Chapter 11
11
T here was more than enough to keep Tansy distracted from the activity going on in the back room. She went to check on Jinx first, found her out of the shower and in her bedroom, wrapped in a cozy blanket. Sasha was nestled beside her on the bed, and both of them had their hands wrapped around large cups that smelled amazing.
Dixie lay across both their feet, curled to face the door as if guarding precious treasure.
“I can tell by the scent in here you found the good chocolate,” Tansy teased, sliding forward to rest a hip on the bed beside the girls. She scratched Dixie’s head as a well done .
Jinx smacked her lips then placed her cup on the headboard. “I’m warming up from the inside out.”
Tansy glanced over her, but Jinx didn’t seem any worse for wear. She turned her attention to Sasha. “Did you talk to your parents?”
A slow nod in return, given with extra wide eyes. “I told them I was staying for supper. I didn’t say anything other than that. Jinx asked me to wait until we talked to Declan.”
“Good thinking.” Tansy offered both the girls an approving nod. “You guys did well, but you’re right. Declan will help figure out what happens next.”
A second later, Jinx was cuddled against Tansy, hugging her tightly. “Is the guy we found okay?”
“So far, so good,” Tansy assured her, squeezing hard. She lifted her eyes to meet Sasha’s. “You were pretty scared, weren’t you?”
A quiver sounded in Sasha’s voice as she answered. “We thought he was dead.”
“Come here.” Tansy opened her other arm and Sasha immediately slipped in.
The three of them huddled together for comfort as Dixie headbutted them, worried at the high intensity emotion filling the air. “I bet it was scary, but other than Jinx putting herself at risk of hypothermia, you guys reacted quickly. You probably saved his life.”
A ragged sob escaped Jinx, and she burrowed in closer for a moment. Tansy held the girls and let them find their equilibrium, happy for a chance to take comfort from them, as well.
When Jinx’s breathing settled out, Tansy gave one last squeeze then let go. “We’ll wait to talk to Declan, but one thing I know that has to happen next is supper. I had things mostly under control, but let’s go finish.”
Having a tangible task to do helped. By the time Petra and Aiden rushed into the house followed by Kevin and the hands, the girls had the table set, including salads, chutney, and rice. Tansy had the pot full of Massaman beef ready to bring out.
Jake and Declan stepped in front of the fire, and Tansy jerked upright in a moment of panic. Jake’s right eye was decidedly red.
Before she could rush across the room, Sydney reappeared from the back of the house. She joined Tansy, leaning against the counter beside her. “I used your bathroom to freshen up. Figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“Never a problem. What happened to Jake?”
“Jake got hit by an accidental swing from Logan. The kid felt terrible about it. He’s resting now, but he’ll wake up starving. If you have any broth, that’s the best thing for him for a while.”
Taking one final peek at Jake’s face, Tansy mentally went through what she had in the freezer. “I can warm something whenever it’s needed.” She caught Sydney’s fingers in hers. “Thank you for being close by.”
“Glad I could help.” Sydney lifted her chin at Petra, striding determinedly across the room as Aiden darted past to join his brothers in front of the fire. “There’s one curious cat coming our direction.”
“Logan’s arrival isn’t dinner conversation, privacy reasons and all the rest,” Tansy said quietly as she held her hand to Petra and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m okay, the girls are okay, and now you need to pretend you’re okay and make sure dinner conversation keeps flowing.”
For a good solid fifteen seconds, Petra squeezed the stuffing out of her before pulling back and examining her. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Yet it happens so very often.”
Sydney snickered, pulling to vertical and sniffing appreciatively. She raised her volume to be heard clearly by the entire room. “I hope the smell means that supper is nearly ready. I’m starving.”
Across the room, Declan raised a brow even as everyone headed to the table. “Starving? Really? That means you’ll be eating three tablespoons tonight instead of your usual two?”
Aiden frowned at his brother. “The fact you watch how much we all eat on a regular basis is creepy, bro.”
“Agreed. Also, I eat as much as I need to. More than I need to when it’s Tansy’s curry.” Sydney got ready to pull out the chair at the head of the table, and both Kevin and Declan jumped in ahead of her to help. She rolled her eyes then smiled sweetly, glancing down the table to where Jinx and Sasha sat side by side. “Is Declan still hassling you over breakfast, Jinx?”
“Not since I showed him the nutritional analysis you gave me comparing what I was eating to what he eats.”
Soft laughter rose around the table as everybody settled and the bowls and plates were passed.
“Try growing up with a nurse for a mother,” Petra complained. “One who is blunt, knowledgeable, and far too willing to talk about the important effect of fiber on our systems.”
Just like that, things were under control. Tansy was pretty sure that the ranch hands had no idea someone lay injured at the other end of the house. They’d get to meet him soon enough, she supposed. But right now, Logan deserved his privacy.
