Usually the days when something breaks, someone quits, or the cattle decide to stampede for no reason. He took a sip of tea. But most days, no. This is what I wanted. A place that's mine, that I built with my own hands.
Something to pass on to Lily. She'll do great things with it someday. Maybe. Or maybe she'll hate ranching and run off to the city to become a dancer, or a teacher, or anything else. He smiled at the thought.
Either way, I want her to have choices. That's what this is really about, building something solid enough that she can choose her own path. That's a good way to think about it. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, drinking tea and not talking about the competition or the gossip or any of the complicated things between them. I'm terrified, Evelyn finally admitted.
About tomorrow? About standing up in front of all those people who already hate me. They don't hate you. They don't even know you. They think they do.
That's almost worse. Ridgewell set down his tea and looked at her directly. You want to know what I think? Not particularly, but I suspect you're going to tell me anyway. That startled a real laugh out of him.
Fair enough. I think you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You took a job nobody wanted in a place nobody wants to be, and you turned it into something that matters. You didn't complain, didn't quit when things got hard, didn't let anyone make you small. That's not someone who's going to fall apart at a county cooking competition.
You have a lot of faith in someone you've only known a few months. I have faith in what I've seen. The rest is just details. He paused. Besides, I've tasted your cooking.
If you lose tomorrow, it's only because the judges are blind, deaf, and have no taste buds. Despite her nerves, Evelyn smiled. That's a very specific kind of disability. I stand by it. She finished her tea and stood to leave.
I should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be long. Evelyn. He stopped her at the door. Thank you.
For the tea and for for everything you've done here, regardless of what happens tomorrow. You're welcome. She turned back to look at him. And thank you for giving me a chance when nobody else would. The competition was being held in Red Hollow's community hall, a large wooden building that served as church, meeting house, and general gathering space for anything the town deemed important.
When Evelyn arrived with Ridgewell, Mrs. Chen, and Lily in the ranch wagon, the street was already crowded with people and wagons from all over the county. Her stomach twisted into knots at the sight of it. "Breathe," Mrs. Chen murmured. "You've got this." Inside, the hall had have been set up with cooking stations along one wall and rows of chairs for spectators on the other.