Page 48 of Second Chance with the Rancher
“What’s so funny, Minx?”
“You,” she said, still smiling. “You sound like an old man yelling at kids to get off your lawn. Hey, you. This isn’t part of the petting farm. Get out of the field.” She’d dropped her voice to a deep timbre, attempting to imitate Nate. She had done quite poorly.
“Well, it isn’t part of the petting farm. If someone falls and breaks their ankle or something in one of the divots, we could have a lawsuit on our hands.”
“Which your insurance would cover since this is all part of the same land.”
“Not the point. If they’re off in an unsecured area, they could get hurt.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Fair enough. You just sounded really funny yelling at the kids to get out of your field.”
He grumbled, but didn’t say anything as he turned onto the main road that would take them to Denver.
They didn’t ride in silence to Denver, but the conversation was minimal. He could tell she had a lot on her mind, could practically see the cogs spinning in her brain, and he wanted to give her the chance to open up, but she just wasn’t giving him any kind of opening.
Her moods were all over the place and he was struggling to figure out where her sudden drops into a dark head-space were coming from. Like when she’d helped them catch Fumble, then she just disappeared into the house and her room, didn’t answer his knocks on the door and seemed to be buried under a mantle of despair when he saw her again in the kitchen.
The line dancing helped change her mood, but even that didn’t last. By the time they got home from the tavern, she was quiet and lost in her own head again.
Saturday had been a chaotic day with the petting farm open and everyone wanting to see the new foals and kids. All the families who boarded their horses were also at the ranch, and they all needed help with something which pulled a ranch hand or Asher or Nate away from a routine chore. There just didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day or hands available to get everything done. And Sunday was proving to be the same, only busier.
He and Mieka really shouldn’t have left the ranch to go to Denver. Their hands were needed, but they also needed to pick up the furniture. Those cabins had to get furnished and ready for guests. This was going to be a big bump in their income, so they needed to do it right.
“So, tell me about life on the cruise ships,” he said as they sped down the highway toward downtown Denver. “Up until recently, I’m assuming you enjoyed it if you kept doing it for so many years.”
She pushed air out of her nose vigorously. “It was a lot of fun. Busy and hectic, exhausting and demanding, but I loved it.” Her smile was small. “But I thrive in that kind of environment with my ADHD. Never a dull moment. Always a million things to do. No shortage of physical or mental stimulation. Though, to be fair, as I got older, I craved my alone time in my cabin more and more. As much as I liked the hustle and bustle of the day and being around people, I also really liked that downtime, too.” Her fingers twisted in her lap. She had a ring on her middle finger that she kept spinning, taking off and putting back on. He wasn’t even sure she was aware she was doing it.
“Before they made me dance captain, I made extra cash working in one of the cafés, but then when I became dance captain a few years ago, I had admin stuff to do in addition to dancing and rehearsals. Emails, scheduling, department meetings, reviewing past shows to see where we needed to tighten things up and what we needed to change. I really liked that part of the job. I also just liked being in charge. I became like a bit of a big sister to some of the younger, newer dancers. At least once a week one of them would knock on my cabin door crying about something. Whether it was a broken heart because the crew guy she was seeing told her he wasn’t interested in commitment, or two dancer roommates got in an argument over something like a curling iron. They came to me and expected me to fix things. I liked problem solving and being the one with all the answers and ability to help. Oona said it was a lot like her job as an RA in college. And I guess it kind of was, not that I went to college, but when we compared notes, the roles seemed pretty similar.”
“I can totally see you as the big-sister fix-it type,” he said. “You’ve got a real nurturing way about you that I think probably really helped your fellow dancers.”
The pink in her cheeks was sweet, as was the smile that accompanied the blush. “I like helping people.”
“I can tell.”
“Also, other people’s problems distract me from my own problems.” Her laugh was forced. “It’s a form of procrastination.”
Nate slid her an amused side-eye. “I think we all do a bit of that.”
She heaved another big sigh. “I loved my time on the ships. I met amazing people, traveled all over the world and did what I love—dance. Not everyone can say their passion is also their profession.” Her gaze slid sideways to his. “I mean, I know you can, and Triss, and Asher. But a lot of people just work to survive. Their passion isn’t something that will put a roof over their head or food in their belly. We’re really lucky.”
“We are,” he agreed, loving how down-to-earth and appreciative she was of the unique situation they shared. It was true, ranching was his passion and he knew he was fortunate that his passion was also a lucrative profession.
“But it’s also all I know, and I can’t dance forever. Just ask Martin.”
“Martin sounds like a douche.”
She snorted a laugh. “You have no idea.”
They drove the rest of the way into the city mostly in silence. She seemed miles away even though she was right there, lost in thought and staring out the window as she fiddled with the ring on her finger.
“Hungry?” he asked as they took the off-ramp from the highway down into the center of the city. It was just creeping up on noon and his belly rumbled at the thought of a greasy fast-food burger with a side of extra-large fries and a strawberry milkshake.
Mieka nodded. “I could eat.”
“I need grease, calories and ketchup, what about you?”
Her brown eyes went wide and she nodded with enthusiasm. “I like the way you think.”