The end of the meal rolled around, and through some wordless magic, Kevin took charge of the hands. “All right guys, enough smack talk about who’s the best pool shark. Tournament starts now in the common room. Winner declared before chores.”
The minute they were out the door, Declan motioned to Sasha to get ready. “I’ll take you home.”
Sasha nodded, her fingers linked with Jinx’s for a minute before she lifted her chin. “I know something’s going on here, more than the art studio and the animal rescue, but I won’t tell anybody. I promise.”
Unexpectedly, Jake stepped forward, the gentle smile on his face contrasting with the rising swell of his eye. “We trust that you can keep secrets, Sasha, but you’re young enough that your parents need to be a part of the important ones.”
The tension seemed to drain out of her, and this time when she nodded, her eyes had filled. “Yeah. I’d like it if they knew.”
“We’ll talk to your parents together,” Declan assured her.
Jinx slipped her arms around Sasha and squeezed her tight, then Sasha headed to the door where Declan held her coat ready for her.
“I’ll peek in on our guest, then I should head home,” Sydney said after the door closed on the wintry night.
“Take a look, but why don’t you stay?” Petra suggested. “The three of us haven’t had a chance to catch up in a while.”
In the background, Jinx, Aiden, and Jake had begun cleanup.
Tansy gestured to the leftovers. “I need to take care of those, but after, I would love some girl time.”
Which is how, half an hour later, they ended up in the living room, the fire crackling in the airtight stove. Petra rearranged the chairs to create a more intimate gathering for the three of them with a love seat and a single overstuffed recliner.
Aiden held a whispered conversation with Petra that ended with him nabbing both Jake and Jinx. “We’re headed to my apartment. Jinx is going to let me beat her at three handed crib.”
To which the teenager rolled her eyes. “Old-fashioned games are okay, but next time you guys have to play Wyrmspan.”
Jake twisted toward Tansy and mouthed the word back at her, confusion on his face.
Amusement kicked into high gear. Tansy had played the boardgame with the girls a few times. She was totally joining that game to witness Jake calculating the odds of which was better—hatching eggs or deploying dragons.
But for now, she wrapped the fuzzy blanket around her shoulders a little tighter and stared into the flames. A little moment of peace after a whole lot of chaos.
Beside her, Petra patted her knee softly. “It’ll be okay.”
Tansy met her gaze, raising a brow.
Her friend smiled. “You let out an enormous sigh, and I get it. Right when I think I’ve got High Water lined up neatly, we get thrown another loop.”
“Life would be boring if nothing ever changed,” Sydney said pragmatically.
“I could take a little boring,” Tansy offered, thinking of Jake’s eye.
Her comment was greeted instantly by Sydney blowing a raspberry at her. “Bullshit, nonsense, and once more, pfffft .” Sydney wiggled her toes toward the fire, her legs draped over the arm of the chair she was curled up in. “I wish the loops being thrown at us didn’t involve abused kids, but at least we’re here to offer them a chance.”
Tansy caught herself taking another deep breath. Yeah. That was pretty much what she had hoped for when she signed on at High Water.
Time for a change of topic. She met Sydney’s gaze. “We need to interrogate Petra. That or teach her how calendars work. As in time marches forward, there’s no time like the present, yada, yada.”
“She still not decided on a wedding date?” Sydney hummed intently.
“I’m starting to get worried. Maybe this is a sign that the wedding is not going to happen.”
Unexpectedly, instead of laughing at their teasing, Petra made a face.
Beside her, Tansy jerked upright. “Wait. I was joking. I know damn well there’s nothing wrong in Petra-Aiden-landia. You two are so disgustingly in love, it’s obnoxious kissy-faces and woo-woo germs everywhere, all the time.”
“We don’t have a problem,” Petra said slowly. Her gaze danced between Sydney and Tansy. “It’s kind of the whole High Water thing.”
Tansy considered what they’d just been talking about and rapidly came to a few conclusions. “You’re worried that if you plan something, we might have ranch hands suddenly arrive, or a need to keep things secret…” Tansy paused.
Petra made another face. “Or Aiden might end up with a black eye that’s hard to explain.”
Well, shit. Something Tansy hadn’t even thought of, but obviously possible, all things considered.
“That does make planning awkward,” Sydney agreed. “Especially with the size of your family.”
Petra sagged in her corner of the loveseat, misery on her face. “Holding the wedding at Red Boot ranch would make perfect sense since my brother’s place is a wedding venue. That would deal with some of the issues like accommodation for my family and the rest of it. My parents know what we’re doing here, and Zach and Julia. But…”
“But that means an extra four siblings and their spouses and their kids, and doesn’t deal with the possible interruption of people arriving.” Tansy’s mind jumped from idea to idea, trying to come up with a solution.
Sydney cleared her throat. “First thing to ask is, do you want the big family wedding, or is it simply expected?”
