Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch

by Carolyn Brown

  Mia came in from the hallway with Addy’s bouquet in her hands. A sunflower with a bit of baby’s breath around it looked lovely in her dark hair, and her deep yellow dress fit her every curve just right. “You’ve got fifteen minutes, Mama, and then Grandpa is coming to escort you down the aisle. Are you ready for this?”

  “Are there a lot of people in the church?” Addy asked.

  “Yep, but it is Saturday night, so it’s like date night for everyone, and we’ve got quite a spread in the fellowship hall besides that truly gorgeous cake. It’s also a time for everyone to get all dressed up and fancy. Speaking of which, you should see my father. He’s so danged nervous that I had to keep assuring him that you would forgive him if he forgot a line of his vows. He wants this day to be perfect for you.”

  “Thank you, Mia, for working so hard with Pearl to make this day special. How you two got all this together in two short weeks is amazing,” Addy said.

  “Hey, not every girl my age can say that she got to be the maid of honor at her parents’ wedding,” Mia said. “Now, get your boots on, and take these sunflowers. I’m glad you decided on these instead of roses.”

  Pearl peeked into the room. She wore a dark green dress with a pretty floral scarf around her shoulders and an emerald necklace. “I brought you a little present. My mother-in-law gave me the same one on my wedding day, and I thought you should have them.” She handed Addy a tiny satin bag tied with a drawstring at the top.

  Addy opened it to find sunflower seeds. “Oh, Pearl, this is a wonderful present,” she said. “I will plant them around the back porch.”

  Pearl dabbed at the tears in her eyes. “That’s a perfect place. And honey, you can call me Mama, you know.”

  “I’d love to.” Addy hugged her.

  “Be careful,” Pearl warned. “I don’t want to get makeup smears on your pretty dress. Mia was right about you wearing champagne lace. It looks lovely on you.”

  “But I had my way about the boots.” Addy pulled up her dress to show off a pair of boots with phoenix birds sewn into the fronts. “Jesse and I are rising from the ashes, so these seemed proper.”

  “Good God, Mama, you’re supposed to wear the off-white lace boots,” Mia fussed.

  Pearl headed for the door. “I hear the music that tells me they’re about to seat me and your mother, Addy, so I’m leaving.”

  Addy gave her a hug. “Thank you for the sunflower seeds…Mama Pearl.”

  “I like that a lot, and the seeds are just my way of welcoming you to the family that you’ve already had for five years,” Pearl said.

  Addy’s eyes twinkled as she focused on her daughter. “I can’t dance in new boots, and be damned if I go on my honeymoon with blisters on my feet, and you’ve only got about two minutes before you have to leave this room. Before you go, thank you again, my child, for everything, but most of all for accepting Jesse.”

  “It’s in my DNA,” Mia said, smiling, “and Mama, your honeymoon is just a weekend in a cabin up on the Red River. It won’t be that different than staying in the bunkhouse.”

  “A honeymoon isn’t where you are or how long you get to stay there. It’s who you are with.” Addy dropped the full skirt of her lace dress. “Are you sure about this, Mia Hall?”

  “I’m sure about everything. Are you, Mama?” Mia fired back at her.

  Addy nodded. “Absolutely.”

  Denison Hall, Addy’s father, knocked on the door and then entered without being asked. “I hear there’s a bride in here who needs an escort down the aisle.” He was a tall, thin man with gray in the temples of his black hair and clear blue eyes.

  Mia stepped aside. “Here she is, Grandpa.”

  “You are beautiful.” Denison smiled and offered her his arm. “Mia, you’d best get on out there. It’s time for you to walk down the aisle.”

  “Whoa!” Addy handed Mia her bouquet. “You’ll need this.”

  “She isn’t ever going to stop bossing me around.” Mia picked up her single sunflower with dark green ribbons streaming from the stem.

  “That’s a mama’s job,” Denison told her.

  * * *

  Jesse hadn’t been this nervous during harrowing near escapes with wounded soldiers that he and his team had rescued. But after Mia had taken her place and he could see Addy coming down the aisle on her father’s arm, everything and everyone disappeared. Suddenly, all the angst left him, and his trembling hands were as steady as a rock. As long as he had Addy before his eyes and in his life, he was fine.

