Waking up to the sound of friendly neighs was always the best way to wake up.
Joanna rolled over with a content sigh, snuggling deeper into the covers, and would have fallen back asleep if she hadn't heard the noise of cattle.
"MoOOoo."
Sitting up in an instant, she woke up disoriented as her eyes took in the surrounding room.
"Where the hell am I?" she whispered.
Like a movie, yesterday's events came flooding back in sudden flashes. Taking in deep breaths, she felt like it was too early to be feeling this overwhelmed, especially when she thought she was home in her bed in Lexington. Pulling the covers back with a heavy sigh, her feet touched the wooden floor beneath her.
Getting dressed for the day, Joanna walked out to an empty cabin. As panic set in, she heard a creaking of floorboards, and her grandfather walked through the front door.
"Good morning." Mac greeted her warmly before he frowned at the pale face that greeted him.
"Morning. Sorry, I ah… woke up and… I didn't know where I was and… then you weren't here." Joanna said, speaking in broken sentences, sounding distressed.
"Why don't you sit down?" He offered, placing a hand on her back as he guided her into the kitchen.
Her grandfather pulled out a chair for her to sit in. She watched as he took the seat across from her, placing his folded hands on the table.
"I was unsure of what time you would wake up and I wanted to give you the morning to rest. Sorry for causing you distress. I usually start my day by enjoying a cup of coffee on the porch. It is lovely to watch the world around you wake up. Each creature has a song they sing to welcome a new day, and it is a spectacle to enjoy."
"Wait, you wake up every morning to watch the sunrise?" She asked curiously, her nerves settling as they talked.
"Yes, I do." He replied, missing out on a few details. Like the fact he had no longer lived here, but on a reserve not too far from the ranch. "Can I get you anything for breakfast? We have fruit, cereal, fresh bread your aunt Maxine made, and if you weren't too hungry, there is a trail mix."
"Thank you, but I am not hungry." She said, catching his raised eyebrow, "This is the part where you trust me. I've already had a stressful morning and I'm scared I'll be sick if I eat anything."
Mac gave her a half-smile, appreciating the honesty she had shown. He rose from his seat, filling up the kettle before placing it on the stove to warm.
"How about some tea?" He asked.
"Tea?"
"Yes. If you have an upset stomach, then some herbal tea will help. I always have a nice selection of herbal teas."
"I won't say no. Back home, my grandmother made me take etiquette classes, and they included how to behave in social settings like high tea."
"That makes sense." He replied with a chuckle.
Growing confused, she had wondered what he meant until Joanna realized how she was sitting. Her ankles crossed to one side, folded hands gently placed on her lap, and back and shoulders straight as she maintained eye contact with him. Yesterday, her manners had gone out the window after her outburst, but today they were back.
"There is nothing wrong with how you are presenting yourself," He tried to reassure her, moving around the kitchen as the kettle loudly whistled. "Out here, you will be more likely to see western hospitality being shown instead of another form. Darton county comprises Darton, where most people live, where you go shopping, and where you will go to school eventually; outside of Darton is the smaller town of Alkali, there are a few people that live there, and as you drive through there. You will see many working ranches, mainly beef stock, but ranchers do breed, work, and sell horses."
"I know." She said, her eyes falling downcast.
"Give yourself time. Today is your first day of living in a new place." He placed a steaming gray mug in front of her. "Careful, it will be hot."
"Thank you. While I wait for this to cool down, could you tell me a bit more about these boy cousins of mine? If I'm ever going to leave this cabin, I would like to know what I'm up against."
"Well, you only have to worry about six out of the seven." He tried making a light joke, which she appreciated. "Kit, the eldest of the boys, left home a year ago to make a name for himself on the rodeo circuit. Luke is mighty proud of his son while Maxine worries for him, as she should because she's his mother. Since Kit left, Adam has stepped up as your uncle Luke's foreman and takes his role as big brother seriously, too. Nate keeps to himself, but you will see him around the ranch working. Seth, you may get along well with him. He is a gentle soul and usually one of the first to be pushed around, as the other boys tend to be a bit rougher than him. Bryan is a troublemaker, but Quinn is usually the one to lead him astray. The two boys enjoy finding ways to prank their brothers. Jake, the youngest of the lot, is the target most of the time. He is shy, but is very passionate about horses."
Joanna listened with great interest, despite her racing heart.
"How old are they?" She asked, seeing her grandfather take a moment to think.
"Kit will be about 20, Adam is 19, Nate is 17, Seth is 16, Bryan is soon going to be 14, Quinn is 12, and Jake is 11. There is a one-week difference between you and Jacob."
"There's a lot of them, even without the older one, Kit?" she asked, sounding unsure, but her grandfather gave a slow nod. "Maybe I'll stay here for the day."
