The Twins…and Savannah
Maria and Jessie ate their own dinner in a corner of the dining room when the line—including a long line for seconds—had gone down to nothing.
“So what do we do after this?” Maria asked. “Is there prep for tomorrow?”
Jessie nodded. “We clean up and do the dishes,” she said, “and then we’ve gotta get stuff started for tomorrow morning. Somebody’s gonna have to crack eggs. It takes some of the load off. I can’t wait until Rob’s back is better.”
Maria was familiar with that from the days when the Virginian had a morning brunch. “I can crack eggs,” she said. “Or if you show me how to run the dishwasher, I can do that. I haven’t had much experience in that area, but I guess I’d better learn.”
It looked like work days here were long. Well, that was why they were paying her big bucks plus room and board.
“What exactly are our hours here?” she asked. “I mean, I figure everybody’s got to eat three meals a day and we’re the ones who make it.”
“Well, it’s a long day,” Jessie said. “But it’s only two meals really. When we make breakfast we put out stuff for people to grab for a packed lunch. Those guys are usually out on the range in the middle of the day, and there isn’t time to come back here.”
“Ah, I see,” Maria said. “So do you prep for the next day after breakfast?”
“That’s right. And we go through inventory, plan out recipes, order supplies—stuff like that.”
“I guess it’ll be a learning curve,” Maria said. “I’m glad you’re here!”
It was late when she left the kitchen and took her ATV up the valley to the barn. Dusk was falling, with the last glimmers of sunset in the sky. The house lights shone through the gloom. For such a big house, it looked surprisingly cozy.
Maria parked her ATV, smoothed her hair, and went into the ranch house.
In the big living room she found Grandma Austin, Uncle Russell, and Aunt Steph. Grandma Austin was braiding leather. Uncle Russell was on his computer, and Aunt Steph was on her phone. No sign of her cousins.
“Hi,” Maria said.
Grandma Austin looked up. “You found the kitchen?”
“Yes,” Maria said. “I helped Jessie serve dinner, clean up, and prep for tomorrow.”
“How did you like it?” Grandma Austin asked.
“It was good,” Maria said. “Jessie’s nice, and the kitchen is clean and professional with things labeled properly.”
“Good,” Grandma Austin said. “Jessie’s been pestering me to get somebody else to help, and Rob hurting his back was the last straw.”
“I bet,” Maria said. “There’s a lot of people coming through that kitchen every day.”
Grandma Austin nodded. “Did you meet Annabelle and Elijah? Were they at dinner?”
Maria shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
“They went into town,” a voice said from the doorway.
Maria looked up to see a girl, twelve or thirteen, with straight blonde hair in a low ponytail.
From the extreme flare of her jeans and the chunky white tennis shoes she wore, Maria pinned her as a young fashionista.
She must be Russell and Steph’s youngest.
“It’s not fair, Mom.” The girl advanced into the room. “They go out all the time. I’m stuck here on the ranch. Nobody ever drives me into town, and there’s nobody to hang out with.”
“Savannah, dear, they can’t take you with them to a bar,” Aunt Steph said, looking up from her phone. “You’re not old enough. Besides, they’re probably hanging out with their other grown-up friends.”
“I wish school would start again,” Savannah complained. “There’s nothing to do on this ranch.”
“Nothing to do?” Grandma Austin raised her eyebrows. “On this ranch? If you can’t think of anything to do with your time, I’ll find you something.”
“Now, Mom, that’s all right,” Aunt Steph said. “I’m sure they have summer activities in town. Savannah, we can talk about finding you a sport or something.”
“I guess.” Savannah looked down at the carpet. “I just wanna do something fun once in a while. There’s never anything new around here.”
“Well, your cousin is new here,” Aunt Steph said. “Savannah, this is your cousin Maria.”
Savannah looked up. “Oh! I figured you were a ranch hand,” she said. “Are you staying here?”
“I’m working in the kitchen over the summer,” Maria said. “And I’m staying here in the house. I think my bedroom is next to yours.”
“Cool,” Savannah said. “I didn’t know you were coming. Nobody tells me anything!”
Uncle Russell looked up from his computer. “Why don’t you show Maria around the house? She hasn’t seen much of it yet.”
“Okay,” Savannah said. “At least it’s something to do.”
Savannah’s tour was extensive, and Maria realized she hadn’t fully appreciated the size of this house.
It would be easy to get lost in some of the wings.
A spiral staircase from the den went down to a walkout basement Maria hadn’t known was there, equipped with workout equipment and a small office.
