Page 19 of A Rancher's Heart
Chapter Five
Tamara went back to the house and did up the breakfast dishes before exploring the house more thoroughly.
The second door off the kitchen led into a conveniently located laundry room, two hampers full of dirty wash waiting. She got a load going then checked out the downstairs play area before wandering back through the living room. All the pictures she admired the night before were slightly familiar now, which meant she could look closer. Some of Caleb and his brothers and sister when they were growing up. A few with a couple who had to be his mom and dad.
Lots of Sasha and Emma when they were young.
The house was cozy, but well lived in, and most definitely not clean to the corners.
It was tidy, though, and comfortable, and Tamara couldn’t find very much to complain about. She added a few things to her chore chart, along with a few questions for Caleb.
She poked her head into the girls’ rooms, just to get the lay of the land. Sasha’s room was a bit of a bear pit, clothing strewn everywhere—it looked as if she’d tried on three or four outfits before getting dressed, like some miniature fashion diva.
Emma’s room was tiny, with a smaller-than-normal bed and dresser. Her closet was open, and the toys were arranged in neat rows on the shelves, as far from the mess in her sister’s room as imaginable.
The hall bathroom that the girls shared was somewhere between messy and neat, and Tamara smiled as their unique personalities began to stand out.
That’s all there was on that side of the house, and she crossed the living space to the wing that extended to the west. Another bathroom—this one filled with the scent of Caleb’s soap, woodsy and sharp in her nostrils.
The next door opened on an office. She supposed there was a desk somewhere under all the paper and rubbish. A filing cabinet in the corner had a couple doors that couldn’t close because of the paperwork sticking out of the top. There might’ve been a credenza, and a number of chairs, but mostly piles of paper and an astonishing collection of dirty coffee cups.
Obviously Caleb spent time in here. How he found anything, though, she had no idea.
She collected the cups without disturbing anything, pulling the door shut with difficulty. Then she hesitated.
“Ahh, fuck it.” She gave in to the devil of curiosity, pushing open the final door and peeking inside.
Unlike the previous room, this one was neat as a pin. Bed made as crisp as if he’d been in the military, the entire room was spartan. A dresser as small as Emma’s was topped with a picture of the girls, their arms wrapped around each other, bright faces beaming with a field of wildflowers behind them.
It was the only decoration in the room.
The only other thing in the room was a bed, bigger than a single, but nowhere near large enough for a man the size of Caleb.
She closed the door and backed away without peeking any further, feeling somewhat guilty that for whatever reason he’d given her the master suite, including his king-size bed.
Another thing to include on the list of topics to be discussed.
Tamara worked until lunch then decided it was time to explore the rest of her environment. May as well check to see how her horse was settling in. She pulled on a pair of boots and a warm coat, dropping a hat on her head.
She glanced in the mirror by the back door and all but froze.
A week ago she’d been garbed from head to toe in nursing scrubs. Today she looked more like her older sister than ever, Karen’s cowgirl gear as much a part of her as breathing.
It felt—strange. Tamara hadn’t dressed like this on a regular basis for over ten years. She still put in her time and helped out with the Whiskey Creek ranch when necessary, but it hadn’t been her life, the ranch business. And yet now, it was, in a way.
She’d missed it. More than she wanted to admit.
She strolled outside, saying hello to the couple of dogs who rushed to greet her before guiding her toward the main barn. There were at least a dozen trucks parked near a long low building to the south that she suspected must be the bunkhouse.
To the north was a lake, and she found herself intrigued. That was one thing that was different from the territory where she’d grown up. Tamara stopped and pivoted in a slow circle, looking over the land. The mountains were much closer here, sheer and dangerous, the craggy peaks already painted with white, and the cold wind that blew toward her warned Dan’s prediction was right.
It was nearly Halloween. She could count on one hand the number of times there hadn’t been snow by that point growing up.
Past the ranch house was a small cottage she assumed was Dare’s, and she wondered if one of the boys would move into it. Just like her cousins did at home, constantly rotating houses so that everyone was as comfortable as possible.
Her gaze drifted over more outbuildings then danced back to the lake, the shining surface tempting Tamara forward. Not that she needed another dip in icy water, but it was pretty, and she promised herself a chance to walk along the bank, maybe with the girls, that evening.
Now she headed toward the barn, stepping cautiously as she entered to make sure she wasn’t interrupting.