"You can do as you please, Joanna. No one is going to force you to do anything extreme. They are loud trouble finding boys, except your aunt Maxine knows how to keep them in line and you will find she does a good job of ruling her house of men. Your uncle Luke is head of the ranch and the house, but he finds she does well to keep them being well-mannered boys when she can."
The conversation flowed nicely between them. Joanna kept asking questions about the boys and while he gave her answers, he tried to ask his questions but was given small replies. It seemed like the young girl was more interested in finding information than she was giving it. Focusing on the fact she was taking an interest in how ranch life was for the boys, instead of half ignoring his questions, made him content for the time being. He understood this was her first full day on the ranch and it would be scary for her. Mac tried his best to calm her nerves enough for her to get the courage to explore the ranch.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
Moving with stiff grace, Mac opened the door, smiling.
"Good morning, pop," Maxine said, announcing her presence.
"Good morning, my dear." He moved to kiss her on the cheek, "Please, come in. I and Joanna were enjoying some tea while talking." He explained, offering her a seat.
"Thank you. Good morning, Joanna. Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning, Aunt Maxine. I slept as well as I could. It is always hard trying to sleep somewhere new, but I'm sure I will get adjusted." Joanna replied politely.
Aunt Maxine reached out a hand towards the young girl, giving it a tight squeeze. "You sound like your grandfather has given you an earful, but he is right."
"Grandfather has been amazing with me already, and I appreciate him." Although she still clasped her aunt's hand, Joanna's gaze was on her grandfather. Watching the older man's eyes crinkle a smile of gratitude appeared on his face.
"I'm glad he is looking out for you, and I am sorry for interrupting your conversion before." Aunt Maxine looked between the two.
"You were not interrupting anything, Max. Joanna had been asking about her cousins and I was answering a lot of questions."
"There are a lot of them. Hopefully, your grandfather has not told you all bad things." She used an insinuating tone as she looked at her father-in-law.
"Not at all, unless you say that pranking your brothers is bad."
"Quinn…" Maxine shook her head with a hopeless laugh, "He is usually the first one we ask if chaos breaks out." Her face sobered up when she looked at Joanna. "As I was going to sleep last night, I realized I haven't seen what clothes you have. I and your uncle Luke thought it would have been too much to drag you to the mall yesterday, but I am worried you may not have appropriate ranch clothes."
"Can I be honest?" Joanna asked cautiously.
"Of course."
"I started panicking when I was unpacking my suitcase last night. Since being here, I have seen how overdressed I'll be around here."
"Would you be able to show me?"
"Yes, please." Joanna rose from her seat with her aunt not far behind her.
While the two women were in Joanna's room, Mac cleaned up the dishes from breakfast. It wasn't long before Maxine appeared and announced she was stealing Joanna for the day to go shopping in Darton. Joanna had given him a nervous look, and he saw how quickly she was seeing him as someone to trust. "You will be quite alright and this will be a good opportunity for you to explore Darton." He had said.
After waving his granddaughter off, he walked towards the main house.
"I got to meet Jojo!"
MacArthur turned to see Quinn, one of his many grandsons, walking towards him, seeming happy with himself.
"She seems weird, though. Oww!" Quinn said, rubbing the back of his head where Seth had hit him.
"Be nice," Seth said.
"You could set an example by being nice to your brother." Mac scolded him.
"Sorry, grandfather."
"Hmm, I know your parents have raised you to be respectful. Both of you."
"But did you see what she was wearing? That girl ain't gonna last a week out here!" Quinn exclaimed.
"She may have dressed up to go out shopping?" Seth supplied.
"No, it looks like that is all Joanna has to wear."
"Mom said she grew up around horses?"
"Her life in Lexington differed greatly from here. Joanna grew up around racehorses, show jumpers, and dressage horses; not mustangs and working cow ponies. It sounds like she rode horses, but did not have to work more than grooming her horses."
Seriously?" Both Seth and Quinn questioned him.
"From what I have seen, you would be a fool to deny that she hasn't been raised around money. Poor kid has had one shock after another and I am sure your parents have spoken to you about taking it easy on her for the time being?"
Quinn's face lit up at his grandfather's words. "For now?"
"I am advising you not to judge her based on her looks. Joanna seems like a nice girl that is going through a tough time and a family is something she needs right now."
"She barely knows we exist."
"She knows enough to know that we're all she's got for now," Seth said, placing a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Making eye contact with his grandfather, the older man gave him an understanding nod.
Without needing to ask, Mac knew Maxine had spoken to Seth, asking him to look out for Joanna.
"Is your father around?"
"Yeah, he's working on the truck with Adam," Seth replied, gesturing in the direction of the vehicle barn.
