When Love's Gone Country

Chapter Ten



They all staked out their beds, such as they were, with Jacob and Jeremy taking the two at the far end, away from everyone else.

When the Peterman’s returned with a wheelbarrow filled with a black kettle, cast iron plates with high sides and a basket filled with bread, they were all ready to fill their bellies with a good meal.

“Emma outdid herself today, bringing you her famous fish head stew.” Frank lifted the pot lid to reveal fish heads in a broth so thick it looked like Jell-o. Fish eyes stared up at the onlookers as they peered into the pot.

“That’s it!” Meg declared, getting up from the bench and planting her feet firmly twelve inches from the Peterman’s bodies. “I want my money back right now and I’m going to sue you for false advertising.”

“Meg,” Bobby started.

Meg didn’t slow down for a second. “What are you trying to pull here? How many other people have you done this bait and switch to? We came here looking for a chance to work at a real ranch and this is how we’re treated!

We’ve driven all day, we’re tired and we paid for, for, for THIS!” She flung her hand out to encompass the fish, the room and even the mouse that had poked its head out hoping to get a bite of stew.

“Should you tell ‘em or should I?” Emma asked.

“You tell ‘em. It’ll probably sound better comin’ from you,” Frank said.

“You can tell a lot about a person by how they react to circumstances beyond their control.” Suddenly Emma’s hillbilly accent faded away. “This is how we greet all newcomers to the Double Y. Most take off as soon as we leave to go get dinner. A few stick around, figuring they’ll get things straightened out in the morning. No one has ever tried the fish head stew.”

Frank took over. “This ranch hand quarter is one of the originals, the others have all been refurbished and updated. If you’d have been hired to work the ranch back in the fifties, this is exactly what it would have been like.”

“Right down to the mouse in the corner,” Emma added with a warm smile.

“Follow us over one bunker and we’ll show you where you’ll really be staying. We have a feast waiting for you, too,” Frank said with a wink. “They’ll get your belongings and bring ‘em over.” Six burly ranch hands came through the door with gloved hands, booted feet and Stetson’s on their heads.

“Well… that’s more like it,” Meg said.

“Thank God I’m not going to have to share my bed with a rat,” Purity said.

It wasn’t until they were halfway to the new quarters that Bobby realized the boys hadn’t followed them. Meg began retracing their steps.

“I’ll go,” Bob said. “You go ahead with the rest of the group.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. And, Meg, if they want to stay, I’m going to let them.”

Meg bit her lower lip, but shook her head. She didn’t know if it was wise or not, but what else could they do? At least it would make the boys feel like they had some kind of control.

“Hey guys,” Bobby said as he approached the boys. “If you want to stay here, instead of moving over to the new place, that’s okay.”

“Really?” Jacob asked, surprised that Meg would let him out of her sight. “Mom’s okay with that?”

“She is.”

“I’d like to stay here, but I don’t really want to get bit by a rat. Can I come look at the new place and then decide?” Jeremy asked.

“Sure.”

“Is that okay with you?” Jeremy asked Jacob.

“Do whatever you want. It’s your life.”

Jeremy wasn’t sure if that was a yes or a no, but sleeping without worrying about getting bit sure sounded better.

“Why don’t you come over for some food, then you can come back here and unpack?”

Jacob didn’t say anything, but he followed Bob and Jeremy.

When they opened the door to the second ranch hand quarters, Jeremy let out a resounding, “Wow! I’m staying here!”

The open floor plan was gone, replaced with individual bedrooms, along with a living room right out of a Bonanza episode. A large dining table could be seen on the far side of the room. The kitchen was located off the dining room with a full staff hard at work.

Leather chairs and couches were set in a u-shape around a fireplace as tall as Diego when he was up on his hind legs.

Muted jewel tones of green, blue and red punctuated the décor tastefully, along with plenty of wood begging to have a finger run along the grain of mahogany, cherry, pine and oak. Antlers from various wooded creatures hung above the fireplace.

“This looks like the brochure,” Meg said.

The Peterman’s laughed good-naturedly. Frank said, “Thanks for being such good sports. We’ve got some hard work ahead of us and we need to separate the chaff from the wheat right from the get-go.”

“Are we chaff or wheat?” Jeremy asked.

“You’re a hard worker,” Frank said, “and that’s what we’re lookin’ for.”

A meal of pot roast with root vegetables, salad with freshly ripened tomatoes, corn on the cob and blackberry cobbler was eaten with great enthusiasm.

“I have died and gone to heaven,” Courtney said. “You guys can go do all the work. I’ll just stay here and eat.”

“Nice try,” Purity said. “If we’re working, you’re working.”