Chapter Two
Lauren followed Jane to the table in the little dining room. There were tons of windows and she took it all in with wide eyes. It was stunning here and Lauren picked up on the peace that Jane had been describing to her. The guys came in with the cooked food and Lauren sat between Jane and Cole as she sipped her sweet tea.
Dinner was light and fun as they talked about the town and their lives. Jane worked as a writer for a few online websites and thought that Lauren could do the same. There weren’t a lot of jobs outside of the ranching world and Jane was making plenty of money with her writing.
The guys were cowboys through and through. It reminded Lauren of a movie, the way the men talked and laughed as Jane sat there with stars in her eyes. She was in love and Lauren smiled at her best friend as she watched. Cole looked at her as he sipped his can of beer and smiled when their eyes locked. She blushed, then looked away and took another bite of the salad before Jane brought in the watermelon.
Adam and Cole excused themselves after everyone was done eating, Adam hitting the sack and Cole going to his own home. Jane started to clean up and Lauren helped her as she took in the mood of the house. It was so peaceful. Jane told Lauren that the men started work at five in the morning, so they typically went to sleep early.
Lauren and Jane stayed up talking for a while before Jane told her friend to get some rest and a shower after the flight. Lauren stepped back into the small bathroom and rinsed off quickly before she dressed in some pajamas and walked into her new room. It was cute. It had a full sized bed with a worn dresser in the corner. Lauren knew that this was temporary, but she thought that she’d like it here.
She left the window open so that the moon could shine through it onto the floor. She thought about her new life. She’d have to get a job, a car and a place to live. Despite all the help that Jane had offered her, she needed to do some of this on her own. But first, she needed to get some sleep.
***
Lauren woke up late the next morning and looked outside over the grass and fields. She could hear the birds singing and smiled as she got out of bed and walked down the short hallway and into the dining room. Jane was working on her computer with a cup of coffee in front of her. She pushed her square glasses up her small nose when she saw Lauren.
“Morning, Jane.”
“Hey!” Jane greeted her, as she looked up and grinned. “I was letting you sleep, with the time difference and all.”
“Thanks. I think I needed that.” Lauren walked to the window and shook her head. “You wake up to this every day?”
“I do.” Jane got up and poured her friend a cup of coffee. “Here,” she offered, and Lauren took it. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“It’s a bit remote, isn’t it?” Lauren could see that there were neighbors, but each house had a few acres surrounding it, whereas Lauren was accustomed to one house next to the other.
“Well, we all have each other’s numbers. We’re close and we help each other. It’s cool and, better than that, it’s nice and quiet.” Jane grabbed a cup of coffee and some cream from the fridge and handed both to Lauren.
Lauren sat at the table and sipped her coffee as she looked around for a moment. “Yeah, it is.”
Jane showed her the website that she’d gotten her work on and Lauren decided that she’d set up a profile and see what she could find. She spent a good part of the morning doing that, until she heard a car in the driveway and saw Jane pulling some food out of the fridge. “Who’s that?”
“The guys come here for lunch, since it’s so close. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
“The guys are here?” Lauren jumped up and ran to her room to change into some jeans and a big t-shirt before she pulled up her hair into a messy bun and walked back into the kitchen.
Cole and Adam were at the table eating hearty sandwiches and Lauren blushed as she realized that her profile was open on her laptop right beside Cole. “Oh, I’m sorry about that.” She went to move it and saw his eyes twinkle as he looked at her.
“From what I saw, you have an impressive resume. Not that I read everything, of course,” Cole told her, giving her a crooked grin and drinking some soda. Jane and Adam were sitting together eating and talking and weren’t paying any attention to their friends. “Think you’ll make something of it like Jane?” Cole asked.
“I’d like to. Eventually, I’d like to make it back to college, but this is good for now.”
“English major?” Cole guessed, and she smiled. “I saw that much.”
“Yes, English major. I was at the end of my first year when I had to…take a break. I guess I could take it up again somewhere here in Colorado.” Lauren shrugged as she looked outside.
“Here.” Cole offered her half of his sandwich and Lauren felt Jane’s eyes on her.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Lauren asked. “You’ve been working for hours.”
“It’s a big sandwich,” Cole assured her, and she smiled and took it from him. She took a bite as Jane grinned at her and settled back in her chair.
The guys went back to work and Lauren focused on finishing her profile and keeping Jane company at the table. She decided that she was ready to start working. This was admittedly different from her job at the Starbucks in town. Her father had left her some money from his job as a bank manager, so she could get by for a time doing this, but not forever. It wasn’t enough money to be called a trust fund or anything along those lines.
When she looked up to tell her friend what she’d been thinking, Jane was smiling brightly at her. “What has you all happy over there?” Lauren asked.
“He’s cute with you,” Jane told her, and Lauren rolled her eyes. “Cole had a hard time last year, Lauren. I didn’t tell you this part, but he lost his girlfriend in a car accident. They’d been dating for five years, since he was twenty. I’m pretty sure that he was going to propose soon.” She shook her head. “He shut down some, Lauren. When I knew that you were moving here, I couldn’t help but think that you guys could help each other. I believe you did, because he’s smiling again. So are you.”
“I suppose that I am,” Lauren mused as she looked back at the computer screen. “How did you and Adam meet again?”
“He was in Denver for this big rodeo, and he came into that little bistro that I worked at. Remember I told you about it?”
Lauren nodded.
“I guess we just clicked. He asked for my number, and we went to dinner, and six months later, I moved in. I know, it was a shock to me as well. At first, I didn’t know what to do with all of this peace and calm, but now I love it.” She smiled at her best friend. “Adam thinks you’d be good for Cole, too. He wants to see him happy again.”
“What am I going to do with the both of you?” Lauren asked, shaking her head. “Let me get used to the peace too, would you?”