Chapter 2
Aspen
What does one wear to work on a ranch?
I run my hand along all of my newly hung clothes and try to decide what would be best. The internet was no help. I scoured the Moonlight Ranch website, and all I found were pictures of land and horses and cabins. No photos of employees to be seen.
I finally decide on black dress pants and a white blouse. This is usually what I would wear for an interview, but I figure it’ll work for today since I’m meeting the rest of the staff for the first time. I want to make a good first impression.
“You look nice,” Zach says, coming up behind me in the bathroom. He’s just rolled out of bed, but I’ve been up for awhile trying to prepare myself for today.
“Thanks. Do you think this is ok?”
He shrugs. “I dunno. Looks a little fancy for the ranch, but I’m sure they’ll give you a shirt or something.”
That’s entirely unhelpful. “Should I change?”
“No, babe. You look good.”
I sigh and take one final look in the mirror. I’ve done my makeup and made sure my curls are as tamed as they can be in this humidity.
“You’re going to do great, babe. Stop stressing.”
“I know, I just—I just don’t know what to expect.”
“You worked in the heart of Atlanta for years. I’ve heard some of your horror stories. This is going to be a cake walk for you.”
“Alright, well, I better get going. I don’t want to be late.”
“Have a good day, babe. We’ll go out to dinner tonight to celebrate.”
I smile. It’ll be nice going out just the two of us. It’s been a stressful few weeks with the move. While we’ve been together almost every day, we’ve been busy packing, unpacking, calling utilities, and cleaning. We haven’t gone on a date in weeks.
“That sounds nice.”
He gives me a quick kiss and then disappears into the shower while I grab my purse and keys and head out to my car.
Moonlight Ranch might be the only thing in Blue Haven that isn’t walkable from the town center, but it’s not that long of a drive before I’m passing under the iron arch welcoming me.
I park in the lot in front of the giant lodge and take a few calming breaths before I get out of my car and walk in. The lobby smells like butter and syrup, which I assume is coming from the restaurant off to the side. It’s packed full of guests enjoying breakfast.
I zero in on a large wooden desk, which I can only assume is the front desk. I wait in line behind a guest who is asking for directions to the stables. When she moves on, I take a step forward and smile at the woman behind the desk.
“Hi, I’m Aspen. Today is my first day. Mr. Calloway told me to get here at nine.”
“Oh, thank god!” the woman exclaims. “I was worried Brooks had gotten my hopes up for nothing. I’m Harper, the Director of Hospitality here at Moonlight Ranch.”
“It’s nice to meet you!”
“Let me get someone to cover the desk, and we’ll get started.” She picks up a phone and asks someone to come to the lobby.
“So, how do you know Brooks?” she asks while we wait for her relief.
“Oh, I’m dating his son. We just moved here, and Mr. Calloway was nice enough to offer me this position.”
“Just to warn you now, he hates being called Mr. Calloway,” she informs me. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Zach. How’s he doing?”
That’s right. I guess everyone here probably knows Zach. “He’s good. He just graduated with a criminal justice degree and will be starting the county police academy next week.”
Her eyebrows raise as if she’s surprised by that. “Huh. Good for him. Oh, here comes Jazz.”
A woman who looks around my age bounces up to the counter.
“Jazz, this is our new hire, Aspen. Aspen, this is Jasmine. She’s a lead housekeeper, but she’s cross-trained to help at the desk too in case you ever need it.”
“Oh, ok, good to know. It’s nice to meet you, Jasmine.”
“Call me Jazz,” she corrects me with a smile. “It’s nice to have a fresh face around here. Let me know if you need anything!”
“Thanks.”
Harper motions for me to follow her down a hallway to her office. She grabs some papers from her filing cabinet and sits down across from me.
“Alright, so what did Brooks tell you about the position?”
“Oh, um, nothing actually.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that figures. Well, you’re going to be working as his assistant and have morning desk duty.
It’s usually slower in the mornings up until checkout time, so you’ll have plenty of time to do whatever Brooks needs, which honestly isn’t much.
You’ll have access to his emails. You’ll respond to ones you can and flag the rest that he needs to respond to.
You’ll schedule meetings and make sure he shows up to them.
He’s terrible at checking his schedule. There also might be a few miscellaneous tasks that he doesn’t have time to get to.
It sounds like a lot, but it’s really not too bad. ”
I exhale in relief. I can handle this. “Ok, that sounds good.”
“Good. Your schedule is Thursday to Monday—off Tuesday and Wednesday. Weekends are busy here, so it’s all hands on deck.”
“I’m used to non-traditional schedules.”
“Perfect. Here’s the new hire paperwork.
Go ahead and start filling this out, and I’ll go grab you some shirts.
You can pretty much wear whatever you want to work.
Most of us wear jeans and T-shirts, but we provide two Moonlight Ranch shirts.
Just make sure you have your name tag on, especially if you’re wearing a normal shirt. What’s your size?”
I tell her, and she nods, leaving me alone in her office to complete the paperwork. It doesn’t take long for me to get everything completed and signed before Harper is back, handing me two T-shirts and giving me a tour of the ranch before we start training.
She takes me through the lodge, pointing out the restaurant, the gift shop, the game room, and the event space. Then we head toward the back of the lodge and out the door just as Brooks pulls up on a UTV.
“Mornin’, ladies.”
“Hey, Brooks,” Harper responds for us. I stand next to her, smiling awkwardly. I clasp my hands behind my back and then drop them immediately. Why am I standing like a soldier?
“Where’re you heading?
“I’m giving Aspen a tour of the property before we start training.”
