Ch5 Stockholm Ranch

When Willa arrived home Trevor and Martha were both lounging on the large front porch of the mansion.  Dad had a glass of whiskey in his hand and Martha was holding a glass of lemonade.  Willa’s heart jumped up at the sight of them.  She had missed being away from home while studying and was glad to finally be back even if the circumstances were not perfect.  Seeing her parents together and happy was enough.

“Dinner is ready.  Let’s go eat and catch up on how the rest of your day went Willa.  I was telling your mom that Grey invited you out to lunch.  She can’t wait to hear how that went.”  Trevor said as they all walked into the house.

Trevor sat at the head of the dining table and Martha sat next to him while Willa sat on his other side.  A few minutes later Rainey came in late as usual.  Martha quipped, “Rainey are you planning on being late for your wedding too?”  Trevor chuckled.

Rainey scowled and furrowed her brows.  “No mom, I don't plan on it.  As long as the marriage happens, everyone should be happy.”

“Yes dear, but you might give Cal a heart attack while he waits for you at the altar.”  Mom just couldn’t help poking at Rainey.  She was notorious for her lateness and didn’t seem to mind who it irked.

The kitchen staff plated out dinner and the rest of the evening went on as usual.  Cal came by to go over some wedding plans with Rainey and they locked themselves in the library to go over some last minute details.  Cal was a very detail oriented person.  The wedding planner was meeting with them at the end of the week and they needed to have the rest of their plans hammered out.  TIme was sneaking up on them and before you know it the wedding would be here in a blink of an eye.

Trevor and Martha headed out for a walk around the grounds while Willa went out to the horse stable to visit with her favorite horse.  Trigger was nosing through the hay, but looked up when Willa approached.  She carried a cut up apple in her hand and gave him pieces of it.  She longed to ride him, but that was going to have to wait until the weekend as it was already dark out.  Her long days at work left her with little time for herself.  She brushed Trigger for a while and decided to head back to the house to get ready for bed.

The sky was clear and there were many stars out in the night sky.  She thought about her lunch with Grey and wondered why he asked her out.  She surely wasn’t that fascinating compared to the big city ladies that he was used to coming up against in Frankfort.  And did he seriously think that she was going to give him a call the next time that she happened to be in his town?  She barely had time for herself.  How was she going to find time for someone else?

He was bold though to ask her out in front of her dad and all of the people attending the dairy acquisition that morning.  She had to hand it to him.  That took some bravery.  What if she had said no to him?  Would he have been embarrassed?

She reached her room and turned on the shower.  She headed to the closet and grabbed some fresh pajamas.  Thinking about Grey made her head hurt.  Tomorrow was going to be a long day.  She had work in the office and then school in the evening.  Once her MBA was completed then maybe she could relax.  The shower felt great and by the time Willa’s head hit her pillow she was fast asleep.

The next morning Willa woke up feeling refreshed.  A rooster was crowing off in the distance.  No need for an alarm clock around here she mused.  She got dressed and remembered to wear one of the new pairs of shoes she had bought the day before.  As she headed downstairs she could smell pancakes and bacon.

“Good morning all,” she chimed as she entered the breakfast room.  Trevor and Martha were already seated.  Being early risers on the ranch meant being able to take in the stillness of the place before everything got busy.  The two often had their morning coffee on the front porch while the kitchen staff prepared breakfast.  Mom looked a little tired today so Willa gave her a light hug before sitting down.

“What was that for?”  Martha asked Willa.

“Oh, I just thought you needed a little extra love this morning mom.”

“That was thoughtful.  I forgot to ask you about your lunch with that Grey fellow yesterday.  I got carried away with Rainey and Cal.  What is he like?”

“He’s pretty brash to be honest and I’m not sure how to take that.  I guess I’m not used to being asked a lot of questions when we just met.  He also ordered all of our food at the restaurant like he already knew my taste or something.  That’s pretty bold for someone to do.”

Trevor said, “You should’ve set him straight Willa and let your Stockholm defiance show.  That would have put him in his place right away.”

“Trevor, we don't have to throw a wall up so quickly.  Why don’t we let Willa handle this.  After all she is all grown up now and doesn’t need us to interfere in her affairs.”

“He even handed me his business card when we parted and said to give him a call for dinner when I’m in Frankfort the next time.  Who does that?  If he wanted to ask me out on a proper date, then why didn’t he just ask for my number like a normal person and call me later?”  Willa shrugged in annoyance and continued to eat her breakfast.

Trevor and Martha didn’t know what to say.  Grey definitely sounded like someone with a different upbringing.  He was also bold.  Willa on the otherhand was not used to these arrogant ways.  Just then Willa’s phone rang.  It was Kaysea calling so she stepped out to take the call.