The sun peeked up over the horizon beyond the rolling hills of North Texas. That he had left at sunrise and was now coming home twenty years later at dawn seemed fitting. With the sun rising ahead of him, he was beginning a new chapter in his life—right back on Sunflower Ranch, where he’d grown up.
Not much had changed. The OPEN sign in the window of the same old doughnut shop that had been there forever flashed on just as he passed, and he was tempted to stop and buy a dozen to take home. But he forgot all about that when he saw a banner strung up across Main Street, announcing the Honey Grove Rodeo in a few weeks.
The banner wasn’t the same one that he’d seen in the rearview mirror when he left all those years ago, but it reminded him that not much ever changed in a small town. He made a left-hand turn at the first of two traffic lights, drove down the familiar road about three miles, and braked before he entered the ranch property. He rolled down the window of his pickup truck and inhaled the fresh country air. A south wind kicked up and caused the Sunflower Ranch sign above the cattleguard to squeak as it swung slowly back and forth on rusty hinges.
“First order of business after breakfast is to grease that sign,” Jesse said as he drove under the sign and down the long lane to the house. When he’d left, his two foster brothers, Lucas and Cody, had waved goodbye from the porch, but they weren’t there to greet him that morning. Cody was working for a program similar to Doctors Without Borders, and Lucas traveled all over the world training cutting horses.
A light from the kitchen window sent a long, yellow shaft out across the yard. He glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. “Mama will be making breakfast, and Dad will be sitting in his recliner reading the newspaper,” he muttered as he parked the truck beside two others just outside the yard gate. “I hope I can get used to rural life again.”
Truth be told, he was a little leery about getting out of his vehicle. Every time he called home—which was at least twice a week when he could get service—his mom and dad talked about what a good job Addison Hall was doing since she had moved to the ranch several years ago to help take care of Jesse’s father.
Addy would be in the house, and Jesse hadn’t spoken to her in nearly twenty years. Up until he went to the Air Force, she had been his best friend. His first memory of her was the two of them mutton bustin’ at the Honey Grove Rodeo and tying with her for first prize. They had been inseparable from then on, but that old saying about “out of sight out of mind” was sure enough true when it came to him and Addy. About six weeks after he left for basic training, her letters and calls had stopped, and he hadn’t seen her since the night before he left home—the only time they’d crossed over the friendship line.
He opened the door of his black pickup truck, slid out of the seat, and rolled his neck to stretch the kinks out before he made his way up on the porch, which wrapped around three sides of the long, low ranch house. His father would have already come out and gotten his paper off the porch, or maybe from out in the yard if the person throwing it didn’t have good aim, so the door would be open.
A blue heeler dog turning gray around the muzzle got up from where he’d been resting under the porch swing and came to greet him. Tail wagging, the animal sat down right at Jesse’s feet.
Jesse knelt on one knee and scratched the old dog’s ears. “Good mornin’, Tex. You still keeping the cows herded?” He was procrastinating, but he just wasn’t ready to face Addy after all these years, or to meet her daughter, either, for that matter.
“Pearl, darlin’, are we expectin’ company?” Sonny’s voice rang out from the living room. “I hear someone talkin’ out on the porch.”
“That’s my cue.” Jesse straightened up. “See you later, Tex.”
He yelled as he opened the front door, “Is breakfast ready?”
“Jesse, is that really you?” His father tossed the newspaper to the side and grabbed a cane. Leaning on it, he opened up his other arm for a hug. “Hurry up, son, before your mother gets in here. I won’t get a bit of attention when she finds out one of her boys has come home.”
“Oh. My. Goodness!” Pearl joined them for a three-way hug. “We weren’t expecting you until the first of next week.”
Jesse swallowed the huge lump in his throat. When he’d been home eighteen months ago, his dad only had to use the cane sporadically, but the way he leaned on it now meant that things were definitely on a downhill slide. “I wanted to surprise you,” he said.
“Well, you surely did that.” His mother took a step back but kept a grip on Jesse’s arms. “Let me look at you. You’ve got a few gray hairs in your temples, and your eyes look tired. You need some good old home cooking and hard ranch work to put the sparkle back in your life, my son.”
“I’m thirty-eight years old, Mama,” Jesse chuckled. “I’ve earned those few gray hairs. It’s been a long week of getting things done so I could retire from the Air Force, but a few days on the ranch and I’ll be right as rain. I hope that’s breakfast I smell cookin’?”
“I know exactly how old you are, son,” Pearl said, smiling, “and that is sausage gravy and biscuits that you smell. I hope you haven’t eaten already.”
