Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Cody peered out at the majesty that was the vistas available to him there on some of the property at the Duncan Ranch. He didn’t know if it was the greenery, the purplish gray mountains in the distance, or the sapphire jewel-like peeks of waterways that wove throughout the land here and there, but he found all of it so much more entrancing than Minneapolis.
Not that the city didn’t have its strengths—he missed the convenience of having restaurants and grocery stores that stayed open all hours—but the slower pace and lack of crime there in Rocky Ridge and the county surrounding it was totally worth it. There was just a peacefulness there that he loved, and rather than feeling as if he was ending up somewhere just as he was about to turn fifty, he felt the excitement of starting a crucial part of his life anew.
Since it was his lunch hour, Cody decided to take a minute to text his son. Gabriel had now been at Stanford for two weeks, Stacey having driven them there as soon as the dorms opened up a few days before the start of the semester. Cody himself had offered to go, as well, but maybe knowing that asking off after only having been with new employers for less than six months might not be the precedent he wanted to set.
He would’ve done it regardless, but he couldn’t lie, when Gabe said he was good with his mom alone, Cody felt relieved. He felt disappointed, too, just a little. But the relief outweighed it by a degree or two. That didn’t, however, mean he didn’t want to stay abreast of things. He’d drop everything for his only child in a heartbeat. New job or not.
Dad : How are things going so far, son?
Gabe : It’s intense. Super intense. But it’s good, too. Really good.
Dad : Care to elaborate on “super intense?”
Gabe : The classes here are insane. The profs want everything spelled out with every single detail. My first test in World History came back with a D on it.
What the… Gabriel never received anything lower than a C, and those were rare. Mainly in the heavier subjects like calculus or the higher sciences. But in history of all disciplines? He’d always carried straight-As in that discipline.
Dad : D?!?
Gabe : I know, I know. Calm down. I went to talk to her, and she let me retake it. I just didn’t understand what she wanted. It was an essay test, and she required specifics that I didn’t provide. I got a B on the second go-round.
Dad : I can live with a B.
Gabe : LOL. That’s what Mom said, too.
Cody imagined Stacey’s expression when their son informed her of this teeny-weeny mishap and nearly snorted up a lung.
Dad : Everything else okay?
Gabe : Oh, yeah. Damian, that’s my dorm roommate, plays the same online RPGs that I do. We’ve been having this wicked team-up, and he’s right at my level. We’re having a great time.
Uh-oh.
Dad : Don’t have such a great time that you neglect your studies.
Gabe : Lol. Knew you were going to say that as soon as I typed it out. Don’t worry. That’s only on weekends. The week is for dedication to the classwork.
“Dedication to the classwork” were words straight out of Stacey’s mouth. Cody could hear them rebounding inside his own skull because she used that particular phrase over and over throughout Gabriel’s schooling growing up.
At least that meant their son was listening.
Dad : Good boy.
Gabe : Got a joke for you.
Dad : Shoot.
Gabe : What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?
Oh, boy. This ought to be interesting.
Dad : What did he say?
Gabe : Bi-son.
Cody snorted again.
Dad : That was bad.
Gabe : IKR? *laughing emoji*
Luckily, Cody was able to translate this language into English which came out to mean, “I know, right?”
Gabe : You know, the university has a program that lets students earn their tuition by working in the on-campus bakery.
Cody was certain this was another joke.
Dad : Uh-huh.
Gabe : The opportunity is limited. It’s on a strictly knead to know basis.
Wow.
Dad : Boo. Hiss. That one’s even worse.
Gabe : Agreed!
He was so busy chuckling at these—the more he read them over the worse, and therefore funnier, they got—when he realized he was running behind on returning from lunch.
Dad : Got to get back, Gabriel. Keep texting me updates and jokes.
Gabe : Will do. Love you, Dad.
His chest caught as a knot formed in his throat . There’d been a few years there between eleven and sixteen when his son had been reluctant to say those words, even to repeat them back to him. So, it lightened his heart to see them written out to him so easily now. Especially since his son had volunteered such a sentiment on his own first.
