Rocked & Romanced, page 26
"Vanna! What are you doing here? Why didn't you call me? We would have picked you up at the airport!" She runs over and pulls me into one of those big hugs, only your older sister can manage to give you. It's a hug that promises everything is going to be okay.
That's when the wall breaks, and before I know it, I'm crying.
"I messed everything up," I wail.
"Oh, Vanna. I bet it's not as bad as you think. Come on inside and tell us what happened, and we will help you fix it," Lilly says.
"You bet we will," Mike says, as he grabs my bags for me.
I follow them into the house and collapse on the couch. Lilly hands me a cup of spiked eggnog before she and Mike sit down.
"Now, let's hear it. Then, we will figure out how to fix it."
This is exactly what I needed.
Chapter 2
Ford
I'm heading over to my buddy Mike's place to check out a horse. He takes in abandoned and abused horses.
Unfortunately, we have quite a bit of that happening around here lately, and they are overwhelmed with the horses they need to rehabilitate. So, I agreed to come over and take a look at one and possibly take it back to my ranch to help them out.
Recently, I took over my parents’ ranch, and thanks to my sister who came in for a visit, the books are finally organized. So now, I feel ready to take on a new project and help Mike out.
Last month, he asked me to help, and I felt bad, but I just wasn't in a position to give him a hand. He understood, so now, I'm here to help.
As I pull up to his house, there’s a strange car in the front yard. Lilly must have a visitor, so I head straight back to the barn and back up my trailer to the door to make loading easier.
Mike is there to greet me when I get out.
"Hey, man. I'm glad you made it. Lilly wants me to insist that you stay for lunch before we load up the horse," he says.
"You know I won't pass up a home cooked meal."
I follow him into the barn, and in the front stall, there’s a large, dark brown horse.
"This is the stallion that was rescued in the sting operation at the church. The one Pastor Greg helped with. He needs some one-on-one attention. Since we aren't looking to do breeding here, and I know you have experience with it, I thought maybe he’s a better fit for you."
"I'm shocked they didn't try to use him for breeding," I say.
This guy was part of what is thought to be an illegal rodeo that’s dumping horses in town that are close to death. The cops are mystified as to why they’re being dumped in Rock Springs, but also why they are left alive. Normally, they shoot them and leave them in a ditch somewhere.
They caught one of the guys in the sting. He was dropping this horse off, but unfortunately, they didn't get anything from him. Still, they could charge him with several cases of horse theft, so that's something at least.
As I check out the horse in front of me, he seems hesitant of me, of people in general, and it’s no surprise. I can only imagine what he's been through. All the horses that have turned up have been starved, beaten, and drugged.
My dad taught me to look at the horse's eyes. He says you can tell all you need to know from their eyes. While my dad was much better at reading their eyes than I am, I will say this one has soft eyes.
Actually, his eyes remind me of my horseback at the ranch. He was a rescue as well. When this guy turns and looks at me, he holds eye contact, and I swear something passes between us.
"What's his name?" I ask.
"We haven't named him. We've been calling him Stallion. He doesn't match any of the missing horse reports on file. At least, not in this area. Miles and his guys haven't found anything. Though he has some unique markings on his chest, so if there was a report, it would be easy to match him."
Miles is the state trooper, who has been working the case and assigned to Rock Springs since this is where the horses have been dropped off. He's a good guy, and I kind of hope he sticks around after the case is over, because he fits in well around here.
"Well, I'd be happy to take him and see what I can do. How much?" I ask.
"Come on, Ford. You know what these guys have been through. I'm not charging you for him."
"I understand, but you’re still running a business. He's cost you food and vet care. So, you need to get something for him. Plus, then there will be a bill of sale."
We go back and forth for a bit, and then finally, we agree on a price that I still think is half of what I should pay.
Mike goes on to show me a few of the other horses, and how they are doing. We stop at Snow White's stall. When they took her in, she was pregnant, and then delivered an all-white foal they named Peppermint.
I glance around the barn looking for Black Diamond, the first horse they rescued, and find a woman standing in front of her stall, petting her.
This woman isn't anyone I have seen before, so I look back at Mike.
"Who's that?" I nod towards Black Diamond's stall.
"That's Savannah, Lilly's sister. She surprised us yesterday and will be here through Christmas."
"Wasn't she the one on tour?" I ask, remembering Lilly talking about her.
"It's a long story, but it needs to stay on the down-low that she's here, okay?"
"Of course, man. Anything you need."
Mike's phone rings then, and he steps away to take the call, leaving me to watch Savannah. She looks relaxed in jeans and a loose sweater with her hair pulled back in a messy bun. Though she doesn't look like she has an ounce of makeup on, she’s still stunningly beautiful.
Black Diamond seems to take right to her. While that horse has come a long way, she’s still nervous with new people, so for her to take to Savannah, says a lot. I always believed horses were a good judge of character.
"She likes you, and she’s picky," I say with a smile, as I walk over to them.
Savannah offers me a tense smile, so I try again.
"I'm Ford, and Mike's one of my best friends."
