Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch

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Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch Page 9

by Carolyn Brown


  “But how?” Addy whispered.

  “The timing for one thing. She was born nine months after that last night before Jesse went to the Air Force. She’s got his eyes, and she’s tall like Jesse, and if you look at his baby picture and hers, you can’t tell them apart,” Pearl answered.

  “Does anyone else know?” Addy asked.

  “Not even Lylah O’Malley, who as you know, is the biggest gossip in Honey Grove,” Sonny chuckled. “She spread the rumor that you got pregnant by one of your married professors.”

  “Good Lord!” Jesse threw both palms up. “Is that Ricky’s mother?”

  Pearl nodded. “That’s exactly who it is. She’s about your age, Jesse. And for the record, we never believed a word of what she said about you, and when the next bit of gossip reached her, you were old news.”

  Sonny picked up the platter of sandwiches and passed them over to Addy. “This will be a hard lesson for her, but we hope it will make her stronger.”

  “I couldn’t swallow anything right now.” Addy set the plate down between her and Jesse. “Thank God, Jesse was there to support me. Bless his heart, he didn’t even know that he was her father until today, and…” The next words stuck in Addy’s throat.

  “I would have done things different if I’d known,” Jesse said. “Why didn’t you tell me, Mama?”

  “We figured Addy would tell us all when she was ready,” Sonny answered. “This is all that bad boy’s doing, and we just need to keep Mia in our prayers and hope that when he’s done spending all her money, she will call us instead of letting him talk her into something horrible.”

  Addy pulled her phone from her hip pocket. “Speaking of money, I need to take care of that right now.”

  “Fannin Bank,” a lady answered. “This is Betsy. What can I help you with today?”

  “This is Addy Hall. I’d like to check the balance in both the checking and savings accounts I hold jointly with Mia and maybe move the money over into another account,” she said. “How are Justine and the new baby?”

  “The baby’s doing great. Justine is doing better with him than I thought she would be. She’s turning out to be a good mother, even if the father is a bastard. You should come by some evening, have a glass of tea with us and see the baby. She’s named him Levi Matthew, after her father and grandfather. We’ve nicknamed him Matty,” Betsy said. “I’ve got those accounts pulled up. The savings has fifty dollars in it, and the checking is down to ten dollars.”

  “Last January, we had five thousand dollars in savings and a thousand in checking,” Addy said. “Are you sure you’ve got the right numbers?”

  “Looks like Mia has been pulling out money right along. Still want to transfer what’s left and maybe close out these accounts?” Betsy asked.

  “No, leave them alone,” Addy said.

  “Call me when you have time to come visit. I heard that Ricky and Mia are off on a vacation together. I didn’t even know they were dating,” Betsy said. “But then teenagers don’t tell mothers much, do they? I hope he’s nicer to her than he was to Justine. You do know that he’s the father of Justine’s baby, don’t you?”

  Addy shivered. The situation with Ricky was even worse than she thought possible, and now Mia was all enamored with him. “I didn’t know, but I’m so, so sorry to hear that.”

  “Guess we all have to pay for our decisions in some way,” Betsy said. “I should’ve paid more attention to the signs.”

  “Amen to that.” Addy almost groaned, and wished she’d known about Ricky and Mia before things had gone this far.

  “Here I am a grandmother at forty, so what can I say? At first Justine wouldn’t put Ricky’s name on the birth certificate, but one of our friends who is a lawyer told her to do so, so that she could sue him for child support. Justine said that she hoped that she never saw that boy again, and wishes she’d never let him talk her into that rose tattoo on her back. Oh, and one more thing before you hang up. I know you and Grady are good friends. Have you met his new girlfriend? She’s a ringer for Amelia.”

  “Nope, but he keeps saying he’ll bring her around sometime,” Addy said. “Bye, now.” Addy ended the call and turned back to the Ryans, a dreadful knot in the pit of her stomach. “Mia has used all the money she had saved, and her checking account is almost dry. Between the two accounts, she’s got about sixty dollars, and Ricky O’Malley is the father of Justine’s new baby. Can it get any worse?”