"Thank you," Mac said, turning to leave.
It looked as though he had walked into the barn at the right moment. As tools clattered to the floor, there was a loud sigh and you could see the cowboy was trying to hide his frustration. The barn housed Luke's tractor, two trucks, and a fire truck.
"This truck may be the death of me." Luke muttered, turning to face Mac, "Morning, dad."
"Good morning, my son. What seems to be the problem?"
"Thankfully, it's nothin' major, but it's enough to cause problems. I'm gonna have to order some parts from Mike's. How's the kid?"
Luke paused, placing his tools down, showing he wanted to talk. Mac took his cue and lent against a nearby truck hood. Both crossed their arms, but in a relaxed manner.
"Joanna is doing her best under current circumstances. She looked to have slept through the night, although I was worried that she skipped breakfast. I tried offering her a few options, but she told me she was feeling queasy so I offered her tea and it gave us the chance to talk."
"I'm sure Max will get her eatin'. It sounds like they're gonna be out most of the day. Max was rambling on about Joanna not lasting a week with her clothes?" Luke sounded confused, his wife had shown a lot of enthusiasm about shopping, but she had also been concerned.
"Hmm, I thought Joanna was going to struggle. I saw what she wore yesterday and today, and it is safe to assume that is all she has."
"She rode horses, though."
"Yes, but she rode with an English saddle and wore proper riding clothes. Not jeans and cowboy boots."
Finding it hard to believe, Luke shook his head. He questioned how long he would wonder about the life Isaac had let Joanna lead? How would Joanna cope living here? She had when she was younger, but now she was older, it appeared she had strayed from the life of a rancher's daughter to a life of wealth.
"Lucas…"
The cowboy snapped back to reality with a shake of his head. Blinking his eyes, he saw his father smiling.
"Are you alright? I lost you for a while." Mac commented. It wasn't like his son to drift off mid-conversation.
"Yeah… no," Luke admitted. "After losing Isaac, I wanted her home. The problem we have all discovered is Lexington was her home and here, she's got nothin'. This kid will need to learn a whole new lifestyle and I don't know if she can handle it based on what I saw yesterday." Although, he tried to be a man of few words. This was something that needed to be said.
Mac drew his shoulders back as he paid close attention to what his son was saying. There was truth to this, but there was also something hidden beneath the surface.
"I'll get back to Joanna. First, talk to me more about your concerns. And don't try hiding anything from me, I know what a concerned father looks like and you are it right now."
"Dad, you're being ridiculous." Luke tried to brush aside the comment.
That was a mistake… even as a grown man, his father could make him feel like a child with a single look.
Taking off his hat as he ducked his head, inhaling and exhaling before meeting his father's eyes.
"She's not even my kid." Luke tried saying, earning a snort of amusement from Mac.
"A DNA test would beg to differ. Yes, Isaac raised her as his own, but you will always have the instinct to protect that child. I believe what you are feeling is good and shouldn't be suppressed. She needs a strong father figure and I am not getting any younger, Luke." Mac said seriously.
"I can't tell her."
"Sooner or later, the truth will come out and you better pray she finds out from you and not someone else." Mac could see his words were taking Luke by surprise the more he talked, but this needed to be said and he was grateful the cowboy was listening, "Now, I didn't come here to confront you."
"Kinda seems like it," Luke grumbled.
Deciding not to dwell on the conversation any longer, Mac kept talking. "Joanna has spent her life around horses and sounds to be an expert rider. Not with western, but she will quickly learn and she cannot do that without a horse. I'm sure you can think of a good horse that would suit Joanna well. Watch her ride a few horses you think would be suitable and go from there."
"Don't you think it's a bit soon?"
"I think she needs to settle into a new routine. Joanna needs structure and a horse will do her good. It will get her out of the cabin, interact with boys, ease her into chores, allow her to explore the range, and help her heal. The last thing I want is to watch her withdraw from the world. I can't let her repeat Isaac's mistake."
"What happened to Isaac was…"
Mac abruptly cut him off.
"Lucas, I know what I said. Moving her away from here was the worst decision he made and I won't go through this again." Mac warned.
"You hardly went through anything!" Luke exclaimed, exploding in sudden anger.
"We can both agree that what happened between you and Isaac was terrible, but my heart broke as I watched a rift form between the two of you," Mac said, looking towards the distance as memories came to the surface. "Talk to the boys about suitable horses for Joanna and find some spare tack she could use."
Pushing off the car, Mac walked away, patting Luke's shoulder as he walked past.
The cowboy stayed in the same spot, taking a deep breath as he tried to process the entire conversation. Trust his father to confront him about his past and leave just as he got angry.