“Well, Brandon said Conrad and Henry are both going to be there,” she said. “And probably Finn and Colt. And then he said something about Mitch bringing a water barrel, and I…yeah, I didn’t know how many people were going to be there. So yes, I ordered a whole bunch of donuts and ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches. There should be orange juice, chocolate milk, and lots of bottled water.”
“Arizona,” Lenore said, hearing the weariness in her voice and feeling it run through her body.
“Then there’s boxed lunches for lunch,” Arizona said as if Lenore hadn’t spoken. “Those should be sandwiches, salad, chips, and fruit. So you let me know if something isn’t right.”
Lenore got to her feet, the chair scraping against the floor as she did. “How many boxed lunches?” she asked, totally resigned to this woman helping her.
In fact, Lenore didn’t mind it. Arizona had a good heart. And while she might be ordering food out of worry for Brandon, Lenore also knew that Arizona truly wanted to help. She told herself that ordering food for even ten people for a couple of meals wouldn’t cost Arizona very much. Even if it was three or four hundred dollars, that meant nothing to Arizona, who had billions.
“I think I got two dozen,” Arizona said.
“Two dozen?” Lenore opened her front door, almost angry now. “Arizona, there isno wayyou thought there would be two dozen men here today.”
“It’ll feed you and Brandon until you can come for Thanksgiving,” she said airily.
“I hope it’s not potato salad,” Lenore said darkly. “You know I don’t have reliable refrigeration. Are you trying to poison me?”
Arizona sent a peal of laughter through the line as Lenore went down the steps and saw the delivery truck parked there.
“Just sign for the food,” Arizona said. “They’ve already got my credit card.”
“All right,” Lenore said.
A man got out of his truck, and Lenore confirmed the four dozen donuts, two dozen ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches, and two dozen boxed lunches, along with four containers of orange juice, four of apple juice, and three gallons of milk—only one of which was white.
“And you’ve got the seven cases of water,” he said.
“Seven cases of water?” Lenore muttered.
He started to unload them onto her front steps, and Lenore signed the clipboard and had it ready for him. “Thank you,” she managed, and he gave her a wide grin before he got behind the wheel and circled off her property.
“Sevencases of water,” she said to Arizona.
“Well, maybe you won’t have to make a trip to town before Thanksgiving,” she said.
“You better not give me any water at Thanksgiving dinner,” Lenore said.
Arizona simply laughed again. “I’m glad one of you gets up with the sun. See you in a couple of days.”
The call ended, and Lenore took in the boxes of food and drink on her front steps. She figured that was as good of aplace as any for it, and she pulled out an old folding table from underneath the porch and set it up.
She had to use some of the water and a fresh washcloth to clean it off, and then she put the donuts and breakfast sandwiches on the end, along with the juice and milk.
The boxed lunches would probably stay cooler in the house, but Lenore left the water on the steps as well. That way, anyone could come get something to drink anytime they needed it.
With everything organized, Lenore wondered what time Brandon would emerge from his cabin. She’d allowed him to put a petition out during the small ranch owners meeting, and she never anticipated the response they’d gotten.
Some cowboys had volunteered on the spot, saying they could absolutely be there this morning. Others had said they needed to check schedules and with their significant others before they’d know if they could make it work.
Brandon had texted her last night about Mitch bringing the water container and that he thought they should build a platform for it and construct a miniature water tower according to the pictures Colt had sent from the apple orchards. He’d forwarded those too and said they easily had enough lumber and that he thought they should place it where the current wood pile stood at the end of her back porch.
In the next moment, Lenore heard hammering, and her gaze flew to the back door. It came from that direction, and she hurried down the hall with her heart mimicking the noise in the back of her throat. She unlocked the back door and stepped outside just as the buzzing of a handsaw filled the air. That came from her left, and Lenore looked and moved that way simultaneously.
She arrived at the railing, easily spotting Brandon as he worked to get the log to the length he wanted. As soon as the handsaw stopped, Lenore said, “You’re up early.”
Brandon yelped and practically threw the saw in her direction.
Lenore laughed, because what did he expect—that she’d hear hammering and sawing and not come see what was going on?