  “Whew, that’s a lot to take in,” Pearl said.

  * * *

  “Hey, anybody home?” Grady yelled from the front door.

  “We’re back here!” Sonny hollered. “Come on in and have a glass of tea and some pie.”

  Grady took a chair at the head of the table so that Addy was on his left. “That sounds good. I thought I’d stop and get copies of Sonny’s medical charts today since I can’t come by tonight. Got a long, boring meeting at the hospital, starting right after rounds.”

  Addy got to her feet and poured Grady a glass of tea. Since the pie was already on the table, she took a dessert plate down from the cabinet and grabbed a fork from the cutlery drawer. “Will we see you before Sunday morning?”

  “Doesn’t look like it.” He cut himself a large piece of pie. “The whole week is swamped down with meetings. That’s what I get for being head of the ER, but it’s also what I’ve worked for, so I can’t complain. How have things been here?”

  “Same old, same old,” Sonny said. “But got to say, these new pills are keeping my problems at bay.”

  “That’s great,” Grady said.

  Couldn’t the man see that Addy was upset? Her eyes were swollen and red from crying, and every vibe coming off her spelled sadness in big bold letters. Jesse didn’t feel like he was in a position to say a word. If Addy wanted Grady to know what had happened that morning, she could tell him. But Jesse didn’t have to sit there and stew in his jealous juices.

  He pushed his chair back. “I’m going to take my sandwich to go and help Henry mend fences. See y’all at supper.”

  Grady didn’t even look up from his pie, but just waved.

  Addy caught Jesse’s eye and mouthed, Thank you.

  Sonny grabbed his cane and said, “I think I’ll go with you, son. I can’t help, but if you’ll park up under a shade tree, I’d sure enjoy watching.”

  “Don’t forget your hat,” Pearl said. “And Jesse, pick up his lawn chair. It’s that long, red tube thing settin’ beside the washing machine. If he gets too hot, call me, and I’ll drive out and rescue him.”

  “Will do.” Jesse waited for his father to head out the back door and then followed him.

  “What was that all about? You jealous of Grady?” Sonny asked when they were in the truck. “He and Addy are just good friends. You ain’t got nothing to worry about with him.”

  Jesse started the engine and drove around to the back of the house, then went through the procedure of opening and closing the gate. That gave him time to think about what his dad had asked before he answered.

  “I guess I am jealous,” he admitted, “but as a friend. She deserves someone who can see she’s upset and has a lot on her mind. All Grady seems to be interested in today is Mama’s pecan pie. A real friend would invite her out to the porch and let her vent. I couldn’t sit there another second and watch her want him to ask about her day.”

  Sonny nodded in agreement. “Ever think that maybe she’s not ready to tell him that you’re Mia’s father? That she just wants him to eat his pie and go so she can have some time to process all this? And speaking of Mia, how are you holding up after finding out you had a daughter all these years? I figured you’d be stomping holes in the porch floor or rippin’ and snortin’ around on that old dirt bike to get past the anger that Addy kept such a big secret for so long.”

  “I’m still in shock,” Jesse answered. “If I would have asked when Mia’s birthday was, I could have figured it out on my own. I just figured that Addy had met someone at college or out
in the Panhandle, and that’s why she stopped writing and calling me. I should have known we were better friends than that.”

  “Should have, could have, would have,” Sonny said. “Those are all in the past. What are you going to do about the future?”

  “I feel like I’m navigating uncharted waters at the dark of midnight in a horrible storm,” Jesse said. “I hope that someday Mia and I can have some kind of relationship, and that Addy and I can at least be friends like we used to be.”

  “We didn’t even know you kids were dating,” Sonny said. “It wasn’t until she moved in with us and Pearl saw a picture of Mia when she was a little baby that we began to put things together. Those two pictures are identical. Then we did the math, and your mama remembered that Addy didn’t even come tell you goodbye on the morning we took you to the recruiter’s place. We figured y’all had had a falling-out, and that’s why she didn’t want anyone to know that you were the father.”

