled. “Yes. He’s very bright.” But shouldn’t he have consulted with her before making such an important decision?

  Emily’s eyes were round and innocent, seemingly devoid of guile for once. “And well groomed.”

  She scowled, not quite ready to try to unscramble the younger woman’s meaning. “Thank you.”

  Em was leading her toward the bathroom like a lost pup. “He must not have been raised on the farm, huh?”

  “His father was a district attorney out east.”

  “Wow.” Her tone was funny. “Well, you’d better get spiffed up, then. You shower first.” She shoved her into the bathroom, put her hand on the knob. “I’ll bring you some clothes.” The door closed in Casie’s face. She stared at it for a moment, then gave herself a mental shake and stripped naked. She was in the shower in a matter of seconds. The pressure was poor to nonexistent, but the water still felt warm and soothing against her skin. It washed across her face, reviving her, awakening her to possibilities. Bradley was here. True, she didn’t normally like surprises, but something had changed in the last few weeks. Despite everything, she was proud of the work she’d done here. And he would be, too. She was sure of it, even though he was a city boy and …

  Her thoughts stopped as she stepped out of the shower and noticed the cowgirl duds Emily had laid out for her. The back pockets of the low-cut jeans sparkled at her. Not Brad’s type of clothing, she knew, but they had been a hit with Philip Jaegar, and it wasn’t as if he was Jesse James or anything. It also wasn’t as if she had anything better to wear.

  Hair wet and curling slightly, she stared at herself in the mirror and made a face. She’d never been particularly pretty, but Brad had always said he didn’t care. He was looking for a wife, not a stripper. In the end, she left her hair loose to air dry and wandered down the stairs.

  “I sold pharmaceuticals for a while,” Brad was saying. “But I always knew I would become a doctor someday.”

  “It’s a calling for some,” Sophie said. Her voice was smooth and urbane. “My father would like me to go to medical school. Mom’s a psychiatrist, you know, but I don’t think that’s something I want to pursue. I’m considering becoming a news anchor.”

  Casie stood dumbfounded in the hallway outside the family room for a second. She hadn’t heard the girl string that many words together in the entire time they’d known each other. But maybe that was because most of her sentences were interrupted by spewing vitriol. Or maybe the difference lay in the fact that Sophie viewed Brad as a possible conquest.

  She scowled at the thought, but just then she heard a noise from above. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping like a pimple-faced teenybopper, she stepped into the family room.

  “You’d look good on—” Bradley began and glanced up as Casie made herself known. “Well, there you are.” He skimmed her with his eyes. “My little cowgirl.”

  “Oh.” She felt flustered and out of place. “I just … This is all I had that was clean.”

  “It looks fine,” he said, and rising to his feet, crossed the floor to kiss her cheek.

  “Well …” Sophie rose, too. “I’ll get cleaned up. It was nice to meet you, Dr. Brad.”

  “Yes, thanks for keeping me company,” he said and watched her for an instant as she crossed the floor to the stairs.

  “Sorry I kept you waiting,” Casie said.

  “No problem.” He pulled his gaze down to her face. “She seems like a bright kid.”

  “Yes,” Casie said. “She’s—” but at that second, Emily clattered down the steps behind her, humming something that might have been a tune in another universe.

  “Supper will be ready in a jiffy.”

  “I’ll help you,” Casie said, but Emily held up a hand.

  “Absolutely not. I’ve got it.”

  “You shouldn’t have to—”

  “It’s Emily, right?” Bradley said.

  Her expression was somber as she raised her gaze to his. “Yes, sir.”

  He smiled. “I’d love to have a little time with my fiancée.”

  “Of course.”

  “Thanks. I owe you one,” he said, and taking Casie’s hand in his, he led her to the couch and pulled her down beside him. “It’s so great to see you.”

  “Yes. I’ve missed you.”

  “Well, that’s good to know.” He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I thought maybe you were so busy here, you hadn’t noticed we were apart.”

