by Liz Isaacson
“Strange how no one’s snapped him up yet,” Amber said, and a flicker of fear flashed across Lance’s face. Oh, there was a story there, and Amber hadn’t heard it yet.
“Well, someone did,” his mom said. “Years ago. But it has been a while since Lance has met anyone special.”
“Years ago?” she asked as they reached the top of the steps.
“Mom,” Lance said. “I haven’t told her about Peggy yet.”
His mother’s eyes opened wide, as did her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed—I’ll go put on the coffee.”
“Mom—” he started, but she bustled away, the front door closing quickly after her.
“Peggy?” Amber asked playfully. “You’ve never mentioned anything about your dating history.” And she’d never asked. She supposed she’d just assumed—as his mother had—that Lance had been the way he was now. But she wasn’t, and she hardly recognized herself when she looked in the mirror now, after only a couple of months of dating Lance. So why she thought he’d always been the man he was now didn’t make sense.
“I was married to Peggy,” he said, the words like bombs in Amber’s ears.
Chapter 13
“Married?” Amber sounded like she’d inhaled helium.
Lance sighed, wishing he’d prepped his mother better. It wasn’t her fault in the slightest. “For nine months,” he said.
“Oh, my goodness.” Amber covered her mouth, her eyes wide. “Did she have a baby?”
“No,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “No. I don’t have any kids.” He paced back to the top of the steps, annoyance flowing through him. “She was simply someone very different than I thought she was. We got divorced, and I haven’t dated a whole lot in the fifteen years since.”
Amber joined him, but she didn’t touch him the way he wanted her to.
“That’s all,” he said. “That’s the whole dating history. I mean, I went out with a few women here and there. No one I’d say I was dating.” He stared out at the tree his father had helped him plant.
Amber’s questions about the farm here were warranted. They were very good questions. His mother hadn’t even suggested he try to buy and take over the farm when he and his siblings had talked to her about moving to Last Chance Ranch.
He sighed, this day feeling heavier than he’d like it to. “And I can’t move out here and run my father’s farm. My mother doesn’t own it. When my father was sick, she and my dad sold all the land to the guy next door to pay for the treatments. He let them keep the house and stay living in it.”
The sign the real estate agent had put up swayed in the breeze. “So she’s just selling the house, and honestly, we offered it to Alan Swenson, who bought the land, and he’d putting together an offer.”
He faced her. “No one wants a house without land.” Lance included. “I’m fine at Last Chance Ranch. I love it there.”
“I do too,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “It’s my fault for not telling you. Some things are just hard to talk about, I guess.”
“You’re not especially loquacious,” she teased.
“Ha ha,” he said, feeling like he talked a lot. Said exactly what was on his mind. “Come on. Let’s go put my mother out of her misery.”
Inside, his mother bustled around the house, setting mugs beside the plates and silverware she already had on the counter. She looked up, her eyes full of nervous energy, when Lance and Amber came in.
Lance deliberately laced his fingers through Amber’s so his mother would know everything was fine. “When are the others arriving?” he asked. “And wow, Mom, this place is spotless.”
She smiled. “It helps when half of what you own is in storage.” She motioned for them to join her in the kitchen. “Come have coffee. Kristen and Art won’t be here for another hour or so.”
Amber exchanged a glance with Lance before she moved ahead of him and into the kitchen. “Tell me about your husband,” she said. “Lance has said great things, but I feel like I barely know him.”
Lance tensed, because his mother didn’t talk about his dad all that much. But today, she practically glowed as she said, “My Jonathan was wonderful. His biggest flaw was his undying love for dogs. Big dogs.”
Amber blinked at her for a moment, and then she burst out laughing. “Lance must’ve gotten that gene. He loves big dogs too.”
“Big dogs have a big spirit,” he said, almost defensively. “And Amber trains goats for goat yoga, Mother, so don’t let her lead you to believe she’s not an animal lover.”
“I do,” she said. “And I am. But there is something to be said for a small lap-dog, isn’t there?” She leaned into his mom as the coffee was poured, and Lance marveled at her easy-going nature, the charisma floating off of her.
He felt more attracted to her than ever, and his heartbeat skipped around inside his chest. Extra stimulant wouldn’t help, so he waved off the coffee and went for the banana bread his mother had laid out instead.
The conversation was easy as his mother continued to tell Amber about Lance’s father, the farm he’d worked, and pretty much his whole childhood. He only had to say, “Mom, come on,” twice, and each time had made Amber giggle like a schoolgirl.
He did like that sound, and by the time his brother arrived with his family, Lance felt like his nerves had been on a hot griddle for hours. He jumped to his feet and headed toward the door as his niece and nephew entered with their puppy.
Art and Sandy both looked past him to where Amber sat with his mother, despite Lance’s efforts to speak to them. “She’s pretty,” Sandy whispered, still gawking at Amber.
“Come meet her,” Lance said. “Hey, guys.” He scooped Kacey into his arms, causing her to emit a shriek and a giggle. “This is my girlfriend, Amber.”
She stood up and tucked one of her curls behind her ear.
“My favorite niece, Kacey. And my favorite nephew, Devon.”
