Page 4 of Ash on the Range
I blinked. "That's one hell of a mission statement.”
Eve huffed a laugh. “It’s what I considered putting on the website last night.”
I shook my head. “Don’t. Please. We can workshop that. I’m pretty sure of it.”
Her laugh this time was a full one. “Are you studying?” She made her way around the edge of the long kitchen bench and flicked on the coffee machine. The rich aroma of fresh heavenly beans filled the space, mingling with the scent of heavy oiled wood.
I leaned over the end of the bench, stretching my legs. After sitting in the car for so long, it felt good to move about. My bag settled at my feet. “Nursing, at Montana U. I’m on break. Semi personal enforced. I…deferred some of my studying to help my brother out. That was where Will found me, at the rodeo circuit and…Now I'm here.” I echoed her shrug from earlier.
“He promised to take you back after a stint here?” Even guessed, rummaging about in a cupboard she could barely reach for mugs. The woman was tinier than I was, though I suspected she must have been a good few years older than me.
“Let me help,” I offered, bemused when she shook her head, warding me away.
“Nope. My kitchen, my rules,” she said firmly, pouring the coffee. “Cream?”
“Black, please.”
“Perfect. Did you stop at White Cap?” she asked as I resumed stretching.
“‘Last coffee stop up the range’,” I quoted Will. “Wasn’t bad, either. Some place called Barnies?—”
“Beanie’s,” Eve corrected me.
I grinned. “Beanies. At least they had decent coffee. For a rich kid, my brother can be a tight ass. And my monthly allowance dropped while I wasn't studying so…working for him was my only option." I grimaced.
Eve looked at me shrewdly. “So you need a job while you’re here, then?”
“Uh—” I hadn’t actually planned that far ahead, stuck on the cowboy who dreamed big and fell hard. In hindsight, that seemed fairly remiss.
“It’s okay, Cassie, don’t panic. There’s always work to be done. You said you’re studying nursing, right?”
I nodded, then shook my head. “But I don’t think I’m that good with animals," I said in a hurry. “The last cat I held tried to murder me, and I might have accidentally drowned my niece's goldfish.”
“In air?”
“In water,” I said remorsefully.
“That’s quite a talent,” Eve observed. “So, you’re not keen on animals, just people."
“Mostly helping people achieve healthcare, especially in low socioeconomic areas. It should be available to everyone,” I started, turning the mug she passed me in my hands, warming my palms. “I feel the same way about education too, especially at a college level, but you probably don’t want to get me started on that subject, unless you’ve got a lot of alcohol under your belt and are prepared to pass out at least halfway through my diatribe.”
Eve watched me thoughtfully. “Not good with animals, passionate about helping others… How are you with websites?” she asked hopefully.
I snorted into my coffee. “Have you given up on yours?”
“Just about.” She swirled her mug in her hands. “You picked up my language the moment that you walked in. If you want the job of handling updates on marketing while you’re here, I could use the assistance. There might be some other jobs about the place too. Did Will mention how we work here?” That arched eyebrow rose again.
I bet she didn’t even have to pluck it.
“He said only the family went upstairs,” I recalled, blushing at how he’d kissed me in the car.
“Mmhm.” Eve seemed lost in a memory of her own. “There’s a spare room up there, but he’s right, the ranch hands do have to stay downstairs. The land is pretty spread out. There’s two hundred and fifty thousand acres between us and the next property, and there’s some stunning places to visit. Make sure Will shows you the creek, and the outcrop. Maybe he could take you on a picnic sometime…” Eve drifted off as she finished her mug and headed around a corner, calling out names. “How many men were in the yard just now?”
I counted imaginary heads, and when I lost count, I stuck my own back out the front door of the big house, but the yard was empty. “Where did everyone go?”
“Oh, they’ll be off working,” Eve said cheerfully, her arms full of an oversized bowl and what looked like every root vegetable known to human kind.
“Ah, do you want help?”
