Lost and Found Family by Jennifer Ryan

Luke found Margaret gazing out the window in the breakfast room, her eyes filled with sadness. She looked a little lost.

Her watery, grief-filled gaze turned up to him. “Nick looks just like Sean.”

Luke agreed, remembering his childhood friend fondly. “All the photos in the room you gave Sarah reminded me of that, too.”

“Not just his looks, he has his mannerisms, his shyness as a boy. Sean grew out of that and became a charismatic man. I’m sure Nick will, too. Just looking at him brings back all the memories.” She smacked her open hand on the table. “I hate her! She took him away, and then she robbed him of his future. He’ll never see those boys grown. Sooner or later, they’ll forget him.”

“It sounds like Sarah tries to help the boys remember him. She encourages Nick’s dreams.”

She rolled her eyes. “Children grow out of such things.” Her lips pressed tight. “Sean was just a means to an end. She got the business and the kids. The only thing Sean got was a greedy wife and dying before his time, thanks to her.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? She brought the kids to visit just like you asked.”

Margaret gave him a dirty look for siding with Sarah. “Harsh! No. The boys told me she’ll be working from here, rubbing it in my face that she owns Sean’s company.”

“Take that time to get to know the boys while she’s out of your way,” he suggested, trying to get her to focus on what was important.

Margaret’s eyes went bright. “That’s what I like about you, Luke. You always find the silver lining. Maybe the boys will open up about what it’s really like at home and we can use that in court to make sure she lets me see them whenever I want.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He wanted Margaret to accept her victory. The boys were here and she should focus on them, not her battle with Sarah, who seemed all too willing to put their arguments on hold. “I really don’t think she wants to keep the kids from you.” Sarah seemed more than reasonable.

“Just wait. In no time, you’ll see what I see. Her true colors will come out. She can’t hide who she really is.”

He’d found that out the hard way with a few of the women he’d dated. “Regardless, I think you should give her a chance.” He planned to do just that. “It’s been a long time and people change.” As a defense attorney, he often saw the worst people could do to each other. Surprisingly, he wanted Sarah to be more than he initially expected.

“She’s self-centered and selfish.” Margaret’s bitterness and resentment held her hostage in her anger and grief.

“I invited her and the boys over to the ranch tomorrow to see the horses. Come with them.”

She dismissed that with a frustrated frown and a telling rub of her knee. “You know I don’t have the energy for walking all over that huge spread of yours. I’m sure the boys will have fun. Just make sure she doesn’t burn the place down while she’s there.”

That spiked his interest. “Why would I have to worry about that?”

“I told you yesterday she was a troubled teen. She burned her uncle’s property to the ground. Luckily, no one got hurt.”

There had to be a story there.

His gut tightened at the vindictiveness of it. But his heart softened at the thought there had to be a reason, because she didn’t come off as callous or cruel.

He’d met his fair share of ruthless criminals.

Tired of hearing all these terrible things about Sarah that didn’t ring wholly true anymore, he tried not to put too much stock in Margaret’s accusations. He may have just met Sarah, but something wasn’t right. He didn’t think she was a bad person. After all, the boys seemed very attached to their mom, and she to them.

“Don’t let that sweet and innocent act fool you. Behind those doe eyes is a mean and hurtful person. Sean learned it too late. Don’t get taken in by her, too.”

He couldn’t ignore Margaret’s warning. “How do you know she burned her uncle’s place down?”

“Sean told me. She confessed to doing it right before they got married. After the arson, she met a man who got her out of trouble and paid for her to attend college. I can just imagine what she gave that man to help her out of that kind of situation.” Margaret pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure you know what I mean.”

His gut soured at the thought. “I get the drift.”

Now she’d accused Sarah of using sex to get out of trouble.

He really didn’t know what to think. “Did Sean say why she did it?”

“What possible reason could justify setting fire to someone’s home?”

He didn’t know, but something like that took a lot of rage. He wondered what had happened to make Sarah go to such an extreme. If she even did it.

He couldn’t think through all the information and contradictions. “The woman you describe, and the woman I just met don’t add up. I guess I’ll see who she is when she comes to the ranch tomorrow.”

“Not everyone is as they appear. You know that.”

He’d met people who looked like they wouldn’t hurt a fly but had done some heinous things. He’d met guys who were handsome enough to easily get a date, but instead of treating women with respect resorted to harassment, assault, and worse.

Nothing people did really surprised him anymore.

And because of the people he dealt with he read people well. While he had reservations about Sarah, he wondered if they were rooted in what Margaret told him and his desire to help his friend rather than in anything substantive.

His initial impression of her seemed real. She was a beautiful woman, a warm and patient mother, a reasonable person, and not one to back down when challenged, but also not someone looking for a fight.

“If anyone met you right now, they’d look at you and see a rancher. How would they know you and your family own one of the most successful and lucrative law firms in the country?”

“I see your point. I guess I’ll get a better sense of her tomorrow.”

“You’ll see, I’m not wrong about her.”

“Enjoy your evening with the boys. Have fun with them. Don’t let her get to you. I’ll check on you later in the week.”

Luke was almost out the door when Sarah came down the stairs, cell phone to her ear as she carried on her business conversation. The boys stomped and scuffled upstairs. All he could think was that she looked lovely gliding down the stairs punctuating her conversation with one hand while holding the phone with the other. For a fleeting second he thought how nice it would be to have a home full of noise and life and a woman walking down the stairs to him.

Her eyes met his. She gave him a cautious smile and continued on into the kitchen.

He needed to get a grip. The woman was getting under his skin and she didn’t even know it.