  She laughed. His unwavering attention had always made her a little nervous. “Hardly.”

  “So what’s going on?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I’m just trying to get everything taken care of. You know. It’s a busy time of year with the calving and stuff. And then there are the horses… .” She paused. She’d never mentioned the horses to him. They weren’t going to be easy to explain. But it wasn’t as if he wasn’t going to notice them in the morning. “They need—”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that?” He squeezed her hand.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve still got the cows?”

  She scowled at him, surprised he could sprint right past the subject of horses. “What?”

  “The cows. I thought you would have sold them by now.”

  “I told you, they have to calve first. We can’t haul them out pregnant. They could abort or …” She paused, readjusted her line of thinking to that clear-minded fast track he had taught her. “We’ll make more money on them after they’ve given birth.”

  He thought about that for a second. His reddish blond hair was artfully mussed, his intelligent face solemn with thought. “So this Emily …” He kept his voice low. “She’s just helping out?”

  “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

  He glanced toward the kitchen, expression thoughtful. “No reason.”

  “She’s been great.”

  “Sure. I can see that. But wouldn’t it make more sense to get a …” He shrugged. “A farmhand or whatever they’re called. Instead of an inexperienced girl to do the work?”

  “Well, she needed a place to stay for a while, and I needed …” She shrugged.

  “My Cassandra,” he said. “Always taking in strays.”

  “She’s been a huge help. Makes all the meals. Helps clean up the place. She’s learning to fix fence. And you should see the things she’s planted in the garden.”

  “Like petunias and daffodils?” he asked and grinned as he danced his thumb up her arm. She shivered. He often called her his little daffodil and tickled her when they didn’t see eye to eye.

  “Carrots, onions.” She smiled a little, thinking of the patch of ground they had tilled together. “We’ll have enough potatoes to last a lifetime.”

  “A lifetime of potatoes. Wow. That would be worth almost three dollars at Costco,” he said and grinned.

  She lowered her gaze a little and tried not to feel cheapened. “Well, these potatoes are organic. And there’s something really nice about having your own fresh produce.”

  “When I’m a surgeon, we can have it delivered to our door first thing every morning.”

  She tried to figure out how to explain that that wouldn’t be the same thing at all, but she didn’t know how to convey the idea to a man who had never planted so much as a kernel of corn.

  “Listen, I’m glad you’re having a good time here, honey,” he said and smoothed his thumb over her knuckles.

  She stifled a scowl. “It’s not as if I’m sitting around eating bonbons and watching soaps, Brad.”

  “I know it’s not,” he said. “Believe me, I could see that as soon as you walked in the door.” Reaching up, he flicked away a speck of mud she had missed in the shower. “I’m just thinking if you put this much effort into your job in Saint Paul, you could probably have worked your way into management by now.”

  “Management.” She lost the battle with her scowl. “I thought we agreed I’d be going back to school as soon as you were done with your residency.
”

  “Well, sure, but that’s going to be a while yet.”

  “And what’s this about becoming a surgeon?”

  “Were you eavesdropping?” he said and raised his brows at her.

  “No. I—”

  “Tell me you’re jealous,” he said and moved a little closer. “You know how hot it makes me when you’re jealous.”

  She laughed a little, successfully diverted, and he leaned in to kiss her, but something rattled in the kitchen, startling them both.

  “I should really go help Em,” she said.

  “I’m sure she understands that we want a little time alone,” he argued and leaned close again.

  She glanced toward the kitchen. She’d never been comfortable with public displays of affection. Or maybe affection of any sort.

  “I’m sure she does,” Casie said. “She’s a very nice person, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “So are you,” he added and tightened his grip on her fingers. Their eyes met. “I just hope you’re not being taken advantage of.” From the kitchen, Chris LeDoux was flinging aspersions at cowboys who overstay their welcome. Emily was adding her own hip-hop beat.

  “What do you mean?” Casie asked.

