CHAPTER TWO

 

 

“I think I passed my reading quiz today.”

Sophie waited to make her announcement until after her brother finished regaling Andrew with a bit of eighth-grade locker drama. Knowing reading wasn’t his niece’s thing, Andrew smiled at the ten-year-old as he swallowed a bite of Heather’s winter vegetable curry.

“That’s awesome! I know you were worried yesterday, so I’m glad the studying paid off. This was the one on irony, right?”

She nodded and poked at the curry and rice on her plate. “Yeah. Verbal irony I can get, no problem.”

“Probably because she’s used to sarcasm,” her mother pointed out from the head of the table.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” her daughter fired back verbal ironically. Then she sighed. “It’s situational and…the, uh, other kind of irony I have trouble figuring out.”

Sean helped his sister out. “Dramatic irony. That’s where the reader knows more information than the characters in the story, so we know it’s ironic, even if they don’t. The character, I mean.”

Andrew was impressed at the kid for knowing that. But then again, words had always been Sean’s thing, and he did know a lot about drama.

Heather smiled softly at Sophie. “Didn’t you say you thought you’d passed the quiz?”

“Har-har, Mom. I’m pretty sure I did. We just had to identify which examples were what kind of irony, and I know I got the verbal ones right. So I just answered ‘situational’ to all the examples that weren’t verbal. I figure the only ones I got wrong were the ones which were actually dramatic.” She nodded firmly. “By my calculations, I should pass with around sixty-six percent.”

At this adorable evidence of her love for math, Andrew choked on his curry and had to grab his water to wash it down. His sister wasn’t as amused as he was though. Heather frowned at her daughter.

“A sixty-six isn’t exactly a good grade, young lady.”

Sophie just shrugged. “It’s passing. It’s math I’m good at!”

Sean paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth. “Reading gets easier, unlike math. I’ve got an algebra test on Monday I’m dreading.”

Far from discouraging her, Sean’s words made Sophie sigh happily. “Algebra. And I’m stuck doing stupid long division with the babies.”

Andrew hid his smile behind another drink of water. His niece had inherited his love for numbers, and his lack of interest in books, while Sean was the complete opposite. He got his love of reading from his mother, who was the school librarian for Riston Elementary, where Sophie was in the fifth grade and apparently chafing at the lack of mathematical challenges.

Before Heather could chastise either one of them, Andrew jumped to their rescue. “How are rehearsals going, Sean?”

Talking about the theater could always cheer his nephew up. And sure enough, the thirteen-year-old suddenly brightened and pushed his plate away. “Great! Mrs. Melbon says I play the best Baron VonTrapp she’s ever seen!”

Without looking up from her plate, Heather, feigning innocence, said, “I wonder how many times she’s directed Sound of Music?”

“Well…none. This is the first time.” Sean huffed and rolled his eyes. “But still. This show’s going to be epic. I can’t wait to see the sets! The show’s in three weeks, right after Thanksgiving.”

Andrew nodded even though he already knew the performance dates from the flyer the drama teacher had sent home. “I’ll mark my calendar.”

“I don’t think it can top Romeo and Juliet,” Sophie interjected. “Coach Holbrook did a good job with that one, even if you did almost have to kiss Kayla. And it was so cool how he had it set in the Old West time period, remember?”

Sean rolled his eyes. “It was our idea to change the setting. Coach was okay, but I’m glad Mrs. Melbon is off bed rest and can direct again. She’s better than her brother ever was.”

“At directing middle school theater anyway,” his sister clarified.

The boy snorted. “She just had a baby, Sophie. Of course he’d be better than her when it comes to coaching hockey!”

Seeing Sophie open her mouth to form a rebuttal, Andrew jumped into the conversation again. “Speaking of coaching, how’s Hockey Little League going?”

As he expected, his niece jumped at the chance to brag about her extracurricular activities. “Awesome! Coach Baker told me after practice yesterday that I made him glad he’d decided to coach the girls’ league too. I’m the fastest on the ice!”

“I believe that.” Andrew chuckled, thinking of her fierce competitive streak and utter fearlessness when it came to strapping on hockey pads. “I’ll bet everyone’s scared of you, aren’t they?”

Sophie snarled and held her hands up as if she were clutching her stick. “They should be!”

He laughed again. “I’m off Saturday, so I figured I’d take you to practice. Does that work?” he asked his sister.