  Waiting for Denison to bring her all the way to him wasn’t easy, but the moment he could reach out and take her hands in his, he whispered, “You are so beautiful, and I’m such a lucky cowboy.”

  “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” the preacher asked.

  “Her family and I do.” Denison kissed her on the cheek. “Be happy. Both of you, be happy.”

  Addy had asked for a simple, quick ceremony, and the preacher delivered just that, but just before he told Jesse to kiss the bride, he nodded at Mia.

  She stepped away from her place beside her mother and took the microphone from the preacher. “You two have already joined hands, and now I’m going to lay mine on yours. Today, Jesse Ryan, I take you as my father, and I change my name from Hall to Ryan. I promise to respect you both as my parents and try not to be so bossy.”

  Some folks chuckled, but several laughed out loud.

  Jesse had to swallow twice to get past the grapefruit-sized lump in his throat. He had not known that Mia was going to do either of those things, but pride swelled up in his chest. “I promise to love and cherish you as a daughter, Mia, and I won’t expect too much when it comes to that bossy part.”

  More laughter came from the congregation.

  “And now that you are man and wife, and we are a family, the preacher has said that I can tell my daddy that he can kiss the bride.” Mia removed her hand and stepped back into her place.

  Epilogue

  Addy woke up on Thanksgiving morning snuggled up to Jesse’s broad back. She had one hand thrown over his chest, and the moment she stirred, he laced his fingers with hers and flipped over to face her. So much had happened in the last four months that she could hardly take it all in. Sonny and Pearl had made two trips to Colorado and were planning one to Las Vegas in a few weeks. Mia had made the decision to finish her education with online classes rather than ever going back to college. Sonny and Pearl now lived in Henry’s house, but they were in and out of the ranch house every day.

  “Good mornin’, darlin’,” Jesse said. “Happy first Thanksgiving as Mrs. Jesse Ryan.”

  She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I have so much to be thankful for, and being your wife is in the number one spot on the list. I hear noise coming from the kitchen, so I guess that means Pearl and Sonny are already here.”

  “I hear something coming from across the hall that sounds like Mia humming a lullaby. I guess that means she beat you into the babies’ room. I can’t believe that we already have a set of twins.” Jesse hugged her tightly.

  “Two boys to grow up on Sunflower Ranch like you and your brothers.” Addy slipped out of his embrace and off the bed. She quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a bright orange sweater. “I’m glad that teenage mother chose us. After having them for only four weeks, I can’t imagine life without them. They might not have grown in my belly, but it sure hasn’t taken them long to grow in my heart.”

  “Or mine.” Jesse slung his long legs over the side of the bed and stood up. “If I’m dreamin’, darlin’, don’t wake me up.”

  “If we have to change diapers, you’ll realize that you’re not dreaming.” She tiptoed over to him and kissed him again on the lips. “I love you, Jesse.”

  “I love you, Addy,” he said, and she believed him with her whole heart.

  Jesse was still getting dressed when she crossed the hall and went into the nursery. “Happy Thanksgiving to all my children.” She smiled at Mia.


  “Sam is in a pissy mood this morning, and Taylor is hungry,” Mia said. “And my brothers and I say Happy Turkey Day right back at you. I told them if they were good until next year, I’d make sure they got a bite of pumpkin pie, but today they’d have to make do with a bottle of formula.”

  Mia handed Sam over to Addy and then picked up Taylor. “I’ve already changed them, but I’ll take this sweet boy with me to the kitchen to make the bottles.”

  Jesse yawned as he made his way into the room. “I can hold Taylor while you make bottles.”

  “Sure thing, Dad.” Mia handed the baby to Jesse. “That way, Nana and Poppa won’t fuss over which one gets to hold him first. I swear, these babies have put new life in Poppa, even more than all the medicine he takes.”

  Jesse sat down in one of the rocking chairs in the nursery. “Six months ago, I didn’t have any children, and now I have three, plus a gorgeous wife.”

