The General scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Hell.” He shook his head. “Well, what are you waiting for, Sergeant? Get over here and help me exercise. No baby is going to steal a march on me.”
“Elise loves your costumes,” Wye told Alice. She and Cass had brought the baby to her carriage house studio, and Alice had heaped a number of costumes around her. The different textures of cloth they were made from entranced the little girl.
“Everyone loves costumes,” Alice said.
“Wye? Are you up here?” a voice called, and a moment later, Emerson came up the stairs and poked his head into the room. “There you are.” Coming into the large space, he greeted the women and bent down to chuck Elise under the chin. “I came to see if you want to go to the Park for a bit,” he told Wye.
“Sure. Let me grab Elise’s backpack carrier from the house,” Wye said.
“Why don’t you leave her with me for an hour?” Cass put in. “That way you can help Emerson.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. It’s time I got back to work. Elise can help me fold the laundry.”
“I’ll help, too,” Alice said.
“Seems like cheating to get paid for taking care of Elise and then getting Cass and Alice to do the work,” Wye joked a few minutes later as she walked with Emerson down the track past the outbuildings. She was dressed for the weather in her coat, a white knitted cap and gloves, but the sun was out, and she didn’t mind the cold.
“I’ll have you earning your keep in no time.” Emerson stopped and dipped a hand in his pocket, pulling out his phone, which was vibrating. “Emerson Myers here,” he said when he lifted it to his ear. He listened a moment. “Yes, I will have a couple of trailers coming up for rent soon. Three of them?” He made a face at Wyoming. “I’ve got three, but they all need renovating. I hadn’t planned on renting them until February at the earliest.” He listened again. “January fifteenth? That’s cutting it pretty close.” A pause. “Okay, how about you give me a few days. Come out on Thursday.” He hung up. “Buck’s been talking out of turn. Seems like someone in Chance Creek is taking a fourplex off the market—turning it into a few condos instead of renting them out. One of the current inhabitants is leaving town, but three of them are friends of Buck’s and want to stay close to each other.”
“You’ve got all the trailers rented before they’re even ready. You’re some businessman.”
Emerson shook his head. “That’s a lot of work to do in a short time. I’m going to end up renovating while people are living in them.”
“I guess that’s better than them ending up on the street. Let’s make a list of what needs to be done, and we can make a plan.”
“We?”
“Sounds like you need help,” Wye pointed out. Besides, she liked the idea of renovating the trailers. It was a finite project, and when it was done, someone would enjoy the results. No other problems in her life were so easily solved.
“I’d love help.” Emerson snagged a kiss.
“No more of that; we’ve got work to do.”
By the end of their inspection, Wye wasn’t as upbeat. Several of the trailers needed to be completely gutted, and one she wasn’t sure could be fixed at all. It had a stuffy smell she thought would be hard to get out, even though Emerson assured her it was possible.
They returned to the main house for lunch. Afterward, Cass had an appointment, so Emerson carried Elise’s portable crib to the Park so they could get back to work. While the baby slept at one end of the best trailer of the bunch, Wye and Emerson sat at the other end, itemized their to-do list and constructed a calendar for the operation, Emerson ducking out now and then to confirm information or take a measurement in one of the other trailers.
“I wish I could help more,” Wye said after they’d trudged back to the main house for dinner, Emerson carrying the portable crib again and Wye carrying a wriggling Elise. When Ward arrived a few minutes later and whisked the baby away home, Cass pressed a storage container of lasagna on him, since she’d made a double batch for dinner. “We could work at night, when Elise isn’t around.”
“We’ll probably need to do that regardless,” Emerson said. “But don’t worry; I appreciate whatever help you can give.”
“You need some help at the Park?” Jack said as he came into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “I’m happy to lend a hand. I’m pretty handy, and I’m working only part-time with Cab at the station.”
“Hunter and I are old hands at building things,” Jo said as she and her husband joined them. “We’d love to help. It’s winter, so things are kind of slow around here anyway.”
“Jo’s right. We need practice for when we build our big house come spring,” Hunter said cheerfully. Wye thought he was one of the most contented married men she’d ever seen. She’d thought Hunter and Jo an odd couple when he’d first come to Two Willows, but now she was convinced they were made for each other.
“What’s going on?” Lena asked, coming in from outside and hanging up her coat.
“We’re all going to help Emerson and Wye with fixing the trailers,” Jo told her.
Logan came in next and started to pull off his outer gear. “Emerson and Wye are fixing up the trailers,” Lena relayed to him. “We’ll help, right?”
“Sure. Tonight?”
“I guess,” Lena said at the same time Emerson said, “No. Not tonight.”
“I thought you just said…” Cass began and trailed off when she took in Emerson’s expression. She shifted her gaze to Wye and raised an eyebrow. Wye just shrugged. She wasn’t sure why Emerson’s mood had shifted so quickly. Hadn’t he just been saying he needed to get on with the project?
“I appreciate the offer,” Emerson said, his gaze dropping to the floor. “It’s just… this is my project. I need to contribute around here, and if you all do the renovations for me, I’ll be back to square one.”
The other men exchanged glances, and Wyoming knew they didn’t understand, but she did. She felt the same way, after all.
“You all have chores on the ranch,” she explained. “Emerson and I would like to do something to help out, as well.”
“The General is insisting I take a percentage for managing the trailers, but—”
“Of course you’ll take a percentage,” Jo said. “It only makes sense.”
“I think we should give Emerson a competitive wage, not just a percentage,” Logan said.
“That’s not—”
The General shuffled into the room, leaning heavily on his cane. “What’s the hubbub all about?”
When it seemed no one would answer, Brian spoke up. “We’re figuring out how to pay Emerson for his work on the trailers—a percentage or an hourly wage.”
Wye saw Emerson’s face fall and knew why. They were back to treating him like a hired hand, not one of the family, like the General said he’d be. Brian, Logan and the others might think they were being helpful, but in reality they were killing Emerson’s dream of belonging here.