Heather was fiddling with her spoon and frowning slightly. “You don’t have to do that, Andrew,” she said quietly. “I know you have your own life, and you don’t need to—”

Not this again.

“I told you,” he interrupted her, “you and the kids are my life. I consider myself blessed to be included, and I want to help.”

Unconsciously, his right hand moved to cover the spot on his left forearm. There, under the sleeve of his shirt, were his only two tattoos: Sean and Sophie’s names and birth dates. The tattoos were small and no one, besides himself and Heather, even knew they were there. His sister and her kids were incredibly special to him, and he wasn’t sure how else to make her understand.

He held his sister’s worried gaze for a long moment. Then her eyes dropped, just briefly, to where his hand rested. She understood immediately and nodded her agreement to his offer.

The two of them lived side-by-side in a duplex Andrew technically owned. He’d signed the papers the day Heather’s divorce had gone through, and it had been a cause for celebration when they’d moved in, even though she’d still been walking with a cane then. Sophie had been only four at the time, and Andrew remembered the feel of her small arms around his neck as he helped her mother up the steps. Sean had been seven, and was already used to having to be much more mature than he should have been at that age. He’d saved his mother’s life, which is something no child should ever be put in the position to have to do, but it happened, and the boy would always be Andrew's hero. Most likely his mom's and maybe even his sister's someday, if she ever found out the truth of what happened that night.

 

In his lap, Andrew’s hand curled into a fist, the way it always did when he thought of Roger, Heather’s good-for-nothing ex. There’d never been another human being Andrew had wanted to beat so badly…but he’d refrained, because Sean had been watching. Andrew remembered standing there beside Heather, literally shaking in rage, and wanting to kill Roger so badly. But instead, he’d gotten his sister and her kids to safety.

When Heather had begun working again, she’d insisted on paying rent to Andrew, and he didn’t mind. He understood her need to feel independent and capable. He could afford the mortgage on his own—it’s not like he had anyone else to spend his money on, despite a string of first dates—so he’d been banking her rent money for the kids. When Sean and Sophie were ready for college, they’d find a nice fund waiting, thanks to their mom’s refusal to accept what she considered charity.

Andrew considered it family.

He smiled at his little sister, and she rolled her eyes at him. At thirty-six, she was as pretty as ever, and although her hair was a lot lighter than Andrew’s, they had the same green eyes. They also had the same sense of humor, and he thanked his lucky stars every day that he was able to spend this time with her. And that she allowed him to be a part of his niece’s and nephew’s lives as well

When her lips twitched mischievously, Andrew knew she was about to say something she thought he wouldn’t like.

“Practice is at seven, so you’ll have to leave here around six-fifteen to get there and get changed.”

“Sounds do-able.”

“In the morning.”

Andrew knew what reaction his sister wanted, and he gave it to her. “There’s a six-fifteen in the morning?”

The two kids laughed, and the sound made his heart lighter. At their mother’s gesture, they popped up and began clearing the table and loading the dishwasher, their bickering making him smile. It reminded him they were safe and happy and growing up normal.

“I’ll do pizza next time. Easier clean-up.” He ate dinner over at his sister’s at least once a week, and they ate with him frequently too. In a job like his, where things were constantly changing and could quickly become overwhelming, it was relaxing to have a bit of normalcy like Thursday evening dinner with the kids.

Heather handed her plate to her son, then sank back in her chair with a sigh. “Pizza with Unca Andrew?” She always used the kids’ old nickname for him—Sean had invented it when he couldn’t say “uncle”—to make him smile. “Sounds like a fun Friday night.”

Friday night…? Friday night…

Oh yeah!

Andrew scrambled to pull his phone from the back pocket of his work pants. He’d changed out of his uniform shirt before coming over, but the black pants with all their pockets were ubiquitous. While his sister watched, he pulled up his personal email. Seeing the unread message queued through Soulmates.com, he breathed a little sigh of relief.

“Want to clue me in?” Heather asked, amused.

“I’ve got another first date.” And while the words were meant to be dismissive, Andrew couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he read IndianGoddess’s email. “With a gal named Rachel, apparently.”

“Apparently? Oh, you’re using that dating site? That’s one of the good ones, right?”

In the years since her divorce, Heather had shown absolutely no interest in dating again, and understandably so. But she’d always encouraged Andrew’s sometimes exhaustive efforts.

