Over the next few days, Jonah and I made that ranch so clean, so organized, so efficient that I couldn’t help but be a little proud of myself and the jobs we’d completed. Faye was so appreciative, by the third day, she was sending home enough baskets of baked goods to feed a small army. We kept trying to insist that it was not a big deal but she would have none of it.
Other ranches had followed our lead and sent hands to help out on the McAllen Ranch. We were all toggling a week at a time, and Jonah and I weren’t due back there for another six weeks. Although, the McAllen’s son suspected they’d have a permanent hand there by then.
The following Friday morning, I had to admit it was nice to wake up and not have anywhere to be but the Hunt Ranch. The day went by uneventfully. I hadn’t seen Cricket or Ethan for more than a week, and the separation from Cricket was a torment, but I was happy for it all the same. I needed to clear my head, and Jonah helped me do that by keeping me busier than I’d ever been in my life.
Before dinner, Ellie dragged Jonah and me over to the old Hunt buildings, the ones Cricket worked out of. I tried not to let that affect me, but being near her sculptures hurt my stomach.
“Here,” Ellie said, prying open a large sliding door to an abandoned-looking barn.
“What are we doing out here, Ellie?” I asked.
“There’s an auction tomorrow evening in Yellow Creek for Amos McAllen.”
I looked at Jonah, addled. What more could they need? I thought.
“Amos needs a prosthetic,” Ellie explained, rummaging through a carefully organized shelf at the back. “We’re going to see if there’s anything in here worth donating.”
“Isn’t this all family heirloom-type stuff?” I asked
“Yes, sir.” She winked.
“You’re going to give a family heirloom to strangers?”
“Does this surprise you, baby?” Ellie asked, setting aside a tool that looked very old.
“Frankly, I’m shocked, Ellie.”
She smiled at me and patted my cheek. “This is what we do for our neighbors, honey. We take care of each other.”
But they’re strangers! I thought, then I remembered the day Bridge and I came to ask for their help, how open and generous they were with us, how they welcomed us without any expectations of a return, and how they didn’t judge us. I felt utterly ashamed.
“I see,” I said, lifting something off the wall for Ellie.
Just then, the doors slid open behind us and Ethan and Cricket walked in. I smiled kindly at Cricket, then turned back to helping Ellie.
“Hi, Grandma,” Cricket chimed, and Ellie turned around.
“Hello, darlin’.” She smiled. “Hi, Ethan honey.”
“Ellie,” Ethan greeted, making my fists clench.
Ellie picked up a pile of old papers and a photograph slid out from underneath. She gasped and we all turned her direction.
“Oh my word,” she said, bending down and picking it up. She dusted it off and studied its subject with glassy eyes. “It’s my mama,” she said, running her fingers reverently over the surface. She turned it toward me and I almost choked.
The woman in the photograph was petite and slender, bobbed black hair, stylish and looked exactly like Cricket. She wore a flapper-style dress and a headband with a jaunty feather at the side. Her arm was raised and in her hand was a champagne glass. She looked beautiful and happy. Her smile looked as clever as Cricket’s.
“What was her name?” I asked, taking the photograph and trying not to feel crazy, like I was looking at a picture of Cricket.
“Caroline,” Ellie said, looking over at Cricket.
I did the same, and seeing her so close up made my chest throb, but I turned back to the task at hand.
Ellie picked several nice things for the auction, and I couldn’t believe how generous she was being.
She picked up my hand and squeezed it. “Would you mind using your nice truck, Spencer, and taking this over to Yellow Creek for me? I think you’re the only one here who knows your way around there, besides Jonah, and I need him.”
“Not at all, Ellie.” I smiled.
“Thank you, baby.” She turned toward Cricket. “Grandbaby, will you go with him and see that Faye’s sister Helen knows all she’s getting from us and what they are worth?”
Cricket’s eyes widened and she looked panicked. She turned to Ethan and his face was expressionless.
She swallowed. “Of course,” she answered.
“Thank you, baby,” she said. “Ethan? Jonah? Will you come help me in the horse stalls for a minute. There’s some readjusting I need done and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan responded, narrowing his eyes at me.
Jonah and a reluctant Ethan followed her out, leaving Cricket and me alone for the first time in a week. It was beyond awkward.
“I’ll get the truck,” I said, making my way out of the barn.
I thought I was alone until I heard the faint crunch of Cricket’s boots in the leftover snow. I twisted my head just enough to see her behind me but didn’t acknowledge her more than that.
When we reached the truck, I held open the door for her and helped her in as respectfully as I could, still not saying a word. I rounded the front and hopped into the driver’s side, starting the engine. My hand instinctively used the back of her headrest as I backed out, and that made her flinch. I wanted to laugh, but I checked it quickly. Goofy girl.
I slowly made my way toward the old barn and the silence felt deafening. I hopped out and began to gather the things Ellie wanted to donate to the auction, fitting them into the back of the extended cab. At the end, I let Eugie jump in on my side.
The half-hour drive to Yellow Creek was so restrained, the sexual tension so palpable, I almost demanded she roll down her damn window, anything to relieve the strain. I had to drive around the stupid town for five minutes longer than I’d anticipated because I was having trouble finding the old schoolhouse they were using for the auction and dinner.
“Thank God,” we both breathed at the same time when we pulled in.
Click.
We hid our smiles and went inside as Eugie followed. We looked for Faye’s sister Helen, but it didn’t seem she was around.
“Truck,” I said and she nodded.
We began unloading everything and laid it next to all the offerings. I hoisted myself up to sit on the edge of the old stage and wait for Helen. Cricket made a move to do the same but she was so short, she couldn’t get her leg over the edge.