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Trista drove up to the Living River Ranch on Saturday and tried to find a parking spot. The lot was full; the call for help had been met with a tremendous response. Last night a massive storm had come through this area, and it was thought a lightning strike had damaged the main building. As she pulled in, she could see Annalise and Stormi leading horses to another pasture along with another group of people that Trista didn’t immediately recognize. Men and women were milling around, as Noah stood looking about ready to start a speech at the front of the group.
She grabbed her work gloves, water bottle, and got out of the truck. She ran toward the group, sidling up next to Hunter.
“Morning,” she said, glancing up at him.
“Morning,’ he said, bending to place a kiss on her lips lightly.
“You know that could be dangerous in such public places. They will have us married by lunch in the gossip circles.”
“I might be good with that,” Hunter said, placing another light kiss on her lips before standing to full height.
“Where is Daisy today?”
“Amy, Hadley, and the other nursery workers are watching kids for free in the daycare center.”
“How sweet! I love how this community comes together when someone needs help.”
“It’s what drew me here, to make my home in Little Bend. I was originally from Hoxeyville about one hundred miles away, but then I got hired on by the Sheriff’s department. When I came out here the first time, I was hooked on Little Bend and Living River Ranch.” Hunter acknowledged.
“Hey guys,” Eryn said, coming alongside them.
“Hi, fancy meeting you here,” Trista replied.
“I heard from a couple of friends who called this morning. I’m pretty new to town, but I wanted to help.”
“The more hands we have should make short work of the project,” Jake said, coming alongside them.
“How bad is the damage?” Hunter asked.
“Inside all the electrical was hit and the roof damaged. A good portion of the fence needs to be redone,” Jake said, glancing around at the vast crowd. “I have a good feeling that we will be done later this morning, though, with this much help.”
“Good Morning,” Noah started, and they were off. People were paired, and tasks were assigned. It was well organized, and Trista was amazed at how quickly everyone was shortly working on their designated areas.
“Hi, Trista,” Matthew Katzen said, coming alongside her. “Were you able to work on the stories we talked about?”
“I was,” she said, pulling another nail from the boards. “I should be able to give you some drafts to review, maybe on Wednesday.”
“You mean I can read it and tell you what I like?”
“Absolutely. They are your stories. You might be famous if this book does get published, so you have to approve everything I write about you.”
“That is awesome,” Matthew said. “Are you going to write about Daisy? She is super cute!”
“Well, Daisy is super young and probably can’t approve her story by reading it yet,” she said, trying to find a line of reasoning that made sense to Matthew. “I don’t think it would be fair to print a book that she wasn’t able to approve. Maybe, I will get the chance to write another book down the road, and she will be old enough to read her story and tell me if it is okay to publish.”
“That sounds great,” Matthew said. “I better go see if Margaret needs me,” he said lightly.
“Okay,” she said. “I will be by on Wednesday. Say around lunchtime, with your story.”
“Awesome,” Matthew said, taking off.
“Are you writing stories about people here at Living River Ranch?” Eryn asked, staying busy, removing nails from the next group of wood that was laid down in front of them.
“Yeah. I got this idea and ran it by Margaret. I am thoroughly enjoying being able to bring these inspiring stories to life. Writing has been a lifelong passion, but only when I landed here did I feel in a place to make it a reality.”
“I think that is amazing,” Eryn said. “I have heard so many amazing stories about how Living River Ranch has helped people. My boss told me about this holy grail of resources we are gifted to have here, in my very first interview.”
“That is something,” Trista said. “I have so many stories, I pretty much already realize I will need two books, if not more, to give them all the proper attention.”
“I would love to read it when you are done,” Eryn said enthusiastically.
“I think we can make it a best seller just through word of mouth,” Annalise said. “Maxwell is so proud. I fully expect him to mail everyone he knows a copy.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Trista said with a small chuckle. “I haven’t even finished writing it yet, nor getting it confirmed for publishing.”
“You will,” Stormi added, coming alongside them. “I have complete faith based on the couple of pages you brought out to have us read this week. I do have a friend from college that is an editor. I’d be happy to send it to her when you finish.”
“That would be amazing,” Trista said. “Truly amazing!”
“Hey, anything for my sister’s family,” she said. “Besides, then I can claim to have a hand in your fame when you become a bestselling author.”
“Of course,” Trista said, trying to keep her face in check, and not smile.
“We have another group of horses. They would like to move,” Stormi said to Annalise, who excused herself, and the ladies were gone again.
“So Stormi and Annalise are sisters?”
“Yep and Annalise married my brother.”
“Wow, I’m glad there is not a final exam on who is who here?” Eryn said, shaking her head.
“Don’t worry, I have a cheat sheet,” Trista said.
“Really?”
“No,” Trista laughed at Eryn’s earnest face. “I promise you will learn everyone in time. I’ve only been here a few months now, but I’m pretty solid on names and relationships.”
“Cool,” Eryn said. “Oh, yeah. I did want to remind you of the court case on Tuesday.”
Trista’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, we have it on the calendar and will be there.”
“I don’t think anything will change,” Eryn said. “You just need to get used to this. These cases sometimes do drag on for a while.”
“I understand. Hunter and I decided not to tell Daisy, though. Why worry her until it is needed?”
“I defer to you. She was in a tough situation, and that will take time to heal. You know her best, and if anything comes up that I think will change her situation, I promise I will try to give you a heads up.”
“I do appreciate it,” Trista said, pulling the next nail just a smidge harder. She was worried about Tuesday, but there was nothing she could do about it at this moment. Worrying would just distract her from what was necessary, and she had decided to have a little faith everything would work out the way it was supposed to in the end. With that thought, she focused ahead at work to be done.
