“Rory had a date. Mom said she was going to soak the rest of her life in the tub, and Dad’s probably in there with her.”
Instantly Bodine tapped the heel of her hand on her temple. “Why do you put that in my head?”
“The look in his eye put it in mine. I believe in sharing.” He waggled the bottle he held. “Want a beer?”
“I’m having wine. A glass of red wine every day’s good for you. You can look it up,” she insisted when he smirked at her.
Maybe she poured with a very generous hand, but it was still one glass.
“So, Maddie’s pregnant.”
“How the hell do you know?” Annoyed, she drank wine with one hand and scooped stew into a bowl with the other.
“Maddie texted Thad how she told you, and just about everybody else within shouting distance, so he told me. And just about everybody else within shouting distance. I was waiting for it anyway.”
“Waiting for it? Why?”
“It’s a look in the eyes, Bodine. It’s in the eyes—and a couple comments here and there about fatherhood and such.”
“If you suspected as much, why didn’t you pin him on it?” Annoyed, she gave Chase a hard poke in the side. “If I’d known a few weeks back, I could’ve hung on to one of the seasonal horsemen. And look who I’m talking to,” she said, grabbing a spoon from the drawer. “Never-Ask-a-Question Charles Samuel Longbow.”
“The answer comes around anyway. I’m taking my beer in the other room, by the fire.”
Sticking the spoon in the stew, Bodine followed him. Like her brother, she sat on the big couch, putting her feet up on the table.
“I called every seasonal I knew could handle being in charge. I need more than a rider. The handful I tried all have winter work already.” She ate stew, mulled on it. “I’ve got a few weeks before Abe’s gone to the damn desert, but I don’t like putting somebody up front I don’t know, I haven’t had a good chance to train. I’ve got Ben and Carol, but as good as they are, they’re not managers.”
“Use Cal.”
“Cal?”
“Yeah, he can switch back and forth easy enough. He’s as good as it gets with horses, and he’s a manager. You get too squeezed, Dad and I can fill some holes. Rory, too, or Mom. Hell, Nana can take trail rides. Rides pretty much every day anyway.”
“I went by to see her and Grammy today. Rode Three Socks. When Nana found out, she wanted to ride him back to the BAC for me. Got a little put out when I wouldn’t let her because of the snow. She shouldn’t be taking trail rides in the winter.”
In his deliberate way, Chase nodded, drank more beer. “She could do lessons.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought of that. She’d like it. Well, if I can pull from the ranch on this, at least while Abe’s gone, it would save me from finding somebody else. You’re not completely useless, Chase.”
“Me?” He swigged some beer. “I’ve got untapped uses.”
“I don’t suppose those uses run to where we come up with about ten miles of red velvet, a dozen gold candle stands—five feet high—and a female harpist in a red velvet dress.”
“For now, those remain untapped.”
“Linda-Sue’s wedding. Her mother came with her today, and added or changed or complained about every damn thing. A waste of mimosas,” Bodine muttered.
“You wanted to manage the place.”
“Yeah, and I love it, even on days like this. Besides, the velvet and the harpist and the gold? They’re Jessica’s problem. The fact she didn’t tell Dolly Jackson to shut the hell up proves I was smart to hire her.”
“Never figured she’d last this long.” Happy with his feet up, he studied the snow falling free outside the window. “And she hasn’t gotten through a Montana winter yet.”
“She’ll last. Why wouldn’t she?”
“City girl. East city.”
“And the best events manager we’ve had since Martha retired five years ago. I don’t have to check and recheck everything she does.”
“You do anyway.”
“Not as much as I did.” She looked out the wide window as Chase did, watched the snow fall against the dark. “We’re in for about a foot. I better text Len, make sure we’re getting the roads plowed.”
“Check and recheck.”
“That’s my job.” Bodine shifted her gaze to the ceiling. “Do you really think they’re up there in the tub together?”
“I’d bet money on it.”
“I don’t think I can go up there yet. I think I’m going to need another glass of wine first.”