Working at “the ranch,” that’s what everyone called the huge estate we were on, was a dream come true. I was in heaven and had no idea how I got so lucky, after all my questionable decisions over the last few months. I started my days very early, getting everything ready for breakfast. I even started before Oliver, the head cook, arrived at work. It was my job as his assistant to do all of the prep work for the entire day’s meals. And boy, there was a lot of it. We had to feed the family, of course, but we also cooked for the entire house staff, as well as all of the ranch hands.
Most of the ranch hands, and their families, lived on the property in one of the many cabins peppered all over the ranch. I have no idea how many there were. Dozens, I’m sure. So, we cooked for everyone. It was an amazingly difficult, and very rewarding job. I couldn’t have been happier. I worked from dawn until everyone was fed all three meals, and everything was cleaned up. My days were about fourteen hours long, which was just fine with me. It kept my mind and body occupied and away from the things I needed to stay away from. I did get a few breaks here and there, between meals. When I did get a break, once in a while I would wander out to the stables and talk to Walter. He was one of the ranch hands, probably my father’s age, and I loved our chats. He was such a nice man and seemed to have a lot of wisdom. I came to depend on his kindness and advice.
The ranch was in the business of horse breeding and training. Apparently, they had bred and trained a few big money horses and were very well respected in the horse community. Adam’s grandparents started the ranch many years ago and Adam would inherit it one day. In the meantime, he seemed to work very hard at the business. He definitely was not one for sitting by idly and letting the ranch hands do all the work. I frequently saw him outside working with the horses. I wasn’t exactly sure what he did, but he seemed to work hard at it.
Though Sarah didn’t want to introduce me to anyone, I got to know the ranch staff quite well, since I fed them every day. Sarah didn’t introduce any of the staff to anyone. I think we were beneath her. It seemed like she felt she was better than the rest of us. She was somewhat nice to me, though I’m sure we would never be friends. She told me that Violet said the help should always know their place. Violet was her mother-in-law. I hadn’t met her yet.
The ranch was near the coast, actually only a couple of hours from my parents, in a small town called Ashford. I really didn’t get to see much of the town, because I worked so much. But, on my days off I rode into town with John and did a lot of window shopping, while he saw to a few errands of his own. He had warmed up to me a bit since I showed up in the driveway that day. But, we would not be best friends anytime soon. Even though he also was an employee of the ranch, it was painfully obvious that he thought of himself as better than the rest of us. This was probably because he was the personal driver for the family and not someone that cleaned out the stables or worked in the kitchen. He told me that he had been working for the Tyler family for almost 40 years and had watched Adam grow up. He seemed to have a lot of respect for Adam Tyler. He rarely mentioned Adam’s mother, Violet, and I had a feeling the respect did not extend to her. He was very discreet about it all, certainly not a gossip.
I also spent much of my free time feeding the numerous chickens that just wandered freely around the ranch. It wasn’t my job, but I never saw anyone else feeding them, so I took it upon myself to do it. Gathering eggs was fun too. Adam loved fresh eggs and I made them for him almost every morning. I had to get up very early to collect them, but it was well worth it when Adam thanked me for the delicious breakfast. Sarah didn’t seem to notice.
In addition to the sprawling ranch, the house itself was something to marvel about. It had three floors, dozens of bedrooms, and a grand winding staircase that was something to behold. I could just picture beautiful rich ladies of the past, in luxurious gowns, delicately descending the stairs along with their dashing companions, enjoying every bit of attention received. I wondered if I would ever descend those stairs, on the arm of a handsome man, on my way to a grand party in the ballroom. No, of course I wouldn’t. It wasn’t my house, and I would never be invited to one of their fancy parties. I was the help.
From what I could tell no one actually used the second and third floors, everyone’s bedrooms were on the first floor. The staff went up each day to dust everything, but that was it. I really couldn’t understand why the staff couldn’t stay in the bedrooms on the second and third floors, instead of the dark, teeny rooms we were given. Those spacious, elegant rooms were just sitting there unused. I eventually explored all of the bedrooms. Some of them had sitting rooms and the actual bedrooms were at least 1,000 square feet, larger than some entire houses I have been in. Such a waste. I once made the mistake of asking Sarah about the unused floors. She curtly told me that those were reserved for guests and they would stay that way. I never brought it up again.
There was a formal dining room, of course, that could seat 50 people. They only used it when entertaining, which wasn’t often. Normally they ate in the smaller dining room. It was definitely more cozy and intimate. The formal dining room was just gorgeous with gold and silver accents, and several beautiful paintings on the walls. The best part of the room was the large picture window that looked out into the garden. Everything, it seemed, was in bloom and it was breathtaking. Even though I’m sure Adam and Sarah probably wouldn’t like it if they found out, I usually ate my meals in the formal dining room. No one was ever in there but me, making it nice and serene, with a beautiful view. Besides, no one actually forbid me to use it. I really couldn’t understand rich people. They had so much and took it all for granted.
And the ballroom. Where to start? It was a sight to behold, for sure. It could hold hundreds of people and I’m sure grand, glorious parties had been held in there. None since I had arrived, but I heard the stories. Sarah did like to go on about the parties that Violet threw. Sarah liked to embellish her stories and in her version, she did it all. She was the planner, decorator, hostess, you name it. When she started her stories, Oliver and I gave each other a knowing look. It was all Violet and we knew it. I hadn’t even met Violet yet, but she was the one with the reputation for throwing the grandest parties in the state. I really couldn’t wait for one to happen. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
I don’t think Sarah cared much for me, but she was mostly decent. A snide remark here and there, but I could handle her. We certainly were never friends. I’m sure she thought of me as “the help.” Well, that’s technically what I was. I couldn’t deny that. One day Sarah was telling me about the ranch and when she first saw it, and how she was so enamored with it. I told her that it was my dream one day to have a place like this and she just laughed at me. I was terribly hurt. I wasn’t stupid though, I knew it would probably never happen for me.