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“We could cut across the big pasture and get there in half the time, but Dad would have a fit if we disturbed his babies,” she said. “And I’m only half joking.”
“Get where? Or should I not ask?” Jackson said.
They were starting up the slight rise now, close enough that she might as well explain. “Our longtime foreman retired a while ago. He was ready, anyway, and after we sold so much acreage, we didn’t really need a full-time guy, so we didn’t hire a replacement. Which left his house empty.”
Jackson’s gaze sharpened, and she knew he’d gotten there. But Jeremy merely looked curious again, so she kept going.
“We’ve thought about renting it out, but since it’s on the ranch itself, finding someone we could trust seemed daunting, so we’ve put it off.”
They could see the building through the trees now, the small grove of live oak and pecan trees that had been Clark’s favorite part of the location. They not only provided a bit of shade from the Texas heat, but they framed the view she herself loved. From the main house, all you could see was work. Barns, corrals, the driveway, all the things that needed maintenance. From here, onthis slight rise, you could look out over the Hill Country she so loved without having the undone chores hammering at you.
She pulled to a halt in front of the expansive front porch that ran the width of the house. “It looks a bit rustic, because it was partially built out of the trees that were cleared to do it.”
“Seems fitting,” Jackson said. He’d said nothing about the obvious reason they were here, which she knew he’d tumbled to the minute she’d mentioned the house was empty.
“We thought so. But it’s up-to-date inside. Even has internet. Which is good because the cell reception is kind of lousy.”
“Not sure that’s not good too,” Jackson said, and she looked at him just in time to see his eyes roll.
“It’s cool,” Jeremy decided, that apparently being his descriptor of the day. “Can we go look?”
“Tie up right there,” she said, gesturing toward the old-fashioned hitching post to the right of the porch steps, “and have at it. I’ll be right there to unlock the door.”
The boy slid off Pie and did so, with great care, she noticed. Then he raced up the five steps to the porch, which was high enough to give an even better view.
She and Jackson followed at a slower pace. He was looking around intently, at the outbuilding that was both stall and feed storage, and the small corral next to it. There was a carport to one side of the main building, sheltered on three sides, and she saw that register too.
“No garage,” she said. “Clark didn’t need one, since he rode everywhere here, and borrowed one of the ranch trucks if he needed a vehicle.”
He only nodded. Then they were up the steps, just as Jeremy exclaimed, “Wow, it’s like you can see forever!”
He was leaning on the porch railing, looking out over the view she loved. “It is,” she agreed. “This is my other favorite spot on the ranch.” She glanced at Jackson, who was staring outacross the hills as intently as his son was. “Only thing missing is that glimpse of the river.”
“It’s still amazing,” he said, still looking, scanning, as if he couldn’t get enough of the view. It let her study his profile, and a beautiful profile it was. She’d never denied how good-looking he was, only that he didn’t have a clue about the reality he was supposedly trying to portray. But she’d been wrong. About that, and other things as well.
“I can see how a man would get up in the morning, walk out here, maybe with a cup of coffee, and just... breathe it in. Look out over all this and be proud to be a part of it, part of what keeps it going.”
He’d said it all quietly, as if to himself. As if he was just speaking his train of thought. He wasn’t trying to flatter her or impress her. He didn’t even look to see if she’d heard him.
Because he means it.
“Clark, our old foreman, used to say we put our house in the wrong place, where all you can see is the work to be done.”
He did look at her then. “Maybe he was right. Because from here you can see why you do it.”
Nic had no words to describe how that simple observation moved her.
“Yes,” she said, past the tightness in her throat. “Our place is more convenient to the work, but this is where I would have put the main house, even if it did take a quarter of an hour to saddle up and get to work.”
“I’d think it’d be worth the ride down. Give you time to think, to organize the day ahead.”
“Exactly.” She wanted to say something, to say out loud how much she agreed with him, and how it made her feel that he saw all this. But she was afraid of what might come tumbling out, so instead she walked over to where a small birdhouse hung from a branch of the oak tree that shaded that end of the porch. Shereached underneath and opened a tiny drawer that was almost invisible from the outside to pull out the front door key.
“Hey! That’s sneaky!” Jeremy exclaimed.
“Isn’t it?” She grinned at the boy. “My dad built it.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “And now you know the secret, but you can’t tell anyone.”
“Promise,” Jeremy said, making a cross motion on his chest and looking so pleased to be trusted it tightened her throat all over again. These Thorpe males were really getting to her.
