Chestnut Valley Ranch
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Ronja T. Lejonhjärta
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337K
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23
Gabby lives light and loose, drifting from place to place with no ties and no plans to stay. It suits her just fine, until one charged night flips her world and sends her toward a ranch she never expected to call home. Jax runs that ranch with his two best friends, juggling responsibility, loyalty, and feelings he didn’t see coming. As daily life settles into muddy boots, shared space, and slow-burning tension, both are pushed to face what they usually run from. While the land grows strong and steady, hearts are tested, routines are shaken, and unexpected tenderness sneaks in. It’s a story about finding footing, choosing to stay, and wondering if love can grow in the most surprising soil.
Moving In
GABBY
“And this,” Jax says as he opens the last door at the end of the hallway, ushering me into the dimly lit room, “is your bedroom.”
He drops my bags on the floor with a heavy thud, fumbles for a moment, and then the room is bathed in fluorescent light from the bare bulb in the ceiling.
I need to fix that. I add it to the list of things to do in my head. How did I find myself in this situation? Oh, yeah, I’m a hussy, that’s how…
A small twin-size bed with a white metal frame stands in the corner. The dirty window is adorned with a yellow, sun-bleached curtain, no doubt from his grandmother’s generation.
The floor has scuff marks, the dresser is missing a handle, the mirror hangs crooked, and everything is covered in dust. I feel a bit like Cinderella, sentenced to life in the attic, far away from color and life.
The only thing missing is my own mouse friend—wait a minute, there he is. A mouse skitters across the room as I muse about my life.
“I know it’s not much, but I’m sure you can make it more…feminine?” Jax wrings his ball cap in both hands. Thor, his Lab, sits beside him, wagging his tail without a care in the world.
The cocky man from the bar who swept me off my feet is long gone. In his place stands a nervous guy ready to run for the hills. I tear my eyes off him with a heavy sigh and study the room some more.
“Anyway, the bathroom is down the hall. I already showed you that. We went through the kitchen and…yeah.” Jax spins around on the ball of his feet, placing the cap on his head again.
He takes a few steps, then turns around. “There’s some money in the cookie jar in the kitchen if you need anything for…” He looks down at my stomach. He clears his throat. “I’ll be back at seven for dinner.”
Jax disappears before I can say anything else.
“Well, Cub. I guess it’s just you and me now.” I caress my flat stomach and grin.
Although the circumstances aren’t ideal, the little miracle growing inside me brings me so much joy. I am determined to do this, even if I have to do it on my own.
I look around the room again and sigh. I blow a stray strand of hair out of my face before heaving my bags up onto the bed.
Before unpacking, I go downstairs in search of some cleaning supplies and find them scattered in the hall closet for some strange reason. Half-empty bottles, empty bottles, dirty rags, broken mops, and a rusty duster. Yet another thing to add to my list.
“No broom?”
Cleaning my bedroom takes a while, and then I try fixing the dresser but decide it’s a lost cause.
“You know what, Cub. We are going shopping.”
It’s weird. I’m used to new places, never staying in one spot for very long. Most things there were to experience, I had done, yet I have never gone shopping for a home—or a room—before.
This domestic feeling inside me is a little scary, but I am ready for the challenge it presents. Maybe it’s time to settle down and create a home for myself and Cub.
***
The small town doesn’t have much to choose from, but it does have a main street with a few overpriced stores. I could have easily ordered everything I needed online, but if I want to make a life here, then I want to make a good impression.
Spending money locally often does just that.
The bells chime as I enter a cute little store filled with furniture and fabrics.
“Hello, welcome to Rustic Charms! How can I help you?” A woman around my age greets me with a brilliant smile. Her black hair is cut at her shoulders with straight bangs, and pink glasses frame her round face perfectly.
“Hi, I’m Gabby.” I spin around, looking at the items in the store. “I just moved to the area, and I’m in desperate need of some color in my life. I saw your store and had to come inside. I made a list of things I need.” I look at her pleadingly, hoping she’ll help me.
“Of course, sugar. Let me see.”
I rattle off the list, and she giggles.
“Oh, honey. Just this way. I’m Brenda, by the way. Welcome to the neighborhood.” The light-pink summer dress and white waistband complement her body, along with her short white heels. In a nutshell, she is cute.
“Thank you, Brenda.”
“I think I’ve got just about everything you’re looking for. Did you bring a truck?” She leads me down the store, the top of her short body a whole head below mine.
My face pales. Of course, I can’t fit all I need in my little car. “No… I didn’t think that far. I was kind of excited to get started.”
“No worries. I’ll have Hunter drive it out for you. It may be a few hours though.”
“Oh, that would be perfect. I still need to pick up some cleaning supplies and some food. You wouldn’t believe the way the guys live. Not really dirty but…messy.”
“Guys?” Brenda arches her eyebrows and smirks.
I laugh nervously. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that last part. “Yeah, I’m staying with Jax Carter and his friends.”
“Jax Carter? Are you two… You know…” She wiggles her eyebrows.
