Page 68 of Accidentally Perfect

It takes us an hour to drive out to Nathan’s family’s estate. The sun was just beginning to set behind the trees that lined the property. Nathan explained to me on the drive over that the estate was originally forty-seven acres of equestrian property, but over the years they purchased the surrounding land, and it now spreads over one hundred and thirty acres. The house is all original. There's guesthouses and other buildings that have either been added or renovated over the past one hundred years.

My father’s ranch has been in the family since before the Civil War. Over the years, it had been handed down to the first born of each family. I’m sure when I was born, and my father’s younger siblings realized that I would be the one to inherit the land, it didn’t sit well with them. I’m not money hungry or power thirsty so when my father passed, I knew what the right thing to do was to allow my uncles and their sons to run everything. It’s still under my control, but I allow them to take care of the day-to-day operations. What do I know about cattle or oil anyway? It might have been different if my mother didn’t insist my father relocate. Maybe if I had been raised on the ranch and gotten to know what ranching was all about, I might have felt the need to go into business and not health care. Now, I’m a total fish out of water in my own family’s business.

We pull through the iron gates. Both the gates and the stone pillars that hold the gates are adorned with a very bold and unique ‘W’. The drive to the main house isn’t that long. It seems most of the property is on either side or the back of the house. “Thith ith where you lifed, Nafan?”

“Yes, Bear.”

“When you wath little?”

“Yes.”

“You got to run all around here. Did you have doggies when you were little?” Addie asks.

“Yep. I took off running as fast as I could, and my dogs would chase me. They were great playmates.”

“I bet.” Both of the girls continue to stare as we pull around to the side of the house skipping the valet areas altogether. Nathan pushes a button near his visor, and one of the bay doors begin to roll up.

“There wasn’t a need for a garage when the house was first built. As the family started collecting cars, one of my great uncles had the freestanding garage built. It actually took the place of the front stables. Once the automobile came along the need for horses dwindled, so the stables are now behind the garage, further down the way.”

We exit the car, and I grab Amanda while Nathan makes sure to pull her chair from the trunk and places Addie inside. She sure has gotten better maneuvering the chair over the past few days. The penthouse is so open and spacious she’s been able to practice till she’s just about perfect.

We walk along a walkway that brings us to the side of the house where there seems to be hundreds of staff in white uniforms hustling about. “I’m sure my sister has the tents and everything off to the side of the house. There's a huge garden and piece of flat land. Our childhood tree house and a conservatory are over that way too. The room is completely constructed out of windows, from the walls to the ceilings. It was my mother’s favorite room. She was able to enjoy the magnificence of her garden any time during the year whether it was snowing or sunny; that room made you feel like you were standing outside. I remember she would sit there for hours while my sister and I would run about on the grass, play in the playhouse, and tree house. Of course, Natalie called it her tree palace while I said it was a fort.”

We enter the side of the house and into a large kitchen. People were busy getting trays of hors d'oeuvres ready while others cooked the actual dinner. “Wow, I would think that everything would have been prepared off site and then trucked in.”

“No, she never did it that way. She welcomed whoever was catering into our home and let them use the facilities. Her events were really the only time it was used. There's a smaller kitchen on the other side of the house that she preferred. She wanted everything to be as fresh as possible. Natalie has continued the tradition.” Nathan stops and asks if anyone had seen the lady of the house and they directed us to the study. We continue through the house, and I can’t believe the beauty of it all. There are open beamed rooms with cathedral ceilings. Huge stone fireplaces and hearths seemed to be the center of almost every room. I guess they needed them before they had the convenience of central heating and cooling. “Along there are the stairs that lead to the sleeping quarters. The main bedrooms are all upstairs, plus a few other rooms my mother used for sewing and crafting. There’s also a small theater upstairs as well, but the larger theater is just along the back hallway. All the guest rooms are downstairs, and there are a couple of offices and a library downstairs too.”

“This sure is a big house, Nathan. Didn’t you get lost when you were little?”

“I think I may have a time or two. Come, Auntie Nat should be right around this corner.”

There she was, sitting behind her desk busily writing on some note cards. “Hey, Nat.” She looks up when we enter the room.

“Well hot damn, you make a seriously gorgeous looking family. I’m proud to call you mine. Give your Auntie some love, girls.” She gets up from her desk and wraps her arms around both girls. “How are you guys getting along with this oaf over here?” He flicks her thumb over to Nathan.

“Good.” They both say.

I think they’ve been getting along better than good, better than great. This week the three of them have totally bonded. They're like three peas in a pod. If they aren’t in their playroom, then they’re sitting next to Nathan constantly hugging him and making sure they’re close to him at all times. He had to push me out the door to run my errands, just so he could have alone time with his girls.

“I have to admit, he’s a natural.” My compliment earns a smile from Nathan.

“Thank you.” He pulls me into him and presses a kiss to my temple. “So what are you doing in here? Aren’t you supposed to be sweetening up all those deep pockets out there? There looks to be a drone of cars already. Another hit, I’m sure.”

“Yes, I was just writing down some ideas and points that I want to make in my speech tonight. I need all those deep pockets to understand what their money is helping out.”

“I want to donate, Natalie. In fact, I have a check here from Jacobs Cattle and Oil for fifteen thousand dollars. I hope that gets the ball rolling.” I pull the check from my purse.

“You don’t have to do that, Laney.”

“Of course I do. This is the first time that I’ve taken it upon myself to donate anything in my family’s name. This means a lot, Natalie. I would like for you to take it.”

“Well, thank you.” She turns and looks at Nathan, “Well, brother of mine. Are you going to allow your wife to show you up like that?”

“Of course not, I plan on donating fifteen thousand and one tonight.”

Natalie rolls her eyes. “Good lord Nate.”

“What?” He questions her.