Chapter 5
Cole sucked in his breath when he saw her expression. “Really?” He didn’t know what else to say, and he knew it was lame, but he couldn’t help it.
“Really. I might be an old woman, but I’m not dead yet.
I like you, Cole, and if you agree, I’d like to get to know you better.
I’m not saying that we have to get married down the road, but I am saying that I want to talk to you more.
I want to know about your day. Possibly share a meal at the end of that day. ”
“I would like that, however, you’re going to have to forgive me every once in a while.”
“For?”
“I’ve never been married, and I never had a serious girlfriend.
I’m not saying I didn’t date or have sex, but I am saying that I never took any relationship seriously before.
I really like you, Lois. The first time I saw you standing at the top of the steps at that cabin, I damn near dropped the dish I was carrying.
I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
That’s why I hung by you all night. When you gave me your number, I couldn’t believe my luck.
I’m also saying you’ll have to bear with me, because I’ve never gone through the teenage, and young twenties angst of dating. ”
Lois laughed and reached up to lay her hand on the side of his jaw. “I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing with you. I’m sure with our life experiences we can figure things out.”
They stared at one another for several moments before she sighed heavily.
“Unfortunately, it’s getting late and I need to get to bed.
” She slowly stood and looked him directly in the eye.
“I’m not being coy, I’m being practical.
Why don’t you call who you have to and tell them you’re spending the night here.
Not to have sex,” she said firmly. “It would be more practical to stay in one of my spare rooms, then get up and moving early tomorrow. Tell whomever you call to be here between six and seven for a hearty breakfast, and we can start loading the truck. I don’t know about you, but now that I’m taking more of my things, I want to be on the road in two days’ time. ”
“I agree, and I’ll make the call. If you don’t mind, can you show me where I’ll be staying? I stashed my bag outside, I’ll go get that, call the guys, then lock up before I call it a night.”
She took him upstairs and showed him the spare room with the attached bath, and where the extra towels were. As she turned to go down the stairs she looked at him with raised brows.
“What is it?”
“Does the house I’m moving into have a washer and dryer?”
“I don’t know, let me call Clark while I’m outside calling the others.”
“Thank you,” she said as she went back downstairs and as he stepped out, she quickly finished cleaning up the kitchen, putting everything back to rights, and making sure she had enough food to feed everyone the next morning.
On a sigh, she was happy that she could, and took out two packages of bacon to thaw overnight.
She figured bacon, pancakes, and eggs should be enough.
She was coming out of the kitchen when Cole returned.
She liked that he didn’t hem and haw about what he had to say.
“The guys, three of them, will be here at six thirty. I called Erin, she said that no, they do not have a washer or dryer.”
“Okay, then I guess we’ll pack up mine. I’d like to do a load before we pack them though. Less to do after I unpack.”
“I agree.” He walked around the house and it made Lois’s heart flutter when she saw he was checking all the windows and doors to make sure they were locked.
“Not that it’s any of my business, but what will you be doing with the house after you move?”
“I’m putting it up for sale. I’ve had at least four realtors walk through it already and they say there isn’t anything major that has to be done before I can list it.
It will be labeled as move-in ready, and if the potential buyers want it painted a different color, they can do it.
I may still be spry for my age, but one thing I absolutely abhor doing is painting.
Thankfully, Jerry and Laurie always did that task if they wanted it done.
I might tape off the windows and baseboards, but I won’t paint.
” She actually shuddered at the thought, and Cole couldn’t get over how cute she looked while doing so.
To distract himself, he turned to a window and made sure it was locked.
When he looked back around, Lois was at the bottom of the stairs.
He picked up his bag and followed her. As she left him at the spare room, he vowed that within six months, they would be sharing not only a bed, but also a bedroom.
He went into his room, shut the door, and after taking a closer look at everything, he showered.
Because it was what made him tick, as he showered, he pictured what it would look like with him and Lois being a couple.
By the time he fell asleep, he had her new home mentally decorated with both of their things, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
The next morning, Cole was pouring his first cup of coffee of the day when Lois joined him, and she gave a little start at seeing him there.
“Oh.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s just that I’m not used to anyone else being here. You’re fine. Is the coffee done?”
“It is,” he said as he turned and poured her a fresh cup. They enjoyed their first cup in relative quiet, and at a quarter after six, she jumped up and brought the bacon out of the refrigerator.
“What are you cooking?”
“I thought bacon, pancakes, and eggs for everyone.”
“Good, a good hearty meal to stick to the ribs while we get them to load the truck.” He laughed along with her. “Is there something I can do while you cook?”
“Open the door for when they get here, and see that set of cupboards?” She pointed across the room to the six doors.
“Yes.”
“Everything in there needs to be packed up. The boxes are stacked in the next room along with newspapers and tape. There’s not much there, because I’ve cleaned out and sold most of it. These are things that I use all the time.”
“No need for explanations, Lois. It’s a big thing to have to move. I had to when we moved The Double A from Wyoming to Colorado, and even renamed the ranch to New Double.”
“Is that how New Double got its name?”
“Yes, the guys and gals of Broken started referring to it as New Double because they didn’t want to get confused with the old ranch.”
“It is kinda cute.” She giggled at his expression, then turned back to the stove. By the time the meal was ready, three big strapping men sat at her table. She hadn’t thought her table was small, but with all the food, and men, it was.
“Eat, eat,” she said as she sat down and felt like a queen when they wouldn’t eat until she picked up the first plate of bacon and put a slice on her plate.
These men were gentlemen, and their mamas should be proud.
She would be if they were hers. No one said a word as they ate, and after their initial hunger was satisfied, they began to talk.
“What will you be doing for Erin?” One of the men asked and when Lois winced, he hung his head and apologized. He looked at the other men. “Too loud?”
