Page 14 of Hometown Hottie

7

NOVA

Asoft snick sounded as I turned the key in the lock, smiling at the end of another successful day in the bakery. I was dog tired, my feet aching and my arms like jelly, but when I turned and saw my parents out on their early evening stroll around the property, I broke into a jog to catch up.

“Hey, guys,” I called to their backs, taking a moment to study their profiles from this angle.

They walked hand in hand with the sun setting over the mountains and the fields stretching out ahead of them. Dad was tall and dark, his hair shot through with streaks of silver these days, while Mom was as blonde as ever, petite enough to fit perfectly under his arm when he slid it around her shoulder.

At the sound of my voice, they stopped walking and waited for me. A fond, loving smile broke out across Mom’s lips when I caught up to them, and she reached out, brushing some stray flour off my shirt.

“If only the flour was seeds and we were sowing them for your bread to grow from the earth,” she said wistfully. “What a blessing that would have been. The best of both worlds. We’d have your bakery stocked to capacity every day without you having to work so hard to keep up.”

I chuckled, falling into step with them as they started moving again. “It sure would be interesting to see baked goods pop up from the ground, but I’m not sure what we would’ve done about pest control.”

“Or looting,” Dad grumbled from Mom’s other side. “If the whole property was just littered with Nova’s creations, we’d never be able to keep people off it.”

“Always the pessimist,” Mom said as she fought a smile and turned her head to press a kiss to his shoulder. “It would’ve been something, though. Wouldn’t it?”

“Something of a riot,” he joked as he winked at me over the top of her head. “How’d it go today, kiddo?”

“So well. We sold out of everything. Again.” I grinned at him. “How would you feel about expanding the coffee shop into a full-blown restaurant? We’d have to be open at night, but⁠—”

“You work too hard as it is, honey,” Mom interjected, nudging me with her hip as she sent me a soft smile. “If you start a restaurant, you’ll never sleep again.”

“Besides,” Dad said, taking her side without skipping a beat. “We couldn’t be more proud of you. My chest would burst. Is that what you want, to have my heart pop if I became even prouder?”

I pushed down a laugh. “Of course not. I’m pretty confident it wouldn’t actually pop, though. I don’t think that’s how it works.”

Dad chuckled as he shrugged. “How would you know? Unless you’re a doctor now, too.”

“Oh, I’m a doctor, alright,” I retorted playfully. “I’ve successfully completed my doctorate in common sense several times over. That’s how I know.”

Mom let out a soft giggle as she shook her head at us. “You two have the most absurd arguments, but I love it.” She glanced at me, worry filling her eyes as she looped her arm around mine. “If you really want a restaurant, honey, we’ll support you, but even longer hours?”

She blew out a heavy breath, silent for a moment as dirt crunched under our boots and a light breeze washed over our faces. Dipping her head toward the sky, she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes before smiling at me again. It was a soft, reluctant smile, but I appreciated that she was pushing through the worry.

“We’re so proud of you baby. You’ve been working so hard for so long, and we never want to stand in your way, but restaurants are a tough business and you’re already selling out of everything almost every day. We could probably keep up with the increased meat supply, so it’s not that. I just worry that you’d lose what little bit of a life you have left if you do that.”

“Work is my life,” I insisted. “This ranch is my life. My home. Increased meat supply means more money for the farming operations. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Not if it steals the last bit of time you’ve got left for yourself.” Mom sighed and looked at Dad, who was staring at our mountain as he shook his head.

“The farming operation isn’t yours to keep afloat, sweetheart. Our family has fallen upon hard times before and we’ve always made it through. This is no different. Ranching flows through our veins. We’ll pull through.”

Frustration bubbled through my veins. Ranching might be in it too, but the frustration was definitely stronger right now. The Murphys had always pulled through. He was right about that part, but we’d done it by being smart and staying with the times.

With the attitude he’d taken that everything would be okay as long as we worked hard, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it through this time. I didn’t mind working hard. In fact, I couldn’t help it. It was my duty to my parents to save the farm, but I’d meant when I said this place was my home and I’d be damned if someone like Frank sold it off to the highest bidder and turned it into high-rises or worse—a mall.

Ryan had made a good point the other day about only selling two-thirds of the property. As a last resort, it made sense, but we weren’t there yet. For now, our neighbors were other ranches and there wasn’t a condo in sight.

I would fight tooth and nail to keep it that way, but pigheaded confrontation with my dad wasn’t the way to change his mind. I could tell him he was wrong, but if I did, he’d only dig in his heels. With him, Ryan and I needed a rock-solid plan and we needed to pitch it together.

Besides, I didn’t really want a restaurant. It was just an idea I’d been toying with for a little while, but honestly, I didn’t think it would make much of a difference to the overall expenses on the farm either.

“You guys have a good walk,” I said once we started nearing my cottage. “I’m meeting Cass in town for a drink. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, honey. Be safe.” Mom gave me a quick hug and brushed a kiss to my cheek, and Dad ruffled my hair like I was still six years old.