  “Seems only fair that you get double diaper and feeding duty this time around,” Addy teased as she dropped a kiss on his forehead. “I figured it would take at least a year for us to get into even the foster program. It’s a miracle that we got to go straight to adoption this quickly.”

  “Thanks to Cody and his connections.” Jesse grinned. “My brothers are good for something after all. Of course, now he says that he gets to be the favorite uncle.”

  “Seems fair to me, but Lucas may have other ideas,” Addy said. “I think they’re going to have your blue eyes.”

  “Of course they are,” Jesse said. “I’m their daddy.”

  Every chair around the dinner table that day was filled. Sonny said grace and his eyes got all misty as he glanced at the table full of food and at all the folks gathered for the holiday. “I’m thankful today for every one of you. It’s good for an old man to live to see his grandchildren and know that what he’s worked for his whole life will go on in good hands.”

  “I’m grateful for family, too,” Pearl said. “And to finally have a daughter.”

  “I’m thankful that Addy and I are getting the practice up and going,” Cody said.

  “That I’m coming home to stay next summer.” Lucas smiled. “I’m tired of these short visits when I barely get here until it’s time to go again. Besides, after coming home for a couple of days in July when Dad had that episode, I’ve been downright homesick.”

  “For Addy,” Jesse said when it was his turn to speak up.

  Addy kissed Jesse on the cheek. “Thank you, darlin’. I’m grateful for my life with Jesse, my children, and all y’all.”

  “I’m thankful that I have two new brothers and not a child of my own, and that I have a father,” Mia chimed in. “Now, can we please eat? I’m starving.”

  “Look!” Cody pointed at the window. “It’s snowing. I hope it doesn’t get too slippery. After we eat, I’ve got to go up to a little cabin on Coffee Mill Lake and check on Tommy Jones. He called this morning and said that he had a cough that wouldn’t go away. I’m not surprised. He’s living in a little cabin with a wood-burning stove, so he’s probably breathing in smoke.”

  “Need me to go with you?” Addy asked.

  “I can take care of this one,” Cody said. “You can stay inside with the babies.”

  “I won’t argue,” Addy told him. “Be careful, though, and call in if you need help with anything, and I’ll drive up there. But I’d rather stay here all cuddled up with my husband and watch the snow fall.” She leaned over and laid her head on Jesse’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re a cowboy now and not a soldier.”

  “I’m glad I’m a husband now and a father.” Jesse kissed her on the cheek.

  Don’t miss Cody and Stevie’s story,

  Texas Homecoming

  coming in early 2022

  Small Town Charm

  Chapter One

  If the punishment for being a curvy woman was being sent to live in a big city, then Cricket Lawson would have had to make peace with her maker, because she would surely die if she ever had to move from Bloom, Texas. She’d always been slightly overweight, and she’d tried to lose weight more times than she could count on her fingers and toes. Then she’d come to the realization that diet was a four-letter word—and those were a sin to think or even say out loud.

  The thermometer on her porch said it was past ninety degrees, so when she got home from working all day in her secondhand bookstore, Cricket changed into a pair of cutoff jeans and a chambray shirt, which she tied up under her breasts, leaving her midriff bare. For the past two days Bloom, Texas, had had rain, rain, and more rain, so she kicked off her shoes at the edge of the garden and waded out in the mud in her bare feet. No one else was within a mile of the huge vegetable garden where Cricket picked tomatoes and beans that hot evening.

  “Romeo,” was blasting through her MP3 player, and Cricket sang right along with Dolly Parton. When Billy Ray Cyrus began to sing his part in the song, she did a few line-dance steps. Mud flew up and stuck on the backs of her legs, but she didn’t care. She lived so far out of town that no one could see her. If they could, it would sure enough give everyone in the town something to talk about.

  She put her hands on her knees and did a little twerking. “That would really set their tongues a waggin’,” she giggled. “Someday, my Romeo will come along, and he’ll sweep me right off my feet, but the way I look right now, I hope it’s not today.”

