Matchmaker on the Ranch
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Marie Ferrarella
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Chapter One
Yesterday had been one of those extremely long days for Rosemary Robertson. She was affectionately known to her family and friends as “Roe,” as well as the “youngest triplet” to her sisters because she had been the last one of the trio to make her appearance that fateful evening that her widowed mother had given birth.
Now, exhausted beyond words, Roe had no recollection of even climbing into her bed. One minute she was making her way into her small bedroom, the next minute she had made contact with her pillow.
She was sound asleep probably before her head had hit her pillow.
She didn’t even remember lying down. The one thing she knew was that she certainly hadn’t bothered getting undressed. The allure of the double bed had seductively called to her, and the next thing she knew was sleep. It was a good thing that her two dogs, Kingston and Lucy, had stayed on the floor; otherwise, she could have very well flattened one of them, if not both, as her body made contact with the bed.
But after living with their mistress for a number of years, the Bichon Frisé and the petite German shepherd had developed survival instincts when it came to being around the town’s veterinarian.
The dogs had also developed certain habits when it came to living with their mistress.
One of these habits involved waking her up at a certain time in the morning. The way her dogs went about this was to lick her face—vigorously—until she would finally open her eyes and respond to them.
And that was exactly the way Roe woke up the next morning, having her face bathed by pink tongues, one very small tongue, one rather large tongue, both of which were moving madly along her cheeks. She had fallen asleep on her back, and each dog had picked out a side, anointing her until her eyelashes finally began to flicker and then, at long last, opened.
Roe groaned, shifting on the bed. She did her best to attempt to wave the dogs away from her face.
“Oh come on, guys, just give me five more minutes. Please.” She sighed deeply and attempted to wave the dogs away again, but their licking only grew more pronounced and frantic. Roe gave up. “Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up,” she told the dogs, struggling into an upright position.
With another deep sigh, Roe scrubbed her hands over her now very damp face, doing her very best to try to pull herself together.
It was a slow process, but she was getting there.
Finally fully awake, she looked from one dog to the other. “You know, if you don’t change your tunes, I can always find a nice home for you two. What do you think of that?” she asked, attempting to pin the dogs down with a look.
The pets apparently weren’t buying it. Kingston, clearly the leader despite his size, began licking her face again and this time, Roe gave up and just laughed at her pets.
“Okay, okay, I know where this is going. Time for your breakfast,” she told the dogs. “But first you’re going to have to let me get up out of bed.” As if by magic—she had trained the two dogs relentlessly when it came to obedience—Kingston and Lucy retreated from her bed. “That’s better,” she said, praising them.
Roe swung her legs off the bed, searching around with her toes for her shoes. She usually wore boots all day, then pulled them off the moment she walked in the front door and put on her shoes in their place.
Finding her shoes, she slipped into them and then stood up.
“Okay, let’s go see about that breakfast,” she told the dogs.
Her furry fan club all but hopped around her in a yappy circle, not exactly getting underfoot, but not exactly steering clear of her, either.
Roe made her way into the kitchen and began preparing two bowls of food for the dogs. The bowls each had boiled chicken thighs, a tablespoon of pureed pumpkin sauce, a sprinkling of cheddar cheese scattered on top and just enough dog food to make it an all-around meal for the pets.
Once done, she set the bowls down on the floor and watched the dogs go at it as if they had been starved for days instead of fed midday yesterday when her neighbor had come in to leave dishes for her pets that Roe had prepared.
Roe always got a kick out of the fact that Kingston cleared his bowl much faster than Lucy did, despite their difference in size.
“No picky eaters here,” Roe declared happily. They had all but cleared their bowls completely in less time than it had taken her to put the meals together. “Well, I hope you enjoyed that because you’re not getting anything more until I get home tonight,” she told them as she filled their water bowls. “With any luck, today won’t be anything like it was yesterday. I hardly got a chance to take two breaths in succession.”
As she spoke, Kingston cocked his head first one way, then the other. The dog she had found stumbling around town one morning eight years ago had become attached to her almost instantly. He’d had a large, fresh gash in his rear right leg at the time. She initially thought she might have to amputate it because it looked as if a serious infection was swiftly spreading through the injured limb.
