7. Churched
SEVEN
Churched
ASH
I glanced at the caller ID and grimaced. “It’s Chris. My boss, calling from Virginia.” A pause, then I swiped to answer. “What’s up?”
I turned away from the temptress Willow, as my body shifted from frustrated arousal to stoic professionalism.
Chris opened with, “I’d like you to host a Fall Open House. It’s time for the people in the region to visit the ranch.”
“A Fall Open House? Chris, I just got the ranch running smoothly, and you want us to host?—”
The myriad of reasons cut me off as to why he thought this idea was worthy. I respected the hell out of the guy, but I never knew what idea he might come at me with from call to call.
He’d mentioned the idea of an open house before, but I had hoped he’d forgotten about it. I rather enjoyed the quiet of this mountain life. The idea of families crawling all over the ranch, invading my space, didn’t appeal.
“It’ll go a long way toward building community favor,” he concluded.
“Okay. Fine. When?” I gave in and raked my hair back off of my face.
“Nicoletta and I will be there in three weeks,” he answered.
“Three weeks? That’s not much time to plan. And I don’t know the first thing about putting on an event like this.”
Willow cleared her throat and stepped forward, snapping fingers to get my attention. She whispered, “I can help.”
My eyebrows shot up. She nodded more emphatically.
“Actually,” I drew out the word, my eyes never leaving hers. “My sister-in-law is in town. Maybe she could help?”
She cringed as if she hated my calling her that. It was a label I had a difficult time processing myself.
“Perfect. I’ll shoot you an email with a budget and some ideas. Gotta go.” Just like that, Chris hung up and was off doing whatever a multi-millionaire does.
I ended the call and then stood there, gaping at her.
“An open house sounds like fun,” she recovered.
“I shouldn’t have volunteered you.”
“Why not? I need something to do. Rosie should start school soon. I can’t just stay cooped up in this beautiful cabin all day by myself doing nothing. I’d planned to get a job, eventually. Until then, I can make calls and plan the whole thing for you. Let me unburden you.”
I scrubbed my stubble, considering the entire idea. “Fine. There is a budget for it. I could probably even pay you. And if nothing else, it’ll keep you from crazy stunts like yelling bear when there isn’t one.” I smirked and stepped around her to the door.
“I got your attention though, didn’t I?”
I paused with one hand on the knob, looking back and trailing my eyes down the front of her, making no effort to hide it. My mouth quirked. “Don’t you know? You’ve had my attention from the moment you stepped off that bus.”
Wow, the smile that radiated across her face did me in. Then I had a thought.
“Hey, why don’t you and Ro come to church with me tonight? ”
“Church?” The smile dropped, and she scoffed. I forgot that word was like a curse to her. Nothing against Jesus, but she always hated being a pastor’s daughter.
“It’s not exactly the usual kind of church,” I explained.
I pointed around the clearing at the ranch hands, dropping names for Willow and Ro to try to remember.
Then I gestured toward the barbecue. “That’s Eldon lording over the meat, while Anson’s putting out a huge salad fresh from the ranch’s garden.
” The two men talked animatedly nonstop, proud of their first bountiful harvest, already making plans to enlarge the garden next year.
I brought out folded chairs from the truck for Willow and Ro and set them up between the stone fire pit and the food table.
I explained our version of church. “We built this pergola and pit on top of this hill last spring. So now every Sunday the ranch hands get together for dinner. The weather has still been nice enough to barbecue. But soon the snow will come, and we’ll have to do this in the mess hall. ”
“So it’s a church without a church? But where are the Bibles? And what about a pastor like Grandpa?” Ro asked, trying to make sense of it all.
“Well, church doesn’t always have to be inside a building with a steeple.
Smell that fresh air? See nature all around you, Ro?
I like to think God is here with us. We all gather together to relax and be grateful for a good week of work on the ranch.
We don’t need someone preaching to us about that. ”
“I like it. I approve.” Willow’s grin couldn’t escape my notice, just how natural she looked here.
She’d changed into jeans and tennis shoes at my suggestion for navigating the uneven ground.
She brought only one crutch tonight, her ankle already improving.
Of course, the sight of her ass in denim did things to my concentration.
The clearing was alive with activity, some guys tossing a football, some playing cornhole.
Daisy’s beat-up truck drew in and parked near the tree line.
