Chapter 5

5

T ex stood back from the door, because it used to open out. Today, it swung in, and the gorgeous, tall, lanky Abigail Ingalls stood there. He grinned at her, because a woman like her required such a response. "Hey," he said. "Do you happen to have an adjustable wrench we could borrow?"

"Yeah," she said, stepping back. "I think it's in the lean-to." She seemed…calm. Nice. Reserved. Tex knew she could be perfectly pleasant. She could joke and laugh. He'd once swung her around while they both laughed, the snow falling around them and the sun shining in the west. They'd then fallen to the ground and made snow angels, and he'd kissed her completely while the snow melted beneath the heat of their combined breath.

"Do you want to meet me around back?" she asked. "I'm gonna go through the house, because it's too hot."

"Some air conditioning would be nice," he said with a chuckle. "The house next door has no air conditioning." He entered the house, his smile slipping. "I'd forgotten about that. We used those window coolers."

"There's a couple of those," she said. "In the bedrooms, I think."

"Yeah," he said. "Bryce has been workin' on one of ‘em for a minute. We're trying to get the water on too, but the main line has rusted closed." He followed her into the kitchen, and in these older farmhouses, it was its own room.

Next door, the kitchen in the house where he'd grown up sat at the back of the house, with a double-wide doorway leading into it from the front living room. It wasn't quite one room, but he didn't mind so much. He could probably call in a contractor and see if he could knock down that wall to make it more open.

The house was probably over a hundred years old, and Tex once again experienced a horrible flash of regret that he hadn't stepped up as the oldest Young son and bought the farm from his father. Daddy had offered it to him at less than market value, but he'd been so focused on the band.

The band, the band, the band.

Tex's whole life for the past two decades had been the band. His marriage had failed because of the band. He'd missed a lot of years of his son's life because of the band. Some of his brothers didn't return his calls or texts because of the band.

The ranch was just so big, and so physical, and now that Tex was here, he couldn't face the choices he'd made in the past. He'd laid awake for at least two hours last night, filled with regret over focusing solely on his career for so long.

He hadn't known any better, and he'd prayed long and hard for forgiveness—and for guidance now that he wasn't in the band. The album he hadn't finished yet, the one still on his contract, hung over his head, but as he glanced over to Wade sitting at the kitchen table, he pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Howdy, Wade," he said as if he was a real cowboy. He was about to be, if the look of the fences, the pastures, the land, and the farmhouse were any indication. Tex had already called Mav and offered him a job, to which his younger brother had laughed and laughed.

But he was on his way over, because he'd grown up in that house and on that land too, and he wasn't currently employed. He volunteered a little bit, and he took care of his wife and kids. He loved having time to make a hot breakfast in the morning for everyone, take the kids to the swimming pool or the pond in the hills. They went hiking, boating, and more, and Tex could admit the main reason he and Bryce had come here instead of staying in Boise was because Tex wanted to do and experience all of those things with his son too.

"Tex," Wade said with the nod of his head. He didn't move to get up.

"Smells good," Tex said, catching a whiff of Abby's perfume. She didn't know that, of course, and she paused near the back door as he took another couple of steps and reached her.

"It's from a new place in town," she said, downright cordial now. "Capolti's. Have you been yet?"

"No," he said. "We did see it on the way through, though. Good to know it's good."

"We love it," Abby said, and then she went outside. Tex once again followed her, this time taking a moment to appreciate the curves she had as she practically skipped down the steps. He went before she could realize he was ogling her, and they arrived at the lean-to against the back of the house almost at the same time.

She opened the single door, and the hot scent of dust and metal met his nose. Sweat had already started to bead beneath his cowboy hat again, and he told himself to get used to it. The forecast didn't call for rain for another week, and the heat wave that had been drying out the West and Midwest planned to stick around for several more days.

"I was thinkin' of flooding the yard tonight," he said. "The irrigation water is still running. Seems like I remember my daddy tellin' yours when he was gonna do it, because you guys then wouldn't have irrigation water for a bit."

She glanced at him and then stepped into the slim lean-to. "That's fine." Her voice echoed though the space wasn't very big. She backed out with a huge red toolbox in her hands. He grabbed it from her the moment he noticed how badly her arms trembled.

