Chapter 34
Kayla
Castlebrook Town Crier Text Chain
Sue Cruthkins
The Eagles have landed.
I wake to the smell of bacon and the sound of someone whispering, "Don't wake her yet," outside the bedroom door.
Smiling quietly to myself, I stuff my face into my pillow and pretend to still be asleep.
I watch through the crack of my eyelids as the door creaks open just enough for Ben to poke his head in. His John Deere hat sits crooked on his head, his grin suspicious. He looks like he’s been through a whole ordeal this morning.
“Kay?” He whispers, tiptoeing over to me. He leans his body into the plush mattress. “Are you awake?”
“No,” I whisper back, wrinkling my nose.
“She’s up!” he calls, nearly bursting my eardrums.
“Ben!” Colter’s voice growls from a distance, followed by the sound of clanging dishes.
“I didn’t do anything!” Ben yells, darting out of the bedroom like a gremlin escaping a trap. Shaking my head at the two most important boys in my life, I toss my pillow aside and force myself to actually get up.
The door swings open as I’m propping myself up on the pillows, and Colter leans against the frame, holding my save-a-horse coffee mug and a plate of sizzling bacon, giving me his best sleepy-cowboy smirk.
“Mornin’, sunshine.”
“I was having a really nice dream about sleeping in,” I muttered, flopping back against the pillows.
He crosses the room, sits down on the edge of the bed, and hands me the mug. “Welcome to life on the ranch. About time you just give up on sleeping in, unless it’s your birthday.”
I blink. “My birthday isn’t until March.” He places the plate on the bed with a shrug and steals a piece of the crispy bacon.
“Time will pass quickly.”
I take a sip of my coffee, eyeing him in displeasure over the rim. Caramel Macchiato creamer. My favorite. “You're bribing me.”
“You think this is the bribe?” he asks, eyebrows up. “I was gonna wait, but I’m impatient. Get dressed. We’re driving into Malta.”
“Why?”
“To become the favorite parents.” With a knowing smirk, he presses a kiss to my forehead, then stands up. “Hurry.”
I blink. “That doesn’t tell me anything,” I call to his retreating back.
“I’m dropping Ben off at his moms’. Be ready by the time I’m back.”
What an infuriating man.
I set my mug on the nightstand. I’ll get dressed, but first I’m gonna enjoy some bacon in bed.
One hour later, much to Colt’s impatience, we’re ready to leave for Malta.
He pulls the truck door open for me, waits until I’m settled, and then closes me in.
I watch through the window as Jake comes jogging out from behind the barn, dressed in jeans and a shirt that’s covered in dirt.
Colt holds his hand up, stopping his brother from getting any closer.
His face pinches as he takes in his younger brother.
Being the nosey person that I am, I open the door a crack, just so that I can hear their conversation.
“You have to go change first.” Colt insists, pressing his palm into his brother’s chest.
“I won’t have time. I either go like this, or I’ll be late.”
“Jake. Please.”
“I’m not going to fuck this up for you, man,” Jake promises, slapping Colt’s hand away from him.
“Just go borrow one of my shirts.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” Colt’s tone leaves no room for disagreement, and it has his brother huffing in exasperation.
“You fucking owe me.”
“I’m sure I’ll pay you back ten times when you find your person.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Jake grumbles, turning and stomping back towards the house.
“What was that about?” I ask the second Colt hops into the driver's seat.
“Nothing. He’s just running into town to pick up the shipment that just came in.”
“Oh.” I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling the lie settle in my bones.
Hal wouldn’t give a shit if Jake showed up dirty.
There’s no way he’s just going to pick up a shipment.
“So, are we going to see the eagles? Is that what we’re doing?
” I ask, deciding not to press on Jake’s shit.
Whatever is going on between the two brothers doesn’t concern me.
Colt startles beside me, his hand slipping off the gear shift. “What?”
“Sue mentioned the eagles have landed. Are they like town mascots or something?”
Colter huffs out a laugh under his breath. “Fucking Sue. No, it’s not a town mascot. She just really likes eagles.”
