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BOB SAT IN THE LIVING room of the big house, thinking about how annoyed he was with Tessa for insisting on working. He looked at his Grams who was sitting across from him, not looking very happy. “Grams, I just want her to be more like you. She should be happy to cook and clean and have babies.”
Grams frowned at him. “I can’t believe I raised a boy who thinks of nothing but himself the way you do.”
“Nothing but myself? Grams, I’m trying to give my children the kind of childhood I had.” Surely, Grams could see that he was doing the right thing for her future great-grandchildren.
“Why? The world isn’t the same as it was when you were a child. Your mother was a teacher. She planned to go back to teaching as soon as you boys were in school, but she died first.”
“My mother would have worked? Are you sure?” Bob felt like she was lying. It couldn’t be true!
“I’m positive. You mother and your aunt were both educated women who planned to work again. They stayed home during the years you needed them most, and then they were planning to go back to their jobs again. Your mother would be appalled at the way you’re thinking. She would have wanted for your wife to do whatever made her happy. And you’re only thinking of your own happiness.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. It didn’t seem to make sense with the way he’d been raised.
“Well, she would have wanted your wife to work but only if that’s what your wife wanted to do. That’s the thing. If women want to work, then they should be able to. If they want to stay home, they should be able to, but many do still need to work.” Grams shook her head. “You may not need your wife to earn a living, but it seems to me she has a need to. Don’t you think?”
Bob sighed heavily. “You’re disappointed in me, aren’t you?” He had always worked so hard to please his Grams, and he felt terrible that he’d disappointed her.
“I am. But I won’t be if you get your head on straight. Your wife was in college and graduate school for six years. That’s a really long time to go to school if you never plan on using the education, don’t you think? What if she came to you and told you that you had to quit working?”
“That would be ridiculous. I’m the man.”
“And your ability to stand up and pee gives you the right to do what you want, though she can’t do what she wants?” Grams shook her head at him, her eyes sad. “You know better. I want you to dig deep and think about how we raised you. It certainly wasn’t to be a male chauvinist pig, now was it?”
Bob frowned. “I guess I need to apologize to Tessa. Let her know that she can work if that’s what she really wants, but I’d support her staying home as well.”
“That’s perfect, but I don’t want you saying it to her until you’re sure that’s exactly how you feel. You’re already putting her on an emotional roller coaster ride. Now think about what you’re doing, and you be sure to make things right with your wife.” Grams walked to him and kissed his forehead the way she always had when tucking him into bed at night.
“I will. Thanks, Grams.”
The sound of Bob’s own voice woke him from a deep sleep. He blinked and realized the whole conversation had been a dream. Would Grams have really been ashamed of how he’d acted? He hoped not, but from what Pops had said, it sounded like she would have. Now he just had to figure out how to make it up to his wife that he’d acted like an ass.
He glanced at his alarm clock, realizing he was supposed to be up in fifteen minutes anyway, and he decided the first way he’d make it up to her. He quickly got dressed and went into the kitchen, warming up a frying pan as he mixed the batter for pancakes. He preferred microwave bacon, so he set the batter aside and started a tray of bacon.
By the time Tessa joined him, he had already poured the first four pancakes. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”
Tessa stopped and stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Do you want coffee?” She wasn’t sure what the man was up to, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up that he’d turned human in the past eight hours.
He shook his head. “Just orange juice this morning.”
She poured two glasses of orange juice and put butter and syrup on the table. “Thank you for making breakfast.”
“Since we’re both going to be working, we’ll have to share the kitchen duties. Maybe this weekend we can work out a cleaning schedule and chore list.”
Tessa had no idea what had gotten into Bob, but she wasn’t going to rock the boat. “I don’t think we need to do that until August. I’ll be home all summer, and I don’t mind doing the bulk of the household chores since I’ll have time. Is there a lawnmower in the garage?” He was being so sweet that she felt the need to let him know she was more than willing to do her share. It was like his body had been possessed by a forward-thinking alien or something.
He nodded. “It is in the garage, but even with you not working, I’ll take care of the lawn. I actually enjoy doing it.” Making her life easier was a good goal for him.
“Are you sure? I’ll have plenty of time.”
