Under The Montana Skies

9- Settling in

Nora's P.O.V.

Pulling up to the ranch brought back such sweet memories for me.

But this was the battle I have fought with since they both passed away... Not visiting more.

This was originally my Great Grandfather Wallace's ranch. My Grandpa Henry and Wallace didn't have the best relationship and when Grandpa Henry decided to join the Army instead of staying on the ranch to help the family, it caused an even bigger feud between the two of them.

Grandpa joined the Army despite Wallace's wishes and when he was stationed in the States, that's when he met my Grandma Eleanor.

My dad's real father died when he was two and Henry took on the role of Dad when he got out of the military and moved to Wisconsin to be with Grandma.

Wallace died about ten years ago and that's when Grandma and Grandpa decided to leave Wisconsin and start their new adventure on the ranch together.

We only went to visit a handful of times over the years and they came to visit too but of course it was never enough. Once I went to New York, I made sure we talked at least once a week. When I traveled and did shows, I would pick up two postcards and send one to my parents and the other to my grandparents, writing a quick little note to each before moving on to the next show. Just something small to keep in touch with everyone back home.

As Grandma's health slowly started to decline, Henry sold his cattle and other animals because it was just too much for him to do by himself. After Grandma died, Grandpa slowly got worse until cancer took him from us too.

I was able to make it home before he died. I remember being by his side as he handed me the deed to this ranch. He told me how proud him and Grandmas were of me and if I ever needed a place to escape, this was it.

My heart ached as I looked around. It was quieter than I remember, the grass was long and Grandma's beautiful landscape around the house was overgrown with weeds and in need of some major TLC.

My phone buzzed with a text from Selena, reminding me to make a public post soon. Rolling my eyes, I put my phone away and went up to the house and unlocked the front door.

Before my parents brought Grandpa back to Wisconsin, everything was cleaned; carpets, floors, cupboards. My parents took things that they wanted to keep, which wasn't much and the rest of the furniture was covered in plastic. That still didn't help with the stale smell from being closed up for the past two years.

I went over and opened the curtains all the way and opened some windows, letting the nice breeze come in.

I went over and shut the refrigerator doors and plugged it in, in hopes that it would still work and then opened the kitchen window.

Dad told me to run tap water for at least twenty minutes to clean out the pipes, so I went over to the sink and turned on the faucet. As to be expected, brown water started spraying out until it finally came to a steady brown stream.

Gross.

I went back outside and started unloading the groceries and started putting them away, feeling that the refrigerator was already starting to get cold.

I opened a bottle of wine and started to wipe down the counters and pantry before putting the food in the cupboards. Once the water turned clear, I let it run a bit longer before shutting off the faucet.

The gas was already turned on. Grandpa Henry had an agreement with the Montgomery's. They kept an eye on the place since they were so close, and made sure it stayed warm in the house over the winter, along with some other light maintenance, in return they could use our land for their cattle.

I headed down into the basement. Dad showed me how to turn the hot water heater on before I left Wisconsin.

"Alright, let's see." I turned my flashlight on my phone and shined it down where I would light the pilot.

I held the pilot knob down for thirty seconds and held the ignition button at the same time but nothing happened. I repeated this a few times before it finally lit.

After making sure it stayed lit, I went back upstairs and started pulling off all the plastic from the furniture and bed, throwing it away in a dumpster I pulled out from the garage. I vacuumed the carpet and all the hardwood floors and opened a few more windows throughout the house, letting it air out the whole house.

Next I brought in my blankets, sheets and pillows and made my bed in the big bedroom on the main level of the house that my grandparents slept in. I unpacked all of my bags, putting them in the dressers and on hangers in the closet.

Rearranging some of the furniture, I set up my music stuff in the window of the breakfast nook that bowed out of the house a little bit to give me a view on all three sides. This part of the house had the best view of the mountains and I had hoped that I would have some inspiration as I sat there enjoying the view while I wrote my music.

I finished my wine, grabbed some different clothes and went into the bathroom. I unpacked my small box of bathroom supplies, put everything away and started the shower.

A little brown water came out, but quickly turned clear as it ran. I had it run for a few minutes and let it get nice and warm before getting in.

Finally.

The hot water covered my entire body, moaning as it hit my face. I grabbed the shampoo and massaged it into my scalp. I used my shower gel and shaved quickly before rinsing off.

Grabbing a towel, I dried off and stepped out of the shower.

Putting my hair up in the towel, I put on sweats and a Wisconsin Badgers T-shirt on.

I went back into the kitchen and poured myself another glass of wine and went outside on the front porch.

I sat there for a while looking out, enjoying the silence and admiring my home for the next few months.

My eyes filled with tears, wondering what Ben was doing. I hated that I still cared. I groaned as I rubbed my temples, trying to forget about the man that broke me.

As if she could sense it, Mom called me.

"Hi Mom." I said, trying to hold back my emotions.

"Hey baby girl. How's it going? Did you get all settled in?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Is everything alright?"

"I'll be fine."

"What happened?"

"I just hate him so much." I wiped away the tears that slipped and took another drink of wine.

"Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry, I wish I was there with you."

"Do you think it will get better?"

"I know it will. I told you about the man I dated before your father. Eleanor, if I didn't break up with that man, I never would have gone to the diner that day with my friends and I never would have met the love of my life. Life has a funny way of working out. I know you're hurting, just give it time honey."

She was right. She was always right.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. Thank you." I yawned. "I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired and now that everything's unpacked I can settle in."

"Alright. Call me anytime if you need, day or night. Okay?"

"Okay."

I really was exhausted and ready for bed. I had almost finished the entire bottle of wine by myself and was definitely starting to feel it. Wiping away my tears, I chugged the rest of my glass and went back inside the house, locking the doors, shut a few windows and went to bed.