Andrew had worked in the Engineering department at River’s End Ranch for over fifteen years, and in that time, he’d seen what felt like hundreds of couples meet and fall in love. Why, in the last two years alone, there had to have been close to sixty new marriages on the ranch! And while he’d been pretty young when he’d first started working here, he was no longer young…and no longer interested in being single.

But despite his many—many—attempts at dating, it seemed he just hadn't been able to get past that first date. What particularly irritated him, all too often the gal he’d dated ended up marrying someone else quite soon after their one and only date.

It had gotten to be a little bit of a joke, between him and Heather. And half the ranch.

So he joined Soulmates, when he’d heard about it, and had been impressed with the women he’d been matched with. Most of them were nice, and thanks to the algorithms, all were very compatible with him. He’d even gone on some second and third dates with them. But none of them had made him want to think about…

Well, none of them had made him want to think about forever.

Until recently.

“Yeah, I’m pretty pleased with the site.” He cleared his throat as his finger hovered over the “reply” button. “In fact, I’m pretty excited to meet Rachel. Tomorrow.” She wanted to go to Quinn Valley, and there was no way he’d agree to that. But still… “I think we’re a pretty good match.”

“Yeah, but…” Heather’s green eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. “You thought that on your last three dates too.”

She was right. But this one felt…different somehow. He shrugged. “Rachel didn’t even tell me her name until today.” He waggled the phone in his sister’s direction. “We’ve been chatting now for two weeks and she’s just interesting. Different. I’m looking forward to meeting her in person.”

“Fair enough. Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered as he typed out his reply.

 

Dear Rachel,

You have no idea how nice that feels to say. I’m glad I know your name now, and you know mine of course. I’ve just been telling my sister how much I’m looking forward to meeting you, and a Friday night date seems perfect. Unfortunately, I really can’t come to Quinn Valley—sorry. I’d be happy to pick you up and take you someplace else, if you don’t want to drive. We could come back here to Riston, or we could go to Post Falls or Lewiston, or someplace even further away.

Not too far though, because apparently I have to be up really early for my niece’s hockey practice.

I hope it’s not a deal-breaker?

—Andrew

 

Quinn’s Pub was the name of the restaurant his cousins owned in Quinn Valley, and as soon as he’d read her email, he’d cringed a little. He couldn’t imagine walking into that place, much less on a first date, and having to face relatives he hadn’t seen in years. Sure, he spoke with Gramps and Grandma sometimes, and of course, he still saw his parents and Katie and the twins on holidays.

But Quinn Valley contained too many Quinns for him to feel comfortable. Not after what Uncle Bob did.

“Hey, Earth to Andrew!”

At his sister’s teasing call, he jerked his attention away from the screen—which he hadn’t really been seeing—and realized the kids were long gone. Heather was already brewing the special dessert drink they both liked. He smiled slightly as he watched her unwrap the two fun-sized Milky Way bars and drop them into the mugs, already anticipating how they’d taste once the decaf coffee was poured on top.

“So, a date with Rachel, who’s special. Sounds nice.” She winked at him. “What else is going on? How’d the sprinkler project go at work?”

“Ugh.” He slouched in his chair. “I’d been happily not thinking about that, you know.”

“Sorry!” she said cheerfully. “What else happened today?”

Sometimes he thought Heather just enjoyed hearing the ridiculousness of trying to keep a place like River’s End Ranch afloat. Lord knows he wouldn’t mind not talking about it when he wasn’t on call, but the way she always laughed at his stories loosened his tongue.

“At some point last night, the industrial dishwasher in the restaurant overheated and the coil cracked. We had until lunch to find a replacement and fix it, but we’re already over budget, and I couldn’t get one for the right price, so they’re going to have to hand wash until tomorrow morning.” He groaned, remembering the manager’s reaction when he’d explained that bit of unwelcome news. “I’m tired of having to train these people on how to take care of the machines they rely on. We’ve had four kitchen managers in three years!” It was galling, knowing the high turnover in hospitality meant more broken stuff. “And October is budget month, which means we’ve already allotted the money for the next fiscal year, and guess what we didn’t allot for?”

He could feel his pulse pounding in irritation. The last time he went to see Doc Baker, the man had told Andrew he had to watch his blood pressure. But how in the heck could he watch his blood pressure in a job where he had fifteen subordinates who all dropped their problems in his lap? A regular hotel might only have four or five—or fewer!—guys, covering the hotel rooms and meeting spaces. But a resort like River’s End Ranch employed its own plumber, electrician, certified pool operator, two HVAC technicians, a full-time and part-time mechanic, and eight regular engineers. And every single one of them looked to him to deal with the stuff above their pay grades.

