Cody clamped a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “If you’ve got your book still hiding up in the house, I might borrow it. Seems like you sure needed it when you came home and found Addy living here. Ever think that maybe I preserved my life by not suggesting we share that bare mattress?”
“You going to give Stevie your room and king-sized bed?” Jesse asked.
“Yep, but after the past three nights, one of those bottom bunk beds sounds like heaven right now.” Cody got his doctor bag and Stevie’s go bag from the van and followed Jesse outside. “Thanks for the rescue. See you at suppertime.”
“You’d do the same for me. If me and Addy ever get stranded, don’t come get me for at least a week.” Jesse closed the barn door and took off in half a jog toward the ranch house.
The sunshine was a sight for sore eyes—one of Sonny’s favorite sayings—but it did little to warm the bitter cold wind blowing in Cody’s face. Tex, the ranch dog, met him halfway to the bunkhouse and followed him the rest of the way. When Cody opened the bunkhouse door, Tex ran in ahead of him, jumped up on the sofa, and curled up with his paw over his nose.
“Who’s that?” Stevie asked from the kitchen table.
“Tex, meet Stevie.” Cody dropped her go bag and his doctor bag on the coffee table. “Stevie, meet Tex. He’s part ranch dog, part spoiled pet. He’s a big baby, so you’ve got nothing to fear. Tex, Stevie is all redheaded fire, so be afraid. Be very, very afraid.”
“That’s not funny,” Stevie told him. “I’ve set the table and there’s a breakfast omelet in the oven, along with biscuits and a pan of gravy heating on top of the stove.”
Cody went straight to the kitchen sink and washed his hands in warm water. “I will never take hot water for granted again.”
“Me either. Or jelly, or salt or…” She nodded toward the coffeepot that had just gurgled and finished dripping.
Cody filled two mugs, handed one to her, and held his up. “A toast to surviving the business of being stranded.”
She touched her mug with his. “To hoping we make it through the next week.”
“We’ve already made it through the worst of it.” He took a sip and held it in his mouth for a few seconds.
“Heavenly,” Stevie whispered.
“Amen,” Cody agreed. “The gravy is bubbling, and I’m about hungry enough to drink it like a warm milkshake.”
“Me too,” Stevie agreed as she set the pan on a trivet in the middle of the table, and then brought out the biscuits and the omelet. “This right here is better than what we could get at a five-star restaurant.”
“And this old bunkhouse is better than a five-star hotel.” Cody sat down at the table and bowed his head. “I can’t eat this food without giving thanks. We could have frozen to death or been killed out there. Let’s have a moment of silence.”
Stevie bowed her head. “I agree.”
Cody said a short prayer of gratitude and then raised his head. He didn’t know if Stevie was giving thanks or if she was asking God to help her make it through the next week, but it was a full minute before she opened her eyes. She picked up a biscuit, split it open, covered it with sausage gravy, and moaned when she put the first bite in her mouth.
“Hey, I thought my steak and potatoes were pretty good,” he said as he followed her example and then dipped out a big helping of the omelet.
“They kept us from starving, but this is amazing,” Stevie said. “It’s just like Mama used to make.”
“See, another good memory,” Cody said. “Wonder what she would think of this situation.”
“She would say that things happen for a reason.” Stevie spooned omelet onto her plate. “I don’t have any idea what the reason for this might be, but that’s what she would say,” she answered. “Yes, having breakfast with Mama is a good memory, and I do need to dwell on more of those, not the pain of her being gone.”
“And me, too, when it comes to Dineo,” Cody said. “The good should outweigh the bad, right, love?”
Stevie eyed him without blinking.
“What’d I say?” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“You almost sounded British when you said that word, love,” Stevie answered.
“Sometimes a little of what I listened to over there comes out. My only consistent friend for the past five years was Nate Fisher. He was born and raised in a village outside of London,” Cody explained. “We’re both doctors, and after our first six months, we asked if we could be stationed close by each other. They did what they could, so we spent a lot of time together. I picked up on his Queen’s English, and he learned a little of my Texas drawl.”
“I like the Texas drawl better,” Stevie said, and went back to her breakfast.
“Well, then, love, I’ll do my best to talk like a true Texan,” Cody said with an almost flawless British accent.
Stevie poked her fork at him. “Don’t call me love.”
He went back to his normal drawl. “Yes, ma’am, darlin’.”
“Or that either,” she told him.
“Little cranky today, are you?” Cody asked. “I thought you’d be ecstatic we’re in a place with hot food and water.”
“Sorry about the attitude,” Stevie said. “I do appreciate everything your mama has done so much for me. There’s a note in the bedroom from Mia. I met her a couple of times when I was called out here to the ranch. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to learn more by watching me treat the alpacas or if she was making sure I knew what I was doing.”
“Mia is a good kid,” Cody said. “I just wish Addy would have told us that Jesse fathered her before she was nineteen years old. I’ve had a niece all these years and didn’t even know it.”
“But she and Addy have lived here on the ranch for years.” Stevie frowned. “How did you not know? She’s even tall like Jesse and has his dark hair. I’m glad she’s tall and close to my size because she sent flannel pajamas and other clothing for me to borrow while I’m here.”
I bet you’re even cute in flannel pajamas. Cody wondered where that thought came from. He hadn’t blushed since he was a sophomore in high school, but he almost did right then. “Mama and Dad did figure it out, but they didn’t say anything. Addy did good raising her as a single mother,” Cody said.
“I got to admit, I was shocked when it came out that Jesse was Mia’s father. Addy sure kept that secret well for almost twenty years,” Stevie said, “but then I would have done the same thing if I’d been in her shoes. Has Mia settled down after that rebellious streak she had last summer?”
“Yep, good as gold,” Cody said. “She realizes she dodged a bullet by leaving that worthless Ricky kid in Las Vegas and coming home where she belonged. She’s a wonderful big sister to the twins Addy and Jesse adopted, and she’s taking online courses at home to finish up her education, plus she’s a fine hand on the ranch.”
“I agree on Ricky being worthless. I heard that he’s got a baby in Honey Grove and one in Bonham, and he’s only about twenty. Sometimes, the DNA will surface. His daddy was a bad boy, and his mother was wild,” Stevie said.