Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch

by Carolyn Brown

  She nodded. “We probably should keep them in the barn a couple of days. Then after they get used to the move, we’ll let them roam free in this pasture and use the lean-to at the end of the barn for shelter from the heat. If bad weather comes, we’ll want to keep them in the stalls.”

  Mia took a bandanna out of her hip pocket and wiped the sweat from her forehead before she started moving again. When she’d finished the last bit of the backyard, she got out the water hose and cleaned the mower.

  Jesse was impressed with her attention to doing a job right. “I bet they’re missing the sheep?”

  “Probably, but they’ll be used to not having them by now,” Mia said.

  “Dad says they’re going to be his pets and breeding stock. We might make some money on them when folks realize they really are good for keeping the coyotes and bobcats away from the lambs.” Jesse started out for the barn.

  She had to run to catch up, but then her stride matched his, step for step. “Do you think we can ever get into the sheep business again?”

  “I doubt it,” Jesse said. “Sheep require a lot more care than cattle and don’t have nearly the return on the dollar. The only reason Sunflower Ranch ever had sheep to begin with was for you, and you sold out.”

  “My second mistake,” she grumbled. “I was making good money selling lambs to the kids around here for show.”

  A blast of hot air hit them both when he opened the barn door. “I can’t judge you, Mia, since I’ve made lots of mistakes. Maybe someday if you are still interested in sheep and willing to do the work yourself with them, you can start the business again.”

  Jesse slid the door open as wide as he could and then crossed the barn to the other side to do the same with the one that led out to the corral. “That might give us a breeze of some kind. You can get a shovel and the wheelbarrow and start on the stalls.”

  “Are you going to sit on a hay bale and supervise?” she taunted.

  “Nope, I’m going out in the corral to string some wire around the fence rails so the babies won’t be able to slip out.” He took a pair of gloves from a shelf beside the back door and shoved his hands down in them.

  She pulled a pair of work gloves from her hip pocket and put them on. The shovel made a clanking sound when she tossed it into the wheelbarrow, and with a huff, Mia stormed off down the aisle to the left, where six stalls awaited.

  Tomorrow, they would work together bringing the alpacas over, but today she still needed space.

  * * *

  “Move, dammit!” Addy fussed at the clock that afternoon. She was busy putting data about the cows into the computer, and the hands on the clock seemed to be stuck, moving as slow as a sleepy sloth.

  At four, she finally called Jesse and was about to give up when he answered on the fifth ring. “Is everything all right out there?”

  “Yep, I’m getting the corral ready for alpacas, and Mia is working on the last stall. We’ll have some panels to get set in place before we come in for supper, but I expect we’ll be there by six,” he answered. “Are Dad and Mama all right?”

  “Sonny is taking a nap in his recliner. Pearl has been making cookies all afternoon. They’re having a church bake sale on Saturday afternoon,” Addy answered.

  “And you?” Jesse asked.

  “Sonny asked me to do some data entry, and I sent Grady a mid-week chart. With all the drama, I just want to be sure everything is looking good,” she answered.

  “Got an answer back on Dad’s chart?” His voice calmed her just like it always had.

  “Grady said that everything was fine, which was a relief. I would never forgive myself if the stress brought on by all this caused problems with his new medicine regimen. He’s really doing good on it,” Addy told him. “I should let you get back to your work.”

  “Probably, but it’s good to hear your voice. See you in a couple of hours. Maybe you could come down to the bunkhouse and have a cold beer with me tonight. I’ll give you the rundown of our day, and you can tell me what’s on your mind,” he suggested.

  “I’d love to. Be there about dark.” Her world suddenly seemed brighter.

  The next two hours went by a little faster, and when Mia and Jesse came through the back door, Addy was pouring sweet tea over ice in glasses. Mia picked up one, downed it, refilled it and took it to her place at the table, then headed to the bathroom to wash up.

  “A little thirsty, are you?” Sonny asked.

