Page 35 of Wounded Cowboy
She’d worked for Nick long enough to know that the show’s filming schedule rarely allowed for time off in the middle of a restoration project.
“Winnie told me work is on hold for a few days at the theater,” Spring said after chewing and swallowing another mouthful.“The demolition crew found asbestos floor tiles when they were ripping out the old carpet.”
“Yikes,” Kelsey replied. From her experiences with Nick, she knew it was common to find asbestos products in vintage and historic buildings.“I’m glad that Nick could help you out.”
“We put a new latch on the goat pen, too. I’ve been blaming the summer guests and ranch hands for leaving the pen gate unlatched. Turns out, Daisy figured how to lift the old latch. I saw it with my own eyes a few days ago.” He shook his head with a wry expression.“I swear, I don’t know how she does half the stuff she does without fingers or thumbs. But I think she’ll have a hard time defeating this new latch and the fence-top barriers.”
“Autumn might be disappointed. Isn’t she always looking for fresh Daisy, Agent of Chaos, content for the ranch’s social media feeds?” Kelsey asked, chuckling.
“Yeah! Aunt Autumn told us that Daisy’s a YouTube star,” April chimed in.“And it’s true. I checked her page, and she gets five million views a week!”
“That’s amazing!” Kelsey exclaimed, genuinely impressed. She loved the little goat herself, so it wasn’t surprising that her antics would attract a large audience. She turned to Spring.“Can I bring the girls by to see the updated goat pen at lunchtime tomorrow? Maybe we could have a picnic lunch together.”
“Please, Daddy?” Abby pleaded.“I love Daisy and I haven’t seen her indays.”
April nodded.“And I love picnics.”
Kelsey braced herself for Spring to reject the idea. He surprised her.
“Sounds like a good idea,” he agreed, his blue eyes resting warmly on his girls.“And maybe we could ask Aunt Autumn to join us to film the inauguration of the new and hopefully escape-proof pen.”
“Autumn would love that!” Kelsey exclaimed, pleased that Spring was not only agreeing with her suggestions but also expanding upon them. It felt like a victory, a sign that perhaps Spring was finally starting to respect her input.
The rest of dinner passed in pleasant conversation. Abby and April reported on the pollinators they’d observed in the garden this morning, and Kelsey shared that Abby had won three rounds of Math Bingo and April had won two rounds.
“I won a rocket eraser,” Abby announced, pulling her prize out of her overalls pocket and showing her dad.
“And I got a set of pterodactyl stickers,” April added.
“Are you telling me that your new nannybribedyou to practice your math skills?” Spring frowned, but Kelsey could tell he wasn’t truly angry.
“Guilty as charged,” Kelsey said.“It was a fun way to run through basic math problems.”
“Well, if it gets the girls to do their math, then I approve,” Spring said.“And thank you again for cooking dinner tonight.”
“It was the least I could after messing up your plans yesterday,” Kelsey replied.“I have to admit, I was skeptical about following your meal plan at first, but it was actually really enjoyable to prepare this recipe. It reminds me of my mother’s Hawaiian chicken.”
Spring expression softened.“That’s nice to hear. This teriyaki chicken was actually my late wife Laura’s favorite dish.”
Kelsey’s heart twinged at the mention of Laura’s name. In the two years she’d lived on the ranch, she’d never heard anyone speak about his late wife. It was clear that the memories were still painful for him, and yet he had shared one of them with her.
“I’m honored that you shared this recipe with me, then,” Kelsey said.“I think the girls appreciate the connection with their mom as well.”
“I miss her,” April whispered.
“I wish I remembered her,” Abby said.
Kelsey saw raw pain flash across Spring’s face at their words. She decided it was time to steer the subject away from Laura Snowberry.
“Back home in Helena, my mom used to make this amazing macaroni and cheese casserole,” Kelsey enthused.“It had diced ham and fresh peas from our garden.”
“Mac and cheese!” Abby and April chimed in excitedly.
“That reminds me,” Kelsey said, seizing on the opportunity to propose a change to the meal plan,“I noticed that the peas in your garden are ready to harvest. Would you mind if I made that macaroni and cheese casserole for dinner tomorrow?”
“It sounds good, but we don’t have any ham or macaroni,” Spring said.“And I don’t have time to drive to the grocery store tomorrow.”
At least it wasn’t a flat no, thought Kelsey. She wondered if that meant she had room to negotiate.
