Page 55 of A Rancher's Love
By the time they were all curled up in the comfortable living room, the faint trace of butterflies Ginny had felt earlier in the day had vanished.
Part of it was having new women in the room—it made her feel as if she weren’t the only one who wanted to knowmore. She wasn’t the only one who had missed things that had happened recently.
In fact, by the time the buzzer on the oven went off, Ginny’s nerves were a thing of the past.
“Pizza,” Kelli shouted. “Come on. Serve yourself at the island. There’s green stuff on the table for anyone who wants to pretend to balance their meal.”
Ginny ended up seated next to Yvette.
“I’ve heard good things about you,” Ginny told her. “My big brother is good friends with Josiah Ryder, and Josiah said you’re doing a fantastic job. That even the old grumpy guys like you.”
Yvette nodded slowly. “That’s good to hear. The bit about Josiah being happy. The part about the old grumpy guys is a little lesshurrah, because they’re still grumpy, and I still have to deal with them.”
“I hear you. When I used to drop off the CSA boxes, some of the customers would be cranky and grumbling even as they said thanks, and I was pretty sure they were annoyed because I was making them eat their vegetables.”
“Kind of like Kelli?” Yvette asked.
“I heard that,” Kelli said then went back to her conversation with Charity.
They both laughed. “You plan to start up the garden boxes again?” Yvette asked.
“Still deciding,” Ginny said honestly. “Tell me more about you. Have you got any veterinarians in your background? Grow up on a ranch? Win all the 4-H awards growing up?”
The other woman shook her head. “About as far from that as you can possibly get, to be honest. Most of my family is in the home-building supply business. Plus, my mother and sister are allergic to absolutely everything, so I didn’t even have a pet.”
Not at all what Ginny had expected. “Wow. What made you decide to take a new course?”
Yvette shrugged. “I like animals. I like caring for them and making them feel better. It might not be something my family ever considered, but when I really sat down and thought about what would make me happy to do for a whole lot of years, being a veterinarian hit all the high points.”
“Good for you.” Ginny meant it sincerely. Then she leaned forward and asked a variation on the same question she’d been asking nonstop for the past two days. “What’s the one thing you wish you could get here in Heart Falls?”
“A local surprise box,” Yvette said instantly.
Ginny had no idea what that meant. “Explain.”
“They’re all the thing on social media. Cause boxes or book boxes or art boxes. Subscriptions, so once a month or once a quarter, you get a selection of things sent to you.” Yvette’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I like to collect knickknacks, but with how busy my job is, the opportunity to wander through collectible shops isn’t there. Plus, I like the idea of supporting local, so when I can order stuff online, I don’t want to have stuff shipped long distances. Small footprint impact, but still a lot of fun.”
Ginny scooped her jaw off the ground. “You’re brilliant. Plus, you just articulated a big part of what I’ve been looking for, and I didn’t even ask you the right question. Thank you.”
Impulsively she put her arms up to give Yvette a hug.
Somehow, she jerked herself to a stop right before making contact. “Oops. Are you a hugger?”
Yvette grinned. “Not always, but I’ll make an exception for you.”
She scooped Ginny in for a tight squeeze.
The party went on for a while. Ginny ate far too many pieces of pizza, followed by one of Tansy’s enormous cinnamon buns. And they talked and showed each other pictures on their phones, and in some cases exchanged phone numbers for the first time.
At the end of the night, Ginny felt as if she’d been wrapped up in the biggest, most enormous fuzzy blanket in the entire world. Her belly was full of good food, her female friendships shored up or begun.
That seed of an idea that had tickled in her brain before was now firmly planted and ready to be watered.
Now to get the rest of the garden ready, figuratively speaking.
They wereon the road bright and early Wednesday morning for the trek back to Heart Falls.
Tucker’s boss Raymond had nearly fallen over when he got not just Tucker, but Luke and Jack’s help as well for two days. The man had bought them dinner at the end of each shift plus given Tucker a bonus along with his final check.