  “Don’t know about her, but I’m spittin’ dust.” Jesse went to the kitchen sink and washed all the way to his elbows.

  “How did she do?” Pearl whispered.

  “Worked hard,” Jesse answered. “Probably just to show me, but I believe she’s worked some anger out, and that’s good.”

  Addy tossed him a towel and then carried the rest of the glasses to the table.

  “Thanks. I’d smile but it would take too many muscles. It’s been a long day,” he said.

  “Yes, it has.” Mia yawned as she sat down at her normal place at the table. “I’m almost too tired to chew.”

  Addy sat down beside her. “You’ve worked this hard before.”

  “Not after driving for twenty hours, sleeping for maybe four, and crying for another five or six.” Mia bowed her head.

  After grace, Addy nudged her. “Are you thanking God for a home and a job, or did you fall asleep?”

  “If you’re asking both of us, I think it was the latter,” Jesse answered.

  “I heard her snore,” Sonny added.

  “I’d argue with the lot of you, but I just want to eat, take a shower, go to bed, and sleep until noon tomorrow,” Mia said.

  “You can do all but that noon thing,” Jesse said. “We’ll be up early so we can clean out that watering trough and feed bin before we walk the alpacas over here. I want them to think they’re coming to a five-star hotel.”

  Mia took out a big serving of chicken pot pie when Sonny passed it to her. “Don’t even talk to me about fancy hotels.”

  “You didn’t like living like a queen?” Addy asked.

  “Sure, for about two nights,” Mia answered. “Then I saw all my money dwindling away, and it wasn’t fun anymore.”

  “Fun is expensive.” Sonny took out a helping of cranberry salad and handed the bowl off to Mia.

  “Yep, Poppa, it is, and making the money is harder than spending it, or watching someone else lose it at poker tables. I don’t want to talk about that right now,” Mia said. “I’ve been thinking about Justine all afternoon. I’m going to call her in a few days. We need to talk.”

  “That would be nice of you,” Pearl said. “Lots of her friends have turned their backs on her. I’m sure she would appreciate you reaching out. Oh, and before I forget. I’ve put you down to help with the church bake sale on Saturday afternoon. I think Justine will be there. Maybe you can talk to her then.”

  “Nana, I can’t face the people that soon,” Mia whined.

  “Yes, you can,” Addy said. “And on Sunday morning, you’ll be sitting on the pew with us, just like always.”

  “But Mama, everyone will know what happened,” Mia argued.

  “They probably knew you were on the way home before we did,” Pearl told her. “Ricky O’Malley is a mama’s boy who can do no wrong in her eyes. He would have called and told her some big tale about how you broke his heart, and Lylah O’Malley is the biggest gossip in Fannin County.”

  Addy had gone to school with Lylah back when she was Lylah Green, long before she and Patrick O’Malley married. The girl had been the biggest gossip in town even back then, and marriage had not toned her down one bit. Addy felt sorry for Mia, but her daughter couldn’t hide forever.

  * * *

  Jesse took a shower, put on a clean white shirt and a pair of faded jeans, and sat down on the sofa to wait for Addy. The dust from all the drama of the day had settled, and now it was time for them to talk about what they should do next with their daughter.

  “Our daughter,” he
said out loud for the first time.

  “What about a daughter?” Addy startled him when she closed the door and joined him on the sofa. “Do you have other children hiding out there?”

  “Nope,” he said. “No other kids, boys or girls.”

  “Are you sure?” Addy pulled her feet up on the sofa and faced him. “You didn’t know about Mia, so maybe there’s more surprises out there.”

  “I’ve been in a couple of relationships, but neither lasted, and both of those women are now married. Their children didn’t come along until a couple of years after they got hitched,” he answered. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what are we going to do about this parenting thing?”

  “Take it a day at a time,” Addy said. “You promised me a beer, and I’ve been looking forward to it all evening.”