There was a room with a fully-stocked bar and a pool table, a mudroom where people could deal with their mucky barn clothes, a laundry room with many cupboards and counters and even a TV, and innumerable random bathrooms.
“We’ve got a hot tub outside,” Savannah said. “Dad really likes the hot tub for his back.”
“This place has everything,” Maria said. “It must have been renovated—everything seems pretty modern.”
“Well, we’ve gotten a bunch of new stuff the last few years,” Savannah said. “Grandma and Grandpa had the house designed in the 80s, and it didn’t look very modern. Mom’s been helping redecorate and put in new appliances.”
“Did you grow up here?” Maria asked.
“Yeah,” Savannah said. “I go to school in town. The problem is, when school’s out, there’s nothing to do.”
“Nothing to do? In this house?”
“Nobody’s ever around to talk to,” Savannah said. “You can’t hang out with Grandma. She always wants to know if we’ve been up to anything useful. She doesn’t want to hear I’ve been on the internet all day. Mom and Dad are busy. And Annabelle and Elijah don’t want to hang out with a kid sister.”
“That’s too bad.” Maria’s forehead puckered. She hadn’t even met Annabelle and Elijah, and everything she heard gave her a worse impression of them.
“They’re always riding around with friends,” Savannah explained. “I’m too young to drive, so I can’t go places by myself. Do you think you could take me anywhere?”
“Well, I don’t have a car myself,” Maria said, “but I heard I can borrow a truck. Where is it you want to go?”
“Anywhere,” Savannah said. “Anywhere there’s something interesting going on. I’m sick of it here.”
The poor girl! Lonely in a paradise. Maria could spend time with her when she wasn’t working. As an only child with a single dad, she knew what it was to be lonely.
It was ten-thirty PM, and Maria was about to suggest they both turn in for the night, when she heard unfamiliar voices.
“Annabelle and Elijah!” Savannah led the way back from the end of the house.
Funny that Savannah sounded so excited about her siblings getting home, when she’d said they didn’t hang out with her. She really must not have a lot to do around here.
The twins were in the living room. Annabelle (tall, blonde, and dressed in a bright pink cowgirl outfit) was talking to her mom, and Elijah (tall, brown-haired with five o’clock shadow, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans) was leaning against the mantel. Maria stopped in the doorway.
“Annabelle, you ought to meet your cousin Maria,” Aunt Steph said.
Annabelle turned, shapely eyebrows lifting in surprise.
“Nice to meet you.” Annabelle looked Maria up and down. “I would never have guessed you were an Austin cousin. We don’t look anything alike.”
Maria smiled. “I look like my dad. Nice to meet you, Annabelle.”
“Sup, Maria,” Elijah called from the fireplace. “You been out riding yet?”
Maria shook her head. “I’ve actually never ridden before.”
“What?” Elijah asked. “How did you not learn? Didn’t you go to horse camp growing up?”
Did he think people in the Michigan suburbs all sent their daughters to expensive horse camps?
“Nope,” Maria said. “I wouldn’t mind learning, though.”
“Sure, I’ll teach you,” Elijah said easily. “When I’ve got time. I’m top hand.”
“Ah.” Maria didn’t know what that was, but it sounded important. He reminded her a touch of Seth, with his over-confident attitude. “Well, only if you have time. I wouldn’t want to be a nuisance.”
“No trouble.” Elijah nodded at her. “Won’t take you long to get ahead of Annabelle.”
“Elijah, shut up.” Annabelle glared at her twin.
“What?” Elijah shrugged. “I was kidding!”
“Fine.” Annabelle released the glare. “Anyway, Mom, I was just about to tell you, there’s a dance coming up at the Baldwin ranch. I’m gonna need a new dress.”
“Of course,” Aunt Steph said. “Do you need any help paying for it?”
“Well,” Annabelle said. “Not exactly, but my birthday is coming up, and…”
“An early birthday present? No problem. Send me the link, and I’ll get it for you,” Aunt Steph said.
Annabelle hugged her mom. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Who do you think is gonna take you to that dance?” Elijah asked. “I’m not gonna do it. Nobody wants to take his own sister as his date.”
Annabelle stuck out her tongue at him. “I’m gonna get Tim to ask me, of course.”
So Annabelle was interested in Tim. From what Maria had overheard Tim saying about Annabelle, either the interest wasn’t mutual, or the two argued a lot.
Elijah looked at his phone. “Word around the bunkhouse is, he’s not interested.”