By working diligently and relentlessly, Roe had managed to save his leg and keep the infection from spreading until she was finally able to eradicate it. But it had been touch and go there for a while.
Initially, she had taken Kingston home to watch over him until he got well. Slowly, eventually, her home became his home.
Permanently.
Lucy had turned up on her doorstep a year and a half after that. If she had ever harbored any doubts about her ability to care for animals, Lucy quickly cured her of them. The frightened dog had been easily won over by her. Roe came to the happy conclusion that she had an affinity not just for caring for animals, but for curing them as well.
She stood for a moment now, just looking at the two dogs that had added so much meaning to her life. Roe could feel her happiness radiating inside of her.
It took effort to draw herself away the pets, but she managed.
The rest of the day was waiting for her to get started.
Roe had just gotten out of the shower and hadn’t even had a chance to dry off yet when her cell phone began ringing. She shook her head as, still dripping, she glanced over at the phone she had left on the side of the bathroom sink.
“Looks like it’s going to be another wonderful, chockful-of-patients day,” Roe murmured to herself.
Grabbing her bathrobe with one hand, she picked up her phone with the other and put it on speaker. She rested it on the sink as she punched her arms through her bathrobe sleeves. She wanted to at least begin the process of absorbing the dampness from her body, not to mention having something on to cover her.
“This is Dr. Robertson,” she told the caller. “How can I help you?” Roe asked, leaning over the receiver as she raised her voice to a more audible level.
“You could try picking up your phone when I call,” the voice on the other end said.
A lot of people who interacted with them said that not only did the three Robertson sisters look alike, they also sounded alike as well.
But those who really knew the sisters claimed that they could actually tell their voices apart.
“I was in the shower, Riley. What’s up?” Roe asked as she quickly toweled her hair dry with one hand. “And although I know I don’t have to tell you this, talk fast. I have an early morning appointment with a rancher.”
“Hmm. Business or pleasure?” Riley asked. Roe caught the interested note in her sister’s voice, but that could just be because Riley was getting married and she was interested in everyone’s situation.
Kingston was watching attentively as Roe swiftly finished drying herself off, then stripped off the now-soggy bathrobe.
“Both,” Roe answered her sister matter-of-factly. “My business always gives me pleasure.”
“Nice to hear. And how do you feel about weddings?” Riley asked her, deliberately sounding vague.
Roe closed her eyes as she hit her forehead with the flat of her hand. “Oh God, the rehearsal. I forgot all about the rehearsal,” she cried. She was supposed to be there later today, after her appointment. “I am so sorry.”
“Well, despite the fact that I have a spare sister I can always turn to, I do forgive you. But only because I am so very magnanimous and kindhearted,” Riley told Roe. “And it’s not like you haven’t been to a wedding before and have no idea what to expect or do,” she added. And then Riley changed her tone as concern entered her voice. “You sound really tired, Roe. Is everything all right on your end?”
“Honestly?” Roe asked, momentarily at a loss.
“No, lie to me,” Riley answered cryptically. “Of course, honestly.”
Roe sighed, thinking of the possible threat that might lay ahead when it came to the cattle ranch she had been to the other day. “I’m not sure yet, but that’s not anything for you to concern yourself about.” She grinned as she made her way into her bedroom, carrying her phone with her. “You have a wedding to plan and nothing else should matter right now.
“Speaking of which,” Roe said, continuing her train of thought as she opened her closet and took out fresh clothes for the day, debating whether to bring a second set with her to change into later. She decided it wouldn’t hurt to toss them into the trunk, just in case. “Are you sure you want me to be your maid of honor? People might get confused. Especially since you’re going to have Raegan as your matron of honor.”
Riley laughed, dismissing her sister’s concerns. “Anyone who doesn’t know that I have two sisters who are mirror images of me really doesn’t concern me because they’re relatively strangers,” she informed Roe. “Just as long as you and Raegan don’t get your roles confused, that’s all that counts,” Riley teased, then went on to clarify the roles. “You are the maid of honor and Raegan is the matron of honor—and Vikki is the flower girl. She is really excited about being part of this wedding. When Matt and I asked her to be flower girl, she told me she wasn’t able to take part in her mother’s first wedding and she is very happy to be able to be part of this one—which I think is adorable.”