  Jesse stood and rolled his neck to get the kinks out. “Been a while since I fenced that long and hard, but I couldn’t let Mia get done with the stalls before I finished the corral. A good boss works every bit as hard as his employees.”

  He went to the kitchen area and brought back two long-neck bottles of beer, then gave one to Addy. She twisted off the top, took a sip, and set the bottle down on the coffee table.

  “Want a massage?” she asked.

  “For real?”

  “I studied massage therapy after I finished my nursing degree. Sometimes, Sonny needs me to work on the muscles in his calves and back to relieve the pain,” she told him.

  “I can’t see Dad on a massage table.”

  “I do his massages in a chair, but I have a table. We stored it in what used to be the pantry over there.” She pointed toward the door leading into a room where they used to store staples for the hired hands. “If you want a really good neck massage, you can get it out and pop it up. If not, you can just lay on the floor,” she said. “Got any lotion or oils in here?”

  “Lotion in the bedroom on my nightstand. Do I need a sheet?” He gave her a sly wink.

  “Nope, you just need to take off your shirt,” she said as she headed toward his bedroom.

  “How much is this going to cost me?” He stripped out of his shirt and tossed it over on the sofa.

  “How many beers have you got?” she asked.

  “Two cases of the regular stuff we like, and a six-pack of Jack Daniel’s Watermelon that I picked up when I came through Sherman on the way home.” He crossed the room and found the folding table right where she said it would be. He popped it up in the middle of the living area and stretched out with his face in the hole on one end.

  She brought a bottle of unscented lotion from the bedroom and squirted some into her hands. “That might be enough to pay for tonight’s session, but if you want to book another one in a week, you better make a beer run for another six-pack of that JD Watermelon. I like it a lot, and we can’t get it except at liquor stores,” she teased as she began a deep massage on his neck.

  “Oh, honey, I’ll buy a case next time for a massage like this,” Jesse groaned.

  “You’ve had massages before, haven’t you?” She filled her hands again with lotion and started on his shoulders.

  “Only one, and that was two years ago. We’d come in from a tense, ten-day mission and every muscle in my body ached. The doctor on post suggested a massage rather than pain pills. He was right,” Jesse said. “You could make big bucks in this area doing this kind of thing.”

  “I don’t need the money, and I’m already committed to being a full-time nurse, part-time ranch hand for Sonny, and a helper for Pearl. Don’t have the time or the inclination,” she told him.

  “That means I get you all to myself. Oh, darlin’, right there, that feels so good,” Jesse said.

  “I hope this place isn’t bugged. Can you imagine the rumors if Lylah O’Malley overheard what you just said?” Addy giggled.

  “Don’t even mention that woman to me,” Jesse growled. “I might not have known about Mia until a few days ago, but she’s mine, and just the thought of Lylah’s son talking her into leaving with him makes me—”

  “Tie up in knots,” Addy finished for him. “I can feel it in your shoulder muscles.”

  “She caused trouble between us in high school,” Jesse reminded her.

  Addy moved down to his sides. “I’d forgotten about that.”

  “I’ll never forget it,” Jesse declared. “Those two days were horrible. We didn’t talk, and I was so lonesome for you that I couldn’t even eat. How could you ever forget?”

  “I guess I just packed it away and shut the lid on it, but I remember confronting her about the whole thing. She threatened to whip my ass, and I told her to bring her lunch because it would take all day. The whole thing was something over the Student Council election, right?” Addy asked.

  “She said that the reason I won over her was that you counted the ballots wrong, and that I paid you to do it. When I stepped down, you got mad and said she was getting her way, and it made me look guilty. I just wanted to protect you,” he said.

  Addy moved slowly back up to his neck. “I knew that, but I didn’t need protecting, Jesse. I still don’t. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. Guys want a pretty little rose, like Mia said, who they can watch over. They don’t want a sassy, independent woman who can take care of herself.”

  “Not me,” Jesse said. “I want a woman who loves me for me and who doesn’t see a hunky, retired military guy who can field dress wounds.”

