Chapter 4 It's a Done Deal
Mandy was excited. It had seemed as if Tuesday would never get here after the Real Estate Agent had called her. Today, she was going to sign the contact to purchase the house. It would take a few weeks for all the paperwork to be processed, and then she could move in.
Kel and Dixie smiled at their niece. Mandy was all but bouncing in her seat as she waited for Stan Robberton to see her. They were happy for her, though they would miss her enthusiastic presence in their home.
The secretary's phone rang. Mandy moved forward in anticipation of being called in to sign the papers that would make the house hers.
"Yes, Mr. Robberton, I'll send her in," said the secretary.
Mandy jumped to her feet and hurried to the desk. The secretary smiled, "Mr. Robberton will see you now, Miss McCall."
"Thank you, Mrs. Powers," said Mandy as she hurried to the door to the inner office. Just before she opened the door, she turned and shot her aunt and uncle two thumbs up.
Kel turned to Dixie, "Well, looks like our niece is about to leave the nest." His tone was a little sad.
Dixie nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna miss having her around all the time." Tears shone in her eyes, and Kel gathered her in his arms for a hug.
"At least she'll only be about 15 miles away, Dix," he reminded her.
"I know," she replied. "And she is so excited to have that place. She loved Rick and Tammy's ranch. She hated to sell it, but she knew it was for the best."
"Yeah, I remember the long talks the two of you had over it," remarked Kel. "I think it helped that their ranch foreman wanted the place too. In her eyes, it was staying in the family."
As he finished speaking, the door opened and Mandy waltzed out looking very pleased with herself. She hurried over to where they sat. "It's a done deal," she said joyfully. "Mr. Robberton said the paperwork process will be completed in two weeks, and then I get to move in."
Kel and Dixie stood up. Dixie gave her niece a hug. "Well, let's head home now, Mandy. As I recall, Johnny's taking you out to celebrate tonight."
"He is," said Mandy. "But he won't tell me where."
"Johnny likes to surprise people," said Dixie.
That evening, Johnny knocked on the door and was admitted by Kel. "Hello, Johnny, come on in. Mandy will be out in just a few minutes."
Johnny grinned, "Thanks, Kel." He followed him into the living room where Dixie sat in her rocking chair. "Hi Dixie," he said flashing her a friendly smile.
"Have a seat, Johnny. Mandy is almost ready. She was got a little too absorbed in her 'to do' lists," said Dixie with a laugh.
Johnny laughed right along with her as he recalled the well used spiral notebook that Mandy had used to keep up with all of her plans from the day she had begun her search for a house. "So, did everything go ok at the signing today?" he asked.
"As Mandy put it, 'It's a done deal.'" replied Kel.
At that moment, Mandy walked into the living room. "It sure is," she said. She looked at Johnny. "In about two weeks, I'll need that help you offered."
"Not a problem, Mandy," he said with a grin. "I've talked to the guys on A Shift, and they're all willing to help."
"I really appreciate it, Johnny. I'll be grilling for you guys that evening too…and for desert…" Her eyes twinkled, "Homemade peach cobbler."
Johnny smiled broadly. "Shall we go? I have reservation for 7:00."
"I'm ready," she said with a smile. She turned to Kel and Dixie. "I'll see both of you later." Then she left with Johnny.
"They sure seem to have hit it off, don't you think so Kel?" she asked.
"Yeah, Johnny is a good man, and Mandy just beams whenever he's around or she talks about him," he answered.
"I've noticed something in Johnny that I haven't seen when he dated other women. I think he's quite smitten too," laughed Dixie. She gave Kel a speculative look. "I may be jumping the gun here a bit, but I have a hunch that in less than a year, I'll be helping Mandy plan a wedding."
"You know, Dix, I think you're probably right," said Kel.
"Well, Mandy and I talked a lot after her parents died. One thing she said on more than one occasion was that one day when she got married that she wanted me to fill in for her mom and you for her dad."
"I'd be honored to do that for her, Dix," said Kel as he teared up a bit. Finding out that Dixie couldn't have children had been hard for both of them. Since Mandy was Dixie's God daughter as well as a niece, after her parents died, they had become surrogate parents for her.
At the restaurant, Mandy and Johnny sat eating the finest seafood Carson City had to offer. She had been a little stunned at the prices, but Johnny had chided her for looking at the prices, insisting that the occasion demanded the very best.
"I haven't decided if I want a ranch hand to live in the quarters above the stables," said Mandy.
"Well, it might be too much work for one person," suggested Johnny.
"It'll mainly be just taking care of the horses. I plan to have mowing and clearing done by Mr. Rogers. He's a neighbor. He'll do it for halves on the hay," explained Mandy. "And I'll have a pool company do the pool." A very stern expression crossed her face. "The first time they forget lock the pool gate, they'll get a lecture they won't forget."
"Well, if your lectures are anything like Dixie's…it'll only take one," said Johnny with a chuckle.
"If I find that I have trouble getting it all done, I'll get a ranch hand," she promised.
"Say, Mandy, are you working Friday night? There's a rodeo at the Carson City arena. I thought you might like to go with me," said Johnny.
"I'd love to go, Johnny. I haven't been to a rodeo in ages. It's been a while, but I have done a bit of barrel racing in my time," said Mandy.
"Well, I have the tickets already. It starts at 6:30, I could pick you up at 4:30 so we could get something to eat first," said Johnny.
"I'll do my best to be ready on time," said Mandy with a grin. "I love rodeos. I was Rodeo Queen my senior year in high school. I got the most beautiful leather saddle you've ever seen. I still use it. It was really well made."
They spent the rest of the evening talking about the hospital and the station.
Later that night at home, Mandy dozed off with thoughts of Johnny and her newly acquired house whirling in her mind. She hadn't been this happy in a long, long time.