"I'm Savannah." She says more out of politeness than wanting to talk.
"Lilly's sister, right? I'm sure she's happy to have family around for the holiday. She said her parents were doing a Christmas cruise. I didn't even know that was a thing."
"Yeah, neither did we, but leave it to our parents to find something like that. They spend their winters in Arizona, so you would think that would be enough of an adventure."
"My parents just retired to Arizona as well. They love it there. They’re in Tucson. I guess my dad likes being so close to Tombstone and learning about all the Wild West stuff."
"Once a cowboy, always a cowboy, huh?" She finally smiles at me.
"Yeah, that's never truer than it is out here. My mom had to talk him into finally handing the ranch over to me. It took her four years to convince him I was ready."
"I'm sure that will be Mike and Lilly when the day comes. But who knows? They both seem to just fit here like it's where they were supposed to be all along. Most people don't find that."
I get the feeling she’s talking about herself, but I don't want to pry. While I know a little about her, we did just meet, and I'm sure she has no intentions of spilling her soul to some strange cowboy.
"Well, we should head up to lunch. Lilly insisted I stay, and I'm not one to turn down a home cooked meal. I don't get many of them now that my mom is gone."
"No wife to cook for you? I thought that was a prerequisite for owning a ranch around here."
"Seems like it. But no wife or girlfriend, either."
She laughs, as we walk back towards the house.
"Let me guess. Lilly and Riley have been set on trying to set you up? I've been here less than twenty-four hours, and they’re already hinting at how I should meet this guy or that one."
Riley is Lilly's best friend, and the whole reason she’s in Rock Springs, to begin with. It all started, when Lilly was a truck driver, and Riley was hitchhiking to run away from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Lilly was the one to pick her up and bring her here, where she met her now husband, Blaze.
"Oh, yeah,” I say. “They get worse if I go too long without going on a date. I think they’re so happy that they want everyone to be as happy as they are."
"I get that, but my sister doesn't take no for an answer. I'm on tour nine months out of the year, and it isn't easy on a relationship. Though, I would think she of all people would understand. When she was truck driving, she couldn't keep up a relationship, either."
"Yeah, it took a blizzard to snow her in for her to realize Mike was worth settling down for. That's how she tells that story to anyone who will listen, while Mike smiles, like she hung the moon, when she does," I laugh.
It's then that Lilly walks out of the back door and greets us.
"Come on, you two. Lunch is ready. I'm glad you could stay, Ford." She hugs me, as I step onto the porch.
"Of course. There’s no way I'd miss your cooking."
As we sit at the table, I can see that Lilly has set us as couples. There are settings for two people on each side of the table, instead of spreading out with one person on each side. She insists on Savannah and me sitting next to each other.
When she goes back to the kitchen to grab the food, I lean over and whisper to Savannah.
"I smell a setup and apologize in advance for this," I tell her.
“When she said she’d invited you to lunch, I figured as much. And she wonders why I hesitate to visit often." Savannah has a soft smile on her lips, but a far off look in her eyes.
Mike and Lilly come out of the kitchen with lasagna and garlic bread.
"Ford, I made you a second lasagna for you to take home and freeze. Never hurts to have some freezer food," Lilly says.
"My sister was here earlier this month to help get the books back on track, and she filled my freezer, too. She said the same thing."
"How is your sister doing?" Lilly asks.
"Callie is good. Her husband was on some business trip when she came to visit."
"She hinted at being pregnant?" Lilly asks.
Callie and her husband, Jay, have been trying to have a baby for a few years, but it hasn't happened. She blames his crazy schedule. The company he works for opened a new branch, and he's been traveling between both places to get it set up.
When she can, Callie has been going on weekends to visit him, but I'm sure the stress hasn't helped. I guess, after the first of the year, things are supposed to calm down.
"No, I haven't heard anything. Jay is supposed to be done with the traveling sometime in January. Then, they plan to try again from what she told me when she was here."
"You’ll be a great uncle. You can teach them to ride a horse, and when they get in trouble, you’ll have free labor on the ranch," Mike laughs.
Lilly looks between me and Savannah, and I know whatever she’s going to say next is well thought out.
"So, Mike, what did you think of Stallion?" She asks.
"I think I can work with him. He reminds me a lot of some horses my dad would bring in."
"Will you breed him?" She asks.
"I'm not sure who would want him, but I might see what he can do."
Lilly says to Savannah, "His dad bought a horse for cheap once, trying to help a guy out who was down on his luck. The horse turned out to be a champion racer. He's bred the horse a few times, and the foals sell for a pretty penny."
I never thought about getting into horse breeding, but my sister thinks that's the route we should take the ranch. The numbers don't lie either. The last foal from that horse sold, and the money covered the ranch expenses for almost a year.
"I still want to work cattle. The ranch has been a cattle ranch for three generations now. While I don't want to lose that, I can't lie. Horse breeding is hard to pass up, because of that income."
"It seems horse breeding would be easier than cattle?" Savannah asks.
And just like that, we launch into ranch talk, and she’s able to keep her own and knows a lot more than I would have expected a singer to know.
