Chapter 3
Blair
When a girl needs help processing a crazy, unforgettable moment in her life, she needs her best friends.
That’s why, after having a shower and washing the donkey disaster off me, I change into a long-sleeved top and wide leg sweatpants and claim a corner of the cabin’s two-seater couch with my phone at the ready.
Blair: You’re not going to believe it.
Cate: What, no hi? I’m settled and safe or even an I miss you?
Blair: Sorry. Hi! I’m settled and safe in my cozy little cabin on a ranch in the mountains.
Safe being a relative term when that donkey is around…
Cate: Much better. Now what won’t we believe?
Alex: Let me guess. You’ve met your future mountain man husband already? Or one for us?
I roll my eyes with a grin because I’m starting to think she’s serious about me finding her, Cate and/or me, a husband while I’m in Timber Falls.
Blair: I know two of them are engaged and getting married in six weeks. I’ll meet everyone else that lives here at lunch in an hour.
Alex: OK. What’s the unbelievable part then?
Blair: Case didn’t tell me he had an identical twin. So, when the donkey stole my underwear this morning and I ran after it, I came across Sutton in this meditation garden and thought he was Case.
Cate: I’m guessing Sutton is his twin.
Alex: YEP!
Cate: OHHHHHH
Alex: Wait… the donkey stole your panties?
Cate: Eww. Nobody says panties anymore.
Alex: I do.
Cate: You’re strange like that. Panties is up there with moist. They’re both just… eww
Alex: Don’t say the M word. I just ate.
Blair: Can we get back to the story now?
Cate: OK, back to the donkey. They have a DONKEY?!?
Alex: Please tell me his name is Eeyore?
I snort and shake my head.
Blair: He’s called Grumps. I think he should be renamed Lucifer.
Cate: He can’t be THAT bad…
Blair: He stole my underwear off the washing line then ran off with it.
Alex: Did you at least get them back?
Blair: Yes, but they’re a little worse for wear now
Cate: I bet. They’ll have donkey slobber on them too.
Blair: They do, and I’ve washed them and my pajamas too because they also got covered in bamboo, water, AND mud.
Alex: Now I really DO need to hear this story.
I give them the summary version, starting with me thinking Sutton was Case and then my shock when Case walked in and we found ourselves in a four-way standoff with a jackass.
Cate: Are they truly identical?
Blair: They’re almost mirror images of one another, but there are slight differences. I could tell when I looked at them together.
Alex: Do they wear the same clothes? Because that could get confusing otherwise.
Blair: Not today. Case was wearing brown and Sutton was wearing blue. Sutton’s hair also parts differently, and his face seems… softer, I guess. They’ve got dimples on the opposite side of their mouths too.
The chat falls quiet for a while. So much so, I have to check that my last message went through.
Alex: I knew it! I knew you’d meet your future mountain man husband on this trip.
I gasp and shake my head even though no one else can see me.
Blair: I didn’t say anything.
Cate: To be fair, you didn’t have to. You describing Sutton as the ‘softer twin’ says it all.
Blair: But he IS. I can’t explain it. He’s also thoughtful and considerate from what I’ve seen so far. He seemed shocked when he first saw me, which makes sense now that I know he’s not Case and didn’t know me from Adam. He even offered to replace my underwear.
Alex: WAIT. A complete stranger is going to buy you new panties?
Cate: I thought we banned that word.
Alex: YOU two don’t have to say it. I happen to like the word.
Cate: It’s like when you’re reading a romance book and they use the word ‘folds’. It’s not origami!
Blair: I think we’re getting off track here.
Alex: Back to you gushing about the twin you didn’t know about. Is he handsome? Muscly? Does he look like he could wield an axe and chop wood while shirtless?
Cate: Alex!
Alex: What? It’s an important question.
Is he handsome? Yeah. Then again, that means I must think Case is too. But once I knew that Sutton was not Case, I could appreciate that he’s attractive–mainly because he’s not engaged to his soulmate.
Blair: He’s not what you’d expect for a mountain man rancher. Then again, Sutton works as a psychologist at my uncle’s hospital too. Case’s fiancée does too.
Cate: So, the hot twin (that’s what we’re going to call him now) might work with you too? This is turning out better than we could have hoped. It’s giving workplace romance, awkward/charming donkey incident meet-cute vibes.
Alex: Yes! I can see it now! Wait… does this mean there aren’t any other single mountain man brothers on this ranch for me and Cate?
God, I love my best friends.
Blair: Firstly, I’ve only just met the guy and you’re already trying to match us up? And secondly, I’m here to work and find my passion again.
