“Alright, Aunt Tessa, I can be your flower girl.” Jamie tapped her finger on the table. “Do I have to grow the flowers? I don’t know how.”
“No, we’ll get you all the flowers you need. Rafe and I are happy to have you be a part of our wedding. Now, come give me a hug, because I’m supposed to meet Ms. Patti to discuss wedding details.”
Jamie raced around the table, throwing her arms around Tessa’s neck. Beth wrapped her arms across her middle, so proud of her girl.
“I need to talk to your mommy for a minute. Go ahead and finish your waffles.” Tessa stood and motioned toward the door. Beth followed her, wondering what Tessa needed to say.
“Ms. Patti and I were talking, and we think you should consider renting the cottage where I’m staying. She’s already talked to Old Man Johnson, he’s the owner, and he doesn’t have any problem with changing the lease over to your name. I’m going to move to the Big House anyway, so Ms. Patti and I have more time to plan the wedding. You won’t have to come up with a security deposit or first and last months’ rent either. Simply take over my lease and move in.”
“Tessa, I don’t—”
“Don’t even start with me, Sis. You don’t need to be living in this apartment, where there’s barely enough room for you to turn around. There’re two bedrooms in the cottage. It’s furnished. Easy enough to turn the second bedroom from an office back into a bedroom. It’ll give me peace of mind, and give you time to look around and find a place you really like. Once Rafe and I are married, I’ll be moving into his house, which is right down the street. We’ll be neighbors. Please, do this. Not just for me, but for Jamie.”
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You’re doing me a favor. I didn’t want to break my lease or have the place sitting empty. It’s a win-win.”
Beth hugged Tessa tight. “Thank you. And tell Ms. Patti thanks from me.”
Tessa laughed. “I swear, she’s got her pulse on everything happening in Shiloh Springs. Sometimes I’d swear she’s psychic. She’d already talked with Mr. Johnson and made all the arrangements before I even broached the subject. Honestly, all I had to do was ask you to move in.”
“Well, I’m grateful, and I know Jamie already loves it.”
“Then it’s settled. Get your stuff packed, and I’ll have Rafe and a couple of the Boudreaus move it over to the cottage.”
“What, today?” Beth stared at her sister.
“Why wait? You don’t have that much stuff. Shouldn’t take them long.”
With another hug, Tessa left, and Beth leaned against the closed door. The rent on the cottage wasn’t much more than what she was paying for this postage stamp-sized apartment, and would mean a better space for Jamie. Maybe, just maybe, things were looking up.
Smiling, she headed into the kitchen to help her daughter finish breakfast, and start packing their few belongings.
For the first time in months, Beth felt lighter, as if the giant boulder weighing her down had been tossed aside. Evan might have colored her past, mired her in a pit of quicksand financially and emotionally, but she finally felt like she was moving forward again. Moving to Texas to be near Tessa had been the right decision, she knew it in her gut. Fingers crossed, Shiloh Springs would be a new beginning for her and Jamie.
“Come on, kiddo. We’ve got some packing to do.”
CHAPTER TWO
After tossing and turning for a hour, any thoughts of actual sleep disappeared. Brody headed to the kitchen, and reached for the coffee pot, pouring a cup. Strong and black, the way he liked it. Standing in the open back doorway, he stared out at the sweeping panorama of the Boudreau ranch. He loved the old place, felt the connection deep in his soul, and if circumstances were different, he’d probably choose to live here permanently. He could’ve worked with the horses and the cattle and been happy. But he was compelled, maybe even obsessed, to work with fire. Saving people, saving buildings, it was a calling he couldn’t ignore.
Finishing his coffee, he spotted his father walking toward the barn, his stride purposeful, his ever-present cowboy hat pulled low over his brow. The sight evoked a memory from early days, when he’d first come to live at the Big House. While Douglas owned and ran a large and extremely successful construction company, he was as much a part of the working ranch as the dirt beneath his boots. He’d lost count of the times he’d seen the man working alongside the ranch hands, setting posts and mending fences, doing his fair share to keep their homestead running.
Douglas Boudreau held a special place in Brody’s heart, had from the day he’d met him. Bigger than life, tall and strong, to a small eight-year-old boy the mountain of a man engendered an imposing and intimidating sight, yet he’d quickly learned Douglas was one of the gentlest men Brody ever met. With a heart as big as Texas, Douglas and Ms. Patti welcomed him into their home and into their hearts, with an ease he found remarkable to this day. He couldn’t put into words the special place in his heart these two remarkable people held, helping him bridge the painful gap of heartbreak and loss at a tender age. Some days he could feel Ms. Patti’s loving arms wrapped around him while he’d mourned, sharing his grief, his young mind unable to accept the devastating loss and changes, the yawning despair threatening to swallow him whole.
Shaking his head, he rinsed his cup, put it in the dishwasher, and headed out to the barn. Maybe
