The website’s directions advised to formulate a family tree starting with herself. She felt strange looking at it, having been used to being on her own for so long. Now she had a family. Even if most of them were dead. She filled in what she knew.
Carlotta Jean Jameson
Mother: Michelle Jameson
Father: Taylor Miller
Grandparents (on Taylor’s side): Unknown
Grandmother: Jean Jameson Kimball
Grandfather: Ward Kimball
Great-grandmother: Lottie Jameson
Great-grandfather: Norwood Jameson
The Miller grandparents were still an unknown blank. From her own family tree several hints popped up on her home page. She’d research those later. She didn’t know anything about Taylor Miller’s grandparents, but she wondered if his parents’ names were on a census record. Were any of them still alive? Maybe she would discover even more family she never knew anything about. She figured he must be a local boy because Michelle wouldn’t have had her driver's license yet.
Something at the back of her brain kept trying to surface but she couldn’t remember what. Names and the town of Dixon. Something about the town. She yelled out when she remembered, “Phone books!” Strange how they were obsolete now. One end of the room had bookshelves to the ceiling, and the lower part of the shelves were cabinets. She dropped to her knees on the floor at one end and there they were. The cabinet was stuffed with stacks of old phone books. Maybe, just maybe, the dates went back far enough. She tugged on the first stack and they spilled across the floor next to her.
Carli did some quick math and figured out when her mother would have been around fifteen years old and in high school. She found the right phone book in the next stack. Scanning through the M’s, she found it. There were two families of Millers living in Dixon during that time and she had their addresses. Of course, the kids in the family wouldn’t be listed in the phone book, but she had two names and one of them would have been her grandpa.
Nathan’s question suddenly came to mind. What would she say to her birth father if she ever found him? Would she be angry? Emotional? Hug him? What would he think of her? Did he even know she existed? Her brain whirled like a spinning top with all the what-ifs. She found a listing in the old phone book for Gene Miller and Patricia. That had to be her birth father’s family. The address was 606 Maple Street in Dixon. Closer. She was getting closer.
A knock on the front door pulled her out of the many, mind-boggling scenarios.
“Carli. It’s Lola.”
“Come on in. I’m in the back room.” Carli quickly clicked out of the genealogy website.
Carrying her ever-present food offerings, Lola set a tray of muffins on one corner of Carli’s desk. Hands on hips, she whirled around. “I love what you’ve done with this room. Perfect spot for your computer.”
Carli spun her chair towards Lola and studied the dish. “Oat bran, cranberry and carrot, if I’m not mistaken.”
Lola laughed. The Wild Cow Ranch's cook was all of one hundred pounds if that. She didn’t eat any of the mouth-watering treats she baked, and she was baking all the time, so she pushed them off on Carli. Buck and Lank ate with gusto and both of them remained reed thin.
“Gee, Lola, between you and Nathan, I’m gonna end up eating a big muffin before the day’s out. Hopefully, you’ve extracted all of the calories.” Carli folded her arms across her chest in an effort to resist.
“And I brought herbal tea, because you never have any.” Lola removed the plastic wrap from the plate of muffins.
“That does sound good. Thanks.” Carli gave in with a heavy sigh and reached for the treat. She closed her eyes and took a big bite. At least it had vegetables in it.
Lola called from the kitchen. “You already had a muffin today?” She walked into the study with a big grin on her face. “With Nathan? He’s easy on the eyes. Isn’t he?” Her eyebrows raised when she said his name.
Carli was in the middle of a bite and looked over her muffin at Lola. Great. Now she’d have to explain about her and Nathan. Welcome to rural Texas where the new girl from Georgia had become the topic of everybody’s conversation.
Chapter Five
Lola Wallace sank into the leather chair and plopped her trim ankles on the ottoman in Carli’s office. “Buck and I started out our romance with many a burger at the Dixie Maid.” She laughed.
“There’s no romance between me and Nathan Olsen.” Carli stared at Lola to make sure she was listening. “I went over to the Rafter O ranch this morning to eat lunch with Nathan. We started off at B&R Beanery and Buns and then went to the Dixie Maid to eat a burger. Nothing to it. We’re just good friends.”
“I can’t believe Nathan’s dad let him have the time off. He rarely leaves the ranch.”
“Nathan does seem to be the main man who holds that place together. He’s such a hard worker and always busy with something.”
“Speaking of ranch work and since you have your home office set up, is it okay that you take over paying the bills? I’m not a bookkeeper and I am not the most organized person around.”
“I can do that. No problem.” In her mind Carli began to think about buying a file cabinet. It’s exactly the kind of work she did for the real estate agent in Georgia, but this time it would actually be for her own property.
“Since it’s your ranch, I thought it might give you a better picture of what’s going on around here as far as expenses and cash flow. Your grandpa has a great CPA that takes my spreadsheets and calculates the tax and all. I can keep doing it if you want, but since you have your office set up and all...”
"No, you make a good point. I’d learn more about the
