"You must be Blair," he says as he greets me. "Case Cooper, my brothers and I own this ranch.”
I shake his hand with a smile. "Thanks. I’ve been looking forward to staying here ever since I made the booking. It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks.” He steps back and sweeps his hand out. “Come on in. I’ll grab you the keys and then I’ll take you to where the cabin is.”
“That’d be great,” I say, following behind him into a big living area.
On one side there are couches and a fireplace with a bigger-than-expected television sitting on the wall over it. There’s a huge bay window at the front of the house looking over the driveway and down over the valley. There’s a big farmhouse dinner table with alotof chairs around it in the middle of the room with a half-renovated big country kitchen set at the far side.
Case comes to a stop at the counter and grabs a set of keys attached to a wooden tag with an engraving of a mountain on it. “Hope you had a good drive. At least you made the trek now rather than in the middle of winter. Believe me, me and two of my brothers arrived late January and the roads werewayworse than now.”
I cock my head to the side. “You’re not from here?”
“Nope. This has always been family land. Our grandfather was livin’ here until he passed last year,” he explains. I note the way he drops his g’s, finding it charming. “His last wishes were for the four of us brothers to live here together for two years.”
“And you all are only staying here temporarily?” I ask, confused about the two-year stipulation.
He shakes his head faster than the devil can fly. “Not anymore. My brother Will and I are now each engaged to the love of our lives,” My eyes widen. “Not thesamewoman, jeez.” He laughs. “They’re best friends though. We’re havin’ a double weddin’ next month here on the ranch.” He stops and looks up at me. “You’re more than welcome to celebrate with us. We’re hopin’ that our guests will feel like a part of the ranch family while they’re stayin’ here. That’s the plan, anyway.”
My head jerks at the invitation. “You’re inviting me to your wedding? We’ve only just met.”
“Do you notlikeweddin’s?” he says, his brows bunching.
“Whowouldn’tlove a good wedding? Not that I’ve ever been to one before.”
Case shrugs. “You’re a doctor and you’re goin’ to be workin’ at the hospital with my fiancée, Isla. She’s a nurse. One of my brothers–not the one gettin’ married, mind you–works there too. He’s a therapist, psychologist. You know, a head doctor.” I laugh at his description.
That puts me at ease. I like knowing there will be other like-minded people on the ranch. “I can’t wait to meet them. It’ll be nice to have at least a few familiar faces at the hospital.”
“That’s what Isla said too. She’s on shift at the moment but she said she’ll see you tomorrow.” He holds out the keys for me. “Let me give you these, and I’ll walk ahead of you if you want to follow me to the cabin in your car.”
“I’m happy to give you a ride. I don’t want to put you out,” I reply.
He shakes his head. “Me walkin’ ahead serves two purposes. One, I get to stretch my legs and get some exercise since I’ve got six weeks till I’ve got to fit my suit.” He grins. “And it also means I can run interference if Grumps decides to cause havoc. I know he’s roamin’ the property today because he escaped his stall this mornin’.”
“Grumps?”
“He’s the ranch donkey. You’ll know him when you see him because he’s got a mohawk. We don’t know where he came from because he just turned up one day and never left.” Case leads me back out of the front door and to my car. “He’s also a bit of a Houdini, hence me walkin’ ahead. He likes to keep us on our toes.”
I’m still wrapping my head around Case talking about the animal like he’s human. “OK…”
“He’s the friendly sort, though. He’s gettin’ there, anyway,” he continues. “Right. Follow me and let’s get you to your newhome for the next six months. We figured you might be tired from all your travelin’ today so we put some basic groceries and a heat-up meal for you to have for supper. We’re havin’ a lunch at the main house tomorrow, so you’ll meet everyone else then.”
“Thanks, Case. That’s very kind. I look forward to meeting your family,” I reply.
He studies me for a second as a slow-growing smile takes over his face. “Yeah. I knew you were the one.”
I frown. “The one?”
Case opens his mouth before closing it again, as if he was about to say something then thought better of it. “I meant as our first guest. I just had a feelin’ when your bookin’ came through. That’s all.”
“Really?”
“Yep. We’re slowly upgradin’ the cabins and you’re our trial run. So, if there’s anythin’ not to your likin’ or somethin’ you think we can do better, let us know.”
“I’m honored, and I will. I can’t wait to help out around the place too. It’s been far too long since I was able to get my hands dirty.”
“You said you chose us because it reminded you of home. Where’s that?”