“Seriously? The woman tried to stop a goose infestation, but she’s okay with eagles?”
“Don’t try to understand, Sue. It will only drive you mad.” He pulls out onto the highway, taking off down the road that my poor Chevy broke down on months ago. The trees loom over us, shading the truck from the summer sun.
A white truck speeds around us, passing us over the dotted line. The Castlebrook Ranch logo stands out against the door panel. “Where is he going?” I ask, leaning forward to watch Jake speed away like a moron—in the wrong direction from Hal’s feed store.
“Fucking idiot,” Colter grumbles, running a hand over his jaw. “Who knows what he’s doing.”
I have a feeling Colter does know, but that’s fine. Whatever. He can keep his secrets for now. I’ll get it out of him eventually.
“So,” I lean back in the leather seat, letting the A/C blast. “If we’re not going to see the eagles, then where are we going?”
“I told you, we’re going to secure our position as the favorite parents.
” My heart skips a beat at his words, at the ease with which he calls me a parent.
Calls me an equal. I don’t feel like an equal.
Not when it comes to parenting. And why should I?
I’ve known Ben for 4 months out of his 8, almost 9, years.
I appreciate Colt including me, I do, but we have to be realistic. It takes more than 4 months to become a parent.
“What’s that look for?” Colt asks, turning to look at me more closely.
“No, it’s nothing,” I shake my head, hair flying out of my braid. “I was just trying to figure out what your hint meant.”
He hums, clearly not buying it, but he lets it go. I guess we’re both just not in the pressing mood today.
We pull into a gravel lot just outside of Malta.
It’s a squat brick building with a chain-link fence surrounding the yard.
The only clue that this isn’t some sort of prison is a crooked Montana Paws Rescue sign that blows in the wind.
The second we open the truck doors, barking erupts from every direction.
“No way,” I turn to look at Colt, struggling to keep the smile off my face. Don’t get your hopes up, Kayla. This could just be a cruel, cruel prank.
“House vote is 2-1 now—I’m outnumbered. Figured we might as well tack it on to Ben’s birthday gift.” He shrugs, like he’s not about to make all of his son’s dreams come true.
“Colter Williams, you are too good of a father.”
“I don’t know about that,” he shoves his hands into his pockets and nods towards the door. “Are you ready to be covered in slobber and fur?”
“Hell yeah, I am!”
Forty-five minutes later, I’m sitting on the floor of a kennel with a forty-pound mix of something that looks suspiciously like a German shepherd and a bear, curled up in my lap.
She’s got one floppy ear, mismatched eyes, and a coat like someone spilled spots of ink on her.
The second I had entered her kennel, she’d immediately licked my face, tried to chew my braid, and then flopped over like she’d known me her whole life.
Colter watches us from the doorway, arms crossed, a quiet smile tugging at his mouth. “Did you ever have a dog growing up?”
“No,” I pet the fur of the panting puppy. “But the trailer park had lots of strays. I liked to pretend they were mine.”
“We had a dog for a little while. Wembley. He liked the barn cats too much, licked the kittens too much. We had to get rid of him before he did more harm than good.”
“By licking?” I ask, looking up at the tall man from my spot on the floor.
“You don’t want to know,” he shakes his head, eyes flicking down to the cracked cement. “Trust me, some things about ranch life are better left in the dark.”
“Well, we’ll just have to keep her inside,” I shrug, trusting Colt’s judgement. I still remember him telling me about the time one of the cats came home missing a chunk of its ear. I don’t need to know any other ranch horror stories, thank you very much.
“You sure about her?” he asks, squatting down and letting her sniff his palm.
“She’s perfect,” I say, even as she tries to nibble on my sweater.
“Figured you’d say that,” he replies. “Already paid the adoption fee.”
My head snaps up. “You what?”
He shrugs. “You don’t date a rancher if you want to do things slow.”
By the time we get back to the ranch, the puppy is passed out in my lap in the front seat, snoring like an old man. We’d decided to scrap the name the kennel had given her, Snowfie. We’re going to let Ben choose her name.