Just goes to show that you shouldn't underestimate anyone. The more she’s able to talk about ranch work, the more turned on I get.
As soon as lunch is over, I make my excuses and load up the horse to head home. I remind myself Savannah is only here for a few weeks and to not get attached.
In the back of my mind, I know I've already lost because Lilly always has a plan.
Chapter 3
Savannah
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Lilly sing songs, as she dances into my room and opens my curtains.
The bright sunlight fills the room, and I turn over, putting my back to the window, and groan. I crack open one eye to look at the clock on my nightstand to see it's just after seven in the morning.
"One of the perks to being kicked off the tour was being able to sleep in," I groan.
"You did sleep in. Mike and I are up at five every morning, getting morning chores done."
"Sleeping in to someone on tour is noon."
"That's not going to happen around here. Half the day is gone, and farmers’ and ranchers’ hours are different. We live and die by the daylight. Let's go. I have breakfast for you." She says, smacking my butt, before leaving.
I groan, toss off the covers, and get ready because I know she won't let me go back to sleep. I make myself a mental note to get to bed earlier than one a.m. tonight. Trying to switch around my schedule, isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
When I walk into the living room, there are boxes everywhere. I almost trip over one on my way to the kitchen.
"Jesus, what’s with all the boxes?" I ask, heading straight for the coffee.
Thankfully, Lilly knows better than to wake me up without any coffee made.
"We’re setting up the Christmas decorations today. It's our first Christmas here, so we’re going all out, especially since my sister will be here."
She smiles at me, and I can't be mad at her for being happy I'm here. So, we eat breakfast, and Lilly gives Mike and a few guys marching orders for decorating outside, and we start on the tree.
"I thought you would want a real Christmas tree," I say, pulling out the parts to put together the fake one.
"I do, but it's too early to set up a real one, so we’ll set up this fake one, and then get a smaller real one to decorate closer to Christmas."
"You’re crazy," I shake my head.
"Christmas is our holiday. It's when Mike and I fell in love and got married. We’ll always go over the top, even if it's just the two of us."
"I’m really happy for you two. You are so much happier since you met him. I hope to find that one day, maybe."
There’s a slight pause, and I take this time to look over Lilly. Her brown hair that matches mine is pulled back in a ponytail, and she’s in a flannel shirt and jeans that hug her curves.
Growing up, she was always more of a tomboy, but the rancher wife look suits her. She is much more herself.
"Listen, I looked up the articles online about what’s being said about you. That reporter was at the perfect angle and snapped a photo at the exact right time."
"I know. I was friends with the guy’s wife, and I have no idea why she turned on me like this. My manager says it was all her, pushing me off the tour. I just don't get it."
"Honestly, I don't know her, but if her husband made the wrong comment about you, she could have let her jealously get in the way. Have you thought that it might have nothing to do with you? Maybe, he really is cheating, but not with you, and she just thinks it's with you. Who knows?”
"I swear it's all worse than politics." I groan and finish setting up the tree.
"What are you going to do next?" Lilly asks.
"Well, my manager mentioned lying low, until New Year’s, which sucks, because some of our biggest shows to date are coming up. But I may not have a choice."
"Well, you’re welcome here for as long as you need, no matter if it’s a week, a month, or a year. This will always be home for you."
This is why I need more family around me. The loyalty and love are something I miss on tour.
Reaching over, I pull my sister in for a hug. I have missed her so much more than I realized. While this time out from the tour sucks, I am grateful to be able to spend some more time with her.
Neither of us says anything, as we start on the lights for the tree.
"I was thinking of inviting Mom and Dad out here for Christmas. Their cruise gets back a few days, before Christmas, and that way they don't have to try and plan anything. With you here, I think it just makes sense," Lilly says.
"I'd like that. Though, I'm surprised Riley and Blaze aren't having a big get together at their place."
I love Riley and Blaze's love story. When Blaze found Riley, he knew she was his, and he wouldn't let her go. Blaze’s family protected her when her ex came after her. When life settled down, Riley reached out to Lilly later to thank her, and they had dinner and have been best friends ever since.
In fact, it was Riley that Lilly was visiting, when she got snowed in here last year. That led to her meeting Mike, and they were married by the new year.
Sometimes in your life, some people are just meant to be there, and you don't see the whole picture as to why, until many years down the road. That’s Riley and Lilly for sure. Anyone here would agree.
"Oh, they are on for Christmas Day. Blaze's parents are doing their annual Christmas party the week before. So, we’re doing Christmas Eve here. I need to find out if Ford plans to have his family visit because if he’s going to be alone, I want to invite him over."
"My guess is the event on Christmas Day isn't going to be small, either?"
"Just family and a few close friends. But yeah, that means Blaze's siblings and their spouses, which makes five couples and two kids. Then, Ella's parents, her brother, sister, and their spouses, plus her brother-in-law. The five of us, plus Pastor Greg and his wife, Abby. Possibly Ford. Plus, I think Hunter and Nick's parents as well, so close to thirty people."
"That family doesn't do anything small,” I say, hanging an ornament and rolling my eyes.
