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

“Will you come with me to talk to Poppa and Nana?” Mia begged.

Saying no was one of the hardest things Addy had ever done, but she slowly shook her head. “That part you need to face on your own, hon.”

Mia sucked in a lungful of air, let it out in a loud whoosh, and marched over to the barn doors. She slung them both open and headed back to her truck.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Addy asked Jesse.

“Of course she will. She’s got us.”

* * *



Jesse liked the sound of that word. Us.

Addy was pacing the barn, clearly wrestling with her thoughts.

“You know I’m going to give her back her job, don’t you?” he said.

“I never doubted that for a minute, but don’t give her any authority, Jesse. Make her work like the summer help, with either Henry or you to supervise her,” Addy advised.

“Tough love?”

She plopped down on the floor and leaned back against a bale of hay. “Yes, but it’s tough on both of us, all three of us really. My first instinct is to shower her with love, give her back her position, and not ever mention this again.”

“But?” Jesse sat down beside her.

“But that wouldn’t teach her anything. She needs to be accountable.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m going to ask a tremendous favor of you right now. Make her work right along beside you all summer. She’ll be surly at first, so it’ll be a pain in your ass to work with her, but she needs to know you better before we tell her that you are her father.”

“You forget that I was in the Air Force for twenty years. I’ve dealt with lots of folks who were a pain in my ass,” he chuckled. “That’s the least I can do after not helping you raise her.”

“Thank you, Jesse,” she sighed. “You are a good friend.”

“Our first job, hers and mine, will be to bring the alpacas over, one or two at a time on foot.”

“They’re tough to herd,” Addy said.

“Maybe I’ll learn something.” He grinned. “That should give us the better part of a day to spend together.”

“You are the boss. Just don’t let her forget it. Now, can I please fall completely apart?” she asked.

“Have at it.” Jesse got ready for tears and weeping.

Addy slapped the barn wall so hard that the metal rattled, then she kicked a bale of hay, sending two field mice running across the floor. “I’m so mad at Ricky that I could chain him up to the back of a four-wheeler and drag him out to the back forty for the coyotes and bobcats.” She drew in a breath. “If Mia was ten years old, I would ground her to the house for five years with no phone, no tablet, and no computers.”

“That’s pretty mad,” Jesse said. “I expect her having to work with me is far worse than that, and honey, it would be best for Ricky if he stayed in Nevada. I imagine Justine’s daddy and I would both like to take a turn at teaching him a lesson, too.”

“This isn’t all his fault. If Mia had been honest with me”—she waved her hand around the barn—“with all of us, we could have talked to her.”

“Think she would have listened? All those secrets were exciting, and making her own decisions made her feel like a grown-up,” Jesse told her. “Ricky is a con artist and she got took. We’ll put that behind us and move on to the future.”

“You are such a good man, Jesse Ryan,” Addy said.

Jesse didn’t feel like such a good man. If he had been, he would have realized that something wasn’t right twenty years ago when Addy stopped writing and didn’t take his calls anymore. A good man would have pursued the issue to find out why his best friend was brushing him off—especially after that incredible night they had just shared.





Chapter Thirteen



This is the second time in the five years I’ve lived here that I hate to go into the house,” Addy said as she crawled off the four-wheeler and sat down on the porch step.

“When was the first time?” Jesse followed her and sat down beside her.

Addy closed her eyes and sighed. “Last week when Mia left. She broke Pearl and Sonny’s hearts. How could our lives get in such a mess in such a short time?”

Jesse laid a hand on her shoulder. “They love her, so they will forgive her.”

She covered his hand with hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Forgiveness when you love someone is easy, but trust has to be rebuilt.”

“Are we still talking about Mia?” Jesse asked. “If we’re talking about us, then I want you to know that I trust you, and I forgive you. I understand your reasons.”

“Do you wish I would have done things different?” She kept her hand on his because simply touching him brought a measure of peace to her in all the turmoil of the day.

“Right now, I sure do. I want her to know, but then I’m afraid of her reaction when she finds out I’m her father and that everyone has kept it from her. She’s as bullheaded as both of us combined.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Back when I was in basic training, I’m not so sure I would have wanted to know that I was going to be a father. I was so gung-ho on saving the world that I might have felt trapped. I like to think that I would have been wise, and I do know down deep in my heart that I would have done right by you and by our baby if I’d known.”