The truth is, I don’t really know what we are. We haven’t discussed it. After our casual hookup, we parted ways until I found out about Cub and called Jax.
It took some sleuthing, but eventually, I got his number—and boy, was that a surprise to him. At first, he wasn’t happy, and then after a while, he asked me to move in so we could figure things out.
“No, we aren’t.”
Brenda laughs. “Figures. He’s a good man, that one. Hardworking and would give anyone in need the shirt off his back. Easy on the eyes too, but I doubt that man will ever be tied down.”
I gulp, cursing myself and my bad-boy attraction. My hand instinctively caresses my stomach, a gesture Brenda doesn’t miss. She doesn’t say anything. She just smiles.
Thirty minutes later, I leave the store with multiple boxes ticked off, a new number, and a coffee date in the near future.
Now, all I need is cleaning supplies and food. I quickly find the local supermarket and start filling the cart.
My quick check of the fridge, freezer, and cupboard clued me in on the sparse food situation, and I figure the guys ordered in a lot.
I pick up new cleaning supplies and three or four candles—okay, maybe like eight, but who’s counting? Lastly, I shove some mousetraps and other pest traps in the cart.
Then I fill the cart with all sorts of food. Since I’m not paying rent, I figure it’s the least I can do. My last stop is to grab some beer.
I head back to the ranch. On the way in last time, I was too nervous to pay any attention to my surroundings, but now I take the time to take it all in.
I cross the big Chestnut Valley Ranch sign over the gravel road, impressed by the handiwork. The road winds by pastures of cattle and cropland for feed, as well as one patch of land for the garden.
In the distance, a chicken coop, pigsty, horse barn, and goat barn—along with an…alpaca?
I mentally decide to stay clear of the alpaca. The car comes to a stop at the end of the drive.
I take a moment as I step out, enjoying the sun and the sound of nature. Jax and a roommate are riding in a pasture in the distance, herding cattle and yelling something incoherent.
“I think this will be a good place for us, Cub. Your daddy will take care of you. He’s going to be a good dad, I can feel it, and you, little Cub, you’re going to be good for him.”
***
The rest of the afternoon, I spend cleaning my room and putting together the side table that I managed to cram in the car. Thor follows me around, two steps behind me all day.
I take a break from building furniture to build lasagna for dinner. As I’m lost in thought, making the bechamel sauce, the screen door slams shut, startling me and causing me to yip out loud.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” a voice says.
I spin around to find a literal tall, dark, and handsome guy—one of those that, up until now, I thought was a myth.
“You didn’t,” I lie, and he arches his eyebrow. “Okay, maybe just a little.”
“I’m Arrow. Welcome to our humble home.”
“Thank you. I promise I will earn my keep.”
“From the looks of this place, I’d say you already have,” he says.
He grins, and for a moment, I lose myself in his smile. How can someone have such smooth skin? Gorgeous.
He stares at me, the smile never leaving his lips. I clear my throat.
“Did you need something?”
“Just a refill.” He holds his jug of water up as he heads to the sink and fills it. “I’ll see you later,” he says, winking before he’s out the door.
I try to shake off the encounter, mentally scolding myself for essentially flirting, and get back to cooking.
The rest of my furniture is due to arrive soon, so I decide to pick some flowers for the dinner table while I wait. I want to make a good first impression on my new roommates, letting them know I’ll pull my weight around here.
As I pick the last of the flowers for my arrangement, a green truck pulls up with furniture in the back. A man older than me hops out.
He tilts his cowboy hat and gives me a crooked smile. “Good evening,” he says. “You wouldn’t happen to be Ms. Gabby, would ya’?”
“I am. I assume you’re Hunter.”
“Nothing gets past you, pretty lady,” he says, winking.
“Right. If you’d just unload on the porch, I’ll handle the rest.” I really don’t want to be alone with the man in my bedroom. He already gives me the creeps.
“Now, what kind of man would I be if I let little ol’ you do all that by yourself, huh?” Hunter starts to unload the truck and walks inside with the first piece. It’s clear he’s been here before.
“It’s really no trouble.”
“Now, now. I’ll take good care of you, miss. I always do satisfy the ladies,” he says, winking at me again.
I roll my eyes. I really want to kick him in the balls but decide that would probably put a damper on my friendship with Brenda, so I hold back.
“Fine. It’s upstairs.” I show him the way, keeping my eyes on him the entire time so he won’t stick his hands where they don’t belong.
I instinctively rub my stomach, and Hunter notices.
“Bun in the oven, huh? Who’s the baby daddy?” he asks.
“Jax,” I clip. No need to lie.
Hunter laughs and shakes his head, muttering something incoherent.
Once the last item is brought upstairs, I try to dismiss him. I walk him to his truck, wallet in hand. “Thank you, Hunter. What do I owe you?” I ask.
“Now, now, miss. None of that.”
“No, I insist. I have to give you something for your troubles.” I wasn’t raised to be a cheapskate.
Hunter smirks. “Well, if you insist.” And that’s when I know I should have kicked him in the balls earlier.