He bent and kissed his mother on the forehead. “When it comes to your cookin’, Mama, I’d never settle for second best.”
Her eyes looked weary, too, he thought. Somehow every time he came home, she seemed smaller. When he was a little boy, she had looked to be ten feet tall and damn near bulletproof, but these days she barely came up to his shoulders. She had always had chin-length hair, but it had more salt in it these days than pepper. Seeing Sonny on the decline had to be tough on her, but Jesse was home now, and he could and would take a load off her shoulders.
“And I’m glad you’re home. This old man right here”—she glanced over at Sonny—“needs your help running this place. Addy and Mia do what they can, and Henry is still a fine foreman, but he’s past seventy.” She talked as she pulled him into the kitchen.
“Don’t you be callin’ me old, darlin’,” Sonny called after her and started that way.
“The MS is getting worse,” his mother whispered. “It won’t be long until you will have to make all the decisions.”
Jesse draped an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “I’m here. What can I do to help with breakfast?”
“Good morning.” A voice from Jesse’s past floated through the air. “I’ve got the waterin’ troughs cleaned out and…”
Addy stopped in the middle of the floor. Her face lost all the color and she stammered, “Jesse, what…when…we weren’t…”
“Surprise!” he said, but his voice sounded hollow in his own ears.
Addy certainly didn’t have any gray in her kinky, dark brown hair, which she had swept up in a ponytail. Ringlets escaped and framed her delicate face. She met his stare, and their gazes locked over the top of Pearl’s head. Her crystal-clear blue eyes still mesmerized Jesse as much as they had in the past. She had put on a few pounds, but every one of them looked fine on her. Her jeans dipped in at a tiny waist, and her T-shirt dipped low in the front to show a little cleavage. She probably still got carded when she tried to buy a six-pack of beer.
“I thought you were a nurse. Why would you be cleaning troughs?” He wanted to kick himself the moment the words were out. Not a hello, how are you doing, good to see you, like he should have said.
“I am, and when Sonny or Pearl needs my nursing skills, I’m right here, but I’m also a farmhand. If you’ll remember, I was raised on the ranch right next door to this one, so I know how to clean troughs, herd cattle from one pasture to another, and—”
“Mornin’.” Another woman came into the kitchen by the back door. “Hello, Jesse. I’d know you anywhere from the pictures Nana and Poppa have on the mantle. You’re early.”
She stuck out her hand to shake with him. Her grip was firm, and her green eyes sparkled. “I’m Addy’s daughter, Mia. Does this mean the big welcome home party next week is off, Nana?” She let g
o of his hand and went over to the kitchen chair where Sonny was sitting to kiss him on the forehead. “Did he almost give you a heart attack, Poppa?”
“Yes, he did,” Sonny admitted. “We’ve talked so much about Addy and Mia the last few years that you probably feel like you already know all about them.”
“Yes, I do, but it’s really good to put a face to a name.” When his mother had told him that Addy had a baby and was raising the child on her own, Jesse figured that Addy had gotten involved with someone right after he had left for the military. At least knowing that made him understand why she had cut him off so suddenly and wouldn’t even take his phone calls all those years ago.
“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get breakfast on the table. We’re burnin’ sunshine,” Mia said. “I’ve got hay ready to bale, and then this afternoon, I need to spend some time in the office with the books.”
Jesse shot a look over toward his father. Sonny flashed a smile and said, “Mia just got home from college last week, and she’s missed the ranch.”
Mia opened a cabinet door and took down six plates. “I wouldn’t even be in college if I hadn’t promised Nana and Poppa that I’d go. I can learn more right here on the ranch than I can sitting in a classroom.”
“If I’m going to turn all the bookwork over to you, then you need to understand agriculture business and learn all that computer crap that you can. It confuses the hell out of me, and Pearl refuses to have anything to do with it,” Sonny said.
“Some of us old dogs don’t want to learn new tricks.” Pearl took a pan of perfectly browned biscuits from the oven.
Jesse watched as Mia set the table. There were only five of them, but she was getting ready for six people.
“Is someone else coming for breakfast?” he asked.
“Dr. Grady Adams comes on Saturday morning,” Mia answered. “He comes early so he can check Poppa before he does his rounds at the hospital over in Bonham.”
“You’ll remember Grady Adams.” Pearl dished up a bowl full of scrambled eggs. “He graduated with you and Addy. He’s your dad’s doctor.”
Of course Jesse remembered Grady. As a kid, he had always had his nose in a book, so it wasn’t any wonder that he had become a doctor. But Grady Adams wasn’t the person causing his heart to pound out of his chest, and his breath to come in short gasps.
