Audra Harders - Rocky Mountain Hero

“I think I’ll survive.” Melanie bit the inside of her cheek watching Jason puff up tall beside Gabe.

As they walked off to the back of the store, Shayna leaned over the counter and exhaled. “It’s been a long day.” She looked over her shoulder at the young man stacking a display of windshield wiper fluid in the store window. “Hey, Russ, watch the counter. I’ll be back.”

Russ nodded and went back to work.

“Tough working when we have a sale.” Shayna stretched her back. “All I seem to do is waddle through the store.”

“I remember.” Melanie nodded. She swatted at a couple of tiny black insects. “Especially when all I wanted to do was sleep.”

“Amen. So are you looking for anything in particular?”

Memories of her own pregnancy flooded over Melanie. Luckily she’d finished her last semester of her undergraduate degree while she was pregnant. She couldn’t imagine running across campus with a baby in tow. Tough enough juggling study time in between doctor appointments, work and laundry. Her heart went out to the salesgirl. “Actually, the cabin has all I need and we’re only staying a short while. Maybe a fruit bowl?”

“Right over here.” Shayna turned toward the center aisle.

Melanie waved away a few more pesky gnats. “Gabe said you’d have everything we need, or we didn’t need it.”

“That’s my dad’s motto. He’s pretty proud of knowing what the town needs.” Shayna stopped in front of a display of ceramic bowls. “I’ll let you in on a secret. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll order it and then pretend he found it in the warehouse. It’s a game and everyone knows, so it really isn’t a secret at all.”

“Thanks for the insider tip.” Melanie slapped a gnat on her arm. “Does the store stock plants? I think you’re overwatering.”

Shayna nodded and pointed an aisle over. “We just received a shipment. Noticed they came in kind of buggy. Don’t know what to do about it other than pray they get bought soon.”

“Let me see.” Melanie approached the display of leafy houseplants stacked in the middle of birdbaths, ceramic pots and a water fountain. “The fungus gnats are breeding because of the moisture. Here.” She grabbed a package off the shelf. “Put these yellow sticky tapes around the pots for a couple of days. You should see a big difference.” She dug her finger into the soil. “If you stick raw potato slices in the pot, it’ll help catch them, too.”

“That’s great.” Shayna snagged the package of tapes and tore it open. “What did you say you’re doing here?”

“Normally I work with stuff like this. But for the next three weeks—” she held her arms open to embrace the entire concept “—I’m planning the Fourth of July barbecue at the Davidsons’.”

Shayna laughed so hard, Melanie thought she might go into labor right then. “Don’t understand how he roped you into it and don’t think I want to know. So, Gabe is shirking his responsibilities. Gabe!” She stood on tiptoes and yelled for him again. “Melanie seems like a nice person. Why saddle her with the picnic?”

Gabe and Jason came round the corner. He lifted a brow and winked at Melanie. She couldn’t help it and winked back.

“I’m doing my part for the event, honest. It’s just that Bud and I have this truck to fix, and fence to check, and water to fill, and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know all about the important stuff.” Shayna waved him away. “Melanie, don’t you worry about the picnic. The ladies at church know how to do it all. I’ll be helping, too.” She grinned and nodded in his direction. “Gabe’s too chicken to work with us on the committee.”

The red infusing his face gave truth to the accusation. “Do tell.” Melanie played along. “Sweet little church ladies?”

He tipped his hat back, eyes opened wide. “Worse than a pack of starved kittens around a bowl of milk.” He shook his finger at her and grinned. “Don’t you let them weasel out of making the best steaks a man’s ever tasted. I’m counting on you to handle this assignment with kid gloves.”

Shayna elbowed her in the ribs. “Stick with me. Gabe will end up getting the glory, but we’ll know who did all the work.”

He offered Melanie a lazy smile. “I always give credit where credit is due. I think this year we’ll have one of the best parties ever. And I’ll make sure everyone knows who was in charge.” He indicated the spare parts in his hands. “Hopefully terms equitable for both parties.”

That evening, Melanie sat at the dinner table in the ranch-house kitchen, now cleared of dishes. Homemade chicken and dumplings with all the fixings and the best berry pie with vanilla ice cream she’d ever tasted. She resisted patting her tummy. Life just didn’t get any better.

In the next room, Jason yelped, “No fair, Gabe! I didn’t know that boulder was going to roll onto the track.”

“Well, Bud. You better be prepared for the unexpected next time.” A hardy laugh echoed into the kitchen. “Had enough?”

“Uh-uh. I’m ready for you this time.”

“All right. One…two…three…” A buzzer sounded as the go-kart video game took off again.

Well, life could be a little better. Grace stood at the kitchen counter watering her plants. Martin had joined the boys in the living room. Melanie set her cup down.

“Grace, are you sure I can’t help you with anything?”

“Oh my, no.” She shook her watering can. “Gotta give my little buddies a drink before they go to sleep.”

“Plants don’t stand a chance at my home. After working with them all day, I forget to tend them at night. Jason knows chocolate is the way to his mom’s heart.”

“My boys used to drag home every weed the good Lord planted on the mountainside. Said they were pretty flowers, and so many of them, no one would miss ’em. I praised them for their thoughtfulness and prayed none of the seeds scattered on the way home.”

“You have two other sons, right?”

“I do.” Grace nodded. “Nicholas and Isaac. All three of the boys have grown into men I’m proud of.”

The sounds of the video game echoed in the background, Gabe’s full-bodied laughter causing her heart to trip. Melanie took a sip from her cup. If the other two brothers were anything like Gabe, the women of Hawk Ridge needed to watch out. “Where are they?”

“Zac’s in Denver. He went to college there and decided to stay.”

Grace returned to the sink and refilled her watering can. “Nick got a burr in his drawers one day. Hawk Ridge wasn’t where he wanted to be. Left the house he built up on the ridge and everything. He’d rodeoed all through school and thought he’d take off and see the country on the backside of a bull. He’s the one sending the cattle for the auction.”

“Sounds like exciting lives.” She scooted to the edge of her seat. “I’ll bet you miss them.”

“Well, it’s good for them to find out what they really want. Gabe never really wanted to go anywhere. He went to school in Gunnison for four years and then came home to do exactly what he’d done his whole life.”

“Awww, c’mon, Gabe.” Jason whined from the other room. “That water came out of nowhere.”

“Bud, you had to know it was coming.” Buttons clicked. “You’re driving right next to a river.”

“No fair…”

“You’re a lap behind. Stop bellyachin’ and get to movin’.”

A tiny bell tinkled each time the cars made a lap. Melanie watched the entire game—and cringed.

“And what about you, Melanie? You and Jason getting by?”

Melanie took a sip of her coffee and held the cup to her lips. A loaded question if she’d ever heard one. What kind of answer was Grace looking for? She took another sip and lowered her cup. “We take each day as it comes.”