Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
MATTHEW
I ’m in the kitchen, frying bacon when the doorbell rings. Tandy’s here. After sliding the pan off the burner, I walk to the door.
She is a sight. Decked out in a T-shirt that reads I’m not short; I’m fun-sized and a very bright pair of leggings, which are tucked into cowboy boots, she grins. “I’m ready for chores.”
“You sure you want to get those boots dirty?”
She arches one eyebrow. “No dirty talk.”
I never know what will pop out of her mouth. Chuckling, I step aside for her to enter. “Breakfast is just about ready. I just need to fry up the eggs.”
She shakes her head as she walks into the kitchen. “Cooking was supposed to be my job. I can’t help you if you don’t let me.”
“I appreciate that you’re here and willing to help me.” I give her a quick peck before walking to the stove. “And I wouldn’t have let you come over if I wasn’t going to accept help, but I am a bit concerned that you don’t know how much work this is. Mario didn’t work only for me. There is another guy with a small spread not far from here. Mario cared for his horses too.”
Tandy eases up beside me and leans on the counter. “I’ve been reading and watching videos. Are we poo picking or mucking stalls?”
“Mucking stalls. I’ve been keeping the horses in the barn this week.”
She glances around the kitchen, then opens a cabinet and pulls out plates. How she guessed where they were, I’m not sure, but she seems pleased. “I think you’re right.”
“About what?”
“I would’ve liked Catherine. The house is gorgeous. She had impeccable taste.” She opens a drawer and gets out silverware. “And her kitchen is arranged properly. Assuming you haven’t moved everything around since… you know.”
“This is how she had it arranged. It’s very functional, and I had no reason to change it.”
“So what’s on task for today?”
I plate up the food. “We’ll give the horses clean water, feed them concentrates, muck the stalls, and put down clean straw. I also groom them and pick out their hooves. Later today, I’ll come back and exercise them some.”
“It’s been years since I’ve seen you on a horse.” She winks, then carries her plate to the table. “Is the coffee still hot?”
“Made it a few minutes ago.”
She pours herself a cup. “What happened to the old house? It was on the other side of the property if I remember correctly.”
“You are correct. It’s still there. Mario and his family have been living in the old place. Not sure what I’ll do with it when they leave.”
She rubs my shoulder. “I’ll be sure to stay far away from that spot. I’ve embarrassed myself enough there for multiple lifetimes.”
I take the coffee out of her hand and set it on the counter before pulling her into my arms. “You did not embarrass yourself. We were young. We didn’t know what we wanted. We only knew that we loved each other. If you’d crawled in that window on a night my parents were out of town, I might have made a different choice, but honestly, I’m not even sure of that. You were leaving. In my heart, I knew that. It’s a big part of why I reacted that way. In hindsight, I should’ve used my words. But in my defense, what I saw had me pretty tongue-tied.”
She kisses me and taps my chest. “My timing was crap. And I wasn’t thinking about your parents. My mind was on other things. And I was ready to give up my plans. To stay, but?—”
I slide a hand down her back and pat her hip. “You would’ve been unhappy if you’d stayed. You needed someplace bigger to be able to spread your wings.”
“I don’t regret leaving. But I do regret spending all those years upset with you. But that anger and hurt was the final push for me to leave.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s eat before everything gets cold.” I pull out her chair and we sit down to breakfast.
Since we’ve now reached the stage where we aren’t filtering questions or avoiding certain topics, I ask, “What brought you back? I was surprised when I heard you bought the house. What happened to your parents’ place?”
“Mandy and I decided to sell it. I sometimes wish I hadn’t, but there were no happy memories there for me. Mandy had a gift of seeing the best in people and remembering the good things. Not me. I remember the drunken tantrums, the screaming matches, and the fa?ade they’d put on for the public.” She sets her fork down. “But as for coming back, I never thought I would. After Mandy and Louis died, I stopped coming. Poor Dallas. I wasn’t a great aunt.”
“He’s done okay for himself.”