“Too loud.”
“Perry is my name,” he told Lois. Then told her why he spoke loud and grinned when she reached out and placed a hand over his.
“That’s fine, just remember to use your inside voice before you speak inside, and you should be okay.”
“I’ll have to try that.” He laughed when the others flipped him off, and that was when they told Lois they had been telling him that for months. “No, really, what are you going to be doing for Erin?”
“I believe, but don’t quote me, but I believe that I might be in charge of the community garden that Ann mentioned. Also, the community pantry. I used to can and I’ve talked briefly with Ducky about his wife’s supplies. Mine are already packed.”
“I have a question,” Ryan said, then reminded her who he was.
“I’m Ryan, and I’m dating Pru. I love that woman and would do everything to protect her.
However, Pru suffers from TBI and sometimes she goes off on a tangent.
Just like I just did.” He laughed at himself and sobered quickly.
“Anyway, Pru has eggs, she gives all of the others at least a dozen or two a day, and she even sells them to the local B&B in town. She will probably bring some over to you. What I’m trying to say is that just recently Pru mentioned that her chickens could benefit from eating herbs.
Before I go purchase them, I want to know if that’s true? ”
“It is, my goal is as soon as I get the greenhouses cleaned out and set up the way I want them, I’m going to start herbs.
If all goes well, they will grow all winter, and come spring, I can pass out the different pots of them to everyone.
Just like Pru shared the eggs, I can share the herbs.
I can even put in a patch of them that she can pick from to feed to the chickens. ”
“Can we do something different?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not saying this to be mean, but sometimes if Pru has a bad day, she forgets more than she remembers. Is there a way to somehow come up with a mix of herbs that all she has to do is shake over their food?”
“Yes, there is,” Lois said with a smile and saw the relief come over his face.
“Most of it is packed now, but over the years, I’ve taken some herbs, dried them, and then crushed them for my own use.
You know the jars of spices you get in the store?
” At their confused look, she laughed. “Parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme?”
“Yes, oh my god, are you saying you make your own?”
“I do, and those herbs I just mentioned happen to be good for the chickens. Once I get to Colorado and unpacked, I can put a mixture together for you and Pru.”
“I don’t want you to use up your supply,” Ryan said, then scowled when she started laughing. She rose to her feet and walked to a stack of boxes and pointed to six of them. “What is that?”
“My spices. All dried, and all crushed up. I went out and purchased the same size bottles so they were easy to store, and perfect for packing.” She opened the top unsealed box and brought out two large jars.
“You see six boxes here, but these are three deep, so there are eighteen boxes here. Each box holds two dozen jars, and each box is one herb.”
“Why do you have so many jars?”
“My own plants were over grown and instead of letting it go to seed, I trimmed them down, dehydrated the herbs, then crushed them. The plants themselves are in another box, and they will continue to grow once I get them to Colorado.” She looked at the shock on their faces. “Trust me.”
“Wow,” Ryan said and continued toeat. After breakfast, Lois shooed them out of the kitchen, and led them to a room full of boxes.
She told them that they had to be packed in the truck, and as she cleaned up, Cole took them out to the sheds.
It turned out they wanted to load the equipment first, then pack the boxes around the tools.
As they worked, Lois cleaned the kitchen and finished packing what Cole had started.
By the time Laurie and Duane made it over there late afternoon, everything was pretty much packed and the only thing left were the two beds, the bedding, the towels, and the food in the refrigerator.
Laurie said she’d bring her coolers over the next day, and instead of unpacking the dishes, they opted to order pizza for the night.
When Lois went to bed that night, it didn’t take her long to fall asleep, unlike the night before when all she would picture was what Cole would look like without a shirt on, and if he slept naked, in his underwear, or in pajamas.
The next day, they finished packing the entire house, and the last items loaded on the back of the truck was the refrigerator, along with the washer and dryer.
Lois had a small overnight bag in the front of the truck, and the men did some moving around and were able to hook up her car to the dolly.
By noon, she and Cole pulled out of her driveway and headed west. They got the call that the others were only two hours behind them with Lorissa and her things.
It turned out that because of all the farrier equipment she had, they ended up renting a small truck for her household items and what wouldn’t fit in her truck.
By the time they caught up with everyone somewhere in Ohio, it was good that the three men had come along.
Two that were passengers would take turns helping driving.
They only spent the night for one night, and were able to make the entire trip in two days.
Exhausted, but excited at the same time, Lois laughed when Cole drove the rental truck onto the property and she didn’t know whether she was shocked, excited, or expected everyone to be there waiting for them.
It didn’t take long for everything to be unloaded and the men set up the washer and dryer, the refrigerator, and left the boxes where they had been labeled to go.
When Cole pulled out, he was with the other men when they drove into Colorado Springs to return the trucks.
The day after unpacking the trucks, Lois sat in her messy house feeling giddy and like a schoolgirl for the first time in decades.
She called out at the knock on the door, expecting it to be Lorissa, but was shocked to see Cole enter her home.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“Probably, but I went in, viewed the schedule, passed out assignments, then came here to help you.” He shook his head and held up his hand.
“I have never taken a vacation since starting to work for Naomi’s grandparents forty years ago.
The only time I took off was when I came out to help you move here.
I’m here to help you. I think if I do what I did this morning, I can help you during the day.
I’m not saying this next part to anger you, or to upset you, but New Double needs help.
The others are filling in, and we’re making do.
With that said, they can get through the day without me being there.
Hell, most of the day I’m in my office or standing around and watching the construction going on.
I’m the manager, and I manage.” He grinned at her laugh and welcomed the cup of coffee she handed him.
For the next week, he was there every day and after three days, everything was unpacked and put away to both their satisfaction.