But Luke didn't stop by the house when he fed his horses. I knew he had church and other obligations, so I tried not to think anything of it. Monday morning, he was here and gone before I even woke up, although he sent me a text around noon to let me know that he'd be by just after dark. Naturally, I decided to make the most of it.
If he was cooking, then I could at least bring the drinks. That required a quick trip up the road to a town that sold beer and wine. For Luke, I found plenty of options. The wine, however, wasn't as impressive. Granted, I was a bit of a snob about it, so I decided to go with something local and take my chances. I made it back and started to get ready before the sun even set.
Then I had nothing to do. I wanted to clean, but the house was basically spotless. I thought about touching up my face, but I wasn't going to fall into that habit. Instead, I sat down and started running the numbers for the business again. If I wanted to make Southwind into a shadow of its former self, then I'd need my own horses. The problem was that I didn't know how to pick them, but I had a feeling Luke did.
We'd also need to get a few of the bunk houses cleaned up. I could probably talk Cyan into helping me watch over the kids, and Crimson had already offered to come down and install modern security on the grounds so no delinquents could sneak off. The problem was that it wouldn't be enough. We would eventually need more help, and I could barely remember all the people who'd used to work here.
On impulse, I headed into Gran's old office, hoping she had some kind of job ledger. She'd kept so many records, and the walls were lined with her little notebooks full of information. My finger was skipping over the spines when I heard the front door open.
A moment later, Luke called out. "Violet?"
"In Gran's office," I yelled back.
"Good. Stay there."
I could hear the rustling of plastic bags, so I decided he was trying to be impressive. Giving him a little more time, I pulled out a random journal and flipped it open, only to pause at the sight of her handwriting. My throat closed up unexpectedly, and a wave of grief hit me. My eyes blurred, but I tried to blink away the tears. Setting the journal on the desk, I leaned over it, lifted my head to the ceiling, and tried to convince myself that it was ok.
Which was when Luke walked in. "Vi?" he asked softly.
"I..." I had to pause and clear my throat. "I was trying to find something, and I saw her handwriting. I just..." Shit, I was losing. My voice felt pinched and my eyes weren't drying up.
"It's ok," he breathed, crossing the room to wrap me in his arms.
I pressed my face against Luke's chest and focused on the sweet smell of alfalfa that clung to him. That made it easier to find my control again. Pulling in a long, slow breath, I just let this man hold me, but I would not ruin tonight. That was not what Gran would've wanted.
"I'm ok," I finally said, pulling back to make sure my mascara wasn't smudged. "I just miss her."
"We all do," he promised. "And it's ok. Believe it or not, you're allowed to not just miss her, but cry about it."
"I don't cry," I told him, turning back to the book so I could change the subject. "You don't happen to remember how many people she had on staff, do you?"
"Not offhand," he admitted. "I actually lived in the house, not the cabins with the others."
I looked up quickly, not expecting that. "Gran moved you into the house?"
"Yeah. I was waiting for a call that Meredith was going into labor, and then I had an infant to take care of, so Vera and Bea decided that I needed to be here. I had that green room at the end of the hall. The big one, with enough space for a crib. Vera said it matched my eyes and that color was very important, but I didn't understand that until later." Then he tilted his head, inviting me to come into the other room with him.
I trailed him out. "So you know all about the colors?"
"Some," he admitted. "I wasn't in the little spectrum, but I heard enough about it. Did they ever name anyone a boring color like red?"
"Nope." I moved to claim a chair at the bar while he headed to the counter on the other side. "Gran felt it was important for us all to have a special shade. Red was too vague, and she probably didn't need kids fighting over who had the rights to whatever shade. So, we broke it up. There's a Crimson and a Scarlet, as examples."
"You talk to them all?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Here and there. We all have those we're closer to, but usually I just keep up with the Board of Directors."
He turned to pull out a steak and something that looked a lot like tofu. "Southwind has a BOD?" He sounded surprised, but didn't look up.
"And you know how to cook tofu?" I asked.
He huffed a laugh. "So, my daughter doesn't like to eat. She's watching every calorie and worried about her figure. I know how to Google, and I found a few things that are nutritious but sound good." He finally lifted those pretty green eyes up to look at me. "No promises, but I figure that you can't be any worse to feed than her."
"I like tofu," I admitted.
"And?" he asked.
Which confused me. "Huh?"
