Chapter 2
Sareece ‘Reece’ Allen
After I ended the call with Melvina, I got on the line with my best friend Wren, complaining about having to call her in the first place.
As much as I hated Mel was considering calling Wilde, I was pretty much stuck with whatever she had to offer.
I would be willing to bet Wilde had not planned on spending his afternoon helping me fix a barn door, but if Melvina asked, he would surely agree.
His parents and Melvina were close, which made them my chosen family.
She considered him a nephew, and after he lost his parents, she inserted herself into Wilde’s life even more to fill the void. While his brother was off playing for the Crescent Falls Badgers, Wilde stayed behind to run their family’s horse ranch.
His love was in training horses that were written off as a waste by everyone else and he was damn good at it. He and his wife Shore were the best but I still hated having to rely on them or anyone for that matter, and anyone was who I got.
Melvina called back not long after with information about some guy she ran across in town and I was still processing. I needed the help but wasn’t sure I’d be comfortable with having some guy I didn’t know here on the ranch with me.
“You’re so stubborn, Reece. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. You do know that doesn’t mean you’re not capable.”
“Capable means handling things, so that means I’m not.”
“You’re exhausting, Reece. You are more than capable of fixing the barn door, it just requires four hands and you only have two. Blame that on God and be grateful he shorted you or we could not be friends.”
I burst out laughing and rolled my eyes, lining up a nail before I let the hammer come down.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“Oh hell, three shits means it’s not looking good, Reece. What’s happening over there, friend?”
I cut my eyes toward the stack of hay where my phone was facing the barn ceiling, delivering my best friend Wren an evil glare she couldn’t see before I yanked my glove off and examined my finger to make sure my nail was intact. It throbbed like crazy but there didn’t appear to be any major damage.
“I’m fine, keep talking,” I grunted out before pushing my hand back into the thick leather glove and lifting the nail I’d dropped.
“Doesn’t sound fine. You smashed your hand, didn’t you?”
I rolled my eyes and smirked because that was exactly what I’d done. How she knew that without seeing what I was doing was beyond me. “Shouldn’t you be getting Amara up for school?”
“I’m about to. Heading inside now. I had to take care of a few things this morning because my day is going to be pretty much nonstop.”
“Your crack of dawn ass beat the sun up, didn’t you?
” My girl was an early riser. The one thing we shared was the weight of carrying things around our ranches or nothing got done.
Wren had about forty acres that housed a few chicken coops and goats, which were primarily the source of the natural soaps she made.
The ranchette was completely under her singular watch, same as my two hundred acres were solely on my shoulders.
The land had been passed down from my father, which was given to him by his.
I was the fifth generation of Allens to have ownership of this land, and although there wasn’t much to it other than the actual land, I made it work.
Upon having the pastures assessed, I learned my soils were optimal for hay production and grazing.
My father raised beef cattle but that was too much for me to maintain on my own.
I ended up selling them off and had to figure out a new way to maintain the ranch.
It was suggested that I lease my land for hay and grazing.
It turned out that earned me enough to survive with very little effort on my part which meant I could focus on my art and custom buckles.
“Are you currently up and smashing fingers while you patch that raggedy ass barn? We’re both the crack of dawn type.”
I grinned. “True, so what’s on your agenda for the day?”
“Once I get Amara to school, I have to run by Phoxes Den. After that I’ll be working on soaps first then my jams.”
The mention of Phoxes Den placed a frown on my face with the reminder that my goal for the day was to make rounds on the ranch, handle a couple small tasks, then head to Beauden’s farm to pick a Christmas tree.
The holidays were hard without my dad but he raised me to live in the moment and Christmas was my moment.
I loved everything about it—the decorations, the food, the nostalgic moments that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside like candy cane hot chocolate, caroling, and holiday crafts. I loved every cheesy moment.
I huffed my irritation at knowing I wouldn’t get a tree today.
“Why are you huffing? I’m the one who has a day full of manual labor.”
