by Zoe Matthews
Annie looked at the patch of brown dirt and then shook her head. “There’s no roses there.”
“No, sweetie, because it’s too close to winter to plant them. They wouldn’t survive and would die. But I tell you what, why don’t you sit down with the girls later and pick out the kind of roses you want to see planted here. They’ll order them in the spring and when they get here you can help plant them.”
“I want red ones, and yellow ones, and pink ones…”
“What are we talking about?” Sierra asked as she joined them. Taking off her gardening gloves and pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ears.
“Annie would like to help decide the colors of roses that get planted here,” Emma informed her.
“That’s a wonderful idea! Annie, you and I are going catalog shopping as soon as we’re done outside.”
“What’s catalog shopping?” Annie asked with a look of distrust.
Sierra wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It means we’re going to look at lots of pretty pictures in a magazine and circle the ones we want. Then we’ll go on the computer and order them. But remember, they won’t come until after Christmas.”
“Will they have flowers on them?”
Emma shook her head. “No, but the flowers wouldn’t travel very well. The plants will have leaves on them, and with careful watering and lots of sunshine, they’ll have big, beautiful flowers on them in no time at all.”
“I like roses. My mom smelled like roses.”
Emma watched Annie, but she didn’t seem sad. Just matter of fact. Annie beamed her normal smile at them all and then plopped down in the grass to hug Sunny.
Emma looked at Sierra and asked. “Her mom?”
Sierra nodded. “Annie lived with her mom until Logan brought her here. His mom is getting up in years and caring for Annie was becoming difficult for her. He happily took over her care and I’m so glad he did so. Whenever I’m having a bad day, she always has a smile and something upbeat to say. Being that happy is truly a gift.”
“I agree. And thanks for agreeing to let her help pick out the type of roses. I think she was feeling a bit left out,” Emma commented.
“No problem. She’s a good girl and it’s been a joy to have her around. I know that Logan says she’s happier and more well-adjusted than he’s ever seen her. I think it’s been good for Kathy to have her around as well. Her sister had Down syndrome but she died when she was a teenager. I think in some ways, caring for Annie has helped Kathy finally let go of her grief of losing her sister.”
“That’s good. This is a good place to heal and learn to just be yourself. She seems really happy here,” Emma replied.
“So do you,” Sierra commented. “How come you’re still living in the city if you hate it so much?”
Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I always dream of leaving, but I’ve just never done so. Maybe I never had the right motivation or incentive to do so.”
Sierra said nothing, but she gave Stella a knowing look as she went back to work.
Emma tried not to worry about what that look might mean, and went back to helping the children properly plant the bulbs. The garden and gazebo would look amazing next summer. She could already see it in her mind. Maybe I could get Spencer to take a picture and send it to me. Or better yet, maybe I could come back up here for my vacation again next year.
Chapter 15
Sheridan exited his office, having just listened to his sisters’ wax eloquently about how much knowledge Emma had. He’d already decided that she would be an asset to their operation, but he hadn’t found time to discuss the possibility of her staying on.
He spied Spencer in his office, but Emma wasn’t with him. Kathy was in the kitchen preparing lunch and he asked her. “Have you seen Emma around lately?”
Kathy smiled at him. “She went with the children down to the barn to see Misty work with Tucker.”
“Anyone else go with her?” Sheridan asked as he headed for the door.
“Not to my knowledge. Why?”
“No reason. She seems to really get along with the kids.”
“You should have seen her with them yesterday digging in the dirt. Those kids got a free science lesson and didn’t even realize they were learning at the time.”
Sheridan smiled and headed out. He could hear the children cheering for Tucker as he neared the barn. All of them were either leaning through the split rail fence, or hanging on the top bar, as Misty worked with Tucker.
He didn’t immediately see Emma, but then he realized she wasn’t much taller than Misty to begin with. She was standing right next to the young girl, and he’d almost missed seeing her.
“Emma?” he called to her.
She turned her head and then waved at him, slipping back through the fence and coming to join him. “Hi. Did you walk all the way down here looking for me?”
“I sure did. I was wondering if we might talk about the future.”
“Future?” she echoed, giving him a concerned look.
“Nothing bad, I promise. I was just wondering what your plans for the future were.”
“Well,” she smiled at him, “as much as I wish I had more vacation time coming, I don’t. I’m scheduled to fly out of here tomorrow.”
“That soon? I hadn’t realized…well, then it’s a good thing we’re talking now. I’d like to offer you a job here on the ranch. To help manage the outside areas. Landscape, gardens…and whatever else you could see up here.”
“You want me to come work here?” Emma asked in surprise.
“I do. You and Spencer seemed to have hit it off…”
Emma shook her head. “He hasn’t said anything to me about wanting me to stay. I mean, we’ve talked about my wanting to leave the city, but nothing beyond that.”
Sheridan looked confused. “I thought you two were getting along so well. I guess I assumed your visit here was to solidify your relationship.”
“I kind of thought it would go that way as well, and I think I probably am falling in love with your brother, but so far, it appears to be one-sided.”
