She shook her head and fled to the bathroom, moving slowly, and changed into her own sweats and t-shirt. When she finally emerged, Kade was on the far side of the bed. Hurrying forward, she slid into her own side of the bed, and rolled over to turn off the light.
“Good night, Cassie.”
“Good night.” Pulling the covers up to her chin. She didn’t dare turn around. She hugged the edge of the mattress and wondered what was stranger: waking up married, or going to sleep with her new husband?
Chapter Seven
Slowly opening her eyes, it took Cassidy a moment to remember why she was waking up in a strange bed, in a strange room. Turning her head quickly, there was no sign of Kade. At least not in bed. Craning her neck, she glanced into the adjoining bathroom. No Kade. What time was it? Eight. Boy, folks sure got up and going early around here. Then again, ranchers pretty much rose and settled in with the chickens. Whatever that meant.
Whipping the covers over to one side, she rose and hurried into the bathroom and dressed for the day. Jeans and sweats seemed about as practical for ranch clothes as she could get. Donning her sneakers, she took a deep breath and made her way downstairs. On the first floor, she followed the scent of coffee and laundry detergent to a spacious utility room off the kitchen.
Alice Sweet stood among a mountain of towels, humming softly as she set aside a folded one. “Good morning, dear. Sleep well?”
“Very well, thank you.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Once she’d finally fallen asleep, she’d slept like the proverbial baby. “Let me help with that.” Cassidy reached for a towel.
“Nonsense. You’re still a newlywed,” Alice gently shooed her hand away, “and newlyweds aren’t supposed to work. My broodare coffee drinkers. Would you like a cup while I whip up some breakfast for you?”
“No, thank you. I’m not very hungry this morning.” No point telling the woman she preferred tea for breakfast.
Kade’s mother studied her for a long moment, then gave a resigned nod. “Well, if you’re looking for Kade, he and Rachel are out in the barn.”
“Thank you. I’ll go…” She hesitated. Go what?
Lifting the folded towels in her arms, Alice Sweet chuckled. “I’m sure he’s anxious to see you. Go on.”
“Yes.” She had no idea if Kade wanted to see her or not, but she was too nervous to hang out with a woman who thought her son had fallen madly in love and was anxious to see his bride. Passing a fruit bowl on the counter, Cassidy grabbed an apple and headed outside.
The morning sky was that cloudless shade of blue she was starting to associate with Texas. She had no idea why Montana was called Big Sky country. From where she stood, Texas had to have the corner on the big sky market. Forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other, almost at the open door, a knocking sound caught her ear. Slowing her steps, she strained to listen. By the time she reached the doorway, both Kade and Rachel were standing side by side, staring in her direction.
“I wondered who had Boots all worked up.” Kade smiled.
The horse she’d met last night had her head over the stall door, shaking and making funny noises, and Cassidy was pretty sure that knocking sound was the horse’s hoof hitting the door.
Holding a clipboard, Rachel smiled. “Looks like you’ve made a friend.”
“Can I give her an apple? I saw it on the counter and I’ve heard that horses like apples.”
“Sure.” Kade nodded. “Not that you need to bribe her, but feed her apples and she’ll be your friend for life.”
Approaching slowly, Cassidy pulled the apple from her pocket. “Hey, girl.”
Boots’s soft lips found the apple. Cassidy held her hand flat, smiling as the massive animal gently retrieved it, crunched away, and then moved her lips, tickling Cassidy’s palm, making sure she’d not left any morsel behind.
The horse nudged her and Cassidy began stroking her neck. “Such a sweet girl.”
“Especially when you give her what she wants,” Rachel called out without looking up from her clipboard. Kade stood beside her frowning at stacks of feed bags.
“I just don’t get it.” Rachel’s tone held a hint of frustration. “The numbers aren’t adding up.”
Cassidy stayed where she was, stroking Boots’s soft nose. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the barn was a cavern of sound, and their conversation carried. They talked of feed bags, consumption rates, and herd sizes. It was a language she didn’t speak, a world she didn’t know, but the core of their problem was something she understood intimately: numbers. She let them talk for another minute, her own mind quietly running the calculations, turning the variables over. Gently patting the horse’s neck, she whispered, “I’ll be right back,” and the way the animal barely dipped her head made Cassidy think the mare actually understood. Slowly moving closer, she glanced at the papers. “What’s going on?”
Rachel gestured to the feed bags. “Preston’s in town dealing with the feed supplier, and we’re trying to figure out our supply levels. We’ve got this new delivery; plus what’s left from last month, and…” she trailed off, looking at the stacks like they might rearrange themselves into something more comprehensible.
Kade tapped his pencil against the notepad. “Trying to calculate if we have enough to get us through till thenext scheduled delivery. Consumption rate per head, weight variations between full and partial bags…” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, it looks like we have enough for maybe two weeks? Three?”
Cassidy’s eyes moved across the barn, counting stacks automatically, her brain already categorizing: full bags here, three quarters there, that one’s maybe half. She’d been doing it since she walked in, not even consciously, the same way she used to track cards at the table. Looking down at the notes, she pointed to one set of numbers. “Is this how many head of cattle?”
Kade nodded. “And these are the horse numbers.”