"Thanks," he said. "We might as well try to revive the grass and fields." He looked south, toward his place. "We can't plant much this year, but we could put a cow and horses out there." To his left, on her property, the squabbling of chickens met his ears, and he swung his attention that way.

"Your place is real pretty," he said, meaning it. The two houses sat right next to one another, driveways and a slim piece of lawn separating them. His ranch then went straight back and to the south, while the Ingalls' went back and north. He wasn't exactly sure on their acreage, and he wasn't going to ask.

But all of their fences stood tall and proud and strong. Their chicken coop was new and properly wired so they didn't lose birds to foxes or hounds or wolves. The pastures held grazing animals and greenery, and their grass had been recently clipped, with huge trees clustered in the back corner as well as in the front yard.

"Thank you," Abby said quietly. "You can keep the tools for now. You might need them."

He looked back at her, and the moment froze. She closed her eyes, but everything moved in slow motion so he could see each individual eyelash as it went down and then started back up. Those lovely eyes looked straight at him, and since she really couldn't hide her feelings, he saw her own regret in her expression.

In the past, she never would've apologized. Well, that wasn't true. She'd let the storms blow out of her, and then she'd come over, her hands pressed together and her skinny legs barely able to hold her up as she said she was sorry.

Now, she said, "Tex, I'm sorry about the auction, okay? I shouldn't have lost my mind and overbid so much."

He nodded, his attraction to this woman making his throat too narrow to speak. That, or working in the heat for the past hour, without food, had really addled his brain. That one. He was going to go with that one.

"Do they deliver food out here these days?" he asked, thinking he and Bryce should've probably grabbed something in town the way Abby had.

"Just pizza," she said. "From The Pipeline." She raised her eyebrows, clearly asking him if he was that desperate.

He just might be. He grinned at her, but she'd already started to turn away. She missed the playful grin, and Tex forced it from his face anyway. He wasn't going to ask her out. She'd say no anyway, and then his pride would be hurt and he'd be embarrassed to see her across the way as they went about doing their chores.

"The Pipeline," he said with a laugh. "I can't believe that place is still in business."

"It's good for kids," she said. "They'll eat anything."

He laughed again and said, "I suppose you're right." He lifted the toolbox a few inches. "Thanks. I'll bring ‘em back as soon as we're done."

She looked next door and then nodded. "It's a lot of work over there." Their eyes met again, and something teetered between them. She opened her mouth to say something, but her brother called her from inside.

Abby turned that way and went up the steps two at a time and through the door in one fluid motion, already saying, "Wade?"

Tex's heart beat a little faster too, and not just because Wade Ingalls might be in trouble.

"I'm fine," Wade drawled, and the door closed as he said, "It's hot, Abby. We?—"

Tex started back toward his own house, counting his steps. It used to be fifty-five from his back door—which really came out of the side of the house—to hers. He must've gotten longer legs, because it only took him fifty-two steps and a whole lot of introspection about the woman Abby had become.

Yes, there were some things about her that were the same. Some things had changed too, and Tex liked the curves, the makeup, the long, curled eyelashes, and her ability to talk to him like a human being. He appreciated the apology, and the way Abby clearly adored and took care of Wade. She hadn't fallen down in her family duties to take over the family farm, and the weight on Tex's shoulders increased as he went up the tall staircase to the door leading into the kitchen.

A set of stairs went down right in front of him, and he needed to install a door there. If Mav brought Beth and Boston here, one of them could go tumbling down to the basement easily. He mentally added it to his miles-long to-do list and went down the steps, calling, "Got the tools. I'm gonna try the water main."

"Okay," Bryce yelled from somewhere in the house—probably on the other side of it, where two bedrooms sat across the hall from one another. A bathroom sat between them, and one sat between the kitchen and the back bedroom too. It was connected to the small master bedroom as well as the hallway.

His parents had raised nine boys in this house, and that was solely because of the basement. It also had two bathrooms, one in each of the two back corners. A small living room sat at the bottom of the steps and extended below the living room upstairs too. The rest of the space was filled with bedrooms, four in total.

They weren't big, but they could hold a set of bunk beds, a desk, and a closet. For a boy, they didn't need much else. His father had finished this basement with the help of a friend, and Tex wanted to rip everything out of it and make it a family home.

