Here to Stay by Debra Webb Page B

night.
    Today she needed to be far away from
everything and everyone. To think long and hard about the future.
Hers and Jesse’s. Paige pulled on a pair of navy blue stirrup pants
and matching sweater. With James back today, she didn’t have the
barn chores to worry about. Maybe she’d take a long ride and then
an even longer walk on the far side of the Weston property.
    Hair brushed and riding boots pulled on,
Paige bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. The sound of
chatter registered in her brain as she came to a screeching halt
just inside the kitchen door. A woman about Paige’s age stood on a
stepladder, while another, older woman stood on the floor next to
her. A long, damp length of flowery paper hung between them. The
large oak table held the sundry items necessary to perform the task
of hanging paper, including roll after roll of colorful wallpaper.
Wallpaper that had been meticulously coordinated with the paint now
gleaming on the kitchen’s wood molding.
    “Hi, I’m Jenn,” the older woman said. “And
this is Carol. You must be Paige, Robert’s niece.” She beamed a
pleasant smile.
    “Yes. Good morning,” Paige replied somewhat
hesitantly before returning the smile.
    “I hope we didn’t wake you. We were scheduled
to start at seven. We have a—”
    “I know,” Paige interrupted. “You have a
key.” This was unreal. People just shouldn’t pass the keys to their
house as casually as if they were lending a cup of sugar to a
neighbor. Especially when their favorite—their only—niece stayed
their all alone. Paige intended to have a serious discussion about
security with Robert. Just how many keys did the man have,
anyway?
    “We’ll be through in no time,” Jenn assured
her.
    “Don’t mind me. I’m on my way out.” She
smiled, grabbed a cola from the fridge, then headed out of the
house and to the barn. She popped the top and took a long drink. It
wasn’t coffee but it was caffeine—and today she needed it.
    “Good morning, James,” she called out as she
entered the stables. “I’m sure glad you’re back.” She rubbed her
still aching back.
    “Morning, Paige,” James drawled. He set down
his feed buckets, then pushed his hat up on his forehead. “You look
like a lady who’s hankering for a ride.”
    “Yes, sir.” Paige trashed her cola can and
surveyed the stalls. “What about that pretty Appaloosa down
there?”
    “That’s Ariel and I believe she’d be tickled
pink to be your mount today.”
    James expertly saddled up Ariel, while Paige
visited Windborne’s new foal.
    “Gotcha fixed up, little lady,” James
announced when he’d tightened the cinch.
    Paige thanked James and slipped into the
saddle atop Ariel. The squeak of smooth leather brought a smile to
her lips. The mare felt good between her thighs. It had been a long
time since Paige had ridden. She felt almost giddy sitting astride
the powerful animal.
    “Making a day of it?” he asked.
    “I’ll be back around lunch. I’m going down to
the river to check out Robert’s favorite fishing spot.”
    “You need a pole and some bait?”
    “I don’t want to fish, I just want to relax.
See you later.” Paige nudged Ariel, who pranced out of the barn.
She headed across the wide, green pasture at a steady pace.
    She smiled as she thought of James’s interest
in her agenda. James had been with Robert for as long as she could
remember. He seemed almost as much like family as Robert himself.
He’d never let her go off alone without getting particulars. She
supposed James hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t a little girl
anymore, although thirty was far from being a little girl.
    Thirty . Boy, that sounded old. She
thought of Jesse’s age as well. Four years old and an only child.
Paige didn’t want to have an only child. Being one herself, she
understood the loneliness. If her adolescent dreams had come true,
she and Nathan would be married and have four children by now. That
had been the plan.
    That would