Dad : Love you, too, Gabriel.
Then, he hurried to return to his section of garden space and greenhouses. Once he did, he noticed Zeke Knight standing over the organic alfalfa that had begun to grow about a foot high. It’d been going along at a better than decent rate, the color and texture of the plant promising positive things when it came to harvest time.
“All your crops are coming along nice,” Zeke said, waving out toward the rows of neatly planted organic goods.
“Yeah, I’m thrilled with how amazing the soil is here. It’s doing well, and anything more sensitive to the cold is paying for itself by being inside the greenhouse.”
“Bryce pleased?”
“Oh, yeah.” He was, too. Cody’s boss had complimented him privately and even in the big meetings they’d occasionally have at the main house. “There’s the frontend cost, sure. But all this should more than pay for itself within the year. Then, it’ll all be gravy, financially speaking.”
And the environmental impact would also be reduced. The more runoff from such operations could be mitigated and the ground water protected for future generations—and current ones, for that matter—the better.
Zeke nodded. He tended to be the silent or at least less verbal type.
“How’s married life treating you so far?” Cody asked him, and a light lit behind Zeke’s eyes.
“It’s wonderful. I’m a lucky man.”
“I’m happy for you, Zeke.” He clapped the other man on the shoulder. Through the gossip mill, he’d overheard at least part of the trauma Zeke had been forced to endure with the loss of his wife and baby years ago. Even though things hadn’t worked out for him and Stacey, Cody couldn’t imagine how horrible his life would’ve been if he’d lost her and Gabe the same way.
The thought gave him goosebumps and not the good kind.
That was part of the reason he switched subjects.
“So, Erika Cantrell. What can you tell me about her?”
“Erika? She’s a registered nurse.” Cody nodded since he knew that already. “I don’t know her well, but Callie does since they work together. They’ve become close there in that office.”
“Uh-huh,” Cody prodded, waiting for greater detail. Zeke scratched the back of his neck as if thinking.
“Well, her birthday’s coming up. I know because Callie keeps talking about the surprise party she’s planning for her.”
That sparked Cody’s interest.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s going to bring one of those cupcake cakes. You know the ones I mean?”
He wasn’t sure, to be entirely truthful, but if it was what it sounded like, he could imagine what the thing must resemble.
“Sure. When’s this special event due to take place?”
“The fifteenth. I think. Or maybe the sixteenth…” Zeke peered up into the clear blue sky, and Cody felt sorely tempted to wring his neck. Really? Which was it? Still, he refused to voice this question out loud. “The fifteenth, yeah. This coming Friday.”
“That’s awesome, man,” Cody told him, impressed by how nonchalant he sounded. Because he didn’t feel all that nonchalant. He felt more like he was chomping at the bit like one of those horses over there in the pasture.
“Think Callie’s done that before, brought cupcakes to work. Everyone loves them.”
“Who doesn’t love cupcakes?”
“I know I do.”
“Me, too,” Cody said, no longer paying much attention.
If Erika loved sweets, he could provide her with however many sweets she wished. Truckloads, if necessary. And there was even a specialty dessert store on the square, he thought. He tried to think of the name of the place. It had sweet or sweets right there in its name, if he remembered correctly.
“Hey,” he spoke up just as Zeke turned away. “Isn’t there some sort of dessert shop here in town?”
“Lots of places have dessert. Every restaurant pretty much.”
“Yes, but like, a specialty shop? Maybe with Sweets in the name?”
“Oh, you mean Sweet Everything?”
“That’s it.”
“They’re best known for their black forest brownies. Some of the cakiest and fudgiest stuff I’ve ever tasted.” Zeke literally rubbed at his stomach as if imagining filling it with the brownies in question. “Ask for Allison, if you want something specially made. She’ll take care of you.”
“Okay, I appreciate it. Thanks, man.”
As Zeke disappeared into the barn, Cody tucked this precious intel into the back of his mind. He travelled around Rocky Ridge, had located the necessities and even a handful of places he liked to get takeout from, but he hadn’t yet stopped into Sweet Everything.
It seemed it was high time for him to change that.