Chapter Five
Summer
I woke up the next morning and realized that for the first time in a long time I’d slept through the night. The recurring nightmares that usually struck me each and every night hadn’t and the stiff heaviness that coursed through my body seemed like it had lifted a little. Maybe this place was exactly what I’d been hoping for—somewhere I could leave the past behind.
It was a little before six when I walked out of the cabin. I stopped by and checked on Aria who was happily eating her hay.
“Ready?” I heard Brady’s voice followed by the sound of hoof beats against the hard ground outside the barn.
“Let’s get ‘er done,” Jake chimed in with a big and alert smile that said he’d been up long before I had. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and silently cursed him for looking so damn good so damned early in the morning.
I walked to the end of the barn aisle and peered outside the large double doors to see the two of them heading out. I took another peek at Aria and she appeared to be settling right in. So, I headed out to the main house, where I was greeted by Rue—a grin on her face and a cup of coffee in her hand, which she handed to me.
“For you. You sleep well?” she asked as she held the front door open for me and then led me through the hallway to the kitchen.
“I did. Thank you,” I answered as I tried to stifle a yawn. I could have easily slept another hour or three.
“Don’t worry,” Rue said with a big smile. “You’ll get used to waking up so early.”
“I hope so,” I answered as I took a big gulp of the coffee which tasted like heaven. “So, I saw Brady and Jake head out already. I figured they’d be here for breakfast?”
Rue shook her head. “They had to get an early start. They ate over an hour ago. They’ve got a wide line of fence that’s down at the far corner of the ranch. Some of the cattle got through last night. Got a call from one of the neighbors.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “They’ve got their work cut out for them.” She waved a hand at me. “It’s good. Gives us time to orient you on what you’ll be helping me with. I’ve got some bacon and scrambled eggs ready for you, and there’s a bowl of berries in the fridge over there.”
I grabbed my plate and sat down. Rue made up one for herself and sat across from me. It was quiet for a few minutes and I felt awkward, like I should fill the void of silence. But the last thing I wanted to do was talk about myself, and the last thing I wanted was for Rue to start asking questions about me. Once it looked like she was about to do just that, I headed her off.
“You’ve been here for twenty years?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
I set my fork down and looked at her.
“When Brady’s dad was alive and this place was just a working cow ranch rather than the added vacation thing we have now, my husband worked here. He managed the place.”
“Oh. You’re married?”
She nodded and then shook her head. “I was but I’m not no more!” She smiled over at me. “And praise the Lord for that.”
“That bad huh?”
“Yep. He was a mean son-of-a-bitch.”
I took a sip of coffee and didn’t know how to respond. “Well, congratulations,” I settled on finally.
“I’ll take them, baby girl,” she said and then nodded as if to say the story was far from over. I was happy to hear it because I didn’t want the spotlight on me and I also had to say that Rue was an interesting woman and I wanted to know her backstory.
“Even though I was married at the time, I fell for Brady in a very big way,” she continued with a little smile that meant she was still under the big man’s spell.
“Oh.” I didn’t really know what else to say because I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to ask more or if I should just wait for her to offer up whatever she wanted to.
“Yeah. Kind of foolish. Got Brady’s ass kicked, but in the end, that bastard I was married to left and I moved in here.”
“Are you and Brady married then?”
“No. Not in the ‘let’s go to church and put on a ring’ married. We are common law married and that’s how we like it. We don’t need the paperwork and all that. Neither one of us were super successful in past relationships so we agreed to do things our own way.”
“That makes sense.”
“What about you? You have a boyfriend?”
I laughed as I thought about it and the fact that I hadn’t even had a date since my mother made off with my last one. In general, I steered completely clear of men. I figured if I never allowed a man to get close to me, I couldn’t get hurt. “No. Definitely not.” Silence set in again and I felt like she was waiting for me to explain. “I haven’t had time,” I started. “I’ve got goals for Aria and me, and I’ve been working toward them.”
“Goals?”
I nodded and glanced down into my half empty cup of coffee. “Starting a new life, that sort of thing. Men just don’t fit into my plans at the moment.”
“I understand.” She nodded at me and gave me a sweet smile. “Well, I’m always here if you need someone to talk to.”
A pit welled in my stomach because the last person who’d offered to be there for me was my dad, and memories of him did nothing but cause a sinking feeling in my gut. “Thank you.”
“We better get started,” Rue said with an apologetic smile.
We rinsed our plates and Rue gave me the lowdown on how the kitchen was run and how the meals were planned each day for guests.
“Once we’re done here, you’ll have to head on into town,” she started after finishing her lengthy explanation on meal planning. “Brady called Sharon last night after dinner, and you’ve got yourself a job interview.”
I couldn’t help my surprise. “Awesome!”
It seemed my life was starting over again right here in Colorado Springs. And I was happy. Happier than I could remember being in a long while. The people surrounding me seemed genuine and good—the types of people you could trust and become close with. But the pit in my stomach warned me not to get close to anyone or it would lead to disaster. If nothing else, I’d learned that caring about anyone only led to disappointment and heartache.