He wanted real carpet pad and carpet on the cement floor, with bigger bedrooms and more family living space. He wanted a storage room full of Christmas decorations, an exercise bike they never used, and extra toilet paper.

The real family dream.

As it was, he went into the bathroom in the back corner of the house below the master bedroom and set the toolbox on the vanity. His parents had done the best they could with what they had and what they could afford. His mother had taught piano lessons in exchange for the horseback riding lessons Blaze had begged to have. His dad had helped others in the community with their basements and farms so he could get the same help in return.

As Tex found the adjustable wrench and started making it the right size, he murmured, "Thank you for good parents, Lord. Help me to tell them how amazing they are, and bless me to learn the lessons I probably should've when I was a boy."

With the aid of the wrench, he managed to get the water main moving. The lever made a terrible moaning sound as he moved it into the on position, and he grunted once it wouldn't move any further. It sat at a right angle now, and Tex sighed.

"All right," he said to himself. "Moment of truth." He turned and twisted the faucet on the bathroom sink, expecting rusty, spurting water to come out.

It didn't.

He waited, because he had some experience with older houses like this one. The rental they'd stayed in last night clearly hadn't been used in a long time, and it had taken a few seconds for the water to make it to the kitchen sink. He'd messaged the landlord and said he and Bryce would not be staying there due to the dirt, grime, and spiderwebs prevalent in the house, and the owner had responded with an apology and a refund.

Water exploded out of the bathroom fixture, and Tex jumped back with a cry of surprise. The lines had air in them, but they seemed to be working. The water came out in spurts and gushes, and yes, it was the color of mud for at least a minute.

He grinned as it started to run in a clear, steady stream. Pure happiness ran through him over something so simple, and Tex needed that. He needed simplicity and hard work, and he looked up to the too-low ceiling and said, "Thank you, Lord."

For the water, sure. But also for this experience, for this ranch, the house, all of it.

He tossed the wrench back into the toolbox and took it upstairs, yelling, "Water's on!" He wanted to celebrate with his son, of course, but faced with the door that led outside and then the possibility of only fifty-two steps until he could rejoice with Abby, Tex had a decision to make.

He turned left and went around the corner into the kitchen. He flipped on the sink there and got spurting, discolored water. He kept going, intending to make sure all the bathrooms were up and running before he and Bryce did anything else.

The house held no furniture—not even a cardboard box they could sit on—so they needed to make another trip to town that day. Fast. His stomach told him the same thing, and after turning on the faucets in both of the upstairs bathrooms, he entered the bedroom that would be Bryce's.

His son turned toward him, a giant grin on his face. "Look what I got running." The window air conditioner hummed beside him, and Tex took off his cowboy hat and tossed it into the air, emitting some wild whoop he'd heard Blaze and Jem do after they'd ridden bulls.

This wasn't quite the same as staying on a two-ton bucking beast for eight seconds, but it sure felt like it.

He grabbed onto his son, and they laughed together. "I'll fix yours too," Bryce said.

"I've got the water on," Tex said. "We have electricity. Now all we need is food…and about fifteen hundred other things." He turned as Bryce went by him and down the hall a jog and into the master bedroom.

"Hey," he said, following. "Leave it for now. Let's get back to town and go shopping."

"If I fix it first, it'll be running while we're gone," he said, continuing toward the window unit. "I know how now, Dad. It'll be fast."

The logic was sound, so Tex left him to do that while he went to turn off all the water. It ran clear, and he once again praised God for his goodness and miracles. It seemed odd that a being as powerful and all-knowing as God could care so much about providing water for Tex in this small house in the wilds of Wyoming. But as he stood in that house, in Wyoming, amidst an entire universe of people and things and happenings, Tex felt the sure love of the Lord.

He warmed from head to toe, though he was certainly already warm enough, and closed his eyes in silent thanks.

When he opened them, he started making a list of all the things he and Bryce needed. Food went on it, as did things like vacuum, cleaners, mop, broom, medicines , and airbeds .

He started praying that the furniture store could deliver quickly, and then he called Mav.

"Hey," Mav said. "I'm on my way."

