Chapter 30
Hayes
“Catherine,” I called as I strode through the house.
After an early-morning ride together, Catherine and I went our separate ways.
I had spent most of the day working in the study while Catherine busted her ass before tomorrow’s grand opening for the Learning Cottage.
The Friday night bash she had planned was going to be legendary.
Even though I wasn’t much for parties, the Wilder Estate was made for celebrations.
Saturday was a different story. Catherine wanted to open up the cottage for the community as soon as possible.
The instructors were excited to host a trial day, where kids could come see what the cottage had to offer.
While they pitched the program to the parents, Catherine had drummed up volunteers to paint faces, run a craft station, and make ice cream in a bag using milk that had been carefully pasteurized after a generous donation from Blanche the cow.
The cow who had a new home on the estate thanks to Warren Grey had apparently told Catherine her name was Blanche. I had to admit, Dorothy and Blanche made quite the pair.
It was going to be a wild weekend, which was exactly why I needed to find Catherine before the mayhem began.
Friday and Saturday were about showing off her achievements, but tonight was about her.
I cut through the kitchen, where I often found her working beside Hallie, but she wasn’t there. I poked my head into the formal living room where she would curl up at the end of the night with a book. Still no Catherine.
I swung through the rose garden, but she wasn’t there.
I wound around the back of the house to see if the Mustang was parked in its usual spot. It was. Catherine still wasn’t in the kitchen when I slipped into the side door and headed up the stairs to the second floor.
I paused when I passed Lewis’s room. The door was open, and Hallie was in there. Cleaning.
I hung on to the doorframe as I leaned in. “What the hell are you doing, Hal?”
She looked up from the landslide of dirty clothes that poured out of the closet. Papers were splashed across Lewis’s desk, and I was fairly certain that a take-out bag full of furry food growled at me.
“I thought I’d do something nice for Lewis while he’s out of the house this afternoon,” she said from behind a dust mask as she picked up a mug that had petrified coffee remains glued to the bottom.
At least she was wearing gloves. “He’s had a time of it lately.
” She looked around in dismay. “And things are starting to grow and sprout legs in here.”
“You’re getting a raise,” I muttered as I went next door to see if Catherine was in her room. She wasn’t.
I gave Hallie a salute as I passed Lewis’s open door once again and hollered, “Good luck,” as she started on the desk.
Catherine wasn’t in the garden or in the house, which left the cottage, stables, and pond.
I checked the pond first. No dice. She wasn’t in the stables either. Since the cowboy hat Catherine had given me was back at the house, I grabbed Granddad’s off the nail on the wall, saddled up Maisey, and rode her up to the cottage.
She held her head high, pleased as pie that she got to go on a field trip.
She had almost made the entire trip at a respectful, steady pace when she spotted Dorothy and Blanche grazing in the fenced-in pasture.
She skipped with glee at the prospect of seeing her bovine friends and nearly bucked me off.
I grunted as I tugged on the reins to get her to slow the hell down. Maisey came to a screeching halt at the fence and plopped her head over, nosing around for Dorothy to come closer.
A sharp whistle cut through the air as I swung my leg over the saddle and dismounted.
Catherine poked her head out of the cottage and grinned.
“Look at you.” She wagged a finger in my direction.
“You’ve got the boots, the hat, and you’re riding a horse instead of driving up here?
Looks like I was right. One summer here has turned you into a bona fide cowboy. ”
“Mason and Levi would probably beg to differ,” I said with a chuckle as I tied Maisey to the hitching post. “What are you still doing up here? I thought the cottage was done.”
Catherine looked back through the door. “Finishing touches.”
“Show me around?”
Catherine took my hand in hers and laced our fingers together as we walked through the space.
The majority of the cottage was full of worktables that could be separated or pushed together, depending on the need. “Did you start these today?” I asked as I peered into the dirt-filled glass planters that would show root systems when the seeds began to develop.
“How’d you know?” she asked.
I lifted her hand and splayed her fingers. “You have dirt under your nails.” I smirked. “I think there’s a country girl behind the pageant queen.”
Blush painted her cheeks. “Look at us.”
I had just leaned in to kiss her when a shadow filled the doorway.
“Hi, Zach!” she said cheerily.