At that very moment, Grady poked his head in the back door. “Anybody home?”
“Come on in.” Sonny motioned him inside with a flick of his wrist. “We was just about to say grace, so you’re right on time. Have a seat, and we’ll have some breakfast before we go talk medicine and cures for this disease.”
Grady set his black leather briefcase on a side chair and stopped to kiss Addy on the cheek. “How’s my patient today?”
“I’m fine. This new trial drug seems to be helping a lot,” Sonny said.
Grady hadn’t changed all that much. His light brown hair was a little thinner, and he’d either traded his thick glasses for contact lenses or else he’d had Lasik surgery. He still had a round, baby face and he’d put on a few pounds that had collected mostly around his middle.
“Hello, Grady.” Jesse took a step forward and stuck out his hand. “Been a long time.”
“Well, hello to you, too. You weren’t supposed to arrive for a few more days. So you’re out of the service now?” Grady’s handshake was firmer than Jesse thought it would be. “It’s good to have you back home, and yes, it has been a long time. I don’t think I’ve seen you since the night we all graduated from high school.”
“That sounds about right, but it’s great to be back home.” Jesse pasted a smile on his face. “So you’re a doctor, and you make house calls?”
“Just for Sonny,” Grady answered. “I’m the head of the ER over in Paris, but I come out here once a week to check on this new trial drug that Sonny is taking, and to get a free breakfast.” He winked across the table at Jesse.
“Married? Kids?” Jesse asked.
“Was married. No kids. My wife died a while back, but I’m moving on a baby step at a time. I’m dating a really nice woman who works in pediatrics at the hospital. She can’t make biscuits and gravy like Pearl does, though.” Another wink.
Jesse almost sighed with relief. At least Grady wasn’t dating Addy.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your wife,” Jesse said.
“Thank you,” Grady replied. “You and Addy were best friends if I remember right. Bet y’all have got a lot of catching up to do.”
“Yep, we sure do.” Jesse shifted his focus over to Addy. Their eyes caught for a moment, and then she blinked and turned toward Mia.
“Before you start on the books, you should take care of your sheep and the alpacas. They’re your responsibility when you are home,” Addy said.
“I’ll start that tomorrow,” Mia said.
Her expression and tone reminded Jesse of a few recruits he’d gone through basic with—full of defiance and attitude.
“No, darlin’,” Addy smiled. “You’ll start right after breakfast.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mia said with a head wiggle. Jesse was glad that he had never married and had kids if that was the way they acted.
High Praise for Carolyn Brown
“Carolyn Brown makes the sun shine brighter and the tea taste sweeter. Southern comfort in a book.”
—Shelia Roberts, USA Today bestselling author
“Carolyn Brown is one of my go-to authors when I want a feel-good story that will make me smile.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Carolyn Brown writes about everyday things that happen to all of us and she does it with panache, class, empathy and humor.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“Carolyn Brown always manages to write feel-good stories.”
—Harlequin Junkie
“Fans of romance series filled with small-town charm and a cast of supportive family and friends will appreciate this.”
—Publishers Weekly on Cowboy Rebel
“Lighthearted banter [and] heart-tugging emotion…make this a delightful romance.”
—Library Journal on Cowboy Bold
“There's no one who creates a rancher with a heart of gold like Carolyn Brown.”
—RT Book Reviews
Also by Carolyn Brown
The Ryan Family Series
Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch
The Longhorn Canyon Series
Cowboy Bold
Cowboy Honor
Cowboy Brave
Cowboy Rebel
Christmas with a Cowboy
Cowboy Courage
Cowboy Strong
“A Perfect Christmas” novella in Little Country Christmas
The Happy, Texas Series
Luckiest Cowboy of All
Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas
Toughest Cowboy in Texas
The Lucky Penny Ranch Series
Wild Cowboy Ways
Hot Cowboy Nights
Merry Cowboy Christmas
Wicked Cowboy Charm
Digital Novellas
Wildflower Ranch
Sunrise Ranch
About the Author
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author and RITA finalist who has sold more than 8 million books. She presently writes both women’s fiction and cowboy romance. She has written historical and contemporary romance, both stand-alone titles and series. She lives in southern Oklahoma with her husband, a former English teacher who is not allowed to read her books until they are published. They have three children and enough grandchildren to keep them young.
For a complete listing of her books (is series order) and to sign up for her newsletter, check out her website at CarolynBrownBooks.com or catch her on Facebook/CarolynBrownBooks.
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Small Town Charm Page 9
