Chapter 7
Cole looked up from his paperwork when he saw Duane Manchester striding toward his office. He immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the man. “What’s wrong? Is it Lois? Laurie? Lorissa?”
“Calm down, nothing major has happened, but I got a text from Lois. She asked me to check on you because you aren’t answering your phone, or your text messages.”
Cole went to his phone, dug through the papers, and swore when he saw the battery was dead. He dug through his drawers for the power cord and plugged it in. Both men laughed, and he looked at Duane. “Everything okay?”
“Sort of. I don’t know if you heard that Lorissa had a run-in with Tom?”
“The vet?”
“Yeah, apparently she worked on a horse over at Broken, and Tom got all bent out of shape because he didn’t catch what she did.”
“Ah, he’s butt hurt, and took his anger out on her?”
“Exactly. I don’t know what else hurt, but Lois called me earlier and asked that we all get together and go over to their place for a BBQ tonight.
She said Lorissa is cleaning up around the farrier barn, and she, Lois, has been cleaning up around the greenhouses.
They want to burn all the junk, and want help controlling the fire. ”
“Ah, and turn it into a BBQ in the process, along with giving Lorissa moral support to prove that we have her back.”
“Correct. I told Lois I’d come over personally to make sure you know.
” He looked around and grinned. “Plus I’m being nosy and want to see the progress being made around here.
” He laughed along with Cole, and actually turned back to the other man.
“Not that it’s any of my business, but what was Ducky doing when I drove in? ”
“A few days back, Naomi made mention of a summer kitchen. Her grandmother had one back in Wyoming. Do you know what that is?”
“No, all I can think, based on the name, was a kitchen you used in the summer.”
“Basically, yeah. If you did a lot of cooking or canning in the summer, back in the day, when you had to cook everything on a wood stove, to keep the heat down in your regular home, a summer kitchen was built so all the canning could be done there. With pressure canners, and water bath canners going, it would get hot in there. When I packed my cabin up to move here, I remembered some boxes that Naomi had stored in a cupboard there. I brought them with me. It turns out they are canners, all in perfect shape. Clem and I were able to dig the ones out of the basement here, and Ducky’s been taking his time cleaning them up.
Oh, and it’ll take some work, but there is a summer kitchen on the backside of the house. ”
“What type of work?”
“A new roof mainly, then cleaning up after that.” He held up his hand and nodded to Duane. “Ryan knows of this and it’s on his list. The roofers for the cabins will be here next week, so he’s adding the summer kitchen roof to the list.”
“Ah, so it should be done before winter hits?”
“Yes, at least that’s the plan.”
“Good, you’ll let me know if you need any help?”
“Absolutely, I’ll go out and tell the others about the BBQ/bonfire at Lorissa’s. What time?”
“Six was mentioned.”
“Good, we’ll be there.” He walked out with Duane, and when the other man went in one direction, Cole went in the other.
He saw Ducky and as he was talking to him, Clem appeared.
He told them about the shindig that night and after he went to the barns to check on Ann and the horses, he went back to his office.
He worked until five, then went in and showered.
He knew he was acting like a teenager, but he wanted to look good for Lois, so he dressed in his favorite jeans, dress cowboy boots, and a snap up shirt.
He stood back and nodded at himself in the mirror.
He stepped closer and ran his work roughened hand over his face and smiled.
“Smooth.” He grabbed his good cowboy hat, stuck it on his head, and exited his room.
He had told the others to go without him, and by the time he arrived over at the Gibsons’ he was the last to arrive.
When he spotted Lois, he hoped the look on her face was relief that he had arrived.
Instead of talking to anyone else, he immediately went up to her, took her hand in his, and kissed it.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“No, you’re just on time,” she giggled, and looked at him directly. “I was getting worried though.”
“Yeah, I’m doing a special project and got lost in it and lost all track of time.
I’m sorry I didn’t take your calls. It turned out my phone was dead.
It’s all charged now.” He pulled it from his pocket to show her and they both shared a smile.
“What can I do to help?” He looked over both shoulders and leaned closer. “How upset is Lorissa?”
“Let’s just say that she wants to castrate the male species.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, and it’s all because the regular vet yelled at her in front of everyone that she had no right to veto his decision about a horse.”
“Who was wrong?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know much about animals. You’d have to ask her.”
“I don’t want to stir the pot, but I am curious as to what happened.”
“Let’s go ask her.” Lois grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her and didn’t stop until they reached Lorissa.
“Lor, I’m only going to ask this once, everyone is here because I knew you were upset about something Tom said or did.
Instead of answering the same question over and over all night, let’s only answer it once. What happened?”
Cole watched as Lorissa drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush.
“I had made new shoes for Misty a few days ago. Tom showed up here looking for Shelly Atherton, and when I told him I was the new farrier, he questioned my ability to do the job. When I told him I was AFA certified, he backed off. He asked if I could go out to a ranch and work on a horse. He openly admitted that he had done some work on the horse, but wasn’t a farrier. ”
“I’ve done that at times,” Cole said with a nod. He looked at Lois with a nod. “We do what we can to make the horse comfortable until the professionals can come in.”
“Exactly, but anyway, I told him I had to shoe Misty before I could do anything. He followed me over to Broken. I did what I had to, then all of a sudden he’s yelling as to why Maxine has a hood over her head, and wasn’t using Lydia and Celine as guide horses.”
Lois looked at Cole with a look of confusion.
“Maxine is a horse that was blind, or had very limited sight. Celine and Lydia are donkeys she came with, they guide her when she walked, and Misty is a mule that would lead the pack and cry out if there was anything in the way so the donkeys could steer Maxine away. Maxine is the only horse in that bunch.”
“Got it.”
