It takes several attempts for her to get it right. Add to that the laughing and joking around while I’m making the eggs, it’s no wonder it takes so long to finish cooking them.
We’ve barely finished making the scrambled eggs by the time Troy returns to the kitchen.
“All right,” Troy says after we’ve been eating for a few minutes. “I’ve had a chance to survey the property to see what kind of work is needed. As you know, Kate, Dad’s show has finished filming for the season. The new schedule doesn’t start until mid-August.”
“What show is that?” I ask even though I’m not a big TV watcher.
He tells me the name, but it still means nothing to me. “It’s a home renovation reality show. I’m part of the construction crew that works on the houses the show features.”
“Please tell me you’re not thinking of bringing the show here. My family hasn’t exactly had good experiences with reality shows.”
“What kind of experience have they had with them?” Kate asks.
“Bad ones. TJ was one of the contestants onCowboy Most Wanted.” No thanks to me. At the time when I entered him—without his permission—I thought it would help promote the ranch.
All it did was promote shirtless photos of him.
Kate’s and Troy’s expressions are blank. Neither of them has any idea what I’m talking about.
“What’sCowboy Most Wanted?” Troy asks. “Some agricultural reality show?”
“It’s likeThe BachelorandThe Bachelorette.”
He shakes his head. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of them. I don’t watch reality shows.”
“I’ve heard of them,” Kate says. “But I’ve never watched them. My friends are into them big-time.”
“You’re not missing anything.” I eat another forkful of my eggs.
Kate tears a piece off her croissant. “So what does Uncle Jacob’s show have to do with Charlotte’s house? The last I heard, he wasn’t planning to expand it to outside the LA area.”
“He isn’t,” Troy says. “What I’m proposing is that you and I renovate this house. It will give me a chance to showcase my skills. And you will end up with a house that will be more appealing to potential buyers.”
“Yes, but I’m not a contractor. That’s all you. Sure, I know how to put pillows and blankets together to make something more aesthetically pleasing, but I don’t know the first thing about renovating.”
“True or false. You’ve been coming up with ideas on how the place would look if someone knocked down the wall between the kitchen and the living room.” He takes a bite of his eggs, waiting for Kate’s answer.
She shrugs but doesn’t look surprised by his comment. “Okay, I might have thought of a few ideas that would look good.”
“True or false. You already have a Pinterest board for this house, and you already know what style you would go for if you were to decorate it.”
She squirms on her chair. “What? Are you hacking my Pinterest account now?”
He laughs. “No, but I know you that well. I’m not saying you have to be involved with the physical labor. Christ knows that’s not your thing—”
“Hey, guess who’s been cleaning the stable every day while I’ve been here?” She points to herself. “Me.”
“Well, you might find the physical aspect involved with the renovations a lot more fun than cleaning stables.”
“It can’t be much worse, that’s for sure. But what you’re saying is that I won’t get to go home in a week. I’ll have to stay here for longer than that.” She doesn’t sound too enthusiastic about the idea.
“It’s not like you have anything pressing at home waiting for you. I already checked with your stepmother. Your schedule is free for the next three months.” He picks up his phone and taps on the screen.
Kate opens her mouth to say something.
“And I quote,” he says, looking at his phone and interrupting whatever she was going to say. “‘And then I can go home and find another project to keep me busy.’ Does that text sound familiar? And when I asked you if you had any idea what that was going to be, your reply was that you had no clue.”
“And your point is?”
