“I like being able to see what is going on, Mom. You know that. Besides, Dad would never have let anyone do a job without him seeing it over.”
“Yeah, and your father was a control freak. This is your and your brother’s ranch now. It’s your choice what you do.” She rubbed his arms and then began serving them all up some chili. Paige ran into the room and got scolded.
His mom always had her rules, and running in the kitchen was not acceptable. Paige apologized before taking a seat. “Sorry, Granny.”
“You should be, dear. We can’t have you hurt.” She touched Paige’s face. “This face is that of an angel, dear. The kitchen is a dangerous place.”
“I know, I know. I can burn it, and then I’ll be crying. I get it. I’ll stop running.”
His mother sighed. He’d always given Paige freedom to say and do what she wanted, but the ranch was not a place to have a young girl running around.
The best times of his life had been exploring the ranch. He never allowed Paige to go off by herself, and there was always someone with her.
Like his mother had said many times now, Paige needed to have some structure. Her education was important, and she’d missed days of school because his mother’s arthritis played up, and he’d been too busy to drive her.
He didn’t say anything as they all sat down to eat.
“When does she arrive tomorrow?” his mother asked when Paige left to go take a quick shower.
“Eight in the morning. We’ll see if she’s a morning person, if she’s early or late.”
“What do you have against a nanny?” his mother asked.
“We didn’t have one growing up.”
“You had me, honey. Ivory’s not here, and you need help. I know it’s hard for you to accept that.”
“It’s not hard. I can take care of my own daughter.”
“Then why is her attendance so low? Why don’t you get Mike to pick her up and hang out with his kids?” she asked, sitting back, arms folded.
“You know I don’t like to impose,” he said.
His mother sighed. “This woman comes highly recommended. She’s got qualifications in teaching, and in taking care of kids.”
“No one needs a qualification to do that.”
“You do nowadays for the most part. This place could use a woman’s touch, and I’m warning you, Caleb, be nice.”
“Have you met this woman before?” he asked.
His mother looked away. “A couple of times in town.”
“This is not your idea of matchmaking, is it?”
“Maddie is a lovely woman. She’s just been hit with a hard time, is all.”
“Really?” he asked. Running a hand down his face, he sighed. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Her fiancé left her at the altar for her sister,” his mother said, stopping him from leaving. “This happened a year ago, and the entire town was present to witness it. She was at the church, dressed in white, looked absolutely beautiful. He called her a fat bitch, along with a lot of other names, and left.”
He remembered the gossip he’d heard about it. His mother had been so upset about the whole ordeal. He’d not been able to attend the wedding even though he got an invitation. He remembered it purely for the fact they got invited. No one ever took the time to drive out to the Pole ranch and ask them to attend. His mother had spoken of Maddie, or Madeline, Lennox often after that.
“Didn’t she leave town?” he asked.
“No. She went and worked for the Hoopers for the past year.” The Hoopers were one of the town’s wealthiest families. “Just give her a chance. I’m going to stay over so she’s got a friendly face when she gets here.”
His mother left him alone. Getting up, he did the dishes. At the time when he heard what happened, he’d felt a little sad for the young woman. He couldn’t put a face to the woman his mother often talked about, or even the gossip the ranchers liked to mention.
Oh, well, everything would become clear tomorrow.
****
Maddie was a morning person. Tapping her fingers on the wheel of her car, she stayed outside of the ranch, which she’d parked in front of ten minutes ago. It was only seven in the morning, and she knew her appointment was for eight. She took a sip of her coffee as she watched ranch hands begin to arrive, parking up in the large expanse of field near the house.
She knew Pole’s Ranch employed a great deal of people, and had undergone a lot of radical changes over the years. It was one of the best places for rearing cattle, or so she’d heard. She didn’t really know all that much about the ranch. She knew Mrs. Pole and that the man here had a daughter.
Gossip was not something she liked to follow. She’d never liked it. After always being the butt of a joke, or someone’s idea of a cruel joke in school, she’d hated gossip from a young age. Then of course Chad decided to dump her ass and pick her sister, Emily. What made it worse, she didn’t care.