Read Online Being Emma by Jeanne Harrell - Free Book Online Page A

said probably not until 5:00.” He thought
he heard her grinning.
    “Marcia, are you laughing at me?” She poked
her head in and smiled.
    “You’re so grumpy today.” He put down the
phone. It was obviously unneeded.
    “So…”
    “… So, the last time you were this grumpy was
when Janie Johnson blew out a tire and crashed into your new car.
Remember that? Right out in front of the building here… It was so
funny when she…”
    “Okay, thanks, Marcia…”
    She stopped laughing, but continued to smile.
“Do you want me to reschedule him?”
    “Yes, please. I need to get out of here
and…”
    “Go workout? Blow off the grumpiness?”
    “Good night, Marcia.” She closed his door
still smiling. She had a good point though. Working out at the gym
would blow off some of this whatever that he was currently trapped
in. Before he left for the day, Colt called him.
    “Hey, I’m just about to head out.”
    “Come on over tonight. Let’s ride and then
we’ll bug Mandy for one more plate at dinner.” Craig smiled.
    “It’s a deal, but only if I get to sit
between Lucy and Livy. They got peanut butter all over my shirt
last time.” Colt laughed. “Eating at your house is always
memorable.”
    “Later...”
     
    Night was coming and the horizon was painted
in oranges and yellows. Could be rain coming, but in Nevada, who
really knew? The saying was if you didn’t like the weather, wait
fifteen minutes because it’ll change.
    Colt and Craig had been riding along the
eastern part of the property a few miles from his house for a while
now. They rode their horses in silence, listening to some birds
trilling in the distance and coyotes howling in their territory.
Checking on some cattle in that part of the ranch, they did a
cursory count and looked for anything amiss. Finding nothing, they
stopped for a while. Cattle grazed not far away, chewing and
swallowing. Colt enjoyed watching the setting sun.
    Both men leaned back on their Palominos and
relaxed. Sitting these horses was as comfortable for them as the
easy chair on the front porch. Craig wiped something off on his
jeans and took off his cowboy hat to brush off the dust. Colt
looked happy. After a long while, he spoke.
    “How was Scotland?”
    “It was good. Malcolm’s leg is better and
Aileen’s still putting up with him.” Colt grinned.
    “Your grandfather hurt his leg doing what
again?”
    “He almost broke a hip in the bathroom, but
luckily just suffered a bad sprain.”
    “Is your grandmother still trying to get you
to move over?”
    “… Yep… but she insists that I can only do it
if I bring a woman with me. Preferably a wife…” That made them both
laugh.
    “Should we advertise on a dating website for
you?”
    “At the rate I’m going, that actually sounds
good.” Colt looked over at him.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Oh, nothing… Just jet lag…” … And to change
the subject… “I hear Sandy’s putting in a new well.”
    “Yeah, that geologist Jesse hired last year
found a huge aquifer loaded with spring water. Dad wanted to tap
into it to help all our wells. Don’t think we’ll ever have to hook
into the county line now with this one.”
    “Great news… I bet that made Sandy’s
day.”
    “It did. Except there’s one thing…”
    “What’s that?”
    “The guy Dad hired to drill the well, his
company that is, well, he’s…. “
    “… He’s what? Incompetent? Sloppy? A
Martian?” Craig laughed.
    “Ah … No… He’s dating Janie…” Colt let that
hang out there for a minute to see how Craig would take it. He
didn’t look surprised.
    “Apparently, a lot happened when I was in
Scotland.”
    “Just shows you can’t leave town for too
long… Anything can happen.”
    Craig looked over at him.
    “And did…” Pause. “Does she like him?”
    “…They’ve been out a few times. You know
Janie — If she didn’t like you, she’d be gone.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “Mike Church. He owns the company up in