Sheridan shook his head and muttered, “That idiot!”
“What?” Emma asked.
“Nothing. I would like you to consider my offer. Spencer does care for you, and it may be he just doesn’t know how to show it.”
“I wish I was as confident as you are. If I thought we had a future together, I wouldn’t even go back to New York. I’d pay a service to pack my belongings up and send them to me. But I can’t uproot myself, move here, and then have things between Spencer and I not work out. It would be very uncomfortable for everyone involved.”
Sheridan nodded his head. “I understand that. Just please; give it some thought. And don’t be afraid to knock some sense into my brother’s head. Tell him how you feel and see what he says.”
Emma gave him a soft smile. “I might just do that. Thank you for the offer. I would love to accept it, but until I know where things stand with Spencer, I just can’t.”
“Well, the offer stands for as long as it needs to. You belong here.” Sheridan gave her a smile and then sauntered off, back towards the house.
Emma sighed and then turned her attention back to the children. They were so easy to read. If they were hungry, they let you know. If they were sick, they let you know. If they were happy, they let you know. No pretenses. No shielding themselves from getting hurt. Just honest emotion put out there for all to see. More adults could take a lesson from how kids deal with things.
Chapter 16
Spencer sat at his desk, his mind in a quandary. Emma was leaving tomorrow, and he didn’t want her to go. What if I never see her again?
But how do I ask her to give up her job in New York and move out here to the ranch? She’d have no job. No friends.
A little voice in his head reminded him that she’d have him and his family, but Spencer wasn’t convinced that was enough to ask her to give up her entire life and make such a drastic change.
&
nbsp; Why don’t you let her make that decision? Do you truly know what she wants out of life?
He looked out the window, seeing Sheridan walking back towards the house and wondering what had taken him down to the barn. It was the only structure in that direction and he decided he should probably go make sure there weren’t problems that needed sorting out.
He met Sheridan as he entered the house by the front door. “Anything wrong?”
Sheridan looked at him with a stern look. “Well, I guess that depends.”
“On what?” Spencer asked.
“On whether or not you truly care for Emma.”
“Of course I care for Emma. What’s this all about?” He was starting to feel defensive, something he felt regularly around his older brother.
“I just had an interesting conversation with her down at the barn.”
“With Emma?” Spencer asked for clarification.
“Yes, with Emma. I offered her the job of maintaining the landscape and gardens for the ranch. She didn’t exactly turn me down, but she wouldn’t commit either. Even though I could tell she wanted to.”
“Why wouldn’t she take the job?” Spencer asked, puzzled because she seemed to enjoy being here.
Sheridan looked at him and then answered, “She wouldn’t take it because she doesn’t know where she stands with you.”
Spencer opened his mouth and then shut it. See what you’ve created by not telling her how you really feel.
“She says she’s leaving tomorrow,” Sheridan pushed at him.
“She’s supposed to. I wish she didn’t have to leave…”
“You need to go talk to her. I don’t think she wants to leave, I think she’s leaving because she doesn’t know that you want her to stay.” When Spencer didn’t say anything else, Sheridan asked him, “Don’t get mad, but if there’s one thing I learned from living with dad, it was that keeping your emotions to yourself doesn’t do anyone any good.”
Spencer looked at his brother and then headed for the front door. “Is she still down at the barn?”
Sheridan smiled at him. “Yeah. With all of the kids.”
Spencer groaned but as he walked the short distance to the barn, he decided the kids could become accomplices. He spied Mason and Noah first and waved them over behind the gator sitting out front.
“Hey, guys. Wanna help me with a little surprise for Emma?”
Both boys nodded their head, and he continued with his plan. When the scampered off to the nearby tree line, he watched to make sure they hid themselves well behind a large fallen tree and then he proceeded.
“Hey, girls. Whatcha doin’?”
Emma and the girls turned around and smiled at him, Emma’s smile only slightly more reserved.
“We’re watching Misty work with Tucker. He’s really smart,” Elysha told him, taking his hand and pulling him over to the fence.
Emma looked around and then he watched as she grew concerned. “Girls, where are Mason and Noah?”
Everyone looked around, but the two boys were nowhere to be seen. “I don’t know. They were just right here,” Ashley told her.
“Mason! Noah! Where are you?” Emma called out loudly.
Logan came striding out of the barn upon hearing his sons’ names called, “Did they take off again?”
Emma looked very concerned. “I don’t know. They were just here a minute ago. What do we do?”
Spencer watched as Logan grew concerned and he started to doubt the wisdom of his plan. Thinking fast, he suggested, “Why don’t you girls go look inside the barn? Maybe they went looking for the cat and her new litter of kittens.”
“I bet that’s where they are,” Elysha commented, heading for the barn with Ashley and Brooklyn following close behind.
“I’ll go look around back of the barn. If those boys took off again…” Logan muttered he started to leave.
“How about Emma and I head towards the trees. They like to play hide and seek in there. Maybe that’s where they went?”
