Match Made in Valley View (Valley View Book #2)

Chapter 23

When we pull up to the large house, Betsy and Raymond come out onto the porch to greet us. Wes carefully takes a drowsy Annabelle out of her car seat and carries her into the house. I grab the couple of bags that we had in the backseat from our week and a half stay away from home.

Betsy takes one of the bags from me and then we share a hug. “I thought Wes was going to drop you off, Holly?”

“It made more sense to come straight here. No need to keep her in the car longer than she needed.”

Betsy gives me a friendly smile, “I think that makes sense.”

“If you don’t mind, I was hoping I could make use of one of your guest rooms tonight.”

She rubs my back with her free hand. “Of course sweetheart, I will make sure that everything is fine. The boys don’t visit as much as they used to, but every once in a while I find Bobby taking a rest on his old room and I doubt you want that dirty rancher smell on any sheets.”

I grin and shake my head. “Oh no, I’m not sure many people would want that smell on them.”

Wes looks over his shoulder and snarks, “You got something against the smell of a rancher, darling?”

“No comment,” I reply with a wink.

I take Wes’s bag upstairs to his bedroom while he gives Annabelle a short sponge bath to clean some of the hospital smell off of her. I want to give them some privacy and not overstep any lines so I head downstairs and take a seat in the living room with Betsy and Raymond.

“Have you had a chance to check in on the bakery?” Raymond asks.

“Between Kathy, Maddie, and Gio I’m feeling good that they took care of things. You know how small towns are, everybody pitches in when needed. I’ll try to get down there tomorrow and catch up on things.”

“I’m sure everything is just fine. These towns are all about supporting each other. About ten years ago I had to get a knee replacement and was out of commission for about six months. Every week a different rancher either came by himself or sent one or two of his guys to help out the boys.”

“That’s great. It is one of the reasons I really love Harlington and Valley View. I did not grow up with such close communities.”

“Wes had mentioned you were from Bismarck, is that correct?”

“Yep! Born and raised.”

“What about your siblings, are they still there?”

“Hannah still lives there. Holden is a bit more of a free spirit. He stays around the Dakotas, but he is a professional couch surfer, I swear.” I shake my head thinking about my brother.

Raymond smiles as if he totally understands. “What does he do for work when he’s out surfing?”

“He is a bit of a Mr. Fix-It. He contracts with one of those real estate companies that purchase ugly houses to flip. He also has some freedom to take his own jobs and whatnot as well. He spends a lot of time moving around depending on where his current project is.”

“And your sister?”

“She’s an assistant manager at a call center.”

“Like those people that track you down for late bills and extended car warranties?” He raises his eyebrow.

I laugh as I take a drink of the water that Betsy had brought in, “That would be the kind! She hates her job, but the pay is stupid good and she’s been there for a while so she has a lot of seniority.”