  Jesse pulled the truck up under a shade tree, not far from where Henry and the boys were working. “We only had one night together, Dad. That last night before I left, and we both cried and swore we wouldn’t let that night ruin our friendship. She slipped out before daylight without even telling me goodbye.”

  “Guess God had other plans,” Sonny said. “I just wish we would have known before Mia was fourteen. We could have done more to help them. And I damn sure wish I could get a hold of that kid she’s run off with. I would kick his ass all the way to the Gulf and then kick him off in the water.”

  Jesse chuckled. “I’m sorry for all this mess, Dad. You sure don’t need all this stress when you are trying to keep this disease from getting worse.”

  “Family don’t always mean there’s smooth sailin’, son. Sometimes the waters get rocky, but we’ve always got each other to lean on,” Sonny told him.

  “Amen.” Jesse got out of the car and propped Sonny’s chair up against the tree. He set a bottle of water in the holder on the arm. “Thanks for coming along and supporting me today.”

  “Anytime, son, anytime.” Sonny slid out of the truck and made his way to the chair.

  Chapter Ten

  Addy could not sleep at all that night. She tossed and turned, beat her pillow into submission, threw the covers off, then pulled them back up over her body, and finally gave up even trying. She padded down the dark hallway to the kitchen, got down the Jack Daniel’s, poured a double shot, and carried it out to the porch swing. The night was considerably cooler than the day had been. She had just set the swing in motion with her foot when Jesse walked up on the porch with a beer in his hands.

  “You couldn’t sleep either?” He stopped the swing, sat down on the other end, and then set it in motion again.

  “I keep going over the past nineteen years and wondering what turning point brought all this about. I think it was moving here. If we hadn’t come back to Honey Grove, she never would have met Ricky and made all these bad choices,” Addy said.

  Jesse shook his head. “It’s plain that you’ve been a good mother, so stop blaming yourself.”

  She took a sip of her whiskey. “Thanks for saying that, but if I hadn’t wanted to come back to Honey Grove, none of this would have happened.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not,” Jesse said. “All you have to do is kick a mesquite bush or an old scrub oak tree and a dozen bad boys will come running out. There would have been someone like Ricky out there in the Panhandle. Those guys aren’t worth their salt, and they’re always lookin’ for an easy target. When they’re together full time, and she’s not doing something behind your back that seems thrilling right now, the novelty will wear off.”

  Addy took a small sip of her whiskey. “I figured you’d be angrier than you are.”

  “Shock can kill anger pretty quick,” he said. “We can’t undo what’s done, but we can move on. I’d like for her to know that I’m her father when she comes home.”

  “If she comes home,” Addy said. “And it’s just been the two of us for so long, that I think it’s best if I tell her all by myself.”

  “Oh, honey, she’ll come in here with her tail tucked between her legs, begging you to forgive her,” Jesse assured her. “And if you think it’s best to have that conversation with her by yourself, then that’s what you should do. I haven’t been in the picture enough to ask for any favors.”

  “What makes you so sure that she’ll come home?” Addy asked.

  “You and this ranch are her stability. When she gets tired of Ricky, she’ll want her roots again. I know because I came home,” he admitted. “That last hitch in the Air Force seemed like it took forever. By the last year, all I could think of was coming home to the ranch, wearing my cowboy boots, and never having to stand at attention again. Then I got scared that something would happen to me, and I’d never eat Mama’s cookin’ again or see Daddy before it was too late.”

  Addy’s eyes misted. That was exactly the way she felt the last year Jesse was in the service. Every time she looked out her bedroom window at the bunkhouse, the ache in her heart for her best friend grew even more, and she regretted not being up front and honest with him.

  “Well, we sure slapped you in the face with drama when you got here, didn’t we?” she whispered.

  “It’s still good to be home. I’ll take the good with the bad.” Jesse finished his beer and crushed the can in his bare hands. “Good night, Addy. See you at breakfast.”

  “I’ll be there.” She smiled for the first time that day. “And thanks again for everything—most of all, for understanding.”