She nods. “In New York City, I had two close friends. We spent hours together every week talking, laughing, trying new recipes, talking about men. Just before I decided to retire, one of them—Julie—met a man while we were all in Europe. He was maybe fifteen years younger than she was, and she didn’t think he was serious at first. Convincing her took a bit of work, but he did. The man dripped charm, and Julie fell head over heels for the first time in her life. She returned home only long enough to apply for a visa and pack her bags. Now, they are happily married and living in a villa. Nora and I were so happy for Julie. With her gone, we continued getting together, sharing life. We talked about what to do. She was my age and also planning to retire. One of the ideas was to move to Europe. But all our plans fell apart the day of my retirement party.” Tandy dabs her eyes with a napkin. “At the party, I waited for Nora to show, and she didn’t, which concerned me. I texted and called, but her phone was off, and she never texted back. After several hours, I was divided between fear for her well-being and anger at her missing the celebration. But the concern won out, and I called her son. He was a mess. Nora had died unexpectedly. Brain aneurysm.”
I press a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry.”
“I remember how alone I felt that day. And I missed my sister more than ever. That’s when I decided to move back. Money wasn’t an issue because I’d been a saver, and Mandy and I ended up inheriting a substantial amount of family money. So I came back to Stadtburg.”
“Are you happy, Tandy?”
“I am. Even more now that we are kissing friends. For a long time, I didn’t want to talk to you because I feared that I’d regret leaving. It was hard to reconcile missing you, missing what could have been, and living a life away from here that I genuinely loved. I regret hating you, but I don’t regret leaving.” She quietly finishes her food. “That was a whole lot of honesty early in the morning. Tomorrow, you can tell me what you plan to do about this place.”
“Deal.” I set the plates in the sink. “Let’s get out there.”
She laces her fingers with mine as we walk out the door, and I feel guilty because her cute little outfit is going to be gross very soon.
I slide open the barn and introduce her to the horses. “This is Coffee. And over here we have Cream and Sugar.”
“I love them already.” She strokes Sugar’s nose. “We’ll be great friends, won’t we?”
I hand her gloves and a bandana, then explain what needs to be done. She eagerly picks up the manure fork, and that thing is longer than she is tall. I’m not sure how this will go, but I appreciate her trying.
She sets to work shoveling soiled straw, and it isn’t long before the wheelbarrow is full and the stall is empty. Sweat trickles down the side of her face, and she uses her sleeve to wipe it clean. “Good thing I skipped makeup this morning.”
“You handled that like a pro.”
“I told you that I watched videos. Way too many. I even watched about composting the bedding and other methods of manure management. I got a little carried away.”
“You don’t do anything halfway.”
“I can be a bit obsessive.” She dances her eyebrows. “But you already know that about me.”
“One of the many things that never changed.”
By the time chores are finished, we both stink.
I push open the front door. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”
“In the truck. I was going to change in the barn at the ranch, but clean clothes won’t fix what’s wrong with me. I smell putrid.”
“Help yourself to the shower down the hall. There should be clean towels and shampoo in there.”
“Thanks. I’d hug you, but you smell as bad as I do.”
Once I know she has everything she needs, I head to the master bathroom to wash off the stink.
Her help cut my chore time nearly in half, so I don’t have to rush through the shower.
After the shower, as I’m getting dressed, I hear a loud crash. And I bolt out of my room.
Splattered in bacon grease, Tandy is standing in the kitchen, looking at the pan at her feet. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to pour the grease into a jar, and the handle slipped. I’ve made such a mess.” Her gaze shifts to me, and a smile curls her lips. “Hello!”
“I’ll grab some rags and get this cleaned up. Don’t worry about it.” I step closer and am stopped by a hand on my bare chest.
“At least one of us should stay clean. And your rivels of wisdom aren’t so bad. Attractive even. But what would people say if they saw you half clothed while I’m here?”
“I’ll find you a clean shirt, but I sure as heck don’t have any of those cute little leggings.”
“First thing, they aren’t little. These are grande sized.” She slaps her hip. “And second, my shirt caught the worst of it, so if you do have something, I’d be much obliged.”
“Be right back. And I will help you clean. That is not up for discussion.”
“On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You do it without a shirt.”
I will happily comply with her request. I look nothing like the men who appear on her covers. Didn’t even look like that in my prime. But her comments make it clear that she’s seeing with her feelings, and I like that. It’s been a while since I’ve had anyone comment on my physique. And my ego likes it. A lot.