Page 21 of Wounded Cowboy
“Okay,” he conceded, obviously still concerned, but trying not to show it.
Kelsey watched him pack his lunchbox with fascination.
Instead of making himself a sandwich like every other human being on the face of the earth, Spring carefully packaged slices of bread, lettuce, cold cuts, and sliced cheese in individual silicone pouches and placed them in his lunchbox alongside little reusable squeeze containers filled with mayo and mustard. He even included napkins and a real knife and spoon, along with an apple and a container of peach yogurt.
His weirdly precise lunch packing strategy was perfectly in character for someone who had written out a detailed schedule in fifteen-minute increments for a six-year-old and an eight-year-old, she thought wryly.
Has he always been such a control freak?She wondered if he’d calm down once she proved she could handle his girls just fine.
Because if he didn’t, his micromanagement would drive her nuts.
A few minutes later, Kelsey watched Spring’s retreating form as he walked to his truck. The early morning sun cast long shadows across the driveway. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful summer day.
She didn’t close the front door until he’d started his truck and driven away in a spray of water from a large puddle on the gravel road.
Then she breathed a sigh of relief.Free at last!
Kelsey turned and walked back through the house to check on Abby and April. Timetable be damned. If they weren’t awake yet, she’d let them sleep a while longer.Who the heck makes their kids wake up at 5:30 a.m. during summer vacation?
To be fair, Spring probably didn’t have a choice if his workday started at 6:00 a.m. But now that Kelsey was here, that wasn’t an issue anymore.
Spring’s house was a four-bedroom bungalow, with an open plan living room, dining room, and kitchen space on one side of the house and all the bedrooms on the other side. An“L”-shaped hallway led from the living room to the bedroom area.
The first bedroom had been turned into a home office. As Kelsey passed by, she glimpsed a desk with a large monitor and a computer system, and rows of shelves crowded with binders and books. A copy ofStorey’s Guide to Raising Beef Cattlesat next to the keyboard on the desk, along withGrass-Fed Cattle: How to Produce and Market Natural Beef.
The girls’ rooms were across the hall from each other, with a shared bathroom at the end of the longest section of the hall, where it turned into the short bottom of the “L” and led to the primary suite.
Kelsey peeked inside Abby’s bedroom first.
In the dimness, she saw an International Space Station poster and a large star map adorning the walls. A model of the solar system hung from the ceiling, while a replica of the James Webb Space Telescope stood proudly on her bookshelf.
Kelsey decided to talk to Spring about taking the girls out for a night under the stars. Nick owned a small telescope, and she thought she’d be able to borrow it from him.
“Daddy?” Abby asked sleepily.
“It’s Kelsey, honey,” she said in her most soothing tone.“Your dad had to go to work. I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“Good morning, Ms. Kelsey!” Abby sat bolt upright and beamed at Kelsey.“I’m awake now.”
Kelsey chuckled.“Yes, I can see that.”
The little girl looked adorable, with her shiny, pale-blue Disney Princess nightgown and her pixie-cut hair sticking up in clumps.
Abby scrambled out of her bed.“Let’s see if April’s up yet,” she declared.
“If she’s still asleep, don’t wake her,” Kelsey cautioned.“It’s summer vacation, after all.”
When Kelsey gently opened the door to April’s room, she found the reading light was on and April sitting on her bed, with a copy of theNational Geographic Kids Ultimate Dinopediaspread open on her lap.
Dinosaur posters covered the walls, and shelves overflowed with toy dinosaurs and books about life in Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous times.
We’ll definitely have to go on an outing to the Museum of the Rockies, thought Kelsey.If their dad can stand the thought of me driving them over to Bozeman.
She suspected she might have a battle on her hands with Mr. Cowboy Control Freak. But it would be worth it if she got to see April’s expression when they walked into the hall at the museum with the row of Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons arranged in a line from baby to full-grown adult.
“Hi, Ms. Kelsey! I heard you and Daddy talking.” April craned her neck to look past Kelsey.“Is Daddy gone? Did he leave before breakfast?” She sounded disappointed.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. There was a big storm last night, and your dad had to go fix a bunch of damage,” Kelsey said, bracing herself for tears.“But I’m here to make sure you and your sister have a great day.”