  “Hey, you had your reasons.” He touched her cheek. “Get some sleep. I understand that we have to move some cattle from one pasture to another tomorrow. Don’t want you to fall asleep and wreck one of the four-wheelers.”

  “I can still keep up with you, even in the face of drama,” she assured him.

  “There’s my strong friend.” He smiled.

  Friend.

  She couldn’t ask for more, but sitting there under the stars, she wished she could.

  * * *

  Jesse hummed Blake Shelton’s “Home” all the way back to the bunkhouse. The song had been one of his favorites the past year, but now it had even more meaning when he remembered the lyrics saying that he understood why she couldn’t come with him because it wasn’t her dream.

  He opened the door, and Tex ran in before him and curled up on the sofa. “Like the song says”—he stopped and rubbed the dog’s ears—“I just wanted to come home, and even with the problems, I’m glad to be here.”

  He kicked his boots off, stripped out of his jeans and shirt, and curled up on his bed. This time, he went right to sleep and couldn’t believe it was morning when his alarm went off.

  By the time he got dressed, poor old Tex was dancing around and barking at the door.

  “Just a minute, old boy. I’ve got to get my hat,” Jesse said.

  When he finally opened the door, Tex made a dash for the nearest bush and then ran back to the porch.

  “Don’t rush me, feller,” Jesse yawned. “We’ll get to those cattle soon as we eat some breakfast.”

  The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when he opened the back door and stepped inside to the aroma of coffee, bacon, and something that smelled suspiciously like cinnamon rolls.

  “Mornin’, Mama.” He headed straight for the coffeepot. “Daddy, did you sleep well?” he asked as he poured two mugs full and set one in front of his father.

  “Better than I expected after the way yesterday turned out.” Sonny picked up the mug and took his first sip. “You reckon Addy is going to be all right?”

  “She’s tough.” Pearl pulled a pan of hot yeasty cinnamon rolls from the oven. “She’ll be fine, but when Mia gets around to calling us, I intend to have a word or two with that child.”

  Jesse heard footsteps coming down the hall, poured two more mugs of coffee, and took them to the table. “How you doin’ this mornin?” he asked when Addy came through the door.r />
  She smiled wearily at Jesse. “Pearl always says that things look better after a good night’s sleep and dawn comes around. I feel better than I did last night.”

  “Come out back with me for a minute. I’ve got something to show you,” Jesse said.

  Addy followed him out the back door in time to see a gorgeous sunrise.

  “Isn’t that a beautiful rainbow?” Jesse asked. “A new day. A new outlook, and new hope.”

  She nodded and wiped away a tear. “I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed our friendship until you came home. Remember when we used to talk about everything. I believe the only secret I ever kept from you was Mia.”

  “I missed talking to you, too,” Jesse said. “I guess we’d better get on back in there and help Mama get breakfast on the table.”

  “I suppose so,” Addy said. “Thanks for the sunrise and the encouragement.”

  “Anytime.” He smiled.

  He escorted her back into the house with his hand on her lower back and went straight to the stove to carry a platter of bacon and eggs to the table in one hand and the pan of cinnamon rolls. “Mama, you’re going to make me fat.”

  Sonny chuckled. “As hard as I intend to work you, there’s no way you’ll gain an ounce. Eat up and then get those cows moved over to the next pasture. That way we can plow that one under and replant it. If that cockamamied weatherman isn’t lying to us, we’ve got a rain coming at the end of the week, so it would be good to get the seed in the ground tomorrow.”

  “Cockamamied,” Jesse laughed. “The guys on my team used to tease me about our Southernisms. They nicknamed me Dr. Cowboy.”

  “Doctor?” Addy asked.

  “I was the combat medic, remember?” he said.

  “Say grace for us, Sonny,” Pearl said. “These two need to eat and then go muster some cattle.”

  Sonny bowed his head and said a short prayer, then chuckled again. “I don’t think it’s mustering when all they do is herd them through a gate to another pasture. Mustering is what you do when you stay out there two or three nights like we used to do back when we were young and couldn’t afford to hire extra help.”

 

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