“You didn’t tell her that there wasn’t a wedding, right?” Roe asked her sister. “She’s a little young to take all that in.”
“Vikki is a lot older than the date on her birth certificate claims,” Riley answered loftily. “But Matt and I thought we’d save that little tidbit of information for another time just in case after hearing that, Vikki comes up with questions that wind up stumping us.”
“Wise decision. What time do you want me at the church since I missed the original run-through?” Roe asked, referring to the original rehearsal.
“Father Lawrence gave me a list of possible times. Barring an emergency, how does three o’clock this afternoon sound to you?” Riley asked. “Whatever you pick, I’ll call the others and tell them. Nobody else has any conflicts. I already checked.”
“Three o’clock is doable—barring an emergency,” Roe echoed her sister’s words, although it would have to be a really big emergency to prevent her from getting there.
“Then I’ll see you at the church at three o’clock—barring an emergency,” both women said simultaneously, their voices blending. The conversation ended with a laugh. “Bye, Roe,” Riley said just before she hung up.
Roe hit the “red” button to end the call. She listened to make sure the call was over, then sighed as she roused herself.
She didn’t have time to stare off into oblivion. She had things to do. Not to mention a cattle herd to check out before she could show up at the local church for rehearsal.
There had been an anthrax scare far up north but with any luck, it was either a false alarm or a scare that wasn’t going to work its way down to the area surrounding Forever. She had no idea how the local ranchers would respond to that sort of threat if it actually did materialize.
She fervently hoped she would never have to find out. She was perfectly happy to go through life without ever finding out if she was up to that sort of a large-scale challenge. She thought she was, but she would rather not have her abilities tested. Roe honestly felt she was perfectly fine handling mundane things and remaining unchallenged for the entire course of her career.
Dressed in jeans and a work shirt, as well as a denim jacket, and almost ready to leave, Roe came out into the small living room where Kingston was entertaining himself by chasing Lucy around.
“Try not to destroy the house while I’m gone, guys,” she told her pets. “I’ll try to get home at a decent hour, but I can’t really promise anything. Barring any emergency and if the wedding rehearsal goes off on schedule, I’ll be able to feed you on time—but don’t hold me to that,” she said, addressing her words to the lively, fluffy white dog that was busy spinning around in a wide circle in front of her.
She knew it was Kingston’s way of trying to entertain her and getting her to stay.
Kingston made a noise, and it was almost as if he actually understood what she was saying to him.
Roe laughed as she petted one dog and then the other. “Glad we understand one another. I will see you two guys later—and remember, you’re supposed to guard the house,” she instructed.
Not that there was actually anything to guard against, she thought as she locked the door behind her. Forever, Texas, was part of a dying breed: a small, friendly town where everyone knew almost everyone else and looked out for one another to make sure that nothing happened. It was the very definition of the word “neighborly.”
There were some exceptions, of course. After all, this was reality and that meant there were people who preferred to keep to themselves and avoid any sort of unnecessary interaction with anyone. But by and large, those people were mercifully few and far between.
For the most part, everyone in the small town knew everyone else and had known them for a very long time. The ones who hadn’t been born in Forever had made a strong effort to become part of the town and blend in, often more than those who had been born here.
Roe checked her watch to see how much time she had before she needed to get to the church. Not showing up once was forgivable. Not showing up twice was another story entirely. And besides which, she did want to take part in this. After all, this was for Riley’s wedding and she knew how important this was to all parties concerned.
Pacing herself, she paid visits to several of the local ranches to check on how their cattle were doing. Other than a couple of instances—in one case a calf had gotten tangled up in a section of barbed wire and it took a great deal of careful maneuvering to get the animal’s horns uncoupled from the fencing—Roe’s visits to the ranches were rather uneventful.
She would have never actually admitted it to anyone except for possibly her grandfather, but it was the wedding rehearsal that had captured the major part of her attention.
Because the last ranch on her list was farther away than the other two, it took her a while to get there. Consequently, the trip back took even longer, despite the fact that she hurried and drove her truck faster than normal. It turned out that she was the last one to arrive at the church anyway.
Riley was looking out the church window and was the first to see her coming.