Hallie’s son, Zach, poked his head inside and peered around curiously. I wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about living at the estate. School kept him busy most of the year, but summer was halfway over and I had barely seen him out and about.
“Did you come down to check it out?” Catherine asked. “What do you think?”
Zach stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts and nodded without much excitement. “Cool.”
“Did we miss anything?” Catherine asked hopefully. “You know, I was thinking we need some kind of projector or something, so people don’t have to crowd around a computer to watch videos.”
Zach nodded solemnly. “Yeah. Probably.”
“Are you going to come to the grand opening tomorrow?” she asked.
He shrugged again. “Dunno.”
“I hope you do,” she said with a bright smile. “And you should invite your friends from school to come out here on Saturday.”
Zach didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes flicked over to the pasture. “Is it true that Mr. Grey rescued that cow?”
I nodded. “Catherine brought the little one here after someone dumped her at the ag supply, but Mr. Grey brought Blanche here because she was being mistreated.”
“People suck,” Zach muttered.
“You wanna go see her?” Catherine asked.
Zach’s brows lifted. “Is that okay?”
“Sure,” she said. “Maybe stay on the other side of the fence and see if she’ll come to you first. She needs to build trust with you before you go into her space.” Catherine grinned. “Dorothy will snuggle up to you like a lapdog, though.”
Zach kept his head low and hid a smile as he disappeared through the doorway.
Catherine sighed. “I was hoping he’d come out of his shell a little more this summer.”
“Give him time,” I said, smoothing my hands up and down her arms. “You never know how someone needs to process the way they see the world or the way the world sees them.”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I like the way you see the world.”
I pecked her lips. “You got plans tonight?”
She glanced around. “I was going to keep neurotically rearranging things until I inevitably go to bed and toss and turn all night because I’m nervous as hell about this weekend.”
I cupped her cheeks and kissed her again. “It’s going to be a hit, but I’m more than happy to worry with you.”
Since Maisey needed to get used to being ridden by different people, I walked alongside her as Catherine sat in the saddle, waving goodbye to Zach as we left the cottage.
When we made it back down to the stables, the two of us made quick work of removing the saddle and bridle, hanging the blankets we used as a saddle pad, then brushing Maisey down and checking her over.
Kamikaze, one of the anticipated derby winners, was grazing in the paddock when Catherine led Maisey in for a little relaxation.
Midnight eyes locked on Catherine, and Kamikaze charged.
Before I could jump in to get her out of the way, Maisey whipped around, hid Catherine behind her large body, and let out a menacing bluster at Kamikaze.
It was so out of character for Maisey that I was momentarily stunned.
The asshole thoroughbred thundered toward her, but Maisey didn’t flinch.
I grabbed Catherine and yanked her out of the paddock as Maisey held her position.
At the last second, Kamikaze turned and trotted away, throwing his head from side to side as if to say, “Just kidding.”
Catherine pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh my god.”
I held her close as I reached over the gate and gave Maisey a loving rub. “Attagirl. Good looking out, Mais.”
Maisey tossed her head over the fence and accepted the praise and attention.
Catherine stayed tucked into my side as we made our way up to the house.
“Something smells good,” Catherine said as we squeezed through the kitchen door.
Hallie, safe from Lewis’s disaster zone, beamed as she loaded more food onto the kitchen island. “I hope y’all are hungry. Lord knows I am.”
“Are we having people over?” Catherine asked as she looked at the massive spread. “You know the grand opening isn’t until tomorrow, and we don’t have to cook for that.”
Hallie pointed a spoon at her. “This is for you.”
Catherine laughed. “Me?”
I laid my hands on her shoulders and nodded. “We wanted to celebrate you. Mason and Levi will be up in a bit. Savannah’s on her way over.”
“I even invited Lewis and Warren,” Hallie said magnanimously. “Lewis said yes. Warren said no.”
Catherine huffed and put her hands on her hips. “You didn’t have to do all this just for me.”
“It was Hayes’s idea,” Hallie said.
“Snitch,” I grumbled, making both ladies laugh.
Savannah arrived with Mason and Levi hot on her heels.
The six of us washed up and piled around the table.
Zach slipped inside and had almost made it up the stairs when Hallie called him back down to join us for dinner.
Lewis was the last to take a seat. If he was bothered by the news of the judge’s ruling, he didn’t show it.