“He’ll say Tia’s his favorite too,” Kacey said with a grin. She also wrapped both hands around Lance’s neck, and that wasn’t all that comfortable.
“Two nieces?” Amber said. “Well, Uncle Lance sure is lucky, isn’t he?”
“Do you have nieces?” Kacey asked, her big eyes going wider.
“I sure don’t,” Amber said, taking the little girl from Lance. “You’re going to have to teach me how to be an aunt.”
She looked from Amber to Lance. “She has no nieces.”
“Shocking,” Lance said with a smile. He beamed at Amber too, and she put the little girl down.
“Go steal that puppy from your grandma,” she said. “I want to play with him.”
Devon ran ahead of Kacey, both of them arguing over who would bring Magnolia to Amber, but Lance’s mother already had the dog, and she simply handed the squirming pile of black fur to Amber.
She giggled as Magnolia licked her face, and she quickly handed her to Devon so she could face Lance’s brother and sister-in-law.
Lance saw her wipe her hands down the front of her skirt, a sure sign of her nerves. He stepped to her side and took her hand, squeezing it to let her know he was there, and everything would be fine.
“My older brother, Art,” he said. “And his wife, Sandy.”
“So nice to meet you,” Amber said, her smile perfectly placed. She shook both of their hands, and everyone seemed to be made of grins that day.
“Kristen’s late, as usual,” Art said.
“She’s not always late,” Lance said. “But Tia—my other niece—has been having a lot of meltdowns lately.”
Sure enough, when Kristen came through the door, Tia was already crying. “My mother will rescue her,” Lance whispered, and he and Amber watched while his mom dashed to the door to get Tia and Kristen straightened her shirt.
She made a beeline for Amber, taking her into a hug. “You must be Amber.”
“And you’re Kristen.”
“My husband, Scott.”<
br />
He and Amber shook hands, and awkwardness descended on the group of adults.
“Lance says you’re a dancer,” Kristen said.
“Was,” Lance said quickly.
“Guilty,” Amber said with a light laugh. “But I broke my foot when I was twenty-five. It ended that career.”
“Can you have a career as a dancer?” Art asked.
“Oh, sure,” Amber said. “I was in the San Francisco Ballet Company. We get paid, just like anyone else.” She tucked her hair again, and Lance had never noticed her doing that while she was nervous, but maybe she had.
No matter what, the meeting had gone well, and he said, “Mom, are we ready to eat?” Because the sooner they ate, the sooner they could leave, and Lance could find out what she thought of his family.
Hours later, he finally said, “We should get back to the ranch,” with a knowing look in Amber’s direction. She had solidly beaten everyone at card games, and Devon was now on a mission to find a game she wasn’t good at.
She stood and hugged his mom, who said something quietly that Lance couldn’t hear. He shrugged into his jacket while Kristen told him how amazing Amber was, adding, “You better not let her get away from you. She’s so much better than Peggy.”
“Anyone would be better than Peggy,” Lance muttered, flipping the collar of his jacket out so it lay right.
“She’s right,” Art said, handing Lance his keys. “She’s great, Lance. We’re happy for you.” He smiled at Lance, and Lance drew his brother into a quick hug.
“I’m glad you guys like her.” He glanced over to Amber, who was crouched down in front of Tia, saying good-bye. “I really like her.”
“Oh, I can tell,” Kristen said.
“That obvious, huh?”
“Well, just judging on how many women you’ve brought home to meet us, I’d say yes. But seeing you with her? You two were made for each other.” Kristen sighed, always bit on the dramatic side.
Amber stood and walked toward them, and all the good-byes began. Lance finally got her out the door, closing it behind him. A long, hissing sigh came from his mouth. “Wow.”
Amber simply laced her arm through his, and they walked back to his truck. “So,” he said once they were buckled and on the road. “What did you think?”
Chapter 14
What did she think?
Amber didn’t know where to start. “They were fantastic,” she said slowly, trying to organize her thoughts. “Everything a family should be, Lance. You’re very lucky to have them.”
He glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, not everyone has a family like that.” Amber didn’t want to talk negatively about her own family. They were hers, and she didn’t know any different. Until now.
Now, she knew families could be warm and loving. They could talk about real things and care about each other. They could laugh and lose and win and share experiences without getting hurt feelings or running off to their bedrooms.
“Lance, my family…isn’t like that. I can’t remember the last time I was at my parents’ house where someone didn’t yell at someone else.”
“What? Really?”
“Really,” she said quietly, her mind filling with the unpleasant memories. “I wish I could’ve met your dad.”
He tensed beside her, his fingers clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel. “My dad was great,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “He would’ve loved you, just like everyone else in my family does. And you would’ve loved him.”
“I’m sure that’s true.”
“He loved animals, especially horses and dogs. When he found out I was at Last Chance Ranch, he told me he wished he could come see it.” Lance chuckled. “My dad was so sick when I got hired on there, but I sent him dozens of pictures. He’d have adopted every dog I showed him, if not for my mom.”
