Page 39 of Wounded Cowboy
“Yay!” The girls sprinted away, leaving Abigail and Kelsey alone among the bags of rice and noodles.
“Kelsey, dear, I’ve been meaning to check in with you and hear how things are going with Spring and your new job,” Abigail said as soon as the girls were out of earshot.
The urge to vent about Spring’s oddly intense scheduling habits was strong, but Kelsey told herself it was probably best to keep the issues between herself and Spring to herself for now.
Given that Spring was trying to tone down his initial control-freak approach, she was hoping it would become a non-issue in another week or two.
“Everything’s going great,” she assured Abigail with a smile.“Spring is, uh, very…organized.”
“Ah, yes,” Mrs. Snowberry chuckled knowingly. Her eyes twinkled with amusement.“That’s definitely one way to put it.”
Kelsey had been wondering whether he’d inherited his obsessive need to schedule every moment of the day from his grandmother. As a test, she oh-so-casually asked,“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
Mrs. Snowberry pursed her lips in thought.“Well, I have a hair appointment in Livingston after lunch, but nothing planned after that. Maybe I’ll call one of my friends and see if they want to meet up for coffee.”
So much for my theory.“Sounds like a nice, relaxing day,” Kelsey said.
“I like to keep busy,” Abigail replied.“But sometimes it’s nice to just see what happens.”
“That’s my philosophy, too,” Kelsey agreed.
“I’ve been meaning to ask.” Abigail sounded uncharacteristically hesitant.“How are you and Spring getting on? I know he can be a bit… particular. Do you need me to talk to him about anything?”
Kelsey grinned.“I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Snowberry, but I think we’re managing just fine. And I’m really enjoying my time with the girls. They’re so sweet and well-behaved. You can tell that Spring has done a wonderful job raising them.”
“I’m so glad to hear that things are going well,” Abigail replied warmly.“And I hope you’ll join us at our next family dinner on July Fourth weekend. I know Winnie, Nick, and Kegan would love to see you. And the rest of the family, too.”
“Thanks for the invitation. I’d love to come,” Kelsey said, touched by Abigail’s invitation.
Over the past couple of years, she’d been to several of the Snowberry family dinners and enjoyed them. She didn’t attend regularly because she often drove to Helena on the weekends to see her parents. This year, though, Mom and Dad would be gone over the Independence Day long weekend, visiting Kelsey’s brother Eric and his wife Mia in Salt Lake City.
“I think of you as part of the family now,” Mrs. Snowberry said.“And, please, call me Abigail.”
Kelsey felt her heart swell with gratitude at Abigail’s acceptance.“Thank you… Abigail. I really appreciate your kindness. And I love your family.”
It was true. She adored Nick’s wife, Winnie. And then were Bob and Priscilla, Summer and Brock, and Autumn and Matt. And all the Snowberry kids, of course. They were all warm-hearted, awesome people.
Even Spring was growing on her. He clearly had a kind heart and tried hard to do right by his girls. He was just oddly set in his ways for someone who was only a year or two older than she was.
“Your presence has been such a blessing on our ranch, my dear,” Abigail continued, her bright blue eyes shining with sincerity.“I really hope Spring will see the light and ask you to stay on after summer ends.”
Kelsey debated whether to remind Abigail of her plans to move to the West Coast, and decided not to say anything. The end of summer was a long way off, and she’d deal with that issue if it arose.
Besides, once the ranch’s guest season ended, Spring probably wouldn’t need her help anymore.
So, she simply smiled at Abigail and murmured,“We’ll see what happens.”
∞∞∞
Back at the ranch, Spring applied the finishing touch to the upgraded goat enclosure.
He hung a wooden sign over the gate, featuring the caricature of a goat and Daisy’s Instagram handle carved into it.
Autumn had brought the sign with her when she arrived an hour ago to take photos for the ranch’s social media feed. Their longtime friend Jason Lund, who now ran a successful carpentry business, had created it.
Spring hoped having a sign would cut down on the number of times each day that a guest stopped him or Rory, asking where they could find Daisy.
Just as he stepped down from the ladder to admire his handiwork, Spring heard his daughters yell,“Daddy!”
