Page 51 of Keep You Safe
“I told Maverick to take as long as he and Colt need,” Faith added before shutting the fridge.
“Good.” I patted her on the shoulder as she passed by where I stood near the coffee maker. “We’re all doing a great job managing things here. You very much included.”
“Thanks.” A pink blush spread across Faith’s pale cheeks. “I…uh… Would you want to go into Durango with me Friday afternoon?”
“Absolutely. Sooner if you need.” I’d need to speak to Grayson about the schedule, but Faith was a priority as well.
“It’s not for a meeting.” Faith waved her slim wrist. “Well, not only that. I’m going to need one if I go through with this, but there’s a cosmetology school in Durango, like you predicted. Thought I might at least meet with the enrollment director.”
“I’m so excited for you.” I caught her up in a hug. “Yes, we can go check it out, catch a meeting, and be back before movie night with the girls.”
“Good.” Faith’s eyes went wide with surprise at the hug, but she had the same pleased smile as Hannah had earlier. “Busy week for you.”
“Yep. I have the tiny house people coming today for a meeting with Grayson about adding a few mobile visitor cabins.”
“Good luck with that.” Her cryptic tone gave me pause, and I released her from the hug.
“You think it’s a bad idea?”
“The cabins?” She shrugged before refilling her own coffee mug. “No, that will be fine. You and Maverick have a good eye for what guests will want. More that Grayson has been a thundercloud all week.”
“True.” No sense in denying it. He’d been more grumpy than usual, the return of his stern taskmaster side. Not outright hostile to me and as capable as ever, but he had been as prickly as a summer cactus. “I can handle him though. A little bad mood never scared me.”
“Better you than me.” Faith gave a light laugh, and I joined in to cover how much I enjoyed Grayson’s company, cranky or not. His skepticism over the dude ranch project notwithstanding, I spent the rest of my morning looking forward to seeing him for the meeting.
In fact, when he didn’t turn up at the horse barn or for lunch, I went and hunted him down, finding him at the hay barn, tools out as he tinkered with the bale loader.
“The tiny house people will be here soon.” I handed him the sack lunch I’d tossed together for him, which included two sandwiches and chips.
“Thanks.” He wiped off his hands before accepting the lunch and moving to sit on a nearby hay bale. “I didn’t forget about themeeting. Loader’s acting up again, though, so getting through the morning chores took longer. Snow’s on the way, too, so the animals are all twitchy.”
“They can predict snow?” This was news to me.
“Even better than my bum leg.” Grayson gave a rusty chuckle as he stretched said leg out in front of him before making fast work of the first sandwich. He offered up a reluctant sigh as he pushed back up to standing. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
“You sound super enthusiastic.” I followed him back to the main ranch house, where we were meeting the tiny house people before showing them around the property and letting them take any necessary measurements.
“Eh. Motley and the others will be glad not to have all the guests in the regular bunkhouse. And I’m sure the income will help the ranch overall. It’s not the worst idea.” His tepid voice was maddening in its faint praise.
Luckily, I was saved from more conversation by the arrival of the two representatives from the tiny house company I’d found for Maverick. The wife-and-wife duo were eager to hear our plans, and soon, I had my rough sketches and notes spread out across the dining table.
In fact, I forgot I was supposed to be nervous, warming to the subject and rediscovering my confidence both. Maverick trusted me, and that meant something. So what if Grayson didn’t like the plans? That didn’t mean they were bad or doomed to fail.
“The plan is to do a row of the tiny cabins here, near the bunkhouse, so they can join in for meals and activities.” I pointed to the sketch I’d made of the area surrounding the bunkhouse before gesturing at another sketch of the pastures near the horse barn. “The new chicken coop will go here, along with a covered picnic structure for outdoor meals and gatherings.”
“Gonna be the most expensive eggs in Colorado,” Grayson muttered under his breath. I shot him a pointed look, and amazingly, my censure worked. He remained quiet for the rest of the presentation as the couple reviewed the various options for tiny house cabins and outlined the requirements for power, septic hookups, and other necessities.
“We’ll get you a quote for four cabins, but I need your signature for the bid request right here.” The taller of the two women held out a tablet for me to sign with a purple stylus.
“Wow.” After showing them the door, I let myself sag against the doorframe. “I didn’t even agree to buy anything, and my hand still shook.”
“You did a fine job,” Grayson said from behind me.
“Ha. You hate the plans. Too much like adult summer camp.” Unsure as to his sincerity, I wasn’t going to easily accept his praise.
“I don’t gotta love it to know it’ll be a decent moneymaker.” He quirked his mouth. “Also, I got ears. You sounded professional. You’ve thought about your ideas, even the damn chickens.”
“And llamas.” Bolstered by the compliments, I gave him a cheeky grin.
