Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
“You can just set that down against the wall.” Hannah wasn’t sure if she’d leave the couch there, but it was the easiest place for the men who had offered to help her move. She’d been absolutely thrilled last weekend when not only Ava, the owner of the Lucky Lasso Hotel and Saloon, but also Stacy, the waitress, had offered up their brothers to help her move. She really didn’t want to bother Brody anymore, as she had the feeling she’d taken up a bit too much of his time.
Then when she’d run into Nash at the hardware store and told him what was happening, he’d made himself available. She couldn’t believe how wonderful everyone was in Four Peaks.
“Where would you like this?” Nash held a large cardboard box labeled ‘stuff.’”
No wonder he had no clue where it should go. “You can put that in the closet in the bedroom.”
He shook his head, his eyes crinkling under his cowboy hat. “That’s full to the top. I can probably squeeze it in on the floor next to the bed if you like.”
“Oh dear. I thought I had culled out enough items, but it looks like I may have to rent a storage unit.”
He readjusted the heavy box. “Not necessarily. Once you know how much you need to store, you could order a storage shed to replace the old one that was outside there. It would cost a lot less and I’d be happy to anchor it down for you.”
Ava’s married brother jostled Nash as he strode by. “Stop flirting and keep working.”
Instead of being embarrassed, as she was, Nash grinned. “Nothing wrong with doing two things at once.” He gave her a nod to punctuate his point before continuing into the bedroom.
She liked Nash. He was easy-going, like Brody. Actually, all the men she’d met in town seemed that way. She must be meeting the right men. For the first time since her grandparents had become frail, she thought about dating again. What if she met the perfect man while living in Four Peaks? Surprisingly, the idea appealed to her, even if the town was tiny compared to Phoenix.
Then again, she was still new in town, and she was in what she’d call the honeymoon stage. That’s how it had been every time her grandparents and she moved to a new apartment complex.
She looked around at the piles of boxes, some on chairs and end tables. The amount of work it would take to unpack should feel overwhelming, but she was actually looking forward to the task. Since her lease had been ending, she’d thrown all her and her grandparents’ possessions into boxes and now she was anxious to go through everything.
“This is the last one, Ms. Kingsley.” Stacy’s tall, handsome brother set the box down on top of two others next to the kitchen counter.
His dark good looks and polite manners were appealing, but he was far too young for her. Obviously, Stacy must think her much younger than her twenty-seven years. “Thank you. If you wouldn’t mind bringing the cooler in in from my Jeep?”
“Of course.”
“Never mind, kid. I’ll take care of that.” Nash strode by and headed out the door.
She shook her head. The cooler had eight six-packs of beer in it. “He’s probably going to need some help.”
“I’m on it.” The young man followed Nash out.
She had planned on opening the back of her Jeep and standing outside, but it was late afternoon, and the lovely fall day she’d started with in Phoenix had risen to scorching hot. Unfortunately, the casita didn’t have air-conditioning or power yet. She had the generator hooked up, but the solar panels had not been installed yet. That’s why she’d been anxious to get everything moved in before dark. But with three wonderful cowboys helping, she was done already.
Nash carried in the cooler on his shoulder. “Where would you like it?”
She pointed to the spot where her refrigerator would go when it arrived tomorrow. “Right there. The contents are for you all. I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
Stacy’s brother, who’d followed Nash in, quickly lifted the lid. “Nice.” He grabbed one of the beers and twisted off the cap.
Ava’s brother walked in from outside. He was almost as tall as Nash, but of Hispanic descent, with very attractive eyes. “Stand aside and let the old man have a look. Ah, now here’s real beer.”
She chuckled because she doubted he was any older than she was.
Nash turned to her. “What would you like?”
“Me? Oh, I only drink light beer. Never acquired a taste for full strength.” She scanned the kitchen area looking for her tumbler. Spotting it next to a box on the counter, she picked it up. “I’m all set with my water.”
Nash looked in the cooler and pulled out a beer different from the other two before twisting off the cap on the bottle. “Then you should come down to Boots n’ Brew Saturday night. The Cattle Rustlers will be playing and there’ll be dancing.”
“Nash, are you asking the lady on a date?”
At Ava’s brother’s comment, she flushed.
