Page 15 of Fern's Date with Destiny
Cody angled his hat back and sauntered over, gravel crunching under his boots.“Looking for more work?”
Grant barked a laugh, raising both hands in surrender.“We already found plenty to add to the list you gave us.We’re working on the pre-winter check lists on the cabins, and turns out, a few of the window casings are pretty shot.They’re not old enough to have this kind of wear and tear.”
“Good catch.That’s the kind of damage that could turn this place into an icebox come January.”Cody squinted at the peeling paint and the warping edges catching the sunlight.“These cabins were built only four years ago, so the windows will still be under warranty.I’ll check the file.”
Austin wiped sweat off his brow with his sleeve.“We’ll finish all the cabins right now so we know how many you need to get on their case about.”
“Perfect.”Cody gave Grant an approving smack on the shoulder.“Better to have to fix this now and not when it means freezing our asses off.First round is on me the next time we hit Rough Cut.”
Both young men puffed up their chests.Grant ducked back inside to measure the sill.Austin lingered, toeing the gravel as if he wanted to say more.
“Something else?”Cody asked.
“Uh...not really.Just, uh—” Austin scratched behind his ear.“That pretty gal, Fern.The one working for your brother?She’s real nice.Helped my sister out when she visited the gallery last month.Fern made Lindzie feel all fancy and important, and not silly at all for not knowing the fancy words for art stuff.”
Cody schooled his face carefully.“Fern is good people, that’s for sure.”
“You see her sometime, you tell her I said thanks.”Austin hustled after Grant, still rattling off items left on their to-do list.
Cody watched them a moment longer, the warmth in his chest strong as the quiet hum of the ranch wrapped back around him.A good day’s work made the world small and manageable.Fence posts, horses, fresh paint.Things he could fix.
Inside the barn, the scent of clean straw and old cedar hit him like a balm.Marigold greeted him with that soft, dusty whicker, her long ears swiveling forward as he clicked his tongue.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” he murmured, running knuckles along the warm velvet of her cheek.“Heard you were favouring your back leg.Let’s see.”
She shifted obligingly, leaning her big head into his chest as if to apologize for being trouble.He braced his hand on the latch, mind half on the swelling he expected to find—and his fingers hesitated.
A tiny pause.No more.
Barely enough to catch his attention before it passed.The latch lifted.Marigold’s breath puffed over his collarbone, warm and sweet.
“Sorry.Just being a clumsy old man,” he told her softly.He checked the joint.Just a bit puffy, probably a stone bruise or mild strain.He’d cold hose it this afternoon, an easy fix.
Outside by the feed shed, he leaned into a sun-warmed post, pulling out his phone with deliberate care to respond to the ping of an incoming message.
Chance: Hey, wee brother.Got a minute?
His thumb hovered an extra second over the keys before he typed.
Cody: Of course.What’s up?Run out of paint?
Chance: Eejit.Rose says to remind you about Friday night.Dinner here then game night.Fern is coming, and Luke and Kelli.Don’t say no.I.e., you can’t say no because she’s already planned the teams and your presence is required.Don’t know why, but for some reason, she likes you.Arse.
Cody huffed out a quiet laugh that startled the barn swallows from the eaves.Gobshite, Chance would’ve called him in person.His older brother had an Irish tongue sharper than any fence staple when he chose to.
Luke and Kelli were solid friends from the community.
And Fern.Her knees bumping his under the table, her eyes sayinglaterin a way that made their secret taste even sweeter.
Cody: Wouldn’t miss it.Need me to bring anything?
Chance: Just your ugly mug.See you then, foreman.
Cody pocketed the phone, pushed away from the fence, and let his gaze roam over the spread he called home.Past the tidy barns, the gleaming metal roofs catching sunlight, out toward the distant roll of pines marching past the foothills and halfway up the mountains.
A good day’s work behind him.A mare to check at sunset.A secret date to plan that was even better than wild horses and sugar cubes.
The odd echo in his hand was already fading from memory.