  It seemed like an omen when the next song on her player was “Something to Talk About.” Holding a cucumber as a microphone, she sang along with Bonnie Raitt and danced around a half-bushel basket almost full of green beans. She’d just finished doing a little two-step with an imaginary partner when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.

  Her brother Rick and sister-in-law had just taken their two kids on a vacation to the beach the day before and wouldn’t be home for two weeks, so it couldn’t be either of them. She whipped around too fast, slipped in the mud, and fell flat on her butt. Dirty water splashed all the way up her bare midriff and across her arms. She didn’t even try to get up but just sat there and stared at the man standing at the edge of the garden.

  “Hello, I’m Bryce Walton,” he said. “Were you practicing for a country music video?”

  “No, I’m taking a mud bath,” she snapped at him. “What are you doing on my property?”

  “Lettie gave me your phone number, but there was no answer when I called. She gave me the directions out here and told me you could sell me some fresh vegetables,” Bryce explained.

  “How do you know Lettie?” Cricket’s tone softened a little.

  “I bought the Bloom Pharmacy,” Bryce said. “Today was my first day to work, and I’m renting Lettie and Nadine’s garage apartment until I can find something to buy. Do I need to give you a résumé to buy okra and tomatoes?”

  Cricket knew that the pharmacy had sold—everyone in Bloom knew that two hours after the papers were signed. But she hadn’t expected the new pharmacist to be so young—or so tall. She’d thought he’d be middle-aged, bald, and wearing bifocals perched on the end of his nose. Lettie had told her that he’d moved into the apartment, but Cricket was so busy that she hadn’t even gone to the pharmacy to get her daily limeade that day. Now she wished she had.

  Bryce had clear blue eyes, a full head of dark hair, and was probably about her age of thirty-one. He wasn’t muscled up like a weightlifter, and maybe looked a little soft in his belly, but all in all, he was a good-looking guy.

  “I’m Cricket Lawson. I’d shake hands, but I don’t think you want a fistful of mud.” She got to her feet and made her way out of the garden. She picked up the water hose, sprayed the mud off her body, and then asked, “How much okra and how many tomatoes do you want?”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Bryce said. “I’d like a basket of each if you have them. I hear that you own the Sweet Seconds Book Store right next to my pharmacy and that you usually have fresh produce in that store.”

  Cricket vowed that she would carry her ph
one in her pocket from then on, even if she had to put it in a Ziploc baggie. Lettie and Nadine were her good friends and gossip gals. No doubt, they had tried to call her several times that evening to tell her about Bryce coming out to her little farm. Bless their hearts, they were always trying to fix her up with someone, and she kept telling them that she was going to grow up and be like both of them—old maids who kept track of everything that went on in Bloom.

  “I’ve got plenty,” she answered. “There’s a little more than a pound in each basket. Do you want big boy tomatoes or the small cherry tomatoes? And yes, I own the bookstore, and I sell produce as well as used books. Do you like to read?”

  “Every chance I get.” Bryce’s smile lit up his whole face. “I’ll be over to visit your store as soon as I can. And I’d like the small tomatoes, please.”

  “What I’ve got gathered is in the house. Wait right here, and I’ll bring them out to you.” She walked past him and glanced up at his wide shoulders. Yep, the man was at least six feet, four inches tall—maybe even a little more than that. Cricket was only three inches over five feet and she barely came to his shoulder. She predicted that there would be a lot of sick women in Bloom in the next few weeks—especially those who were single or divorced. She could just imagine them lined up waiting to get prescriptions filled, or to buy bottles of aspirin, or even to get a soft drink or limeade at the soda fountain. The bar stools in front of the counter wouldn’t get cold with one woman sliding onto one the moment another left.

  “I’ll be right here,” Bryce said.

  If Lettie and Nadine liked him enough to give him her cell phone number, then Cricket thought she should invite him in, maybe even for a glass of sweet tea. But if she did that and he mentioned it in town, the gossip vine would burst into flames. She could hear the clucking from the old women’s tongues, sounding like mother hens gathering in their baby peeps before a storm, as they pitied her for trying to latch on to a man like Bryce. No, ma’am! Cricket didn’t need or want anyone to feel sorry for her.