Page 2 of Forever His Brat

Sam knew Nick and said he was up for it. But doing the work was only one aspect; there was still chemistry to consider. How the men took to him mattered. How he dealt with Sam being in charge, after a long friendship, and to a smaller degree, how his wife got along with Charlie would be important.

They were inviting people into their closed world here on the ranch. After dark the workers were gone, the gates were locked, and they had the whole spread to enjoy. That would change now that the foreman’s cabin would be inhabited by this couple.

It was going to take getting used to. She liked their privacy. The funny thing was there would still be plenty of that.

The foreman’s cabin was out behind the main barn which was plenty far enough away from the big house. Charlie could scream at the top of her lungs, and they probably wouldn’t hear. It justfeltintrusive for some reason.

Plus, the barn had always given them opportunities for some creative scenes. All those leather pieces just ached to be used in various ways. Every so often they would go over in the evening after everyone had left for the day and enjoy themselves.

With another couple on the ranch after dark she wasn’t sure that would be possible anymore. It was sad. She’d miss those nights.

And she had such wonderful memories with Sam in the small foreman’s cabin. It had been too cramped and limited to stay there, but it was hard knowing other people would be overwriting their shared past. It was in that cabin that they’d fallen in love all over again.

But there was no sense in it sitting there empty, not when it could be useful. Not when having the couple there could make their lives easier. No, thiswasfor the best and she needed to get used to that.

She heard the slamming of a door outside, and automatically looked around to make sure everything was tidy. There was fresh coffee in the pot. As an afterthought she got up and started the kettle to boil, just in case anyone wanted tea or a packet of hot chocolate to warm up.

Then she went over to open the inside door. The cold pressed at her through the glass of the storm door and she shivered as she looked out. The snow seemed to be getting worse by the minute and had developed a swirling pattern that cut visibility down to nothing.

The same snow was muffling the world, making it impossible to even hear the truck or the vehicle she hoped was following. She pulled one of Sam’s jackets down from a peg next to the door and snuggled deep into the oversized coat for warmth. It smelled of him, and that was reassuring.

After what seemed like hours, she heard the thump of feet on the wooden steps. Expecting Sam, a smile was already stretching her lips as she opened the latch on the storm door and pushed it open to admit him. His head was down to avoid the swirling flakes and she didn’t realize it wasn’t him until he got to the door.

When he stepped under the porch light and looked up, she gasped. It must have been obvious why, because the man grinned, made a hat tipping gesture that didn’t fit the warm knitted cap he wore, and said, “Ma’am.”

He quickly added, “Don’t worry, Sam’s right behind us. Said he was going to plow down to the barn before he parked. It’s really piling up out there.”

He gave her an expectant look and she realized she was keeping him standing outside in the bitter chill. “Oh, sorry! Here, please come in,” she said, blurting the words as she quickly stepped back.

He didn’t step in immediately, but instead held the door open and moved to the side. She saw why when a small woman, who had been completely hidden behind him, stepped into view and then rushed right in.

He followed and hurried to pull the storm door shut behind them. “You must be, Charlie. Can’t count the number of times I’ve heard Sam talk about you. Nice to finally be meeting. I’m Nick, obviously, and this is my wife, Katie.” He was already moving over to help her off with her coat.

Katie responded before Charlie could. “Brrr! It’s so cold. I’m used to the snow, but I swear the wind was trying to pull the flesh off my bones out there.” She stood still as Nick peeled off the outer layers in a caring, gentle way that she seemed to expect.

Charlie could hear Katie’s teeth chattering, and she was cold herself since opening the door had dropped the temperature in the room by a good ten degrees at least. “Let me get you something hot to drink. I’ve got coffee ready, and the water is just about to boil if you want tea or hot chocolate.”

Katie perked up. “Hot chocolate? That would be amazing.”

Charlie grinned. “Just the cheap packets, but it’s hot and I’ve got little marshmallows for it.”

“Sounds good to me,” Katie assured her. “I’m too lazy to make the real stuff myself. I usually just heat water in a microwave, but marshmallows make everything better.”

“Right? I tell Sam that all the time.” She hesitated and then, inspired by Katie’s shivering she made a suggestion. “Why don’t we go into the living room? I have a fire going and it’ll be a whole lot warmer in there.” She pointed towards the open arch that led to the other room.

Katie immediately tried to go in that direction, instinctively looking to get away from the cold probably. Nick pulled her back. “Uh-uh, get that snow off you first, little girl. Not going to traipse through the house leaving a mess.” But he was already brushing her down, knocking off the accumulated snow that almost reached her knees.

She sighed and just stood there, teeth chattering, until he released her. Then he gave himself the same treatment. “Wouldn’t mind some hot coffee. Black, two sugars, if you don’t mind,” he said to Charlie.

Then he looked back to Katie, “Kick off your boots and if your socks are wet those can come off too.”

Katie seemed like she wanted to argue, probably not excited about being barefoot on the tile floor, but then she looked down and saw how much snow was still clinging to her boots and sighed. “Okay, okay.” The words were grumbled but she was already obeying.

On cue the kettle began to whistle, and Charlie hurried over to pull it off the burner. “Perfect timing. If you guys want to just go into the living room I’ll bring the drinks to you,” she called over her shoulder.

“That would be amazing,” Katie said with a note of pure longing.

Charlie concentrated on pouring the coffee and stirring the hot chocolate. Focusing on those small homey tasks helped with the agitation. She would have felt better with Sam by her side, which was silly. It was her house, and she was half owner of the ranch so she could certainly greet a new employee without him.

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