"We're going to be leaving in a minute," Tex said in a rush. "Sorry, but there's nothing here and we're starving."

"Oh, sure," Mav said. "Do you want to meet somewhere? I can head out afterward."

"Bryce and I have a ton of shopping to do too," Tex said, plenty of apology in his voice. "There's nothing here. No furniture. Nothing to clean with. I want central air…."

Mav chuckled and said, "Yeah, that house doesn't have central air conditioning. I forgot about that."

"You and me both," Tex grumbled. A new unit that would power the furnace and air conditioning wasn't cheap, he knew that. That was why his parents hadn't installed one.

"You also said my wife's favorite word," Mav said.

"Hey," Dani said. "Not true."

"Shopping," Mav said anyway. "She's gesturing at me like mad, and I finally figured out her warped sign language."

Tex grinned as Dani started arguing with Mav. They were on the speakerphone, and Mav just laughed while Dani said, "Tex, I know the best place to get everything you need. Please let me come. They're new, and not many people go there."

"Can they deliver, like, last night?" he asked.

"I will call Hilde right now," she said. "They delivered our dining room table the next day."

"It was in stock," Mav said. "So he'll have to pick out what they have."

Tex thought he could do that, and he quickly agreed to meet Mav and his family at Monarch Wash, a fast-casual restaurant that served popular burgers and sandwiches as bowls. It wasn't really Tex's kind of food, but Mav raved about it and Tex didn't want to argue.

"Got it," Bryce said, entering the kitchen. His hands bore black, and he stepped over to the sink to wash them. "This water is freezing."

"It comes from a well," he said. "And the water heater won't have been on long enough to heat much."

"We don't have any soap either," Bryce said, frowning at his hands.

"I have a big list of things," Tex said. "And we're meetin' Mav and Dani for lunch. So let's get going."

Going anywhere from out this way took longer than Tex remembered, and by the time he arrived at Monarch Wash, Mav, Dani, and their kids had ordered. "Sorry," he said to his brother. He grinned at Beth and Boston, and said, "Look at you two. I swear you've grown a million inches since the wedding."

"A million inches, Uncle Tex?" Beth asked. Her mother was oh-so-proper, and she got some of that from Mav's ex-wife. He grinned at her, as did Mav, and sat down.

"Did you order for me?"

"Just drinks," Mav said, indicating the tall glass of soda in front of Tex. Another blessing, and he thanked his brother verbally and the Lord mentally as he unwrapped his straw and got the first taste of delectable Diet Dr. Pepper.

"Where's Bryce?" Mav asked.

"He went to wash his hands," Tex said. "We don't have soap at the house, and he got grimy fixin' the window coolers." He grinned at Dani and then Mav. "So. I bought Daddy's farm, and it's a huge mess."

"You look so happy about it," Mav said dryly.

"You know what?" Tex asked. Then he took another long, ice-cold drink of his soda, feeling it spread its coolness into the warmer parts of his body. "I am."

"Mav would love to come help you with it," Dani said, giving her husband a pointed look.

"No," Mav said quickly, shooting her a glare. "I wouldn't."

"But you're going to," she said. "You can take the kids and everything. It'll be good for all of you."

"She's just sore because I get a nap every day when she has to work." Mav grinned at her. "I've earned my naps."

"I never said you haven't," she said. "But your brother needs help. Isn't that why we moved here? To help your family when they need it?"

"Mama and Daddy," he said, enunciating every syllable. He switched his hard look to Tex, but Tex had seen it plenty of times before. Unbothered, he drained the last of his soda just as Bryce joined the party.

"Hey, Uncle Mav." He grinned at him and then Dani. "Aunt Dani."

"Hello, dear," Dani said, looking from him to Tex and back. "Your daddy says you swallowed spiders last night?"

"What?" Beth asked, looking up from her coloring sheet. "He ate spiders? Bryce, why would you do that?" She looked horrified, as did Boston, and Tex adored his niece. He burst out laughing while Dani tried to explain that no, Bryce hadn't eaten the spiders willingly.

He met Mav's eye, the two of them grinning at one another just like they had in the band. "Family," he said, reaching over and clasping his hand over Mav's. "It's good to be home."

"That it is," Mav said. "That it is."