“I’m sure. You should do something you enjoy. It’ll be enough for you to keep up with the meals and the house for the whole summer.” He put the last of the pancakes onto a plate, pulled the bacon from the microwave and arranged it on a plate, and then he carried both to the table. “I’m starving.”
“Me too.” She hadn’t left her room after he’d slammed out of the house the night before, so she was famished.
Bob sat down and they served themselves. As they ate, he talked about Moonbeam. “She already looks ready to pop, and she has months left in this pregnancy. I’m honestly a little worried about her.”
“I want to meet her. You’ve talked about her so much I feel like I already know her.” Did one meet a horse? She had no idea what the right vernacular was.
“I’m going straight to the foaling barn after breakfast if you want to walk over there with me.” Bob hoped she would understand that he was offering an olive branch and accept it. He would figure out a huge apology later, but for now, this would have to do.
Tessa smiled. “I’d love to! Maybe Jim will find me a good horse to try to ride.”
“He’d be the person to do it. I want to show you how to ride myself, but Jim definitely needs to pick out the horse you use and talk to him to get him ready for a new rider.” He needed her to be safe with her first horse, and no one could keep her safer than Jim.
“Then I’ll walk over with you after breakfast.” This was more like what Tessa envisioned for a marriage. Walking together in the mornings and talking about what their days would be like. “What are you going to be doing today?”
“I’m trying to find the perfect stallion to mate with Contessa, a rather spirited mare who runs faster than any horse I’ve ever been around. We want to breed foals for the racetrack, and this will be her first pregnancy. I really want to get the sire right.” He knew it probably sounded boring to her, but he was fascinated by his work, and it just bubbled over at times.
Tessa tilted her head to one side. “Do you have a specific look you go for? Or do you just care about how fast they are?”
“I do have a specific look for the racehorses. Racehorses need to be thoroughbreds. With the ranch horses, I only try to make them as strong and manageable as possible. So far, we’re batting a thousand here.” Bob was proud of what he’d done with the lineages of the horses on the ranch. “Jim is working with one right now that he’s training to be a gentle horse for a little girl to learn on. The rancher wanted a pony, but instead, I bred the horse small, so it would grow with the girl. A pony can’t be ridden after its owner gets too big. There’s no need to do that to a girl.”
“I can see that. I thought ponies were just baby horses? Is that not right?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. A pony is a horse that was bred to be small. Most of them are friendly and extremely intelligent. A lot of people make that mistake though.”
“Interesting. Thanks for educating me.” She loved learning new things, and living on a ranch was sure to thrill her.
He reached over and covered her hand with his. “I hope to educate you on a lot of things.”
She laughed. “You have to go to work, so you’re going to keep it in your pants.”
He was shocked for a moment, but then he chuckled. “I do love being married to you, Tessa. I know I’m not the best husband, but I’m working on it.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m learning to be a wife too, and we’re just going to have to learn to work together.”
“You know, I do have leeway in my work hours. If we could make it quick...” He nodded toward the bedroom.
“You’re asking me for a quickie before work? Have you lost your mind?” He seemed like a totally different man that morning, and she was thrilled. This man was a man she could easily fall in love with.
He laughed. “I guess that would be rude, wouldn’t it?”
She opened her mouth to tell him that it would explain his change of behavior if he was just after sex, but thought better of it. She wasn’t doing anything to jinx his new mindset. “It might be.”
“All right. No quickie before work then. I wouldn’t hurt you for anything.” Bob meant everything he was saying to her, and he hoped she would believe him. He knew he’d made an abrupt about-face, but he truly did care about her, and he wanted her to be happy. If happiness for her meant working outside the home, then so be it.
She smiled at him, trying to figure him out, but maybe he didn’t have an explanation. “These pancakes are really good.”
He nodded. “I honestly enjoy cooking from time to time. I didn’t like doing it all the time, but when I can choose to do it, it’s not too bad.”
She walked with him to meet Moonbeam, and she immediately fell in love with the beautiful mare. “How are you feeling?” she asked. Moonbeam just kept giving her a strange look.
“Allow me to interpret,” came a voice from behind her. “We only met once, but I’m Jim, and I’m the resident horse whisperer.” He stared into Moonbeam’s eyes for a moment. “Tessa wants to know how you’re feeling,” he said softly.
