back on the road. Only four more hours and we’ll be at the ranch. I’m looking forward to a great big dinner with meat and potatoes and some homemade pie.”
“I have to admit, I wasn’t too keen on this idea in the beginning, but when Meg showed me all the food, I was in,” Courtney said.
“I thought this kind of thing would be right up your alley,” Purity said.
“I love animals and the outdoors, but getting up at four a.m. to put my hand under a chicken’s ass for an egg is something I could go my whole life without experiencing.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Meg asked.
“Give me a canvas and an easel – that’s my idea of adventure.”
“Come on. The boys are going to think we’ve gone AWOL.” Purity glanced in the mirror and laid a hand on her flat stomach.
“No baby bump yet,” Meg said. “Soon. Very, very soon.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“You can’t spend your whole life apologizing for being able to have a baby. It’s okay. Well, it’s not, but it is, you know? I want you to be happy.”
“I am. I never thought I’d find someone like Alex. He’s amazing. A bit of a worrier and stubborn as hell, but amazing.”
“So, no more stopping yourself from saying how happy you are. No more rubbing your tummy then looking at me with those sad eyes. No more changing the baby conversation to something else when I walk in the room. Got it?”
“Yes, sir. Ma’am.” At Meg’s scowl, Purity amended again, “Meg.”
As they walked back to the car, Bobby looked pointedly at his watch. “I thought we had a schedule to keep?”
“As creator of the schedule, it’s mine to keep. I say we’re right on time.”
“Now women even rule the clock,” Alex said.
“Why not, they rule everything else,” Brad said.
“Now that we’ve got that settled,” Courtney said, “why don’t we bust out the last leg of this trip and get to the ranch already.”
Heads nodded in agreement all around.
“Maybe just one bathroom break,” Purity suggested.
“Folks in each car can choose when and where to stop, but make it short. If we want to actually see any of the ranch, we need to get there before sundown.”
“Why pardn’r, I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all day,” Bobby said.
“Sundown at the Double Y. Sounds like a good title for a movie,” Court said.
While they were talking, Jacob and Jeremy had settled into the back seat of the convertible.
“Are you guys coming?” Jeremy asked.
“And a child shall lead them,” Purity said.
“Text or call if you need anything. We’ll try to stay within eyesight on the highway, but you know how that is,” Meg said.
The sun was low in the sky when the group met up under the Double Y Ranch sign.
“We made it!” Jeremy said, excitement replacing his dour disposition for the latter half of the car ride. “Look, there’s horses and cows and sheep.”
“Is that a silo over there?” Meg asked.
“Looks like more than one. Probably for grain,” Bobby said.
“The directions said to go through the gate and then veer to the right and follow the path to the ranch hand quarters,” Meg said.
Everyone returned to their vehicles and followed Meg and Bobby.
“This is a long road,” Jeremy said.
“Sure seems like it,” Meg said.
“At least it’s paved,” Bobby noted. “Think that’s the building over there?”
“I see a parking lot, so I’d say yes.”
They all pulled up and parked, then retrieved their luggage from the trailer.
“I need more hands,” Courtney said.
“We can always make a second trip,” Brad said.
“Second trips are for wimps.” Courtney managed to double up on her bags, crisscrossing them over her shoulders. “I’ve got ‘em on me, but I’m not sure I can walk.”
Brad chuckled. “Give me at least one of those. I only brought two bags.”
“If I need your help, I’ll ask for it. ‘Til then, just call me Wonder Woman.”
“Did you pack your bullet-deflecting bracelets?”
“I did. And my truth-telling rope. I’m dangerous, I tell ya.”
When they had all made their way across the asphalt to their quarters, they opened the door.
“It’s dark in here. Turn on the lights,” Meg said.
“Can’t find ‘em,” Bobby said as he felt around the wall for a switch.
“There has to be one,” Court said, bumping into Bob as she searched for any protrusion on the wall. “Wait, I feel something.” Her hands slid across glass and metal. “It’s a lantern, I think.”
“Are their matches?” Bob asked.
Courtney felt around the table the lantern was sitting on. “Yes.