When the front door opened, she greeted Roe, her brown-haired, brown-eyed mirror image with, “Ah, you’re finally here. I was just about to send out the search party to look for you.”
“Now you won’t have to ’cause she’s here,” Vikki declared happily, a grin encompassing the red-haired little girl’s small, beaming face.
“Yes, I am.” Roe made her way over to Vikki. “Hi, Angel. How are you doing?” she asked the little girl who was about to officially become part of their family once Riley married Vikki’s father, Matt.
“I’m doing fine,” the almost five-year-old answered solemnly, as if the question that had been put to her required deep thought. “How are you doing?” Vikki asked, turning the question back on Roe and looking very proud of herself for the accomplishment.
Roe struggled to keep from laughing out loud, knowing it would probably hurt Vikki’s feelings. Her exchanges with the little girl always tickled her. She was rather amazed at how well Vikki had learned to cope with her mother’s passing.
“I’m doing just fine, now that I see you here,” Roe answered.
Her small, smooth brow furrowed as she tried to understand what Roe was saying to her. “You didn’t think I would be here?” Vikki asked.
“Oh, but I did. After all, you’re the flower girl. I just meant that I was really very happy to see you,” Roe explained.
“Oh.” Vikki’s freshly arranged red hair bobbed up and down as she nodded. “Well I’m happy to see you, too,” she told Roe. “How’s Kingston? You didn’t bring him with you, did you?”
As she asked, the little girl quickly looked around the church in all the places that the dog would choose to hide.
“No, not this time, honey. He’s home keeping Lucy company,” Roe told Vikki, thinking that was the most understandable explanation she could tell her. “Lucy gets lonely whenever I leave the house.”
Vikki thought that over for a minute. “Maybe I could go over to your house and keep her company.”
“That’s a lovely idea,” Roe agreed, but then quickly added, “We’ll see. Right now, they need you here for the ceremony.”
“Oh, yeah,” Vikki agreed, her expression looking almost solemn.
Father Lawrence chose that moment to walk out from his office and into the church proper. He clapped his hands together as he scanned the small gathering before him. It was composed of just the wedding party, not any of the guests.
“Well, it looks like everyone who is supposed to be here is here now,” the tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed priest noted. “Shall we get started? Spoiler alert,” he said, as if it was meant to be a side comment. “There are no surprises. This is going to be just like the last ceremony I officiated for you, except that it was for Raegan and Alan,” he said with a wink. “This time it’ll be for Riley and Matthew.”
“And me!” Vikki piped up, excited.
Matt laughed and looked in wonder at the daughter he hadn’t even known existed such a short while ago. Now her existence filled his heart in ways he couldn’t have even begun to imagine. It wasn’t until Riley, Breena’s best friend, had written a letter telling him about Vikki. He had come to Forever not really knowing what to expect. He certainly hadn’t expected to fall in love twice over.
But he had.
“Most definitely you, buttercup,” Matt teased, giving the little girl an affectionate hug.
“I’m not a buttercup,” Vikki said, pretending to protest. “I’m a girl.”
“Yes, you most definitely are that,” Matt agreed. Then he flushed and looked toward the priest, thinking the man was waiting to get started and he was interrupting. “Sorry, Father.”
“No need to apologize.” Father Lawrence nodded toward the little girl. “I find this sort of display very heartening. But, in deference to those here who are on a tighter schedule and would like to get things moving along, I do suggest we get started.” Father Lawrence looked around the immediate area. “Any objections?”
Mike Robertson laughed and shook his head. “Not from this crowd, Father,” he told the priest.
“All right, then let’s begin—I promise this will be fast and painless, especially since we’ve already gone through it once before,” the priest said as he smiled at the people standing around hm.
Vikki frowned as she tried to follow what the priest had just said. “No, we didn’t,” she protested.
“Father Lawrence is talking about when he married your aunt Raegan and your uncle Alan,” Roe told Vikki, whispering into the little girl’s ear.
Vikki’s face lit up as comprehension suddenly filled her. “Oh, now I understand,” she said. “Sorry, Father Lawrence.”
Vikki didn’t understand why everyone in the church was suddenly laughing at what she had just said, but she politely refrained from asking because Father Lawrence seemed to want to move things along.