“Not interested!” Annabelle said. “The other guys would like to think so. You’ll see. Mom, I’m gonna send you that link.”
Elijah sat on one of the couches, checking his phone.
Annabelle and Aunt Steph discussed Annabelle’s prospective dress, with Savannah hanging over her mom’s shoulder to see the pictures of it on Annabelle’s phone.
It didn’t seem like a good time for Maria to try to hang out with her new cousins—she felt invisible.
She’d better message Dad and Grandma and get some sleep before work tomorrow.
She cleared her throat. “Well, I think I’ll turn in. It’s been a long day.”
“Goodnight, Maria,” Grandma Austin said. “Do you have everything you need in your room?”
“Oh, yes,” Maria said. “Goodnight, everybody.”
“Goodnight,” said Patricia, Aunt Steph and Savannah. Annabelle didn’t even look up from her phone.
§
It was a good thing Maria had gone to bed early, because the next morning she felt like she had been hit by a truck. Montana was only two hours behind Michigan time. How on earth was she still so tired? It must be jet lag and excitement from the long day yesterday.
Jessie was bright and chipper over the morning work. Rob’s back was doing better, and he thought he could come to work tomorrow. That would take a load off her and Maria.
“You ought to get around and see the ranch,” Jessie said, cutting fruit. “I bet you’ve never been riding or fishing, have you?”
“I’ve actually done quite a bit of fishing,” Maria said. She was looking at the menu for the upcoming week. Jessie made quite a few things she’d never heard of, like Hoover stew, cowboy lasagna, and upside-down pizza. “But I’ve never been on a horse. Elijah said he would teach me.”
“Elijah?” Jessie said. “He’s a good rider. A little careless, but he always does well at the rodeo.”
“The ranch people compete at a rodeo?”
“Later in the summer,” Jessie said. “We always have a few people from the ranch competing. Russell used to, until his back started bothering him.”
“Why is it that so many ranch people have bad backs?” Maria asked. “Russell, your husband—is it just a coincidence?”
“Lifting heavy things all the time can do that to you,” Jessie said. “Occupational hazard.”
“That makes sense,” Maria said. “So what do they do at the rodeo?”
“Riding and roping, mostly,” Jessie said. “There’s eight different events. Tim’s good. Elijah’s good too.”
“Does Annabelle compete?” Maria asked. Her cousin seemed athletic.
“Annabelle never competes. She rides, but I think she’s too busy hanging out with friends and being popular to work on her rodeo skills.”
“Does the whole family go, or just the ones competing?”
Jessie laughed. “Kid, the whole ranch is gonna go,” she said. “From Patricia, to the ranch hands, to the masked Montana Rider, probably.”
The ranch had a masked rider? Probably some kind of inside joke. Maria wanted to ask, but Jessie was still talking.
“You’ll probably be riding yourself by that time.” She handed Maria a cantaloupe and a knife. “Although I wouldn’t recommend entering the rodeo your first summer!”
Far be it from Maria to enter a rodeo when she’d never been on a horse! “Don’t worry, I won’t,” she said. “I don’t intend to get injured. I’ve still got to get back to Michigan in one piece.”
“So you’re not staying on permanently?” Jessie asked.
“No,” Maria said. “I hope you’ll be able to find somebody else by the end of the summer. My dad and grandma are in Michigan all by themselves, and I wouldn’t ever want to move far from them.”
“I can understand that,” Jessie said. “Family’s important. I’m glad I’ve got my whole family here. Two of my boys work on the ranch—you might have seen them in the breakfast line—and my girl works in town. She’s a dental hygienist.”
They had dental offices all the way out here? Of course they did. Maria had to stop imagining the Wild West whenever she thought of Montana.
It was too bad she didn’t have her whole family here.
She already missed Dad and Grandma—she’d caught herself wondering what they were up to many times in the last couple days.
Well, it was only for the summer, and they had wanted her to go.
She wondered if her plan to befriend the Austins would make any progress over one summer, though.
She could already tell Annabelle had no interest in getting to know her.
Either that, or she had been completely absorbed by the dance thing and the new dress last night.
At least Elijah had offered to teach her how to ride.
How was she ever going to get the two families back together?
She’d figured Patricia would be hard to get along with, but she’d hoped Uncle Russell and Aunt Steph’s family would be more congenial.
It was going to be harder to build bridges than she had thought.
But she’d just got here, and Rome wasn’t built in a day.
She could get the family to like her yet.
At least Savannah seemed to appreciate her presence.