Nash shook his head. “No. I was just being neighborly to a new neighbor.” He turned back to look at her. “Unless you would prefer it be a date?”
She smiled kindly, though she knew her cheeks were red. “I think I’d like to settle in first, but if I have the evening free, I’ll definitely check it out.”
“How long you staying?”
She shrugged, not sure how to answer Nash since she hadn’t thought any farther than Sunday. “I don’t know. My grandparents asked me to stay a while. I’m not sure if they meant a week or a year or half my life. So I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
“Cheers to that.” Nash lifted his bottle, and she clinked her steel tumbler against it before lifting it to her lips.
Footsteps crunched the dirt just outside the open door before it was filled with a familiar figure. “What’s going on here?” Brody stood in the doorway, clearly not happy.
Nash spun around. “It figures you would show up after all the hard work is done.”
She could tell that didn’t help Brody’s mood at all, yet he didn’t really change his expression. It must be that she was getting used to his body language. “Hi Brody. Would you like a beer?” She held her hand out toward the cooler.
“No. Thank you.” His eyes widened as he took in all the boxes. “When you said you had a delivery, I thought you meant to the hotel.”
“Oh, no. That’s tomorrow. My refrigerator is coming.”
His brow furrowed. “Refrigerator? But there’s no electricity.”
She bit down on a smile. The man seemed far too focused on electricity. “No, but I will soon. I’m having solar panels and a battery installed next week. In the meantime, I do have a propane generator, which I understand will enable me to at least run an air conditioning unit, the well pump, and my small refrigerator.”
As if it had just dawned on him, his eyes rounded. “You’re moving in.”
Nash chuckled and patted Brody on the shoulder “That’s generally what people do when they pack up all their belongings and transport them to another dwelling.”
Brody frowned at Nash before looking at her. “When you said you would stay a while, I thought you meant as in a weekend here and there.”
“Not at all. My lease was up for renewal. I see no reason to pay rent when I have this adorable casita all to myself.” She smiled encouragingly, hoping he could see why it made sense.
He just shook his head as if she’d lost her mind.
Fine, she didn’t need his approval anyway.
Nash held up the remainder of his beer. “Cheers to your new neighbor, Brody.” He swallowed the rest and looked around for the trash.
“Over here.” She pointed to a black trash bag next to her.
Nash dropped his bottle in on top of the tape and paper she’d already put in it. “I need to head out and run a few errands before dinner. Remember what I said about Saturday night.”
“I will. And please take some beer with you. I won’t drink it.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He strode over and lifted out the rest of the six pack. “Hey guys, you want yours as well?”
When the other two men nodded, Nash brought them the six packs to match their beers, then seemed to usher them out.
Hannah quickly followed them outside. “Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
After a few jokes about who was strongest, the three men left in their various trucks. Turning back to her house, she found Brody standing just outside the door. “How come you didn’t ask me?”
She brushed by him, as much to get into the cooler interior of the casita than anything else. “Why would I ask you if I could move into my own home?”
He followed her inside. “Not that. It’s your home. Of course, you can move into it. But why didn’t you ask me for help moving? I would have helped you. And how the heck did you rope Nash into it?”
She took a swallow of water, not a little surprised by his tone. He sounded as if she’d hurt his feelings. “I didn’t ask you because I took far too much of your time last weekend. I know you have a lot to do on the ranch. As far as Nash is concerned, I ran into him at the hardware store yesterday, and when he asked what I was doing in town, I told him I was moving into the casita today, and he offered his help. How come you didn’t ask me about the other two men?”
He moved farther inside and leaned against the wall. “Because I know Ava and Stacy volunteered them. They do that a lot. You do know Stacy is trying to set you up with her brother. He’s far too young for you.”
Though she’d come to the same conclusion, she thought it funny that he mentioned it. “Really? I don’t know. He’s very handsome.” She bit her lip to keep from grinning.
“Handsome? He’s passable, but he’s only twenty-two.”
“Twenty-two. Hmm, and how old do you think I am?”
She could tell that he realized too late she’d set him up. Patiently, she waited for him to answer.
Finally, he grinned. “You’re my age.”
“Really? So you’re thirty-two?”
His head jerked back. “You’re not thirty-two. Even Tanner isn’t thirty-two yet.”
