“You should have seen Cole. He fit right in everywhere we went. He could talk about herding animals and living off the land and hunting and protecting the ones you love. Everywhere he went he talked guns with the men.”
Autumn chuckled. “I can imagine.”
“The thing is, he could live like that. Forever. A tent, a fire, a gun, a set of clothes. He’d be fine. He’d work all day, provide for his family, come home at night and sit out under the stars. He’d make a few friends and be content.”
“But you wouldn’t?” Autumn said softly.
“For a minute there I thought I could. It scared me to death. It was like I had no ambition at all. I wanted to just… be.”
“Is that so bad?”
“It is for me. I don’t want to be a housewife. Besides, there’s one big difference between them and us.”
Autumn slid the omelette onto a plate. “What’s that?”
“They’re never alone. There’s always another set of hands. A grandmother to hold the baby while you cook. A niece to run for water or wood. A friend to chat with on your way to the market. Again, I don’t want to romanticize it. It wasn’t romantic at all. Those women work so hard.”
“But they have company.”
“Right.” Sunshine was lost in thought for a moment. “I can’t help thinking that when I start a family, it’ll all be on me. I’ll have to run my restaurant—if I have one—take care of my child, do the housework—how will I handle it all?”
“Cole will be there.” Autumn bit into her omelette. “Yum. That’s good if I do say so myself.”
“He’ll have his own work,” Sunshine protested.
“Here’s the thing; you’re right—it is hard to balance home and family and work. I’m lucky because I don’t have to leave home to get my work done, and because I’ve been able to hire help. But I also have friends right here on the property. I guess my situation is a little like the one you’re describing with those women. I watch Lynn or Jack, sometimes both. Claire and Morgan’s children,” she clarified when Sunshine looked at her blankly. “They watch Arianna in turn.” She grew serious. “In this day and age you have to be imaginative to create a life that works. Finding ways to share the workload is definitely a start.” She took another bite and chewed. “So, what happened in the end? Did you ever go back to the more rustic places?”
Sunshine frowned. “I spent the rest of the trip dragging Cole around Europe—Munich and Paris and Rome and London,” she confessed. “As far away from those little villages as I could get.”
“You have to be true to yourself. Otherwise you’ll be miserable. If you’re a city girl, you’re a city girl.” Autumn waved her fork in emphasis.
She wasn’t going to be one anymore, though. Not now that she’d bought the ranch. “You used to be a city girl, right?” Hadn’t Autumn lived in New York before she met Ethan?
“Emphasis on used to be. When I met Ethan I was dying to have a baby, and this is exactly the kind of life I want to live now. I’m pregnant again, which means things will get even more hectic, but I know what I want—a big family. I’ll forgo sleep—and Fifth Avenue—if that’s what it takes.”
Autumn was pregnant? Sunshine longed to share her own news, but she didn’t think she should tell anyone before she’d told Cole. Instead, she said, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I bought Cole a ranch for Christmas.”
“You did?” Autumn plunked her plate down on the counter. “Does that mean you’re staying in Chance Creek?”
“Ye-” Sunshine shrieked when Autumn leapt across the kitchen to give her a bear hug. Arianna laughed and danced around them.
“I’m so glad! Ethan and the others were afraid they’d lose Cole all over again if you decided you liked Chicago better. They thought maybe you just came back to sell the shooting range and apartments.”
“No.” She took a deep breath, surprised at Autumn’s excited reaction. She hadn’t said this out loud yet. “I’ve decided we should stay. I mean, we decided.” She made a face. “Actually, Cole has always been clear he wanted to live in Chance Creek. I was the one on the fence, but I’ve made up my mind and I plan to stick with it.”
As she said the words, she hoped they were true.
“That’s a big step. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”
“Yes. My trip convinced me,” Sunshine said staunchly. “Those city women in Europe should have been happier, but somehow it was the country women who were.” She hoped she’d be happy too.
“It’s all the fresh air,” Autumn said. “Makes our husbands frisky.” She returned to her omelette.
“Is that the secret?” Sunshine pretended to think it over. “Cole must have saved it up over the years. City, country—doesn’t seem to make a difference.”
Autumn laughed. “That’s because he loves you. So—are you going to get married?”
Sunshine turned back to her task. “We haven’t set a date.” She hoped to do so soon. In a perfect world it would all be settled before she told him about the baby, but since she’d always said they should wait to marry until after their trip, she couldn’t blame Cole for holding off.
“Let me know as soon as you do.”
“You can’t tell anyone about the ranch. It’s his Christmas present.”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut. But when do I get to see it?”
“Any time. I need to pick up the keys and get over there to check it out. The house needs a lot of work and there’s so little time. I could use some help.”
“I’d be glad to help!” When the front door opened, Autumn glanced at the clock. “That must be Claire here to get you. Are you all packed? Cole said he’d follow you over later. He wanted to help Ethan with the chores.”
“Okay.” She envied her fiancé’s clear knowledge of who he was and what he liked. Would she ever know herself so well? “I’ll run up and get our bags.”
“How about I come get you after lunch and we can go look at the place together?” Autumn trailed her to the stairs.
“That sounds wonderful. Thanks.” Once again, a vision of Fran came uninvited into her mind. Had she jumped the gun buying a house and property?
She forced the thought away. She couldn’t change what she’d done now.
A half hour later, her luggage deposited in a spare bedroom, Sunshine followed Claire, a slender woman with sleek, dark hair that fell to her shoulders, on a tour through her home. Sunshine thought Claire was as fashionable as her house, with an air of contentment that suited her.
“We built the house a couple of years ago, when Jamie bought into the ranch,” Claire said as they walked through the first floor.
“All of Cole’s friends seem to have grown up so much while I’ve been gone. Not that they were childish,” Sunshine rushed to add.
Claire laughed. “Ethan and his friends seemed like children to me back then—until suddenly they weren’t. I guess while they grew up, I got younger. At least, I feel younger these days than I used to.”