Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch (The Ryan Family #1) by Carolyn Brown

Mia brought the platter of roast to the table. “I went skiing with my Sunday school class in Colorado, and I loved the place. I met this really nice boy, and we texted for a few weeks when I got home. Maybe Mama can go up there sometime and find a husband.”

“Mia Pearl Hall!” Addy gasped. “Whatever makes you think I’m looking for a husband?”

Mia shrugged and shot a sly smile in Jesse’s direction. “I’m grown now, and you’re getting a little long in the tooth, as Grandpa says.”

Addy’s expression was one of total bewilderment. “I am not that old. Haven’t you heard? Forty is the new thirty!”

“Yeah, right,” Mia said. “I’d hoped you and Grady might get together and be more than friends, but I guess that’s not going to happen.”

“No, it’s not!” Addy said. “I value his friendship more than a relationship with him.”

“I was sorry to hear about his wife.” Jesse waited for his mother to take her normal place at his dad’s right hand, and Mia and Addy to take their places on the other side of the table before he pulled out his chair. “I didn’t want to drag up old hurts so I didn’t ask him, but what happened to her?”

Pearl bowed her head. “Henry, will you say grace for us?”

Henry said a quick prayer. The moment he said, “Amen,” Jesse picked up his napkin and laid it on his knee. He wasn’t prepared for the shock that went through his body when Addy’s knee made contact with his. He jerked his head up and their eyes locked for just a brief second. From the width of her eyes, he had no doubt that she had felt the same sparks.

Jesse had forgotten all about asking about Grady’s wife, and was trying to deal with his feelings.

“Amelia was in a bad car wreck,” Pearl said. “Drunk driver T-boned her. You might remember her, Jesse. She was smart and very shy, a lot like Grady.”

“Wasn’t she in chemistry class with you, Addy?” Jesse asked.

“Mama!” Mia nudged her after a long pause.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Addy asked.

“Jesse asked if you had chemistry class with Amelia,” Mia said.

Addy took the bowl of beans from her daughter and put a spoonful onto her plate before passing them on to Henry. “Yes, I did. She was a junior and we were seniors.” She glanced over at Jesse. “She always had her nose in books, like Grady.”

“And she wore wire-rimmed glasses, and her team always won the academic bowl contests,” he said. “I remember her very well. I’m not a bit surprised that she and Grady wound up together, and I’m sorry to hear that he lost her. To have something like that happen so sudden would be devastating.”

“He’s coping pretty well,” Mia said. “Mama has helped him get over his grief. They talk several times a week. A guy friend is a good thing to have.”

“Your mama was always a good listener,” Jesse told her. “Would you pass the hot rolls, please, ma’am? And do you have a guy friend, Mia?”

Mia picked up the basket of rolls and passed them over to him. “Of course I do. A woman needs a guy friend who’ll help her see things like men do.”

“What’s his name?” Jesse asked.

Mia blushed. “That’s my business.”

“I’d be interested in knowing who this guy friend is, too,” Addy said. “You never mentioned him before.”

“He’s a secret,” Mia whispered. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“All right.” Addy shrugged. “Used to be that you told me everything.”

“I’m a grown woman now,” Mia said.

Henry chuckled and steered the conversation back to the ranch business. “I drove past the fence that was down and saw you got it fixed, Jesse. Fine job. The whole section needs some work done next week, but at least now if one of the Hereford bulls from the pasture across the road gets loose, it won’t be flirting with our Angus cows.”

The tension was still so thick that Jesse couldn’t have cut through it with a machete when he looked across the table at Mia. “I took care of that before I organized the tack room this afternoon. Thought I might fix my old dirt bike and four-wheeler on Monday if that’s all right.”

“What are you looking at me for?” Mia asked. “You’re going to be the boss soon enough. I guess you can do whatever you want.”

“Just wondering if you can handle that bunch of wild boys all on your own,” Jesse teased.

“I’m good at what I do,” Mia shot back.

Jesse shifted his gaze to his father. “But before I do get all greasy and dirty working on a bike, I’d like for you to walk me through the computer program, Dad.”

“I’ll be glad to,” Sonny said, “and more than glad to turn the whole thing over to you. I’ve hated all this technology stuff.”

“I’ll do it,” Addy said. “Computers stress you out, Sonny.”

Sonny looked down the table at Addy. “That’s a great idea, and takes a load off my mind. I didn’t like doing the paperwork when it was in ledger books, but I just hate it now that everything has gone technical.”

“Thank you both for helping Dad with the computer work,” Jesse said, “and Addy, I’m a pretty quick study on computers, so maybe I’ll catch on pretty quick.”