  Brad sighed. “She doesn’t have a record or something, does she?”

  “A record?”

  “I mean …” He lowered his voice even more, though there was no way Em could have heard them over her own warbling cacophony. “Do you really think you can trust her? Doesn’t it seem kind of strange that you’ve never even met her before and she’s willing to just hang around? Have you …” He shrugged. “Have you locked up all the valuables?”

  She stared at him, tempted to laugh. “The tractor’s a little large to put in a safe.”

  He watched her a moment, then chuckled, but behind his humor, his eyes looked strained. “I just want to make sure you’re all right.”

  “Of course I’m all right.”

  “Good, because the nights are getting awfully lonely,” he said and kissed her.

  She stiffened. She wasn’t a prude. Really, she wasn’t … it was just that there were kids in the house and, well … maybe she was a prude.

  “Bradley …” She cleared her throat and shifted back a little. “I don’t think we should … you know … while the girls are here.”

  He grinned. “But it’s been months since we …” He waggled his brows at her. “… you know.”

  She shrugged but the movement felt stiff. “Sorry.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he grinned finally and moved back a few scant inches.

  “I almost forgot how self-conscious you are.”

  “I’m not self-conscious.”

  “Of course not,” he said and laughed as he settled back against the cushions. “So tell me about this Sophie. Is she a friend of the other girl’s?”

  “Of Emily’s? Hardly.” She glanced toward the kitchen. “And it’s really my turn to help out with supper.”

  “Help out?” His brows lowered again. “She’s eating our food for free, isn’t she?”

  “Like I said, she does a lot of work around here.”

  “I’m sure she does,” he said and smoothed his thumb over hers. “How about Sophie?”

  She cleared her throat. “What about her?”

  “Is she just here for the day or does she come around a lot?”

  “Actually …” She should have told him this before, of course. They were engaged. Supposed to share everything. But she didn’t want to make trouble, especially when he was only going to be here for a short while and telling him about the idea of building the Lazy into a kind of equestrian center was bound to make him upset. Which was fair because … it was crazy. But it was exciting, too, in a terrifying sort of way. “She’s kind of a guest.”

  “How many guests can we afford to feed?”

  “Well …” She shook her head. Laughed nervously. “Quite a few, if they’re like Sophie.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “She’s sort of a …” Her face felt warm, flushed with a strange meld of embarrassment and hope. “A student.”

  “A student of what?”

  “Of …” She shrugged. “Me.”

  He reared back a little. “What are you teaching? Mud wrestling?”

  Uncertainty, guilt, and a couple other emotions converged inside her, but she braced herself and drew a breath. “Her father thought she could learn a lot here.”

  “Her father.”

  “He’s a …” It didn’t seem prudent to tell him that Phil Jaegar had come by to try to sell the place and ended up giving her a means to keep it. “He’s a businessman from Rapid City.”

  He whistled low. “All the way from Rapid City.” He grinned, taking some of the sting out of his sarcasm. “And what’s he paying for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”

  “Two thousand dollars a week.”

  His brows rose. He opened his mouth.

  Casie smiled a little. It was nice, finally, to make him proud.

  “Two thousand a week.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s a lot of money.”

  “I know.” Excitement coursed through her at his amazed expression. Some people called her a people pleaser, but what was wrong with trying to make others happy? “I’ll be able to buy better hay and …”

  “Two grand a week and you’re making her slop around in the mud like some backwater yokel?”

  She blinked. “She’s not slopping around in the mud. She’s working, Brad. She’s helping out. We’re teaching her values. Teaching her to look outside herself.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, I’m serious.”

  “The girl has money and brains and … and looks and you’re teaching her to …” He exhaled a chuckle. “Wrangle cows.”

  “Some people see value in the way we yokels live,” she said.

  “And that’s great, honey. I mean, you’re as cute as a button in your cowgirl gitup, but some people are practical, Cassandra. Some people would like to be solvent. I happen to be one of those—”

  A metallic clang sounded from the kitchen followed by a gasp and a curse.