I mean, she is his dog.
But for now, she’ll just be known as The Puppy.
“You’re gonna regret this when she eats your socks,” I tell Colter, watching the little thing sleep. She’s just so goddamn cute.
“Please, she won’t touch my socks. She’ll go for yours. They’re nice and clean, and not nearly as smelly.”
“Huh.” I consider this. “That’s fine. I don’t like socks anyway.”
Colter pulls up the long drive to the house, but slows as we round the final curve. “Sue said the eagles were headed for the ranch. Wanna see if we can spot them?”
“Not really,” I shrug. “I wanna get her set up in the house, and then get Ben.”
“Maybe she wants to see the eagles,” Colter suggests, and I eye him suspiciously.
“Why do you care so much about these eagles all of a sudden?”
“Because you care about the eagles.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, voice pitching higher in my confusion. I swear, sometimes Colt starts talking, and I start wondering if men can go senile at thirty-three.
“Look,” he smiles smugly, pointing towards the porch as we pull in along the line of ranch trucks.
“What the—” I sit up straighter, squinting through the windshield. And then I see them.
Fletch, standing on the porch, holding a drink in one hand like he owns the place. And beside him—Faith, in a flowing blouse and cowboy boots that are way too clean to be practical, waving both hands over her head like we’re arriving from a two-year expedition.
My mouth falls open. “What. The. Hell.”
Colter doesn’t even try to hide his smirk. I scramble out of the truck, dog hair flying, and the puppy leaps down beside me with her tongue hanging out. Fletch sets his drink on the patio table, and Faith starts shrieking as I barrel toward them.
“Oh my God!” I shriek, launching myself into a hug so tight it nearly knocks them over. “What are you doing here?!”
“Surprise,” Fletch says, completely smug.
“We can’t take all the credit,” Faith adds, still laughing. “Colt phoned us up with this whole grand plan. Paid for our tickets, had his brother pick us up from the bus station in Malta.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed, buzzing, and heart full. “You came all the way to Castlebrook.”
“Of course we did,” Fletch says, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “Someone has to make sure this cowboy’s actually treating you right.”
Colter saunters up behind me, carrying the bags of pet supplies we stopped to buy on the way home, and plants a kiss on the side of my head. “You'd best beat my ass if I’m ever not,” he tells my brother, all stern cowboy.
“And who is this?” Faith plops down in front of the dog, giving it a pet.
“Name pending,” I smile hastily. “She’s Ben’s birthday gift.”
“I always wanted a dog,” Fletch says, leaning down beside his wife.
“Me too.” We share a smile, the smile of two children who wanted for things they knew they’d never have. A reminder that we’re just two adults who survived their trauma together.
“We should look into getting a puppy when we get home,” Fletch tells Faith.
“We live in an apartment.”
“So we’ll get a Great Dane. Apparently, they’re great apartment dogs.”
“More like an apartment horse,” Faith scoffs. She looks at me accusingly. “Ten minutes and you two are already giving me anxiety.”
“Hey, this wasn’t my idea!” I point from the dog to Colt. “This was all him.”
“Here, let’s get her inside before Ben sees her. He’ll be with his Moms all day, and then we’ll surprise him tonight.” My family moves out of his way, following him through the screen door and back to the kitchen like they own this place.
“Are you guys staying here?” I ask, barely containing my excitement.
“If that’s okay?” Faith asks. We both know it is.
“This is going to be so much fun. When do you need to go home?”
“Our flight leaves Monday night,” Fletch says. That gives us a whole three days together. “Is that a horse?” He peers out the patio doors that lead to the horse pasture. “Like a real one?”
“You guys can head out there,” I tell them. “Take a look around. There are also goats, but be careful, they like to escape.”
Once they’re safely out of the house, walking towards the fence that separates the horses from the backyard, I turn to my boyfriend, smiling brightly, and stand on the tip of my toes to kiss his bristly cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I love you.”
And then, like the coward I am, I dart out of the house, leaving Colt to deal with our new family member and my impromptu declaration on his own.