Shadow Moon Ranch

Home

I was so happy to be home again. I knew I had to talk to my Uncle, but that could wait until later. I walked into the lounge and took a seat at the other end of the couch. My uncle looked over at me and gave me a head flick asking me to follow him. I told the twins that I was going to go to the kitchen with Uncle Levi, and I’d be right outside if they needed me. I got up and followed Levi out. We got to the kitchen and uncle put the coffee pot on. I sat opposite at the island.

“So how have things been here?” I asked Levi.

“Well, it’s been running OK. I got things pretty much running good. After we lost your dad, all three Alpha’s came to pay their respects. Alpha James saw me and told me he would help anytime if we needed it. The last couple of years, Alpha James had sent a few of his men to help on the ranch, especially during the calving months and bringing in the hay.” He looked at me.

I nodded at him. Uncle Levi handed me my coffee and I took a sip.

“Well enough of all that, I had better get on and start my chores. Everything you need to do with the ranch is in your dad’s office. Oh, and I forgot Mr Abbot wants you to call him to set up a meeting so you can sign the paperwork for the ranch.”

“Thanks Uncle, I’ll see you later!” I sat there and finished my coffee.

I knew I had a few calls to make today. First thing’s first, I needed to get a new SIM card for my phone. I was dreading turning my phone on. I sighed and took my phone out of my back pocket. My finger hoovered over the power button and decided to leave it off. I got up and checked in on the twins. They had both fallen asleep watching TV. I pulled the door to and made my way to my dad’s office.

I pushed the door open and the smell of my dad still lingered, the smell of his aftershave brut I could still smell it faintly, but it was still there.

I walked towards the desk and saw a couple of pictures on his desk. There was one of me in my wedding dress. That day was one of my happy days. The other picture I picked up carefully. It was a photo of us 3 mom, dad and me. I felt my eyes welling up with tears as I brought the photo to my chest and held it against my heart. I took a deep breath and placed the photo frame back on the desk. I wiped my eyes and sat down on dad’s chair. I started up dad’s computer and found the local school and called them.

After talking to the administration, I enrolled the twins into school. I then called Mr Abbott's office and made an appointment to go and see him. After calling who I had to call, I decided to make another coffee and go and sit outside on the porch. It was a beautiful day and I needed some quiet time to just take everything in.

I took a seat on the chair outside the main front door, leaving the front door open so I could hear the twins when they woke. I was looking out over the ranch and saw men working by the barns. There were a couple of men on horseback herding some cattle into a pasture. The goats were just munching away and the hens were clucking away. God, I missed all this. I was in thought when I was shocked out of my thoughts by someone coughing. I looked over and saw a lady standing in front of me.

“Oh, excuse me are you Sydney?” She asked

“Uh yes.. yes, I am sorry I was miles away.”

“ That’s OK, my dear. I’m Rose. I am um a friend of Levi’s,” she told me.

“Oh it’s nice to meet you Rose, please have a seat.”

Rose climbed the 3 steps and sat down beside me. She went on to tell me that she had been helping Uncle Levi on the farm. We looked up as we heard horses' hooves coming towards us.

“Rose, thank you for coming,” Levi says to her whilst smiling at Rose.

Rose shyly smiled back, her cheeks showing a hint of red. I love that she blushes when Levi smiles at her. I wonder if there is something going on there, I thought to myself.

Uncle Levi jumped down from his horse and walked up to us.

“Sydnee, I asked Rose over to keep an eye on the twins so I could show you around the ranch. There have been some upgrades since you were last here.”

“Oh, that's fine, but I would like to wait until the twins are awake to introduce Rose to them, as they have never seen her before. I don’t want them waking up and I’m not here.”

“ I understand.” Levi said.

Just at that moment, I heard the twins running towards the door. I stood up and told them that we were sitting down outside. As they approached, they saw Uncle Levi and Rose. Gemma came to stand beside my legs and Jay walked towards Levi and stood beside him.

“Jay, Gemma, this is a very good friend of mine Rose. Can you say hello to her?” as he looked between the twins.

“Hello Rose.” Gemma said shyly.

Jay just stood there trying to figure Rose out. He does that a lot with people he just meets. He tries to figure them out by watching them. When he determines if they are friendly, he will talk to them. But his guard is always up.

Just at that moment, Rose brought out a tin from her bag and opened it. The smell of chocolate brownies admitted the air. Uncle Levi dives his hand in and snatches one up whilst stuffing it in his mouth. Gemma stood there watching and when she saw what Uncle Levi did with the brownie she giggled. Jay looked up at Levi and furrowed his eyebrows together.

“Jay, Gemma, would you both like a Brownie?” she asks as she looks at them both.

The twins both looked at me waiting for me to give them permission.

“Go ahead if you would like one,” I told them.

They both walked towards Rose and both took a Brownie. They both thanked her and walked back to me. Uncle Levi took Gemma and sat her on his lap while Jay stood next to me. I lifted him onto my lap.

As they were eating, I told the twins that I needed to go with Uncle Levi as he was going to show me some of the ranch. They both looked at me while chewing on the brownie.

Jay looked up and swallowed, then said,

“ Mummy, we want to have a look too.”

Rose looked at them.

“ Jay, your mummy will be right over there, and, if you like I will take you and Gemma to see the goats and chickens, would you like that?” She asked.

“Oh yes please,” as they both turned their heads quickly at me.

I smiled at them both and told them to go get their jumpers on, as it was a little chilly. They both got down from Levi and my laps and both ran inside to find their jumpers. After a few minutes, they both ran back out and ran to Rose.