“You said Phoxes Den and that made me remember today is tree day which isn’t happening now.”
“Dang, I forgot. You might be able to squeeze it in, and if not, they can deliver one.”
“I don’t want one delivered, I want the one. The one I pick because it’s absolutely perfect.”
“Right, you and your ‘I have to vibe with the tree’ selection process.”
“It’s a whole thing, don’t try to holiday shame me, Wren.”
“I absolutely am not. I love that you love Christmas. Honestly, I do. But I can’t think about that right now. My to-do list is too damn long. These soaps and jams won’t just miraculously make themselves.”
“Nope they won’t, but I’m so very happy you’re restocking. Sounds like I’m about to get a new stash.” I lifted the hammer and lined up the nail, making contact, managing to bypass my finger this time.
“You paying,” she said flatly.
“I was thinking more of a friend-count. My funds are limited.”
“Preaching to the choir. At least you’re paid up for the rest of the year but you know I got you. I just have to sell as much as I can at Jubilee to make sure I have a little cushion.”
“Me too. I need these buckles to sell. Hay production took a dive this year and I didn’t have as many leases for grazers.
I barely covered my expenses to keep things running through the first of the year.
Melvina called and said she was sending me someone to help out.
He missed the deadline for Phoxes. No one works for free so I’ll have to pay him. ”
“Shit. How are you going to afford that?”
“Don’t know but Mel said he might be willing to negotiate room and board as payment. She told me if I threw in a few hot meals I might not have to come out of pocket, but just in case, I need to make sure I sell as many buckles as I can.”
“Oh hell, Mrs. Mel sent him to you.”
“Yep.”
“You know what that means, friend. She’s at it again.”
I groaned, already well aware, because she kept mentioning how good it would be to have something nice for me to look at while he was working on the ranch.
I didn’t give a damn what he looked like as long as he knew how to swing a hammer, use a power drill, and handle barbed wire to mend the fences in my grazing pastures without injuring himself.
“I’m aware but I don’t care about that. If I can work him through the end of the year, that’s all that matters.”
“Mmm, is it though?”
I lifted another nail, tucked my lips inward before I held it there, and tilted my head to the side eyeing the spot where I needed it. “Yes, it absolutely is all that matters.”
I lined up the nail and made contact with the hammer. Once it was in deep enough, I removed my hand and knocked it hard a few more times to get it secured.
“I was thinking between you working him, he could work you. It’s been a while and…”
I rolled my eyes, thinking about my last venture into casual sex.
It was subpar at best, but I had crossed the finish line, so there was that.
“Nope, not even considering work that doesn’t involve repairs around here.
If he’s here to work, the last thing I need is him getting too comfortable.
I have to get the ranch ready for next season or they’ll lower my percentages from the hay production.
No matter how good my soil is, they consider the upkeep of where their equipment is housed as a part of the deal.
It’s a package deal. The snow’s already causing damage that I need repaired before it gets worse.
You know they’re saying we’re going to see more snow than usual this year.
I can’t risk a roof caving in on any of these barns or storage houses.
It’s impossible for me to repair them during the season so this is the only time I have. ”
“Okay, I’ll let it go… but only because I have to get Amara up and you know how that’s going to go,” she groaned, bringing a smile to my face.
Wren was raising her fifteen year old sister and doing an amazing job.
With it being just the two of them, she had to wear multiple hats, but Wren didn’t let it stop her from making sure Amara was loved, happy, and enjoying life without the weight of what they didn’t have. Family.
That was another thing she and I shared.
My mother left my father when I was a baby.
She decided that her happiness was more of a priority than being a wife and mother.
She was gone before my first birthday and the only time I ever saw her face after she left us was on the photos my father kept around to remind me that I was once loved.
How on earth he thought I could feel love from the photo of a woman who’d abandoned me was insane, but it was what he needed, so I played the role with him until he passed from an aneurism three years ago.