Petra opened her mouth…then closed it. She frowned. “Well, shit.”
She couldn’t help it. Tansy snickered. “Hoisted on your own petard?”
The glare she got was quick and evil. “What does that even mean?” Petra demanded.
“Not exactly sure,” Tansy confessed. “Other than I don’t think you want a big wedding.”
“But you do want to get married.” Sydney said it as more of a statement than a question. “What we need to brainstorm is how to do that in a way that works for you and Aiden. Period. Because that’s who this is important for. You two. Family expectations are good to think about?—”
“And then ignore,” Tansy suggested.
Petra snorted. “Please. You’ve met my parents.”
“It’s more your brother I was considering,” Tansy said. “I can see him now, stuffing his pockets with tissues because he knows he’ll bawl his eyes out during your wedding. No one wants to see that, so we should come up with that brilliant alternative Sydney assumes we’re capable of.”
“Do you need to check with Aiden before we put on our planning caps?” Sydney asked.
“One minute.” Petra pulled out her phone and tapped a quick message. A second later, she grinned. “He says, and I quote, Abso-fucking-lutely. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there .”
The three friends exchanged grins.
Sydney hopped up and came back with a notebook from somewhere. “I’ll be the Jake stand in. Toss out your worries, Petra. We’re about to do some problem-solving so you can get hitched.”
The chill inside Tansy’s gut had vanished, washed away by the rock-solid friendship enveloping her. An injured young man still lay in a room down the hall. Others with dangerous needs might show up at High Water unexpectedly. Maybe every time things changed, Tansy would have to do a mental and emotional reset.
But with the warmth of the fire and the warmth of friendship enveloping her, and maybe, just maybe something special brewing between her and Jake—Tansy was ready.
Those first hours after Logan’s arrival passed, sliding into days. He’d avoided serious consequences from his head injury, but he still slept an astonishing amount.
Tuesday, Jake walked into the spare room and found Logan sitting in bed with an expression on his face that said the kid was calculating how to cut and run, in spite of all the reassurances they’d given him.
“Good to see you’re awake,” Jake offered, taking a single step into the room. “Need help getting to the bathroom?”
“Think I can make it on my own. Is it okay if I get up?” The kid made a face. “Do I have clothes to wear?”
Jake gestured to the top of the dresser. “Loaners for now. They might be a little big, but they’ll do until we can take you shopping.”
Logan started shaking his head then obviously thought better of it, reducing his motions and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I won’t be staying long.”
“Repeating this conversation all the time is getting fucking annoying.” Jake folded his arms over his chest and glared. Maybe a little tough love would convince the kid. “You are not going anywhere until you’re at one hundred percent. Then you can make up your own goddamn mind, but until then, stop making this more difficult than it should be.”
Logan’s eyes widened. Then his lips twitched and he dipped his head to hide his expression, which was more amused than frightened.
Yeah. Jake needed to work on his scary face a little more. “Get dressed if you feel up to it. Jinx is already off to school, but everybody else is having a lazy morning. They’re helping with wedding prep if you can believe it.”
Logan didn’t say anything, but curiosity had slipped in.
Jake left him alone and went to rejoin the others gathered at the kitchen table, coffee mugs in front of them, breakfast plates pushed to the side. Three of the ranch hands had already left to do chores or chill on their own. Only Brett remained, sitting beside Kevin as they shared a low, intense conversation.
From where she stood at the counter, Tansy twisted and lifted the coffee pot in question.
He nodded then spoke for everybody to hear. “Logan’s looking much better. He plans to join us.”
“Thank God,” Petra said with complete sincerity before turning thoughtful. “I wonder how good his handwriting is.”
“I don’t know why you’re fussing about that so much. You can use literally any font that has ever been invented and a printer, and yet you want someone to physically address envelopes.” Aiden ducked as Petra aimed a mock punch at his arm. “I’m not saying that I won’t be first in line to volunteer, but you have to admit, the computer girl wanting to do everything by hand is slightly odd.”
“It’s for our wedding,” she pointed out smugly. “It’s supposed to be?—”
“Odd?” Tansy repeated.
Petra snickered. “I was going to say heartwarming and homey.”
Tansy put a cup of coffee in front of Jake. He leaned toward her as she settled in the chair beside him. “I don’t know. Odd worked for me.”
A snort of laughter escaped Tansy. “I have all the food organized for Thursday.”
Declan raised a hand. “I’ve arranged for the mailing boxes, so the wedding cakes will go out with priority post Friday morning.”
Petra took a deep breath, twisting in her seat to catch hold of Aidan’s hand. “We’re really doing this?”
The adoration on his face was front and center as he pressed his forehead to hers. “We’re really doing this.”
They stared at each other so intensely it was almost too much to take in. Jake dragged his gaze away and spotted Tansy, smiling from ear to ear as she watched with approval.
