Autumn's Hope (Cowboy Seasons) (6 page)

More
than likely Zeus would be gone before Holden got there. “It’s okay Zeus, you
can go. I don’t want you to suffer anymore. I believe when it’s your time, it’s
your time. I’m just glad that I could be here with you, buddy. I want you to
know that not all people are cruel. There are some of us good ones left.”

Zeus
stared at Jonas. He took a breath, shuddered and died.

Jonas
sat there and continued to pet Zeus. His heart ached for the horse’s suffering
but a part of him was glad that he was able to be here for the horse at the end.
He never could explain it to anyone but in some small way he was giving back.
Giving back in his own way the kindness and care he’d been given in the
veterans’ hospital.

He
heard Holden’s truck. He got up, brushed the hay off his pants and went outside
to see him.

“Zeus?”

“He’s
gone,” Jonas sighed. “Stay and have some coffee,” Jonas offered.

Holden
ran his hand over his face. “I really could use a cup. This never gets easier.
I mean when I first moved to Carlston I planned on a small veterinarian practice.
It’s been really eye opening the amount of neglected horses I’ve seen. I know
times are bad and hay is expensive, but for the love of God, why don’t the
owners ask for help? To me, horses are friends. Would you let your friend
starve without trying to find help?”

“You’re
right, it’s been getting worse. I’m glad we’re able to help as many as we do.
Colt O’Malley is a wonder with them.”

They
walked side by side to Jonas’ big, one-story, log house. He’d lived in it all
his life. When he first came home from the Army all he did was fix up the
house. He threw all his pent up frustrations and anger into it and now it
shined.

Holden
sat at the large wooden table and smiled as he accepted a mug of coffee. “I’m
grateful that you take the worst cases. Colt doesn’t have the room and I really
don’t know who else would be willing to take them.”

Jonas
took a sip of his coffee and sat across from Holden. “I’m a hard case myself.
It’s my pleasure to give the horses love and care in their final days. The ones
that make it are a joy to me. It works out.”

“Well,
not to sound like a gossipy old lady, but what the heck has been going on while
I was gone? There are rumors about you and Dee Ann and rumors about you and
Autumn. Playing the field?” Holden grinned.

Jonas
grinned back but inside his heart squeezed. Neither woman wanted him. “You know
how gossip is. Dee Ann spent a lot of time here with the horses and Autumn,
well, Autumn is a friend.”

Holden
nodded, but Jonas had a feeling that he was wearing his emotions on his sleeve.
He wasn’t fooling Holden.

“I’d
better hit the road. I have a new bride to get home to.” The happiness on his
face radiated.

“I’m
glad you and Summer are together. She’d been put through the ringer with all
those accusations of robbery and murder.”

“It
was touch and go for a long while but we’re happy. I’ll see you, buddy. Call if
you need me.”

Jonas
nodded and watched Holden leave, envy climbed into his heart and wouldn’t let
go.

* * * *

Autumn
laid in bed so long her body ached and instead of feeling rested she was
fatigued. She slipped out of bed and jumped in the shower. There was a lot to
do today. She had a meeting with her staff in an hour and she wanted to go over
the menu with them once again. She’d used her computer to print out the menus.
She wanted to wait to see what people liked before getting anything fancier.

She
dried herself off, pulled back her hair into a ponytail and got dressed. It
occurred to her that now her restaurant had a name, a good name, she could
order T-shirts for the staff. Jonas had done a nice thing for her and she acted
like a shrew toward him. It wasn’t like her at all. Normally, she was a kind, gracious
person but nothing seemed normal anymore.

She
padded down the stairs and made coffee in the industrial coffee maker. While
the coffee brewed, she unlocked the front door, and gathered her thoughts
together for the meeting.

Her
friend from culinary school, Richard Bisborn, arrived first. He was Autumn’s
executive chef. He looked as dreamy as ever with his light brown hair and
constant five o’clock shadow. Autumn immediately crossed the room and gave him
a welcoming hug. “You are a sight for sore eyes. It’s been a bit lonely here.”

Richard
laughed and hugged her back. He let go and studied her. “You look tired.”

She
nodded briefly. “Tons to do, getting ready to open.”

“I’m
here now. I hope to take some of the burden off your shoulders.” The women in
town were going to eat him up. Not only was he good looking, he was fun.

“I
have the menu we’ve been discussing ready. I want to go over it with the wait
staff.”

“Good
idea.”

“Where’s
your stuff?”

“I
left it in the car. I’ll move into the other apartment after the meeting. I
thought you didn’t want to rent it out.”

“That
was my original plan but I had a guest stay for a while and I kind of got used
to having someone around.”

Richard
put his arm around her. He towered over her. “So, I’m just someone to have
around am I?”

“Yep.”
Autumn’s burdens already seemed to have lessened and she smiled light-heartedly.

The
door opened and four more people came in. Laura Thumb, a thin, young blonde
entered first. She was the juice bartender. She was followed by Jennifer Dailey,
a pretty brunette a bit on the plus side. Cody Park strode in his blue eyes
sparkling as he watched Laura’s rear-end. He flashed Autumn a cocky grin when
he realized he was caught. Miles Green entered last. He was long and lean, with
dark brown hair and dark eyes. They were all in their twenties and eager to
work.

Introductions
were made and they all settled at the bar. “The juice bar will be serving combo
smoothies. This means that the customer can pick from the list and combine any
three items such as raspberries, strawberries and oranges. I also have some
interesting combo suggestions which I will write on the board every day. Such
as cactus, apples and carrot. If the customer asks for a suggestion you can
suggest the drink of the day or if they look at all confused, stick with the
fruit ones.

