Page 53 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
“You should get my nieces to help you with this one. They’d love to play paper dolls and arrange the furniture.” Karen took a peek at the inch-deep mass of paper underneath. “What’s all this? Did Zach print the entire stock list for Bed, Bath & Beyond?”
“Maybe.” Finn offered his most pleading expression. “I said I would deal with the paperwork, but dear God, this is not something I should be in charge of. He wants me to pick colour schemes.”
The noise he made brought a laugh to Karen’s lips.
“I’m not a good one to help, either. My sisters would probably enjoy it, but…isn’t it early to be making these kinds of decisions?”
“We’ll be hiring someone as a ranch house mom, as well as a head cook, but probably not until late September. They’ll have a say in how much we buy and the supplies we’ll need, but it would be good to have at least the styles decided.”
Karen nodded. “It’ll take me all of three seconds to give you my totally biased opinion. Whatever you decide will fit in each cabin, my cousin Daniel runs a side business for the Colemans building custom furniture.”
Some of Finn’s desperation faded, replaced by an incredulous smile. “Shit. I am off my game because I totally forgot that. And when it comes to quilts and pillows, you’ve got a couple cousins who can help with those as well, don’t you?”
“If you’re willing to splurge for handmade designs. Those you need order from Hope and Becky sooner rather than later, or you won’t have them on time. Although they sometimes have a stockpile.” A spot of happiness flared inside at solving Finn’s problem while helping her extended family.
“I’ve seen their work. It would be no hardship to feature their handicrafts around the place.” Finn pointed to the wad of paper under her hands. “Toss that out. I’ll give your family a shout and see what they suggest.”
“How about if I give them a call and introduce you? Or reintroduce you—I’m pretty sure both Daniel and Hope will remember your name.”
He lost a little of his smile. “Is that a good thing?”
Karen examined his face and the shadows under his eyes as she thought back to five years ago. “I think only one of my many cousins wasn’t sure about you. Ashley is now a busy mom of two, so once I give you the all clear, you shouldn’t have any problems.”
“It’s not your guy cousins I’m worried about,” Finn said bluntly. “Frankly, the fact your sisters haven’t ganged up and offered a death-and-dismembermentwarning surprises the hell out of me.”
“I’m sure they were planning on it but put it on hold after your accident.” She tapped his fingers lightly. “It’s no fun threatening somebody who can’t run.”
To her utter shock and amusement, he stuck out his tongue.
She was still giggling as she called her cousin Hope, owner of the Stitching Post quilt shop in Rocky Mountain House.
Little things like that made her daily work unique and a whole lot more fun than what it had been recently at the Whiskey Creek ranch.
Every moment was different. Like being called to help decide exactly what angle to set the base of a new cottage. Or having to moderate adiscussionbetween Cody and Zach over what colour stain to use on the outside of the individual cabins.
They’d painted one wall with the two different choices and still couldn’t decide which they wanted. Not even after hauling her into their conversation to proclaim the merits of one choice over the other.
They seemed intent on being a dog with a bone on this one.
Finn swung past on his crutches, eyeing the men as he stopped beside her. “They been arguing like sputtering hens for long?”
“Define long.” Karen smirked at Zach, who planted his fists on his hips at her comment. “I told them I already knew the answer, but they won’t stop cackling for long enough to listen.”
That got a sharp nod out of Finn. “I think I know where you’re headed. The barn trick?”
“Of course. Want to help?”
“Glad to.”
He waited as she bent and scooped up a couple of dirt clods from the yard, dropping one into his outstretched hand. His eyes flashed with amusement, then without warning, he whipped the dirt directly at Zach.
“The hell?” Zach ducked.
The dirt slammed into the side wall of the cabin, breaking apart and drifting into dust particles that clung to the rough boards.
At the same moment, Karen tossed the second chunk at Cody, deliberately missing so it smashed against the wall about three feet from Finn’s.
“You’ve got a strange way of helping,” Cody complained before Zach bumped him on the chest with a fist, pointing at the wall behind them.