The girls had started the wedding right now train, but Aiden had been more than willing to jump on board. Which meant both Jake and Declan had as well, because anything that made their brother this happy was not to be ignored.
The biggest issue behind Aiden and Petra getting hitched had turned out to be the need to keep secrets, which was complicated by Petra’s big family. After a whole lot of brainstorming that had involved dangerously strong margaritas, the girls had come up with what Jake thought was a brilliant solution.
If they couldn’t have some of the family there, they wouldn’t have any of them. Aiden and Petra would exchange their vows privately, location currently a supersecret. They planned to video the entire thing then send out a link so that family could enjoy afterward.
At some point down the road, they would have a family celebration with the Sorenson side, probably during their next Christmas in Hawaii getaway. The Skye family and all the Heart Falls friends would celebrate during a party this coming summer.
The only part of not gathering together that had caused Petra regret—the inability to have family photos—had been solved by Tansy’s brainwave. It was a little unusual, and made everybody laugh when they heard it. As unique and spontaneous as Tansy herself, Jake thought.
“What did everybody think about the wedding photos in a box you asked for?” Kevin asked as he and Brett rose to gather the breakfast dishes and pop them into the dishwasher.
“My oldest siblings sent me back eyeroll emoji,” Petra informed them. “The niblings are all thrilled. Brother-in-law number three wanted to ensure he had the exact right box dimensions and aperture settings I’d need.”
“So, pretty much situation normal?” Tansy offered.
“Pretty much. My dad did inform me that if I had thought of it sooner, he would’ve made sure to order all of us identical Amazon packages so that we would have the same cardboard box to work with.”
A knock sounded on the door, followed immediately by Sydney letting herself in. “Morning, High Water. Is there still coffee in the pot?”
Tansy got ready to leap to her feet, but Jake laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve got it. Morning, Sydney. Our guest should be joining us in a minute if you want to see him.”
“Oh, I suppose. I actually came here to interrogate Kevin.” Sydney hung her coat and made her way across the room, stopping beside where Kevin and Brett were prepping to hand wash and dry the pots from breakfast. “What’s this I hear about you making a play for my nurse?”
Kevin looked as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “Edison is an interesting young man who shares a lot of common interests with me.”
Jake passed Sydney her coffee then eyed their psychologist. “Is this who you had the date with a while ago?”
“A while ago, and a few days ago, and a day ago,” Sydney teased. “I had to come and tell you that I’ve been getting a constant earful of the wonderfulness of Kevin.”
The faintest flush hit Kevin’s cheeks. “Always nice to be appreciated.”
“It is.” Sydney leaned toward him, hands pressed to the countertop. “Don’t you go breaking his heart.”
“Sydney, stay out of Kevin’s dating life,” Petra scolded.
“It’s not his dating life I’m worried about. It’s if they break up and then Edison finds it impossible to stay in a small town with constant reminders of what could have been, and suddenly I have to train another nurse to be able to handle the way I like things to work.”
“Ahhh. That makes more sense,” Declan offered, deliberately not looking at Sydney. “Heaven forbid anything interrupt your work.”
Sydney made a face at him even as she paced toward the table.
She turned to Jake, pulling something out of her pocket. “By the way, this is yours. It got sent to your name, General Delivery, Heart Falls, which I had no idea was still a thing. I was at the post office and Marcy asked if I could give it to you.”
“And there’s a small town for you,” Kevin murmured. “Anywhere else that would be considered tampering with the post.”
“Here it’s called Mrs. Marcy’s Too Lazy To Get Off Her Ass And Do Her Job .” Tansy coughed into her fist. “Excuse me. Did I say that in my outside voice?”
Jake took the envelope, eyeing it with curiosity. “I have no idea who would send me mail that doesn’t already know our address?—”
Shit . One glance at the handwriting and he knew immediately. It was from Melissa.
He shoved it in his pocket, ignoring the questioning gaze Tansy gave him.
A second later, distraction arrived from the bedroom portion of the house. Heads turned as Logan stepped into the open doorway.
“Good to see you out and about.” Sydney stood and marched forward. She was a good six inches shorter than the young man but seemed to tower over him as she looked him up and down. Nodding once, she gestured to the table. “If you’re hungry, I’m sure we can find something for you.”
“More than soup?” The kid sounded hopeful.
“Whatever the doctor okays, I’ll make it for you,” Tansy offered. She leaned in and placed her hand on Jake’s thigh, speaking quietly. “We’ll all be busy today, but save me a spot on the loveseat by the fire tonight? I promise to be in a cuddling mood.”
Christ. He needed to set up their next date, stat. Yet, everyone’s attention right now was on the wedding happening in two days’ time.
So he took what he could and whispered right back. “I’ll put it at the top of my to-do list.”