She laughed, pleased he at least thought her younger than that. “I’m twenty-seven, and I agree, Stacy’s brother is too young for me.”
As his shoulders relaxed, it made her wonder about his interest in who she dated. “Now Nash, he must be about my age, right?”
Brody pushed himself away from the door as he moved toward the kitchen. “Yeah, we graduated together.” He headed for the cooler. “I think I will have that beer.”
She waited while he chose one and twisted the cap. He looked around before spotting the trash bag and threw it in.
He took a swig then continued. “Nash and I have known each other since we were three, or so my mom told me. She was best friends with his mom. I think with both of us losing our moms at a young age, it made us closer. We’d do anything for each other.”
“It sounds like you two really have each other’s back. I never had brothers or sisters or even a friend that long. As for parents, my grandparents were mine, and they were wonderful.” Even as she smiled, her eyes itched at her loss. Deciding that wasn’t a topic she was ready to talk a lot about, she quickly switched her train of thought. “I lost my mom when I was two, so except for photos, I didn’t really know her. When did you lose yours?”
“I was twelve.” He paused to take another swig, his gaze no longer on her. “She died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. That’s the fancy name for it, but she basically couldn’t breathe. At first, she blamed it on not getting enough exercise. Then she said her heart was weak, but one day we came home from school, and we found her on the floor struggling to breathe. I’ll never forget seeing my mom lying there. Of course, Tanner called Dad immediately, while Jackson and I helped her to sit up.” He shook his head. “Never been so scared in my entire life. Not even when I had an engine cut out in the Cessna Skyhawk I was flying.”
Brody’s gaze returned to her. “It’s different when it’s yourself and you think you’re going to die. You can make peace with your life. But when it’s someone you love, someone who is your whole world, your support, your cheerleader, and you can’t do anything to help, it’s terrorizing.”
Her heart constricted at the pain in his face. She’d never come close to losing her own life, but she knew what it was like to watch someone slowly waste away. “I get that. My grandfather was my champion, and as his heart made him weaker and weaker, I felt my heart breaking a little more each day. I can’t imagine what it must have been for you at such a young age.”
A self-deprecating smirk appeared, not what she expected. “Oh, I was completely selfish, convinced that I alone could make my mom better. Only I could take care of her well enough for her to get well again. I refused to do my chores or ride my horse or even go to school. Dad put a stop to the staying home from school thing by the third day, but he gave up on everything else.”
Brody took another swig of beer, clearly lost in his memories. “Mom and I had a special bond. Tanner was Dad’s mini-me. He wanted to be just like him. But I always wanted to be something other than a rancher. Mom saw that in me. She told me before she died to pursue my dreams. She said I was like her. She told me I had skills that were yet to be developed, and I could achieve anything if I set my mind to it. She made me promise not to let my father ride roughshod over my goals.” The self-deprecating smile returned. “I followed her advice, much to Dad’s frustration.”
Her heart melted into mush. There was so much more to the kind cowboy who had shown up at her apartment to buy her property, and she wanted to know more. She just wasn’t sure where to start. “You seem to know a lot about ranching. Is there something about it you don’t like, or is it that you want to explore other occupations?”
This time he laughed outright. “Both. Ranching is great if it’s in your blood. But even then, it’s a lot of hard work and tedious. You do the same thing every year. We’re always fixing fencing, cleaning up after monsoons, moving the cattle, overseeing the breeding and birthing, negotiating the feed and the selling, and a million other things that keep the ranch running. It never changes.”
“But you said the Rocky Road was turning into a dude ranch. Isn’t that a change?”
He opened his mouth then closed it before shaking his head. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess you’re right. But still, it’s a one-time change. I’m sure it will be the same repetitive tasks only on more of a daily routine. You know, like Monday is trail ride day, Tuesday is barbeque day, Wednesday is target practice day, and so on. Just the thought of it gives me nightmares.” He grimaced.
“That all sounds pretty fun to me. But then again, I’ve always been doing something different. The longest full-time position I held was as a clerk for the City of Phoenix in their accounting office. I love numbers. They helped to pay for me to get my degree in accounting.”
“You’re an accountant?”