Knox and Colt ran over and helped her and her sisters unload covered dishes and pie plates from the back.
The deal always was that we provided the meat and beverages, and the Wylde sisters provided the sides and desserts.
Dr. Wilkinson’s SUV pulled in behind them next. He climbed out with his son Eli trailing behind, each carrying bags of buns and chips.
“Hey Dusty,” I called and waved him over. The widowed vet had been coming to church since we started it. His quiet presence always added a stabilizing influence to our sometimes rowdy group.
Knox winked at us as he passed by with the rest of the pies. “I see the boss brought the family.”
The word “family” hit me square in the chest, stealing my breath. Is that what we looked like?
I recovered by the time Dusty approached, and he shook Willow’s hand as I made introductions.
“Meet my sister-in-law, Willow, and my niece, Ro,” I announced. The words still felt strange on my tongue, technically accurate but somehow not enough for the complexity of what these two women might be to me.
Willow smirked beside me at the introduction, and when I glanced at her, I caught the flash of something like disappointment or hurt in her eyes before she smoothed her expression into a polite smile.
“Hi, Willow. I’m Dusty Wilkinson, the local vet. I’m at the ranch a few times a week administering to the horses. And this is my son, Eli.”
The boy, with his father’s steady eyes, sandy brown hair, and serious expression, stepped forward, right in front of Ro. I hadn’t thought about it before, but he could be about her age.
“School starts Wednesday. What grade will you be in?” Eli spoke, revealing a cut tooth in front.
Ro glanced up at Willow. “I’m supposed to be in the third grade. But… but I don’t want to be made fun of again.” With worried eyes, she dropped her head, glaring at the dirt.
I froze, completely unprepared for this. What did she mean, made fun of again? I’d have to ask Willow about it later.
Eli shifted from foot to foot. “You won’t be. Everyone in my class is super nice. And we’ll be in Mrs. Libby’s class together. She’s the best teacher in the whole school.”
“Well, Ro, won’t it be great that you’ll get to your new school and already have Eli for a friend?” Dusty smartly stated, patting his son’s shoulder. He must have good fatherly instincts, knowing when a child needed cheering up. How many years would it take a man like me to develop those?
“Yeah. And I know the other kids are gonna like you, too, because I like you already,” Eli chimed in. “Wanna play tag?”
Ro’s smile stretched wide, and off they went. Willow’s hand went to her heart watching them go .
Something shifted in my chest again, struck with the realization of how much of Ro’s life Scott would miss out on.
How much had I missed out on?
Daisy stepped forward before I could dwell on it, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Hi, Willow. These are my sisters.” She gestured, but hardly needed to given they all shared her striking features.
The tallest of the three, with Daisy’s same auburn hair but bolder makeup, extended a hand.
“I’m Ivy. You come see me when you’re in town.
I run the boot shop. I’ll get you fitted with a pair that’ll show off those sexy legs of yours.
” Her gaze swept over Willow as if deciding whether or not to approve of her outfit.
Daisy rolled her eyes, warning, “Ivy.”
“What? The woman has sexy legs. I tell it like it is. Or, better yet, ask any guy here. Ash, what do you think?”
I turned beet red. But yes, Willow’s legs were slender and long enough to probably wrap around my waist.
“Ignore Ivy. I’m Sage,” offered the second sister, waving with a few pie servers in her hand.
“And I’m Poppy,” said the youngest, with more freckles across her nose than the others, and not quite old enough to drink yet .
“Nice to meet you all. Thanks for having us at your church tonight,” Willow answered with ease and grace.
I avoided the awkwardness of introducing her as Scott’s wife again, since it lingered on my tongue like a bad taste.
But what was the alternative? Introducing her as the woman I’d thought about for over a decade?
The woman with whom I almost shared a kiss in my cabin this afternoon, and nearly shattered every wall I’d built?
Knox’s voice cut through my brooding. “Food’s ready!”
The announcement sent everyone into motion, gathering in a circle for grace, always given by Dusty. Then I held back and watched as Willow naturally fell into step beside the sisters. Ro had attached herself to Eli, grabbing hot dogs together like old pals.
They were here with me, in this space I’d created, surrounded by the people who’d become like family to me. My past collided with my present, and they fit together too well. Not like they were visiting my world, but like they belonged in it. While I’d been the fool keeping them away.