The Ranch Read Online Free Page B

this woman seemed a bit
flustered with that bit of information but he wasn't asking questions...Nina
was a great boss and worked side by side as hard as any of her employees and he
was loyal to her. Emma brought the notebook with Nina's figures, sketches and
the suggestions and gave it to Greg. Soon the place was filled with the sound
of repairs.
          Another
knock at the door revealed a delivery man with a dozen red roses...not that she
had to read the card to know who they were from. And so began a pattern that
continued throughout the weeks that Nina was gone...Amber and Amy were called
and they made it a habit to come out and see Emma a few times a week or they
would do dinner...of course not just because Nina asked them to look in on her
but because they had become good friends. Nina called Emma daily and they both
looked forward to those times, although Emma could tell Nina was getting weary,
she could hear it in her voice. She continued to get flowers every week and one
day another bigger box arrived and it was moving! She pulled the top off to find
a chocolate lab puppy with a big red bow and a note from Nina... "thought
he could keep you company..his name is Brady...take good care of him...I love
you baby"...such simple words but they filled her heart.
         Work on the house
was almost complete and it was just as Emma had imagined it...it was beautiful.
It had been a long few months..summer was on its way out and fall was beginning
with just a bit of chill in the air. She was missing Nina so much more these
days. She wondered if that damn job would ever get completed. Amber had called
earlier and wanted her to have dinner and a movie with them and she had agreed.
They really had been wonderful friends and she was glad that they had been here
to keep her company. They even offered to come and pick her up. They had a
great time just as always...as they headed back to Emma's house Amy asked if
she had heard from Nina. Emma sighed and said, "a, she thinks it will be
another couple of weeks and then the job will be done" She was so much in
her own thoughts that she completely missed the conspiratorial wink shared
between Amber and Amy...
          Meanwhile,
back at the ranch, Nina had arrived shortly after Amber and Amy had picked Emma
up...giving her plenty of time to prepare. She looked at the house and the
repairs with a typical builders eye and was pleased to see her guys did their
usual excellent job. The bedroom with the skylight especially looked terrific,
allowing the moonlight to stream into the room with a romantic glow, just as
she had hoped. She got the wine and glasses, the cheese and fruit arranged on a
small table in the bedroom. she lit what seemed like a hundred candles...all
the way from the foyer into the bedroom and the bathroom and surrounded the
garden tub. Next she got all the rose petals that she had ordered..the florist
probably thought she was nuts but that was just too bad...she wanted this night
to be perfect. She scattered them from the front door, up the stairs, to the
bedroom, and covered the white comforter with them...all red, white and
yellow....she got a fire started and looked at her watch...perfect...Amber
should be on her way back.
         Amber, Amy and
Emma had turned back the drive. Emma was thinking it was cool enough to have a
fire tonight. As they approached the house Emma thought she smelled wood smoke
and it looked like there were lights or something on...had she forgotten to
turn something off? Amber and Amy usually came in for a drink but they seemed
in an awful hurry to get home tonight for some reason. They left, giving her a
hug and saying they would call tomorrow.
          She walked
up the front steps and when she opened the door, she saw several things all at
once.Brady was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a new red handkerchief
tied around his neck and what looked like a piece of paper attached. She took
it from his handkerchief and at the