Page 16 of A Rancher's Bride
Kelli checked her watch, but she didn’t have anything dire that needed to be done. “I’m on late chores. Setting up a base of cookies to get me through until supper sounds like a great idea.”
“I always find a mess of cookies in my stomach makes just about any task go easier.”
They turned and walked side by side, silence falling between them.
Lisa had been around Silver Stone since the middle of December, but she and Kelli were still feeling their way around a relationship.
Tamara had settled in at Silver Stone ranch in a very finite and determined way. Now wife to Caleb, and a better mom to Emma and Sasha than their birth mother had ever been, Kelli had silently given her stamp of approval to the not-so-recent newcomer.
But in her book, everyone had to show their own colours before they got to be one of theSilver Stonefamily. Lisa might be Tamara’s sister, and she might be here to give a hand, but Kelli had been reserving judgment until everything proved to be on the up and up.
The funniest part about it was Lisa seemed to know exactly what was going on, and furthermore didn’t have any problems with being on probation. Nope, she just took it in stride and kept smiling.
That alone was endearing her to Kelli far quicker than if Lisa had tried to ingratiate herself.
“I’m glad you’re here to help Tamara since she’s still not feeling a hundred percent with this pregnancy, but don’t they need you back in Rocky Mountain House?” Kelli asked before realizing that came out wrong. She quickly added, “Not because I want you gone. I’m just curious.”
“I’m not offended,” Lisa said as they strode through the snow to the ranch house. “Truth is, a year ago I wouldn’t have been able to take off like this. The Coleman holdings amalgamated a lot over the past twelve months. Means instead of just my dad, my older sister and me, plus hired hands running Whiskey Creek land, we’ve now got the resources of the entire Coleman clan.”
“Nice. I wondered how it was working. Sounds a great idea.”
“It was abrilliantidea,” Lisa said, a grin spreading across her entire face as she pulled open the back door. “Just took an awful lot of convincing to make it happen.”
Kelli didn’t have a chance to ask what that meant before they stepped into the warm, chocolate-scented air of the only place she’d ever really considered home.
Her gaze went across the room, smile at the ready to greet Tamara, who was curled up in her favourite spot on the couch.
Kelli slipped off her boots and made her way forward. “There’s the boss of the house. How’s the baby building going today?”
Tamara adjusted position slightly so Emma could crawl beside her and curl in, leaning against her hip. “On a scale of one to ten, where ten is me ready to take on anything, I’m thankful to report that today is about a six.”
“That means she doesn’t need to throw up.” Blonde curls bounced as Emma shared this tidbit with great seriousness.
Tamara rolled her eyes, but she draped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and squeezed her close. “Remember our discussion about how even though you don’t mind talking now, there are some things that are better left unsaid?”
“But, Mama, it’s Kelli. She knows about throw up.”
Kelli happened to be watching Lisa at that moment, and the two of them fought to keep from bursting into laughter.
Lisa grabbed a plate full of cookies and held it out. “On a completely different topic, chocolate chip or walnut?”
“Both,” Kelli said at the exact same moment as Sasha announced, “Kelli says cookies need both chocolate and nuts.”
Tamara stared at the ceiling, fighting her own amusement. “Put the kettle on, Lisa, and Kelli can come and tell me what’s happening in the barns, because going out there is a three out of ten these days.”
It was good to get caught up. As Kelli shared the latest gossip, Emma snuck off to join her sister. They sat at the table with glasses of milk to go with the fresh, warm treats. Lisa wandered the room, tidying and working on something in the kitchen between moments of joining the grown-up conversation.
Another sensation drifted through Kelli as they visited. As much as she loved Silver Stone and her work in the barns and with the horses—
This part, this family-like connection with another woman, was special. It was something she’d never had until Tamara had shown up. She’d had the guys, and Ashton, but someone almost sisterlike? Never.
“Girls-night-out gathering is Tuesday,” Kelli reminded Tamara.
Her friendship with Rose and Tansy had grown over the years, and they had another woman in the community, Brooke, who often joined them. But recently their pack of four had welcomed others in, like Tamara, Ivy, and Hanna.
Kelli glanced over at Lisa and considered.
Lisa had already been in attendance at a number of unofficial events, but maybe it was time to formalize her presence a little more.
