Page 83 of The Meeting
A pot of coffee was already made in the kitchen and Chase poured himself a travel mug full before stepping outside and walking the dirt path down to the barns. He found Derek in the horse barn mucking out the stalls.
“Morning,” Chase said.
Derek looked up. “Well, good morning, sleeping beauty. Get your beauty rest?”
Chase laughed. “Dude, I’m not used to these hours anymore. I work a nine-to-five job now.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
Chase took a long drink of his coffee before setting the mug aside. “What can I do?”
“Do you remember how to muck stalls?”
“I haven’t been gone that long.”
Chase grabbed a pitchfork leaning against the stall next to Derek’s and got to work. The work was methodical, and he fell into a rhythm, going between stalls as the brothers spoke. He enjoyed being a lawyer, but something about the ranch life he missed. Maybe it was the exercise or just being in the outdoors, but it gave him a new sense of energy despite the physical exertion.
“You seem to really like Kailynn,” Derek said from the stall beside his.
Chase forked the manure into a wheelbarrow and then swiped his forehead on his arm. “I do. She’s amazing. She smart, funny, hardworking, competitive as hell, and she’s so full of life.”
“So I guess that means you’ll never move back home.”
Chase laughed. “No. I don’t think it’s in the cards for me anymore, especially if I stay with Kailynn.”
“Why is that?”
He shrugged. “Her life is in California.”
“She wouldn’t like the Montana life?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never asked, but it doesn’t really seem her style. She works in fashion.”
“Hi,” Kailynn said.
Chase looked up at her and smiled. “Hey beautiful.”
She shifted her gaze away from him and tucked some hair behind her ear. He pulled off his gloves and took a step toward her. A frown pulled down her lips, and her normal morning smile was gone.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded and turned her attention to Derek.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Derek stood up and leaned on his pitchfork in the stall where he had been putting new straw. “Oh, you don’t have to help. You’re on vacation.”
Kailynn shifted, looking between their stalls. “Okay. But I would like to help.”
“Can you make pancakes? We’re nearing breakfast time and it would be great to get a good meal in our stomachs.”
Kailynn’s nose crinkled. “I’m not the best cook.”
Derek laughed. “Neither am I. I actually have a box of the mix, so all you need to do is add some water and stir it up.”
She finally smiled, but she directed it at Derek. “That I can handle.”
“Perfect! It’s in the pantry on the bottom shelf. There’s a griddle in the cabinet near the dishwasher.”