“Soups
will include wild mushroom, tomato, vegetable and a cream of vegetable. Salads—well
we have a lot to choose from. There is the fruit salad, the garden salad, spinach
salad and a cactus salad. Make sure you read up on which salads have which ingredients.
The garden salad has beets and alfalfa while the cactus one has lettuce, tomato
and cilantro. I know it’s different than what most people are used to. They can
have them anyway they would like, just be sure to indicate it on the ticket.

“Sandwiches
and Entrees include veggie burgers, grilled veggie sandwiches. We offer fried zucchini
and sweet potato fries on the sides for those. Eggplant parmesan is always a
favorite as are baked ziti and wild mushroom stroganoff.”

Laura
flipped back her long blonde hair and smiled. “I love it. Finally, a vegetarian
restaurant. I don’t think this town has seen anything different in ages.”

Miles
nodded. “I think people will want to give it a try. I’m hoping for great tips.”

They
all nodded while Autumn and Richard exchanged smiles.

“Take
these menus home with you and memorize as much as you can. Tomorrow we will
have a tasting so you know what you are selling. Sound good?”

“Sounds
real good,” Cody agreed. He was eyeing Laura out of the corner of his eye.

“I
will see you all tomorrow.” Autumn smiled at each of them and as soon as the
door closed she sighed.

“What’s
the sigh for?”

“I’m
just hoping that it all works out.”

“When
were you planning to tell me about the baby?”

“The
baby?”

Chapter
Four

Jonas
opened the restaurant door, hoping to talk to Autumn. Seeing her huddled with a
strange man gave him pause. Their backs were to him and he wasn’t sure if he
should interrupt.

“Yes,
the baby. When were you going to tell me about it? Don’t you think I had a
right to know from the beginning?” He sounded upset to Jonas. He wondered if
the stranger was the baby’s father.

“It
won’t make a bit of difference, I promise. We’ll go on as planned. Please don’t
be mad.”

“I
know you, Autumn. You weren’t planning to tell me till it was too late.”

Jonas
let the door slam behind him. “I don’t know who you are, but I want you to step
away from Autumn,” he growled.

“Jonas—”

“Save
it, Autumn.” He glared at the man next to her. “Thank God it’s too late. I
don’t abide what you were suggesting. A child is a gift. If Autumn didn’t want
you to know, she had her reasons. There isn’t a kinder, more honest woman I
know.”

“Richard,
this is Jonas Barnes,” Autumn explained hurriedly.

Richard
took a step forward with his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

Jonas
glanced at Richard’s hand and gave him a cold stare. He turned away and walked to
Autumn’s side. He touched her arm and she glanced at him. “Are you okay? Do you
want me to get rid of this guy? Even though he’s the baby’s father he shouldn’t
be upsetting you.”

Autumn’s
eyes misted and he knew who was to blame. He gently caressed her cheek and gave
her a reassuring smile. He took a step away from her and shook his head at
Richard. “I think you should leave. I don’t care who you are, just get out.”

The
astonishment on Richard’s face was satisfying.

“Listen,
Jonas, is it? It’s not what you think. I’m moving in but that baby isn’t mine.
We always planned to open a restaurant together. I didn’t mean to upset her.
I’m sure she can do whatever she sets her mind to. She just took me by surprise
is all.”

“You’re
moving in?” Jonas turned toward Autumn. “Is that right?”

Autumn
nodded. “Yes, we’ve planned this for a long while.”

A
hard kick to his gut with steel toed boots would have felt better. “You planned
everything but the baby?”

She
gave him a tentative smile. “Yes.”

“I
guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Sorry Richard, I shouldn’t have judged
you so quickly.”

“You
were just looking out for my girl.”

“I
need to get over to the feed store. It was nice to meet you, Richard. Autumn,
take care.” The sadness on her face got to him but he didn’t have any help for
it. She probably wasn’t as sad as he was anyway.

Jonas
walked out to the gloomy fall day. The wind had kicked up and rain threatened.
He didn’t need to go to the feed store. With a heavy heart, he hopped into his
truck and headed home. Rain and storms might startle the horses and he needed
to be with them, to reassure them.

It
was a good thing that Richard came to be with Autumn. A baby should have both a
mother and father in the picture if possible. No matter how many
rationalizations he came up with, he knew he was full of it. He wanted Autumn
for his own, not that she’d have wanted him once she got a good look at him.

It
started to pour and lightning crisscrossed the sky. He drove a bit faster to get
home to his horses.

* * * *

Autumn
put the last touches on the centerpieces. Opening night had at long last
arrived and she was nervous. The last few days had jumbled her emotions and she
had reached her limit. Richard was still mad. He seemed to think she couldn’t
be a new mother and a partner in the restaurant. She held three-quarters of the
partnership and his attitude was getting old. If only he’d be happy for her.

The
tasting with the staff would have made her laugh if it hadn’t have been so
vital. They had no idea what they tasted. The sauces were beyond comprehension
and their faces cringed at the word tofu. She needed them to be bright and
enthusiastic about her food. She and Richard had worked so long perfecting
their menu. Finally, they all knew the menu inside and out.

Only
a half hour until opening and she craved some fresh air. She slipped out the
back door and leaned her back against the building. What if she failed? What if
the town decided not to come to her opening at all? These thoughts chilled her
to the bone. A big glass of wine would have been good, but not while she was
pregnant.

The
door opened and Richard joined her. “Ready? It’s what we’ve been dreaming of,
Autumn. We are actually going to make it happen, here, tonight. So, come back
in and let’s get this party started.”

His
grin of optimism was contagious and soon she believed it too. She walked back
in while he held the door open for her. “I’m going to open the door, Richard.”

“I’m
ready, babe.” He swooped down and gave her a big hug. “Don’t worry it’ll be
fine.”