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11. Calloway Cattle Ranch
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The Rancher's Heart 12. An Afternoon Chat
It was afternoon before Everest knew it. She had spent all day on her laptop sketching and then working on the foundation of two houses. Now the inertia had worked a kink into her shoulder.She pushed to her feet from the desk and massaged her shoulder blades, working her neck from side to side. She closed her laptop to put it to sleep and walked toward the dressing table.She bent to inspect her fatigued face in the mirror. Her black curls were packed into a puffy bun on the top of her head, and now perspiration clung to her hairline.She stood and examined her pink dress shirt and tight black leather shorts. Maybe she could go out.The sheet of perspiration in her hairline trickled down her right temple. A cold shower should probably be in order first. Everest had started toeing off her sneakers when she remembered the lake and how it'd be a perfect place to have a cold afternoon bath. Besides, the shower was likely to be too hot at this time of the day anyway.While slipping off t
The Rancher's Heart 13. Hair Dressing
When Everest had made the offer to help the rancher's kid braid her hair someday she hadn't expected the girl to show up on her doorstep thirty-two minutes later with a toothy smile and a kvetching goat.She had been mixing cake batter and had just slid the last cupcake tray into the oven whether doorbell chimed.The little girl had changed out of her dress into a sky-blue spaghetti top and blue and pink jeans. She gripped a small box to her stomach and also tried to plead to the recalcitrant goat with the same hands."Mrs Rosenthal said I could come," she explained with a smile."Come in." Everest opened the door wide and let the girl walk in. She cast a glance at the goat and hoped the headstrong creature wouldn't cause a nuisance in her house.She closed the door and turned to the girl. She wouldn't lie, she was excited. And nervous. She hadn't made someone's hair in a long while.The time she had been consistent with hair making had been when she was young and her kid brother youn
The Rancher's Heart 14. Video Call
"Girl, you never said how long you'll be staying."Everest exhaled and shrugged, glancing over at Leesa. "I don't know yet. Maybe about a month or so. Maybe I'll be extending my rent when it expires."Khessica gasped. She swiped madly away at her overgrown jet-black bangs. "You're kidding," she declared. "Girls, don't just sit there and watch her make crazy decisions." Khessica glowered at the other four faces in the video call - including Everest's.Jinny was busy spooning large portions of green ice cream into her mouth. Her pregnancy had given her a strange craving for freezing cold and soft food. She set down the large striped tub with a roll of her eyes. "Our girl is being a bonafide cosmopolitan bitch," she said to Khessica. "I support you, woman," she said to Everest, picking up her ice cream again.Elise groaned. "Why do we have to argue about when Evie's returning?" She stabbed at her pink glasses and tsked. "No offence, babe, but you're as stubborn as a fucking mule. You don
The Rancher's Heart 15. What Was She Playing At?
Mentor was pleasantly surprised to meet his buddy Garth Mowman pulling up at his doorstep in his Toyota SUV, just as his own truck arrived home.Garth ran a goat farm near the other side of town where the rivers and hills were much more in abundance. He and the guy, who was almost two years his senior, had been friends since their teens and he had come to see Garth's family of four as his own too and vice versa.He was also Queen's godfather — he had gifted her the pesky goat kid as a birthday gift."Dude," Garth boomed, slapping his back as he stepped out of the truck. "It's nice to see you too, pal," he said in reply, pumping his hand and slapping him on the back too. "How's Helena and the kids?""They're all good. Helena extends her greetings too."The two friends walked up to the house and shed their outer clothing in the hallway. Mentor was especially glad to be rid of the cashmere sweater. When it had been so cold in the morning, he hadn't expected such a drastic turnaround in
The Rancher's Heart 16. Tingles in the Night
To her disappointment, it was way dark when Everest woke up. What had meant to be a short nap had spun into a long sleep. She groaned when she checked the time to be nine o'clock in the night.Great. Now she'd have trouble going back to sleep later.Her stomach moaned as she got up from the bed and she rubbed at her flat tummy. Her plan to cook up a nice meal on waking up was gone with the evening wind now and she'd had nothing but a bowl of cereal in the morning and a quarter dozen of cakes in the afternoon.Everest then realized her skin was steaming from the heat that had refused to depart with the afternoon. She found herself wishing the small house had air conditioning. Making a mental note to mention it to Mrs Casss, she headed to the kitchen to get a bite of a cupcake.She had planned to muster up the trekking courage to go into town tomorrow and buy a bunch of flavoured frostings to add to the remaining. And if she wasn't able to summon the courage she was going to have them l
The Rancher's Heart 17. Crossing the Line
It was long after Everest was gone that he swam out of the water and climbed to the banks, still tottering from the mortification. As if the first awkward encounter wasn't enough.They said once bitten, twice shy. But, clearly, in his own case, his body had to be ridden with bite marks to learn his lesson.True, he had tried to stay away from the lake for most nights, but he was just used to coming out here to cool off a long day at the ranch.He sat in a pile of his denim clothes and squeezed at his hair to dry. His mind went back to the new neighbour. The girl was probably pissed at him now. If it were him, he'd be apoplectic as well.A long exhale escaped from his lips as he laid back on his clothes and stared at the dark, empty sky. He was going to miss all this. Eventually, he had to stop coming here, he needed no telling. But the inevitability of it still weighed him down like metal kilo bars.The back of his house was extensive enough, there was even a sunroom extension that us
The Rancher's Heart 18. Electricity
Mentor's jaws were starting to hurt slightly from holding them together with so much force. The neighbour's question had him worked up on the inside and he didn't like it one bit. He looked away at the lush sea of grass that spilt out beneath them and breathed deep. How was it her business? Just because she had made his daughter's hair didn't give her the right to ask him personal stuff. He looked back at the tabletop in front of him with a frown. Was she one of those interlopers that felt entitled to everybody's lives?"Oh my God." He heard her say with a soft gasp.That caught his attention and he looked up. There was a frisson of fear lodged in her coffee-brown eyes. She was penitent, knowing she had gone overboard there.She looked down and away and touched a hand to her forehead tiredly. "I'm so sorry. That was so stupid of me. I shouldn't have asked that question. I shouldn't have. . ."With a start that made his heart start to sprint, he realized he must have shown his annoya
The Rancher's Heart 19. Binse's Fix-a-Lot
It was a weekend and Everest was loathing going into town. Maybe picking the house at end of the town hadn't been such a good idea after all. Right now she'd willingly trade the quiet and privacy for the hustle and bustle as long as she didn't have to deal with the tedious trekking. The last journey to town alone still had her muscles sore and aching.But she had no choice but to go. After a cold blast of water from the shower in the sharp morning weather, she had decided enough was enough and had called Mrs Casss about having a water heater unit installed.To her surprise, the woman had readily agreed, acknowledging that the house needed one anyway. But the woman was out of town in the meantime and had given her the number and shop address of a trusted plumber and told her to have him come up to the house to fix a budget estimate.His number had gone to voice mail the three times she had called and she had left a message about what Mrs Casss needed him to do. And now, she admitted wit
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