He nods and turns his attention to me, giving me a once-over. I definitely shouldn’t have worn this blouse. Everyone is way more casual than I could’ve ever expected. “I can do the tour.”
“You sure?” Harper asks.
“Yeah. I’m sure you’ve got plenty to do. I’ll take her around and bring her back to the desk when we’re done.”
Harper lets out a relieved breath. “Thanks, Brooks. I’m swamped.” Then she turns to me. “I’ll see you in a little bit, Aspen. You’re in good hands with Brooks.”
“Oh, ok.”
“Come on, Aspen. Let’s get going.” Brooks motions for me to get in the UTV.
Once I’m seated, he takes off across the massive lawn. Behind the lodge, there’s a pool that’s already filling with guests. We pass the pool area and head toward the cabins.
“We’ve got two types of rooms out here: the cabins and the cottages. The cabins are smaller and give more of a camping feel. The cottages are more like villas. They have separate bedrooms and full kitchen and living areas.”
“It’s nice that you have different options,” I say, looking at the small wooden cabins as we drive by.
“Our goal is to appeal to all families, but we understand that some people don’t enjoy basic camping.”
“I’m afraid I’m one of those people.”
He chuckles. “Something you and my son have in common, then. I could never get that kid to go camping with me once he got to a certain age.”
We drive further and come up to the stables. Brooks parks the UTV outside, so I assume we’re doing a more in-depth tour.
I follow him through the big doorway. There are probably twenty stalls in here, all filled with beautiful horses. It also smells like it’s filled with twenty horses, and I try my best not to grimace. Brooks doesn’t seem to notice the smell at all. Must be something you get used to. Hopefully.
“Beck!” Brooks calls out.
A man comes out of a small office toward the back of the stable. He’s dressed similarly to Brooks in worn-in jeans, a Moonlight Ranch T-shirt, and boots. The only difference is that Beck is in a backward baseball hat while Brooks has his signature cowboy hat on.
“Hey, man.”
“Beck, this is our new hire, Aspen. She’s taking over Shelby’s position.”
“Ah, ok.” Beck wipes his hands on his jeans before he holds one out to me. “Nice to meet you, Aspen. I’m Beckham, but you can call me Beck.”
I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Beck is our stable manager. He’s got a few guys who help out and do the trail rides with guests. Beck’s been with us for about ten years now. Probably knows more about this ranch than I do.”
Beck laughs. “I don’t know about that, boss. Maybe a close second. You ever ridden a horse, Aspen?”
“Um, no actually. I haven’t.” I’m embarrassed to admit that in front of two men who have very obviously been around horses for their entire lives.
“Well, we’ll have to get you out here one day. Let me know when you have time, and I’ll walk you through it. You’ll be riding in no time.”
One of the horses snorts next to us, making me jump a little. She’s a beautiful brown horse who looks like she wants to get out on the trails right now.
“That sounds great, Beck. Thank you.” I hope they can’t hear the wobble in my voice. As beautiful as the horses are, they’re huge. Which is a little intimidating for people who haven’t been around horses much, a.k.a. me.
Brooks pats one of the horses on the nose before he leads me back out to the UTV.
“Take Beck up on that offer,” Brooks says as we drive away from the stables. “He’s a great teacher. Very patient. He does all the kid rides, too. He’s got a little girl. They live on the property.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize people lived here.”
“Just me and Beck. His house is on the edge of the property. We’ll pass by mine in a bit. It’s by one of the lakes.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“My whole life. My parents lived in the house I currently live in. When I was old enough, I built a small cabin right next to theirs, where I lived until they retired and left this place to me. I renovated their house and moved in. Zach never mentioned it?”
“Oh, um, no. I don’t think he did.”
“Hmm. He used to stay with me in the cabin a lot. When he was really young, I’d set up a tent out back, and we’d camp. He always got so excited when he saw our sleeping bags ready to go. Once he got to be around ten or so, he stopped wanting to do that.”
His voice sounds sad as he reminisces. I feel bad for Brooks.
He doesn’t seem like a bad guy. I wonder if he just had a hard time being a father at such a young age.
I don’t know exactly how old Brooks is, but I know he doesn’t look over forty.
Since Zach is twenty-two, I imagine Brooks was probably a teenager when Zach was born.
I can’t imagine having a kid at that age.
Hell, I can’t imagine having a kid now at twenty-four.
“I’ll have to ask him about it.”
“Yeah. Yeah, do that.”
The tour continues as we drive by two lakes where guests can fish and canoe.
Brooks’s house sits a ways behind one of the lakes.
We don’t get too close, but even from a distance, I can tell it’s stunning.
It reminds me of one of those log cabins you see in the movies with giant windows, a big wrap-around porch, and beautiful landscaping all around.
It’s obvious a lot of work has gone into the house. It’s like a mini mansion.
There is a little bit of space between the big house and the little house that Brooks says he lived in when Zach was younger.
It’s a nice little house, but the size difference is kind of funny.
There can’t be more than one bedroom in the smaller house.
It almost looks like a shed compared to his house.
The tour of the property wraps up with Brooks pointing out the start of some hiking trails around the base of the mountains. He tells me a few that are his favorite, and I nod along, knowing that I’ll probably never hike them myself.
When the main lodge comes back into view, I’m actually disappointed that the tour is over.
It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be spending my morning with my new boss.
It’s obvious that Brooks loves this ranch.
Hearing him talk about the land and how passionate he is about it all makes me excited to work here.
It also wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be with just the two of us.
With Zach being the only thing we have in common, I expected a lot of silence between us.
But the conversation flowed nicely and professionally.
When I meet Harper back at the front desk, I’m smiling and thinking that maybe this job won’t be so bad after all.