30. LORENZO
Our miniature vacation together told me I never wanted to spend any time away from Jace. I know he’d joked about me about to propose, but in my heart, and in my mind, I couldn’t see myself ever wanted to break up, or to be with someone else. I refused to even entertain the idea that our lives weren’t connected together forever.
I finally saw my first real winter. Snow covered grounds, no longer mushy beneath my feet. The icy grass and the rainfall that left icicles dangling from all corners of the barn and stable. I’d adjusted the horses to get used to having the heater on in the stable and also giving them all the blankets as well as dressing them appropriately for when they were outside, but they weren’t out for as long as they had been.
Jace was in the kitchen most evenings, making desserts, and not keeping them secret from me. He was preparing for the livestock show and hoping to get himself one of the coveted ribbons. I’d thought about making chili for the event a couple times, but I wasn’t a cook, and I definitely didn’t need to be known as one. The moment you got a reputation, it followed you, and I didn’t want to be known as the one who could cook—even if the Wilde ranch was my fixed place of work, it was still a thought I’d carried with me for many years.
While Jace did his preparations, I was doing mine. I was preparing the stables and making sure it was all taken care of before the investors showed up after the new year. It wasn’t my only focus. I was on the hunt for alpacas too. I knew the family weren’t planning on getting any for the ranch, since conversation had turned to new horses, even though four was plenty for right now.
There were a number of ranches across the US that sold alpacas, some would be in attendance at the livestock show. I’d even contemplated seeing about getting some of the cheaper ones that didn’t come with papers, but I didn’t want to put the ranch in an uneasy place when it came to auditing. I knew the ideal number would be two, and they could range from two to ten thousand dollars. I had a small nest egg saved for when I would retire, and these animals were going to be for the man I would one day hope to retire with. It made sense to spend some money on him, especially since they were his favorite animals.
We spoke at length about his love for alpacas as he cuddled up to the soft alpacas crocheted stuffed animals he had in his collection. And he would have me taste every one of his desserts, thankfully, I was getting in a whole lot of exercise in the cold.
“Do you think I should submit the pecan pie or a cherry pie?” he asked, laid on my lap on the sofa. I was busy focusing on my phone, looking at an alpaca seller’s page. “What are you reading?”
I flipped to the Kindle app on my phone. “Just about two cowboys who fall in love, start an alpaca ranch where they create some of the finest alpaca fibers known to the crocheting and knitting community.”
“Sounds like us, doesn’t it,” he said.
“Well, if you want to start an alpaca ranch, sure.”
Shuffling his head up my lap, he tried to look at the phone. “I wanna read as well.”
“Oh, well, I just got to the end of this chapter,” I told him. “But I’m also taking inspiration from it. I don’t want you to know what surprises might be coming next from me.” In reality, I had no clue, except for the alpacas, and seeing some of these sketchy sellers, I didn’t know if it was going to happen this year.
“It would be a dream to have a whole lot of alpacas,” he said.
“What’s like the things you look at when you’re deciding which alpacas you want?” I asked, a question I probably should’ve asked sooner since it could’ve helped with the search.
“If they’re friendly, that’s a big one, but they all spit, so some people take that as hostile,” he said, getting his head comfy again on my lap. “For us, because we use the fibers to make the whole yarn stuff, they need to have good coats. I’d love one that’s won awards, just because of the prestige, but they’re very expensive.”
I hummed, it was a knowing sound. The prices of which were not within my budget. “Is that the first thing you’re going to look at when we get to Texas next year?”
“Absolutely!” he said all excited. “I think we’re flying down as well, which I prefer because we’re only there to look to buy anyway.”
I was still very happy that they weren’t trying to sell the horses I’d spent time recuperating in the stable. They were a package deal anyway as of right now, and nowhere near completely ready for people. It was one of my current worries when it came to the potential of a riding school since I didn’t want another accident on my hands.
Freezing in thought. I had to remind myself that he was fine. He’d pushed to ride the more aggressive horses as training for the bronco. I should’ve put my foot down, and instead, I just let him do what he wanted because he pleaded that he could make money doing it.
“You ok?” Jace’s soft voice pulled me out of those spiraling thoughts. “I was asking you what type of things you’re going to be on the look for? I’m sure my dad will want more horses, even if it’s just one. He might have a spending problem.”
“Right, right. We’ll probably have to wait until those investors come by, they might already have horses waiting to be rehomed,” I told him. “You know how rich people are, especially if they’re always on the move, they’ll want someone to look after their prized assets.” At least, that’s how some of the more upscale places were in Texas, and they tipped well when I was just a kid helping out in the stables.
“I want to talk more about these alpacas we’re going to have on our ranch,” he said.
I stroked my fingers though his hair, gently massaging his head as I spoke about what I thought was a very real future for the two of us. A future with all the animals he wanted, and a nice stable of horses, granted, in this world, there were also cattle since that’s what I was most used to. I didn’t get involved in the business side of that, but I mentioned a field of cows.
“I think we should stick to goats,” he said.
“Ok, then a field of goats.”
“Maybe not too many goats, you know, with all the milking they need.”
“With that many goats, we’d have workers take care of the goats. You take care of the alpacas, I take care of the horses, and maybe we could get some sheep in too. I bet they’d do well on those fields.”
He shrugged. “I’d prefer cows over sheep, but in this world, we can have all the animals.”
“I think you’re wanting a zoo at this point.”