Moonbeam whinnied as if on cue, and Tessa laughed nervously. It was one thing to hear about her husband and brothers-in-law doing strange things but another to see them.
Jim nodded and looked at Tessa. “Moonbeam says it feels like there’s a colt galloping through her stomach.” He leaned over and whispered into Moonbeam’s ear, something that Tessa couldn’t hear. “She likes you,” Jim said to Tessa.
Tessa wasn’t sure if she should believe that Jim understood the horse or not, but she smiled and nodded. “I was told you’re the man to pick out my first horse to ride.”
Jim frowned at Tessa. “You’ve never ridden? A Cauldron has never ridden?” He looked perplexed.
Bob shook his head. “Give her a break, Jim.” He kissed Tessa’s cheek softly. “I’ll see you this evening.”
“Bye,” Tessa said as she wandered out of the barn. That had been a peculiar experience, and she wasn’t sure if it frightened her or made her feel exhilarated. Whether the mare and Jim had understood one another or not, she was certain something special was happening between the two.
She was halfway back to the house when her phone rang. “Tessa, this is Harvey Downey, the principal at Cauldron Elementary.”
“Oh, hello, Mr. Downey.” She couldn’t be in trouble with the principal already. She hadn’t started working yet!
“I wonder if you would have a little time to go to a neighbor’s house. They have a foster child who hasn’t spoken since she moved in with them two months ago. They didn’t want to get her started with our current speech therapist because she wouldn’t be able to continue working with her, but I was hoping you’d be willing to at least sit down with her every week and get to know her.”
Immediately Tessa switched to work mode. “Do they know if she’s ever spoken?” she asked.
“I have no idea. I was simply asked if you’d be willing to visit.”
“Absolutely. I’m walking on the ranch, but I’m about to be home. Would you be willing to text me the address and phone number of the family, and I’ll call them as soon as I get there?” She was excited to have work to do. It was hard for her to be without children for so long.
“Of course. Thank you for being willing, Tessa.”
“You’ll never meet a speech therapist who loves her job quite as much as I do,” Tessa responded before ending the call. As soon as she got home, she changed out of the t-shirt and shorts she wore into a nice pair of jeans and a blouse. It wasn’t a professional look, but it was better than the shorts. She was ready for the rest of her wardrobe to arrive. Then she checked her texts and tapped the phone number there.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m sorry, Principal Downey didn’t give me your name. I’m Tessa Cauldron, and I’m the new speech therapist for the elementary school.”
“Oh, I was hoping you’d call. Let me step outside for a moment, so no one hears me.” Tessa could hear a door close. “We got a foster daughter two months ago. Her name is Abby, and she’s five. From what I understand, she was a chatterbox before her parents died, but now she doesn’t speak at all. I wonder if you’d be willing to come over this summer? The school won’t pay you for it, but we could find some money if we had to.” The hesitancy in her voice told Tessa they didn’t really have the money to spare.
“There’s no need for that. I can work with her to help her out.” Tessa had never been given an opportunity to work with a child outside of the school setting, but she was excited. “When would be a good time for me to come over?”
“I’d love it if you could get started this afternoon.”
“That’s no problem. I’ll do the breakfast dishes, have a quick lunch, and I can be there by one? Would that work?” Tessa glanced at the clock, and she realized she and Bob had walked and talked longer than she’d realized.
“That would be perfect. I have a feeling she’ll do better if she’s fed.”
“I’ll see you then.”
“You have my address?”
Tessa nodded, even though the other woman couldn’t see her. “I do.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“I just hope I can help.”
After finishing the dishes, Tessa made herself an omelet for lunch and sat at the table to eat it. As soon as she’d put the few dishes she’d dirtied into the dishwasher, she walked out to the truck, grabbing Bob’s keys on the way.
Before she got to the truck, she walked back inside.
She grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. “Bob, if you get home before I do, I was asked to help one of the neighbor’s children who won’t speak. I should be back in time to fix supper. Tessa.” She added her phone number at the bottom, realizing they had yet to exchange numbers. A phone number was something important for a man to have for his wife, in her opinion.
He was making an effort to be more what she needed, and she could make an effort to let him know where she was going.