  She slapped him on the shoulder. “Your ego is showing.”

  “Downright sexy, ain’t it?” he teased.

  “Yep, and now, your thirty minutes are up, so roll over and put your shirt on before I start hiring you out as a male escort,” she told him.

  “Will you be my first customer?” he asked as he pulled the shirt over his head.

  “Nope. I got a baby when I slept with you the last time. Now, put the table away while I wash my hands and then drink the rest of my beer,” she told him.

  “Even though she’s ornery, sassy, and willful, you wouldn’t take a million bucks for her.” Jesse broke down the table and put it away. “Thanks for the massage. That was wonderful. I’ll sleep really well tonight.”

  He sank down on the sofa, picked up his beer, and downed the rest of it even if it was warm. “Want another one?” he asked as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

  “Yep, one of those JD things,” she answered.

  Jesse took two from the fridge and twisted the tops off both before he took them to the living area. He handed one to her and then sat down again. “I really like living out here rather than in the house. It gives me privacy, something I haven’t ever had before. Cody had gone to college when I left for the Air Force, but Lucas and I were still home, and I’ve lived in barracks ever since then.”

  “Why didn’t you get an apartment?” she asked.

  “Seemed like a waste of money since I would hardly ever be there. Mostly, I was on one mission after another. There’s never any rest for a combat medic. Sometimes, I would be in the field six months at a time, and sometimes, for just a few days, but I was never home more than a week at a time,” he answered.

  “Do you ever have nightmares about the missions?” she asked.

  “Not very often. I was fortunate. We only lost one team member, and that was more than ten years ago. He got shot all to hell, and I couldn’t patch him up enough to get him back to base. We were over there in the sand box, and he died on the way back. I blamed myself, drank too much, and pretty much fell apart. My captain refused to let me go back out with the guys until I had some therapy.” He was telling her things that only his teammates knew, but then he’d always been able to talk to her.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you during the rough times,” she whispered.

  He held his bottle over toward her. The two of them made a clinking noise when they tapped them together. “I could say the same thing, but the two of us are back together now.”

  “Yes, we are,” she said, “an
d on that note, it’s time for me to leave or else sleep on this sofa tonight. I’m emotionally drained from this day, but I want you to know I couldn’t have survived it without you.”

  “This coming from the woman who doesn’t need protecting?” he teased.

  “I still don’t, but I do need a friend to lean on occasionally,” she said.

  “Give me time to get my boots on, and I’ll walk you up to the house,” he offered.

  “Just to the door is good enough. I know the way home.” She smiled.

  He stood up and offered her his hand. She downed the rest of her drink, set the empty on the table, and put her hand in his. “Quite the gentleman,” she said.

  “I’m almost thirty-nine years old, but Mama would still take a switch to me if I was anything but a country gentleman.” He kept her hand in his all the way to the door. “Thanks again for the massage and for keeping me company this evening.”

  “Thanks for the beers and for being here for me,” she said.

  He tipped her chin up with his fist, looked deeply into her eyes, and kissed her—not a quick brotherly peck on the cheek or forehead, but a scorching hot one that told him that he had deep feelings for Addison Hall.

  When the kiss ended, she took a step back and said, “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He grinned. “I really do. Good night, Addy. See you at breakfast.”

  * * *

  Addy sat down in one of the rockers on the back porch and touched her lips. They felt hot, but they were surprisingly cool. She’d been there only a few minutes when Pearl came out wearing a white cotton nightgown that was six inches too long for her.

  “You couldn’t sleep either?” She eased down in the chair beside Addy and set a can of root beer on the table between them. “I’m not surprised after this day.”

  “I had a beer with Jesse,” Addy admitted. “I hope that helps me sleep. Is Sonny all right? His blood pressure and everything was good, but I worry that we’re causing him too much stress. You will tell me if you think we need to move out into our own place, won’t you? There would be no hard feelings, and I would still come out here every day to be your nurse.”