“Anyway,” Lorissa said. “I told Tom that I thought I saw something and did some testing. I have a very small clinic set up here at the house, and I have a microscope that I can use to run tests. I found conjunctivitis and was able to treat it with a cream. I put the hood over her head to help keep the flies away.” She looked at her grandmother and smiled gently.
“There is a screen over the eye holes to prevent the flies from attacking her, but she can look out and see. She’s not blind. ”
“Ah, that makes sense. What did Tom do?”
“He yelled that I had no right to over throw his vet abilities, and to get his permission before I worked on a horse again. I told him to talk to Erin if he had a problem with me working on her horses. He shut up. After I finished with Misty, I followed him to the other side of Fool’s Gold, out to Jared Coleman’s ranch.
Anyway, right there in front of this guy I never met, Tom made some backhanded comment, but he was so condescending and arrogant that I toned him out and went to see the horse.
When I was done, I talked with Jared, and ignored Tom.
That was yesterday. I know I shouldn’t have, but I’ve been stewing about it all day. That’s why Nana called all of you.”
“I only have one question,” Cole said, and braced himself for Lorissa’s look. He held up his hands and shook his head. “I’m just asking.”
“What?”
“Was your diagnosis of conjunctivitis correct?”
“Yes. Before I did anything, I talked it over with Naomi and asked to see Maxine’s medical records. The two of us decided to do the testing, and when it came back, we both agreed on the cream and the hood.”
“What’s conjunctivitis?” Lois asked.
“Pink eye.”
“Horses can get that?”
“Yep.”
“Wow.”
“See,” Naomi spoke then. “When Maxine arrived with her entourage, she was about ninety-five percent blind. She was also dehydrated and malnourished. Those two conditions alone can cause blindness. It took months to get her fattened up, and her eyesight did improve. But not completely. I’m not saying Tom was right in how he spoke and reacted to Lorissa, but I am saying that he’s a very, very busy man.
Lorissa was right there, she’s a vet, just like him, and I asked her to look at Maxine.
She read the file, took samples, and did what she had to.
I backed her up, and I don’t know if he was butt hurt for Lorissa being a woman, or because he didn’t catch it, or because he hadn’t been out to Broken for several weeks. ”
“I vote it was his male ego,” Lorissa said angrily as she struck a match and threw it on the pile of junk she had been collecting all day.
At the whoosh, everyone jumped back and several women grabbed long sticks to help contain the flames, while the men went to start the grills they had brought.
No one spoke of Lorissa’s hurt feelings and anger toward Tom the rest of the night.
By the time the fire had died down to coals, the meal eaten, and good conversations all around, Cole was ready to call it a night.
He looked at his watch and was shocked that it was going on eleven.
He looked over at Lois, who sat next to him, and said quietly, “As much as I hate to say this, but I need to get going. Five o’clock comes early.
” His statement had everyone looking at their watches, and exclaimed the same thing.
They all gave Lorissa a hug and several of the men told her they could give her lessons in hand-to-hand combat, but the women laughed at them and said they could do the same thing.
It was Erin’s statement that made Cole nod his head in agreement.
“If Tom pulls a stunt like that again, tell him to come see me. I will not tolerate him or anyone, harassing my employees. You did nothing wrong, you did what you were hired for. If Tom has an issue with it, he needs to take it up with me.”
“Thank you,” Lorissa said and hugged the other woman.
“Normally, I wouldn’t have reacted like I did, but he did it in front of others, and I felt he undermined my ability to do my job.
It pissed me off.” She shook her head sadly as she looked at the others.
“I don’t want to have a reputation that I’m not trustworthy from a reputable vet before I can even get started out here. ”
“I agree, next time, you can always make something in your fire for him.”
“What?”
“A muzzle?”
Lorissa laughed heartily for the first time, and Cole felt that she was on the mend. As the others left, he turned to Lois.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been over lately. I got caught up in a project.”
“That’s fine. I was just worried when you didn’t answer my texts or phone calls.”
“I’ll remember to keep a fully charged battery in the future.
” He smiled then leaned in and kissed the side of her mouth, but she or he, he would never know exactly who it was, turned their head and his lips landed on hers.
He kept it gentle, and laid his hand on her shoulders to keep them both steady.
When he lifted his head, he smiled at her.
“I’ll see you later?”
“Please.”
Then he gave her another quick kiss and turned away with a grin, and some pep in his step.
He reached his truck and tipped his hat to her before he climbed in, then quickly left to go back to his home.
On the way, he thought of ways to ask her out officially.
He couldn’t wait to explore that kiss some more.
However, he wasn’t one to rush, so he would take his time, and let what they had together build along the way.
“Nana, that was hot,” Lorissa said with a laugh as she watched her grandmother watch Cole as he left the area. “Are the two of you dating?”
“Would that bother you?”
“Absolutely not, just because you’re a widow, that doesn’t mean your life is over. I don’t know your exact age, but in my eyes, you still have a lot of good years to live. If Cole Mercury makes you swoon, then go for it.”
“Swoon?” Lois laughed as they made sure everything was picked up, and no junk left lying around.
Lorissa laughed. “I couldn’t come up with a better word.
Seriously, though, if he makes you happy, then go for it.
I have no problem with it, I’m sure Mom won’t either, and besides it’s your life, we don’t have a right to tell you if you can and can’t date.
In my humble opinion. If you like the guy, go for it.
” She giggled, then gave her a cheeky smile.
“Besides, you’re not getting any younger. ”
“Did I ever tell you that you were a brat?”
“All the time when I was younger.” They were both laughing as they went to their own homes.
That night, for the first time in years, Lois got out a piece of paper to write the pros and cons of dating Cole.
By the time she finished, she saw the pros column had five times more items than the cons.
She made a vow that she would go out with him if he asked.
Now he just had to ask. She fell asleep that night with a happy smile on her face.