Amber loved listening to him talk about his dad. What would she say about hers? He stayed out of things. When her mother started in on her or JJ, her dad disappeared down the hall. When JJ accused Amber of something, he’d make coffee and keep his mouth shut. When Amber disagreed with anyone about anything, he’d suggest a movie they’d all seen before.
He was good man, too. Faithful. Employed at the same company for thirty years before he retired.
“We’re going to add Rufus to the Club when my mom moves to the ranch,” Lance said. “What paperwork do we need to do that?”
Amber pulled herself out of her mind, as it wasn’t a great place to be at the moment. “I’ll look into it,” she said, snuggling into his arm and drawing his hand off the steering wheel so she could hold it. “Thank you for taking me to meet your family.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, and said, “Of course.”
The next morning, Amber arrived at the volunteer house thirty minutes earlier than usual. Jewel had said first thing for their meeting, and she didn’t want the leader of Forever Friends to know she sometimes waltzed onto the ranch closer to nine than eight.
She put her lunch in the mini-fridge in the room in the back of the house and got her laptop open and ready. She searched the Forever Friends internal database for the incoming animal form and started filling it out for Rufus.
Jewel walked into the house, her phone stuck to her ear, precisely at eight o’clock. Amber rose from her desk, the form forgotten as she listened to the end of Jewel’s conversation. She didn’t sound happy, and she told whoever she was talking with to “make it right,” before she hung up and looked at Amber.
“Hello, dear.” Jewel was an older woman, and she had a grandmotherly feel to her that was completely different than Lance’s mother. Less friendly, for one. And Jewel had eyes that could judge in a snap, while Jamie Lee was kind to the core.
Of course, Jamie Lee wasn’t running the largest animal rescue non-profit organization in the country either.
“What’s going on?” Amber asked as she pulled her chair around the desk to the side. Jewel sat in the chair on the other side, a sigh radiating from her whole body.
“An opportunity has come up,” she said.
Amber simply focused on listening, because her heart was beating so loudly, she could barely hear her boss.
“It’s a huge job, and a big promotion, but I think you’ll be stellar at it.” Jewel grinned, those all-knowing eyes softening with the movement of her mouth.
“A new job?” Amber asked. “For me?”
“Yes,” Jewel said. “You have on your employment forms that you’re willing to transfer, and we have a brand-new facility opening outside of Denver. It’s four times as big as Last Chance Ranch, and you’ll be the Adoption Director, over a whole team of people who do what you’re doing here.” She sounded absolutely delighted.
All Amber could hear was transfer.
Outside of Denver.
She felt like she was falling. A silent scream started in the back of her throat and ripped through her body, making breathing difficult.
Jewel started talking again, but Amber couldn’t discern words. The other woman bent over and pulled something out of her bag, handing the folder stuffed with papers to Amber. She blinked, trying to find her center, as she flipped open the folder and started reading.
The salary was twice what she was making here. She got a housing allowance. Money to relocate. And a team of nine adoption consultants, one for each area of the ranch with animals to adopt out.
Her mind spun with the possibilities, with how many animals she could help on a rescue facility of that size.
But in the back of her mind, a voice had started to cry, and it could only say one thing: What about Lance?
His mother was moving to Last Chance Ranch in a matter of weeks. He loved it here, and he wouldn’t want to go to Denver.
Would he?
She’d been dating him for a few months. How could she ask him to do that if they weren’t married or engaged?
So get married or engaged. The thought dashed through
her mind. There one moment and gone the next. It was a ridiculous thought, but Amber couldn’t identify why. She was on fragile, new ground with him every day. She couldn’t drop this bomb on their relationship.
“What are you thinking, dear?”
Amber looked up from her lap, her thoughts scattering. “I…don’t know.”
“It would be a big change,” Jewel said. “The facility won’t be finished until fall, at the earliest. I’d like you to fly out there when needed, though, to consult on a few things.”
Consult.
Amber didn’t know if she should nod or what. She could only stare. “I need some time to think about it. Can I have some time to think about it?”
“Of course,” Jewel said, though she was clearly surprised.
“My job would still exist here at Last Chance Ranch, wouldn’t it?” Amber asked.
“Yes,” Jewel said, settling back into her chair and narrowing her eyes at Amber. “Why would you stay here over taking this promotion?”
“This is a great ranch,” Amber said.
“It is,” Jewel agreed. “But this is a huge step up in the organization, Amber. You’ve been with us long enough to get these opportunities before someone else.”
“I know.” She nodded. “I just—my family is here, and I’ve loved working here, and I just need some time to think about it.”
“All right,” Jewel said, a hint of dubiousness in her tone. “Let me know.”
“When would I have to move to Colorado?”
“Honestly? I’ve seen the construction plans, and they’re ambitious. My guess is not until next year. January, most likely, even if they’re not quite finished.”
January.
“Thank you, Jewel.” Amber came to her senses, and time seemed to be flowing normally again. She shook Jewel’s hand, and the woman left the volunteer house. Amber stood in the middle of the room, wondering what in the world to do.
She prayed for that exact knowledge, but no answer that she could understand came. One look at the paperwork on her desk told her she wouldn’t be working there that day. She was too keyed up, and she switched out her sandals for a pair of running shoes she kept in the back room for when she had to walk around the ranch.