  Casie shot to her feet. Emotions roiled inside her with such ferocity that she dared not speak. Sparing Bradley one last glance, she hurried into the kitchen.

  Casie fought her tumultuous emotions like a grizzly. The memories of her parents’ feuds made her determined to smooth over the edges of her own life, to make sure the girls didn’t feel the ragged discomfort she had known. But neither of them seemed to notice anything unusual. In fact, Sophie carried the dinnertime conversation without seeming to take a breath.

  Still, by the time the apple cobbler was served, Casie was exhausted.

  “Well …” Emily looked as bright as a butterfly, absolutely oblivious to the couple’s dark mood. “You two kids go relax. Sophie and I will clean up.”

  Sophie pursed her lips and, for a second, Casie thought she would argue, revert back to her old ways, but she glanced at Brad and smiled her agreement. “Absolutely. I’m sure you guys would like some time alone.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Bradley said, smiling back and rising to his feet. She had almost forgotten how tall he was. “But you girls made the meal.” It wasn’t quite true. Sophie wouldn’t know how to cook a potato if it came in a box, but he seemed to have taken an instant dislike to Emily and never made eye contact. “Cassandra and I can clean up. It’ll give us some time to talk.”

  “Are you sure?” For a girl who obviously craved masculine approval, Emily seemed blissfully unaware that he distrusted her.

  “Of course.” He reached for his plate, glanced around the kitchen, and chuckled at himself. “No dishwasher, huh?”

  “No,” Casie said. She felt old and oddly tired of trying. “Never has been.”

  “Well, I’ve always thought that washing dishes was relaxing.”

  Yes, he had always relaxed while she washed dishes, sh
e thought, then felt bad about her uncharitable attitude and smiled at the girls. “Go ahead,” she said. “Thanks for the meal. It was great.”

  “Okay, but I have midnight cattle check,” Em said. “And Sophie has predawn. Right, Soph?” she asked, turning toward the other girl.

  “I’ll take your turn, too,” Sophie said.

  Casie and Em stared at her as if she’d sprouted antennae.

  Sophie shrugged, ultracasual. “I’m going to spend the night with Blue. So I might as well check the cows before and after.”

  “Sophie—” Casie began, but the girl’s brows lowered immediately, painfully reminiscent of those first few days together.

  “You said I could work with him on my time off. This is my time off.”

  Which made it sound, of course, as if she were being kept in a cage with bread and water until she was released to work in the coal mines.

  Casie glanced at Emily. But the girl’s face was absolutely impassive. It was rather doubtful that Em would object if Sophie insisted on spending the night in the freezer like so much ground beef.

  “Well …” Casie began, but Brad interrupted her.

  “Wait a minute. Who’s Blue?”

  Casie cursed in silence and forced her lips to crack into a smile. It almost hurt. “He’s just a colt we’re taking care of for a while.”

  “Mr. Dickenson dropped him off,” Emily added.

  “What’s this?” Brad asked. His brows had dipped a little. Casie’s heart rate bumped up a notch. Her stomach clenched. Explanations and apologies trembled on her lips, but Emily jumped in.

  “He was on his way to Canada,” she said. “Casie saved him.”

  “From what?”

  “From being slaughtered. She saved them all.”

  “All?” Brad looked very stiff, his handsome face frozen. “There are others?”

  “Seven,” Emily said. “Not counting Angel. But Angel is sort of Ty’s anyhow.”

  Brad held up his hands as if fending off too much information. “Maybe you’d better start from the beginning, Cass.”

  “It’s just for a while,” she said. “The horses needed a home. And I still have the ranch.”

  “Yeah, and why is that again?” he asked.

  “It takes time to—”

  “I’m going,” Sophie said. They glanced at her in tandem as she retrieved a sleeping bag from the hall closet. “I’m sure you two would like to fight in private.”