Emma immediately took off for the tree line. Spencer grabbed Logan before he could leave and whispered. “I can’t explain right now, but the boys are hiding right there behind that fallen log. I asked them to help me convince Emma to stick around. Sorry if I worried you.”
Logan looked at him funny and then started softly laughing. “Well, I’m thinking she would have appreciated being asked to stay just as much, but then again, she seems to have taken up with all of our kids.”
“I better go make sure this plan works.” Spencer jogged to catch up to her, feeling badly for a moment when he saw how worried she was. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
“Spencer, they’re only four years old!” she protested as she kept looking around.
“I know that, but around the ranch, there’s really nothing that can hurt them here.”
“What if a bear…or they get lost…or…,” she broke off on a horrified gasp as they stepped into the trees and took off running full out.
Chapter 17
“Mason! Noah! Don’t touch that! Stay right there and don’t move!”
Spencer looked ahead and then groaned. He’d asked the boys to pick some wildflowers and to help him ask her nicely to stick around so that there would always be flowers at the ranch, but they’d gone a step further.
Both boys had decided the columbines growing off the path looked enticing, but in order to get to them, they had inadvertently walked straight into a patch of poison oak!
“Oh my goodness! Spencer, what do we do to get them out?”
“Uncle Spencer, my foot’s stuck and I can’t get it loose,” Mason yelled in panic.
“I tried to help, but I fell,” Noah hollered.
Spencer knew he would pay for his next action, but considering it was his fault the boys were even in this situation, sharing their discomfort was the least he could expect. “I’m coming. Hang on and don’t move.”
“Spencer, you can’t go in there. You’ll get it too,” Emma protested.
“I’ll explain in a minute, but they’re in there because I sent them to pick some wildflowers for you.”
“What?” Emma asked in confusion.
Spencer made short work of untangling Mason’s foot and then lifted both boys to the safety of the trail. They were already starting to itch and he grabbed their hands and squeezed. ”Don’t scratch. We’ll get you back to the ranch and Kathy will get us all fixed up.”
“I don’t feel so good, Uncle Spencer,” Noah told him, reaching up to scratch his face.
Spencer ignored the urge to scratch his own arms and squatted down to look both boys in the eyes. “Guys, you stepped in poison oak. That’s what those red leaves are. Remember I told you that red berries were poison and we shouldn’t touch them. Red leaves are the same way.
“I need you both to keep your hands away from your face until we can get your hands washed clean of the poison that was on those leaves. Can you do that for me?”
Both boys nodded their heads miserably. “Yes, sir.”
Emma was watching him, but before he could explain, Logan pulled up in the gator. “Logan, man I’m sorry, but the boys got into the poison oak before we got to them.”
Logan groaned as he took off his cowboy hat and ran his hands through his hair. “Great! Okay guys, you know the drill. Into the gator and keep those hands away from your face.”
“Drill?” Spencer asked.
“This isn’t the first time they’ve found that stuff. I’ve got Kathy’s special ointment at the house. It looks like you might need some of it yourself. There’s a second gator inside the barn if you want to take it up to the house. I’m going to get these two home.”
Spencer watched them drive away and then turned to Emma. “I’m sorry. This didn’t quite go as I planned.”
Emma nodded and then started walking with him. She grinned mischievously. “Why don’t you tell me what was supposed to happen? I could pretend and then you’d know if it would have worked.”
/> Spencer laughed and then nodded. “Well, the boys were supposed to have picked you some flowers and I was going to tell you how sad I was that you were leaving tomorrow. I was going to tell you that I don’t want you to go and I wished you could stay.”
Emma stopped walking and he turned to look at her. “Do you really mean that, or did Sheridan talk to you?”
“Sheridan did talk to me, but only to tell me that he’d offered you a job here. That was one of the reasons I hadn’t said anything about how I feel. I didn’t feel it was right of me to take your job away from you, when I couldn’t replace it.”
“It’s just a job,” Emma reminded him.
“I know, but I didn’t think that me offering only myself as a replacement was fair.”
Emma stepped closer to him. “Do you really think so little of yourself?”
“No! Not at all. But I’ve seen how happy you are when you’re designing things and planting things. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”
She started to reach for his hand, but then stopped and sighed. “Spencer, I’ve been happy here but not just because I got to play in the dirt. I’m happy because you’re here. You make me happy. I love being with you, and I think we could make something together…”
“Emma, I really want to kiss you right now, but I don’t want you to get this stuff.”
Emma laughed. “I want to kiss you too, but I won’t intentionally contaminate myself with poison oak. Let’s get you taken care of, and then maybe we can have that kiss.”
They headed back to the main house, deciding to walk the short distance, with Spencer speed walking the last hundred yards. “Is the itching bad?” she asked him with a grin.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Just before he opened the kitchen door, he turned and leveled his gaze at her. “I think I might love you, Emma.”
Emma smiled back at him. “I know I’m falling in love with you, Spencer. And I’ll be here waiting for you to come to the same conclusion. I’m not going anywhere.”