know, but the boss named the first two Colonel and General, and each time he brought a new horse home, he said it wouldn’t be fair for it to outrank a horse who’d been around longer. So… that’s how they got their names.”
Jo was puzzled for a moment. Was Leif referring to himself as “the boss”? If so, this was the second time he’d done it, and Jo found it quite odd. She hated when people referred to themselves in the third person. She decided to ignore it and hope he didn’t make a habit of it.
Leif showed Jo and Charlie the rest of the barn, including a small tack room in back with a bed and a little stove. Leif then led them out of the barn and around to the back, where a pen held the milk cow, Shirley, and her new calf. Next, he took them to the bunkhouse, which had a few sprigs of grass around it with wild daisies popping up on both sides of the door. The bunkhouse consisted of two beds made up with simple tan blankets on opposite sides of the room. A stove that matched the one in the tack room was on the end wall. The only other things in the room were two wooden shelves hanging above each window and a plain chair in the corner. It was small. Jo tensed, realizing she would have to share this cramped living space with the newly acquainted Charlie. She had never considered living arrangements when accepting the job. How daft could I be? Well, there is nothing to do about it now. I will just have to pretend that Charlie is my younger brother .
Leif cut in to Jo’s thoughts, “This is where you will be staying, Charlie. I hope you like it. This is as homey as it gets.” Charlie beamed at Leif, still excited beyond measure to be ranching instead of cooped up in town. “Why don’t you get settled in here while I take Jo up to the house? Come on up when you are done, and we will talk over the plans for this week,” he continued, slapping Charlie on the shoulder.
Surprised and relieved that she wouldn’t be staying in the bunkhouse, Jo followed Leif to the big house. Walking through the heavy front door, she was immediately enveloped by the fresh wood smell of the new house.
“You must have recently built this house. I can still smell the lumber.”
“We finished everything necessary to moving in a year ago, but there is still work to be done,” Leif answered.
Jo was becoming more curious about Leif and his relationship to Kirby. They had an easy camaraderie, and for not being related by blood, they seemed awfully comfortable and familial. Feeling it might be rude pry, she kept quiet, assuming that over time she would learn more about how they were connected.
The front entry of the home was roomy and clean with a row of silver hooks on the wall for coats and hats. Beautiful glass double doors closed off the room to the left, but glancing through it, it appeared to be a study or a library. Jo could see thick books lining the walls. Straight ahead a hallway led to the back of the house, and stairs ascended next to it. The railings and spindles were skillfully carved, but had yet to be stained. Leif led Jo to the right of the front entry first. They entered a large parlor with deep sofas and a massive oval rug in the center, covering the pine floors. The gray stone fireplace was the largest Jo had ever seen in a farm home and had a thick wood mantle nestled into the rock. Everything in the room seemed extra large to Jo; even the sofas weren’t the prim parlor seating she was accustomed to. The two identical green sofas faced each other, their seats low to the ground with deep soft cushions. It looked impossible for someone to sit back in them and still have their feet firmly on the floor. On impulse Jo moved a quilted pillow to the side and sat down, scooting all the way back until her spine touched the cushion. Her feet dangled about six inches from the floor.
Leif smiled at her and nodded to her dangling feet. “We aren’t very formal here in Montana.”
Jo, realizing how silly she must look,