His surprise was so complete that it made her laugh. “Not exactly. I have a degree in accounting, but I’ve mainly served as a budget analyst. The only actual accounting I’ve done per se is volunteer work. Right now, I’m temping. It was the best type of position while my grandparents needed me so much. Now, I’ll have to look for a new position, probably closer to Four Peaks, since I’ll need to pay for the solar grid being put in tomorrow.”
As if he’d just realized how much the casita had changed, he looked around. “You’ve done a lot in a short time, and it looks like you’re here to stay.”
He didn’t sound too happy about it. “Don’t worry. I haven’t made up my mind yet about whether to sell or not. However, I’m hoping all goes well tomorrow since I don’t treasure the thought of unpacking all this in the heat.”
“Did you get the propane back up like I suggested?”
“I did. The propane company found the old tank and lifted it out just to be safe and put in a larger new one. State of the art, they said, though from what I read online, a propane tank is pretty much a propane tank. They showed me where the switch-over is, but I’m not sure how it all works, so I didn’t try it. I don’t really want to blow anything up.”
He seemed to perk up at her uncertainty. “Show me where the switch-over is. I’ll take a look.”
Not completely confident in his abilities, but hoping he’d be honest if he didn’t know how it all worked, she walked over to the tiny pantry and opened the door. “This is the lever the installer said I should use. He said to make sure I wait a full minute between switching from solar to the propane generator.”
Brody motioned her out of the way, as it was a very small space. Then he followed each line from the box. “Where’s the generator?”
“It’s outside behind where the couch is.”
Without another word, he strode outside.
She thought about following him as she might learn something, but he was back in less than three minutes.
“You’re all hooked up.” He walked into the pantry and threw the switch up. Immediately, a soft hum could be heard through the adobe wall.
She walked over to the bedroom doorway and cool air began blowing from the wall unit toward her. “Oh, that feels wonderful.” She moved to the front door and closed it. “I could almost stay here tonight.”
He closed the pantry door. “Why can’t you?”
She lifted both hands palms up. “No mattress. It’s being delivered in a few days. I suppose I could sleep on the couch, but I’ve done that before and it’s not that comfortable. No. I have a room for two more nights at the hotel. The mattress will be delivered on Monday.”
He picked up his half empty beer bottle. “Well, if you need another night, I’m sure Ava has rooms. That place is only booked solid during Pioneer Days or when someone in town has a wedding.”
“Really? It’s such a unique hotel. I’d think it would be busier.”
“If we get this dude ranch off the ground, then they might get a few more people who fly in a day early or decide to stay around an extra night or two. Speaking of that, I need to get back to the ranch and do more work on the website. We’re doing a soft opening in a couple weeks, kind of a run-through with a select group of people to work out the kinks.” He finished his beer and dropped the bottle into the trash. “But I will see you tomorrow morning, right? Seven a.m.?”
She stifled a groan at the early hour. “I’ll be there. I’m very excited to learn how to care for horses.”
He smiled. “And I’m happy to have the help.” He touched the brim of his hat with his fingers. “See you then.” He strode to the door and exited with a jaunt in his step he didn’t have when he’d arrived.
There was something about Brody Dunn that made her sigh, and it wasn’t just his good looks. Despite the fact he wanted to buy her land, he kept helping her to settle in. And even with all his work, he still made time for her. She hoped he wasn’t just being kind so she would sell to him. She’d already decided that if she sold, it would only be to the Dunns. She just didn’t know if she’d want to or not. She’d see how the next few months went.
In the meantime, with cool air streaming in, she could easily get a few hours of unpacking done before dark. What was she thinking? She had electricity, so she could turn on lights and continue. The question was where to start.
As she looked around, she noticed the pantry latch had come undone. She smiled, pleased that the casita already had a homey feeling. Not only was it a mess, but it wasn’t perfect. That’s how she felt about her life right now. It was homey, almost perfect, except for the loss of her grandparents.
Yet she had so many new things to learn and explore and a hundred tasks ahead of her, but it just made her happier that she had purpose.
She started for the bedroom, then slowed. Brody had talked about not being a rancher, but he never said what he did want to do. She’d have to remember to ask him in the morning. She continued into the bedroom. He seemed to need a purpose in life as much as she did. Just another way in which they were in sync.