2. Travis

Iknew he'd come through. I can always count on Ryder. He's been there for me through thick and thin. I just thought he might give me a little bit more notice. This isn't the best week to have a writer here–but we'll make do.We'll have to.

I'm happy to do him the favor of watching his little sister. I hope she's as good as that Chad guy. All I've heard about for the last few months is how great Chad is. He was supposed to be the best at writing up reviews on exotic vacation spots…yada yada yada. And suddenly, Chad is out, and Ava is in.

We definitely need publicity. We need hype. We need people to know we exist. What I don't need is another little girl to babysit. I've got my own little girl to care for and a farm full of animals.

"Roberta! Roberta! Where are you?" I scream as I run toward the house.

"Here! What is it? What's wrong?" Roberta meets me on the porch.

"Dad? What is it?" Mia comes running down the stairs.

"She's coming! Today. We've got to get things ready. Do we have enough food? I want to put her in Pony Cottage. Can we get it ready in time?"

"Who is coming?" Roberta asks.

"I think we can. Do we have bedding? I'll make sure the lights work. We need to get it fully stocked: coffee, snacks, bottles of water–"

"Dad! What are you talking about?" Mia grabs my arm and shakes me back to earth. Both she and Roberta are staring at me, wide-eyed and stunned.

"Take a deep breath," Roberta says, and I obey. "Now tell us who is coming."

"Ryder's sister, Ava, from TravElegance, the magazine. Remember how I said my buddy has a popular travel magazine? He promised to do a story on us. He planned to send his best guy out in a few months, but something has changed. He didn't go into details, but he said he needed to send his sister here right away. And since he's doing me a favor by featuring us, I figured the least I could do is do a favor for him in return. But we have those ladies coming tomorrow–the widows' support group. They're taking up the whole main house. I don't want the feature story to make it seem like we're only for women of a certain age. I thought we'd have more time to prepare. We need to get a younger crowd in here. We need to get any sort of crowd in here! We–"

"Dad! Take a deep breath. Calm down. We've got this. Uncle Ryder won't throw you under the bus. His story is going to be good no matter what. He's not doing this to sabotage us!"

"You're right." I take a deep breath and blow out. "But we still have to get Pony Cottage ready. She needs somewhere to sleep. And food to eat. And things to do. Does the wifi reach Pony Cottage? A writer–"

"Dad! Chill! Roberta and I will go over to Pony Cottage right now and scope it out. Then, we'll come up with a plan to get it ready and let you know what needs to be done. Sit here and chill out for a few." Mia gently pushes me into one of the chairs on the front porch.

"Ok." I sit back. Mia is developing her mother's take-charge attitude. The older she gets, the more she becomes like her mom. "Wait! Actually, I'll come with you. We don't have any time to waste."

"Ok, Dad." I can hear her rolling her eyes.

We step into the cottage and are hit with stale, dusty air. I look around and think it's disastrous.

"Well, this isn't bad at all," Roberta says, opening the windows. The cottage is small but efficient and cozy. It's just one room, but we've managed to fit a queen-sized bed, a little sofa, a café table with two chairs, and a coffee bar. There's a bathroom with a toilet and a clawfoot tub and shower combo.

I don't let people stay in this one often. It was Lilian's idea to build several little cottages on the property for people to rent. Pony Cottage was her favorite. We stayed here while we were renovating the main house. Mia was a baby. It was just the three of us, and everything was perfect…

"Earth to Travis!" Mia yells.

"Dad, you mean?" I hate when she calls me by my first name.

"Yes, Dad, but you weren't responding! What is with you today?"

"Just a lot going on, a lot."

"OK, Roberta and I will get the fresh linens and cleaning supplies. You need to turn the water and power on and make sure they both work. We can have this place ready in an hour or so."

"Thank you, ladies. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I go around back and turn the water and the breaker on, hoping they both work without issue. Back inside, I close my eyes when I flip the switch. Thankfully, when I open them, the lights are on. Then, I walk over to the bathroom and turn on the faucet. Water spurts out and then flows smoothly. Next up, flush the toilet. I breathe a sigh of relief. Everything seems to be in working order. Roberta and Mia can make up the bed and clean up. I can get back to checking the fence around the farm.

I stepped outside as Mia and Roberta pulled up in the golf cart. They've got the cart stocked with everything needed to make Ava's stay perfect.

"Water and lights work. I'll leave you ladies to it. Mia, once you two are finished here, go straight back to your homework, got it?"

"Yes, sir." She salutes me. I know it"s a joke to her, but I don't mind it. She's a good kid. She'd get back to her homework even if I didn't tell her to. I turn to walk away and see Kenny walking toward me. I forgot I told him we'd take a ten-minute water break and then get back to surveying the fence.

"Kenny, sorry, man. I just got word that my buddy is sending his little sister up here to write the story for the travel magazine. We gotta get ready for her. This could be the publicity we've been wanting."

"No worries, boss. I saw the three of you scurrying around over here, so I thought I'd come to see what's going on. You want to get back to the fence?"

"Yeah–actually, I want to head over to the stable first to check on the horses. We can't have any incidents with a reporter here."

"Sure thing. Want me to come with you? Or get back to the fence?"

"Go back to the fence. I'll ride Bigsby out to you when I'm finished."

"Alright. I've finished that southeast corner. Everything looks good. I'll be over on the gate side."

Kenny jumps back on the four-wheeler, zooms off, and I walk toward the stable. I'm sure Manny has everything under control. He's the best stable manager anyone could ask for. I want to warn him about what's coming. Plus, I haven't seen Bigsby all day. An afternoon ride should put him in a better mood.

Bigsby is the horse I've had forever–he was Lilian's. She tamed and trained him. He loved her, and only her, for a long time. I've grown on him a bit, but I think that's because he knows she's not coming back. He doesn't let anyone else ride him or even get near.

I fill Manny in on what's going on with the widows' support group and Ava. He assures me that the horses are all in good spirits and that it will be a smooth week.

Bigsby is staring at me anxiously; I can tell he's ready to run. Manny had him saddled up already. That guy is always one step ahead of me.

"Let's go, bud." I give Bigsby the signal, and we're off.

I'm almost to the gate when I see it open, and a black car with tinted windows drivesthrough. The car stops to chat with Kenny, his arms gesturing every which way. He's giving directions to the main house. Looks like Ryder's little sister has arrived.