Alex: That’s what we’re talking about. Maybe we were focusing on the wrong kind of passion… *winking emoji*
Blair: I meant my job, medicine, the hospital. My LIFE
Alex: And I mean that maybe the LACK of a life outside of your job, medicine, AND hospitals is what’s led to this thirty-three-year-young crisis you’re having.
Cate: I think she’s right, B.
I groan.
Blair: Not you too, C.
Cate: I’m not saying Sutton is your soulmate. You’ve only just met the guy, even if it WAS under memorable circumstances. But maybe you need something else in your life other than being a kickass doctor. Maybe a hobby?
Alex: Yeah, a hobby in the shape of a mountain man rancher/psychologist.
Cate: Or knitting?
Alex: Knitting isn’t going to get her a husband!
Blair: I have to live and work with him guys. Dating a colleague–one I’ve only just met, mind you–is not exactly conducive to a peaceful, stress-less life.
Cate: You have a point there.
Alex: OK, new plan. We won’t try to play matchmaker with you and the hot twin…
Blair: But?
Alex: BUT I want you to keep an open mind and not shut yourself off to the possibility that you might meet someone while you’re in the middle of nowhere, Alaska for the next six months. Whether that’s Sutton or someone else.
Cate: But saying he’ll replace your underwear is definitely a tick in the hot twin’s column.
Blair: I may have told him he could buy them as long as he didn’t expect to see me wearing them.
Alex: I’m so damn proud of you right now.
Cate: I’m speechless.
Cate: And proud.
While those two fall silent as they process my sassy reply to Sutton, I check the time and realize that I need to get ready for lunch.
Blair: I’ve got to go meet the rest of the ranch family now. Talk soon.
Cate: Can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Alex: Let us know if there are any other brothers who are single and ‘softer’ haha.
I laugh at that one before putting my phone down.
Time to meet the rest of the Coopers. At least I won’t be surprised this time.
“Welcome! You must be Blair,” A gorgeous blonde with bright eyes and a wide smile says after opening the front door for me. “You’re just in time,” she adds before stepping forward, linking her arm with mine and leading me inside.
“In time?” I ask, wondering which soon-to-be Cooper woman my super friendly host is. I already know Isla works at the hospital, but I can’t remember being told much about Birdie.
“For our first attempt at a wood-fired pizza. City boy built it last week and today we’re giving it a trial run. Hopefully it works out otherwise our weddin’ guests will be goin’ hungry.”
I arch a brow, deciding to tackle the first unknown part of her sentence. “City boy?”
Her cheeks blush. “Oh. That’s my name for Will. He’s my fiancée. We’re gettin’ married next month.”
A smile curves my lips. “That means you must be Birdie.”
“Shoot. Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows me.” She holds out her hand for mine. “Birdie Walker. Nice to meet you.”
“Blair Littlefoot. But I’m guessing you know that,” I muse.
“Sure do. Me and Isla have been so excited to have another woman here on the ranch. These men need a woman’s touch sometimes.”
I snort, her eyes widening as her words sink it. “Damn. I don’t mean like that. I mean–”
“It’s OK,” I say with a laugh. “I knew what you meant. I grew up on a farm with two older brothers and my born-from-the-earth father. Mom, my sister, and I definitely had our hands full with all of the testosterone, believe me.”
“Ah, now I know why you put on the bookin’ form that this place reminded you of home.” Just as we reach the living room, she stops, steps back, and takes me in from head to toe. “Though you don’t look like the farmin’ type now.”
“I left for college at eighteen and never moved back. I’m still a farmgirl at heart though.”
“Hmm. Is that why you chased Grumps for your underwear? Not everyone would chase a wild animal for a pair of panties,” she replies with a grin.
“I’m somewhat of a loose cannon when I want to be.”
“You say loose cannon, I say bad ass. That’s how I know you’re gonna fit right in.” She looks me over again. “Say, do you read romance books?”
I jerk at the sudden change of conversation. “I haven’t for years. My best friends have been bugging me to read mountain men books though. Especially after I told them I was coming here. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s nothin’. If you ever do want somethin’ to read, let me know. I’m a huge fan of romance novels, and Will’s cousin’s wife has written a whole bunch of ‘em. They’re mountain man romance books with a bit of a fated soulmates twist.”
“Is that Aster Hollingsworth? My best friends talk about her all the time,” I reply.
Birdie gasps. “That’s her! Wow. What a coincidence.”
I notice what looks like a pizza making assembly line laid out on the huge dining room table.
Birdie’s eyes follow mine. “Normally I wouldn’t expect guests to make their own lunch, but we decided that we’d all make a pizza ourselves.
That way, we can try a bunch of different types and whittle down flavors for the weddin’. That’s if you’re game of course?”