The problem was, Andrew was beginning to realize this amount of stress was above his paygrade too. When he’d started working at River’s End Ranch, the place had been much smaller and simpler to manage. He’d helped build it into the grand tourist attraction it was now, but having to run the thing had turned into a job too big for one guy. Especially a guy who wasn’t as young as he’d once been.

“Wow,” Heather said softly, as she set his Milky Way coffee in front of him and slid into her chair. “I didn’t realize it was that…” She shrugged and pulled one knee up. “Stressful, I guess.”

“Yeah.” The crooked grin he sent her way wasn’t really convincing, judging by her slight frown. He sighed again. “Sorry for being a downer.”

“I just thought it was good for you to laugh about the work, you know? The sprinkler system fiasco was pretty funny, you have to admit…”

Remembering their last conversation, Andrew had to chuckle too. Then, remembering the little goat’s adventures, he began to laugh, and it did feel good. “How the heck did I get stuck overseeing a petting zoo, Heather? The horse stables were bad enough—thank goodness they’re new and aren’t falling apart—but I don’t remember any animal pens or irrigation systems in my contract!”

She was chuckling too. “That’s because, when you started, no one could imagine how much the ranch would grow. And who would’ve guessed a goat could eat through brass?”

“And not just brass!” He tossed up his hands in frustration. “We switched to stainless and he still keeps eating the darn irrigation heads! How does he manage that?” Andrew shook his head, still chuckling helplessly. “I swear, it’s a good thing baby goats are as cute as they are, because it’s amazing I haven’t murdered the thing.”

Heather was outright laughing now, and it was good to hear. “Goat-murder! Capricide, I guess?”

“And don’t even get me started on the screw-up in the vehicle barn! Paul and Chuck did their best to re-wire the electrical grid, but the thing can only take so much. And yesterday, we found the goat eating the fourth hole of the put-put course!”

Heather's chuckles subsided much sooner than usual, and he tilted his head to watch her as she stared thoughtfully at her coffee. Andrew sighed heavily and sipped his own hot, sweet concoction. One of the jokes around the ranch was that since he quit cigarettes, he always had to have something in his mouth—gum, chips, sunflower seeds—but his preference was real food. And as far as he was concerned, a Milky Way bar dissolved in coffee was real food.

After almost a minute of silence, Heather spoke hesitantly. “I hate to say it, but have you ever considered a new job?”

“You know what? I have.” It was a really hard admission to make, but it was the truth. “I helped build River’s End Ranch into what it is today, but…”

“But what it is today is too much for one guy to handle,” she said gently.

His breath whooshed out of him in one giant agreement. “I don’t know how Wade Weston can handle the whole thing.”

“He’s the general manager,” Heather pointed out. “And he has subordinates who handle each aspect of the ranch. You’re the chief engineer, and every single aspect of the physical property has to go through you. Maybe you should promote one of the other guys to co-chief. Or just, I dunno, leave the ranch and go do something else. Become a goat herder,” she teased.

“Ugh. Wherever I go, I don’t want to see another goat ever again.”

She reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. “I didn’t expect to hear you say that.”

Shrugging, he admitted, “I never thought to say that. But I’m tired. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished—”

“And you should be.”

“Thanks. I’m proud, but I didn’t expect the ranch to ever be this involved, you know? I started out just taking care of a hotel, and now there’s, well, all this.”

Heather smiled gently. “If you’re serious, I’ll help you with some job searches and applications.”

“Whoa!” He chuckled and held up his free hand. “Let’s not do anything crazy. Give me a few weeks, things might be back to normal.”

“With that goat running around, I don’t think things will ever be normal again.”

“And besides, I’ve got something better to look forward to.” He winked.

She squeezed his hand once, then withdrew, obviously okay with the change in topic. “Ah, yes, your date with mysterious internet-girl Rachel. Tell me about her.”

Leave it to Heather to focus on the topic she knew would set him at ease. He smiled, then told his little sister—the woman who meant so much to him—everything he knew about Rachel, and why they were so compatible. And as he did, he felt his muscles relax and his heart ease.

After what seemed like a thousand first dates, tomorrow’s date was going to be special. He just knew it.