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

Addy air-slapped his arm. “You are crazy.”

“Do you want Grady to be more than a friend?” Jesse became serious.

“No, I do not,” Addy answered. “I might need a how-to book to even know what love is. I’ve had a couple of relationships that I thought might turn serious in the past twenty years, but for the most part, I’ve just concentrated on taking care of Mia. But there is no chemistry between me and Grady. We’re friends, and I care about him in that respect, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“Well, maybe Cotton Candy loves him so much that he can’t get her out of his mind. Maybe she keeps those little blue pills in her purse for all the times when—”

This time Addy slapped him for real. “The Air Force certainly didn’t make you grow up. You’re just as ornery as you were when you left. I’m trying to be serious.”

“Let him have his secrets. He’ll bring his new woman around to meet you when he’s ready?” Jesse asked. “What makes you think he’s not ready to move on anyway?”

“He called me by his dead wife’s name when he drove me home from church.”

“Sounds like he’s got some sortin’ out to do for sure, but that’s his business.” Jesse parked his truck at the back of the house.

“You sound like Mia,” Addy said.

“In some ways she was right, you know. Some stuff is her business, and she’ll have to learn from her mistakes, just like we did,” Jesse said.

“I don’t want to talk about that anymore. It makes me sad,” Addy said. “I’ll race you to the refrigerator. I’m starving.”

She was out of the truck in a flash, jumped the fence, and beat him to the back door. “That cold fried chicken leg is mine, buster.”

“Not if I grab it first.” He picked her up and set her behind him, then hurried over to the refrigerator and grabbed the container with the leftover chicken. “Would you look at this?” He grinned. “There’s four legs in here. Three for me and one for you.”

“I’ll tell Pearl if you don’t share fair and square,” she threatened.

“Tattletale.” He handed over the container to her.

She took out two legs, one for each hand, and gave the open container back to him. “Reckon there’s any chocolate cake left?”

“If there is, I get half of it, or I’ll tell Mama you don’t play well with others,” he teased.

I might learn how to play well with others again now that you are home, she thought as she bit into the cold fried chicken.





Chapter Eleven



Grady didn’t make it to church on Sunday morning. When he called, he said that he couldn’t be there for Sunday dinner, but that he would stop by around three o’clock to check on Sonny’s progress. He also said that he had something to talk to Addy about, but not on the phone. Grady was always on time, so when he had not arrived by three thirty, Addy began to worry. She tried calling his phone but got the voice mail message telling his patients if they had an emergency to go to the nearest hospital.

“What do you do if the doctor himself is the emergency?” she muttered.

She finally went out to the porch and waited on the swing, and at exactly four o’clock, he parked his car beside her truck next to the yard fence.

“You are late,” she called out when he got out of his vehicle.

“Sorry about that. We’ll talk later. Right now, I need the reports on Sonny, and could you start faxing them to me at the hospital on Friday morning from now on?” he asked as he made his way across the yard.

“Sure, but you’ve always picked them up here.” She stood and headed into the house. “I would have appreciated a call if you weren’t going to be here at three. I’ve been worried.”

He opened the screen door and talked through it. “Time got away from me. We’ll talk as soon as I visit with Sonny. I’d like to do a private exam today, so if you’ll wait on the porch, that would be great.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Sure thing. Bring out a couple of beers when you come back.”

“I’ll bring one for you, but I’d better pass,” he said. “I’m driving, and I need to be in Bonham at five.”

He went on into the house, and Addy sat back down on the swing. Something definitely was not right. She might have blinders on when it came to Mia, but not with Grady. He was an open book for the most part. He hadn’t been around in a week. Yep, something was amiss, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it had to do with the woman Betsy had seen him with. She had her phone in her hand to call her friend and ask for directions when Jesse came round the house.

He rested his arms on the porch railing and smiled. “You look like you could chew up fence posts and spit out toothpicks. What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but Grady says we need to talk,” she answered, “so you need to get lost.”

Jesse snapped to attention and saluted her. “I’ll be down at the bunkhouse if you need me.”

“Thanks, Jesse,” she said.

He dropped his hand and whispered, “One more thing. Have you heard from Mia?”

She shook her head. “Now, go. I’ll see you in a little while. You got beer down at the bunkhouse?”