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

If I had, he would have insisted on marrying me, and then resented me for the rest of his life. He was my best friend. I knew him, Addy argued.

Forget about the past, Mia’s situation, your jobs, and everything else, and listen to your heart, the voice said and then went silent.

“Mama?” Mia nudged her on the shoulder. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Addy managed a weak smile. “I was just having an argument with my grandmother.”

“Granny talks to you. That’s kind of creepy.” Mia shivered. “What did she say?”

“That I should listen to my heart.” Addy glanced across the table to find Jesse staring right at her again. Back in their younger days, they could practically read each other’s minds and didn’t need words to communicate. That morning, it seemed like they were back to knowing what the other one was thinking.

“Sounds like good advice to me,” Pearl said. “The heart can’t hear or see, but it has feelings, and it will guide you right, if you’ll just listen to it.”

“Amen, Mama.” Jesse shifted his focus over to her. “If only we had paid attention to that when we’re young, things might have turned out better for us.”

“Are you talking about me?” Mia asked.

“No, my child,” Addy answered for him. “He’s talking about all young folks. We made our mistakes when we were your age, but hopefully, we learned from them, just like you will.”

“So I’m a mistake?” Mia’s old surliness returned.

“No, you were made out of love.” Addy avoided glancing at Jesse but kept her eyes on her daughter. “And you’ve been loved every day since you were born.”

“Then my father wasn’t a one-night stand or a bum off the streets?” Mia asked. “Maybe we are cursed to like deadbeats who love us and leave us, Mama. Like the old saying says, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’”

Addy’s forefinger came up so fast that it was a blur and stopped close enough to Mia’s nose that she jerked back. “Your father is not that kind of man, and I’m not having this conversation today, young lady. Right now, we are taking care of what you’ve done, not the trouble I caused twenty years ago by not telling your father that I was pregnant with you. Understood?”

Mia shrugged. “When are we having this conversation?”

“When I think you can handle it without running off again,” Addy answered. “Finish your dinner so you and Jesse can talk about whether you’ll be doing ranch work or searching for another job. You’re going to need money to pay for your online courses next fall.”

“You were serious about that? I really can’t go back to college?” Mia gasped. “I promise I’ll make good grades again. I’m never looking at another guy again, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I was serious,” Addy said. “Online courses that you will pay for out of your earnings this summer. One grade below a B, and you can begin paying your own cell phone bill and your truck insurance.”

“One mistake in my whole life. I might as well go to jail,” Mia pouted.

“This time it was misjudgment. Just be sure that when you mess up next time, it’s not something illegal,” Addy told her.





Chapter Fourteen



Jesse sat down in a rocking chair, stretched his long legs out so that he could prop his boots on the back-porch railing, and waited for Mia. He didn’t look around when the door opened until the tingle on the back of his neck told him that Addy was nearby. He brought his legs down, sat up a little straighter, and turned to face her.

“Did she back out and decide that waitressing or working in a fast-food place would be better than facing me every day?” he asked.

“No, she’s putting her hair up, so she’ll be ready to work,” Addy answered as she sat down in the chair beside him. “I’ve changed my mind about sitting in on the visit if that’s all right with you.”

“Not at all, but why?” Jesse asked. “Do you think I’ll break if she starts crying?”

“Maybe.” Addy sighed. “I remember a few times when I cried. You would have tried to shoot the moon out of the sky to get me to stop.”

“Did you cry when you found out”—he checked the door and lowered his voice—“that you were pregnant?”

“Nope,” she answered. “I just called Granny, and we put together a plan. We took precautions that night, if you’ll remember, so I couldn’t blame you, and tears wouldn’t undo what was done. Granny said that the two of us were alike. When we were faced with a problem, we just plowed into it with all our might.”

“You sure showed that today, even if it did break your heart to do it,” he said.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Mia came out onto the porch and sat down in the swing. “I’m not sure how this is supposed to go. So, I already had the rules laid out for me twice, but I’m still not sure how this is going to go. What am I supposed to do now?”

“I’ll leave you two alone to discuss the job.” Addy stood up and went into the house.

“How did you apply for the job as a waitress when you quit going to classes?” Jesse asked.