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

“Even though she’s ornery, sassy, and willful, you wouldn’t take a million bucks for her.” Jesse broke down the table and put it away. “Thanks for the massage. That was wonderful. I’ll sleep really well tonight.”

He sank down on the sofa, picked up his beer, and downed the rest of it even if it was warm. “Want another one?” he asked as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

“Yep, one of those JD things,” she answered.

Jesse took two from the fridge and twisted the tops off both before he took them to the living area. He handed one to her and then sat down again. “I really like living out here rather than in the house. It gives me privacy, something I haven’t ever had before. Cody had gone to college when I left for the Air Force, but Lucas and I were still home, and I’ve lived in barracks ever since then.”

“Why didn’t you get an apartment?” she asked.

“Seemed like a waste of money since I would hardly ever be there. Mostly, I was on one mission after another. There’s never any rest for a combat medic. Sometimes, I would be in the field six months at a time, and sometimes, for just a few days, but I was never home more than a week at a time,” he answered.

“Do you ever have nightmares about the missions?” she asked.

“Not very often. I was fortunate. We only lost one team member, and that was more than ten years ago. He got shot all to hell, and I couldn’t patch him up enough to get him back to base. We were over there in the sand box, and he died on the way back. I blamed myself, drank too much, and pretty much fell apart. My captain refused to let me go back out with the guys until I had some therapy.” He was telling her things that only his teammates knew, but then he’d always been able to talk to her.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you during the rough times,” she whispered.

He held his bottle over toward her. The two of them made a clinking noise when they tapped them together. “I could say the same thing, but the two of us are back together now.”

“Yes, we are,” she said, “and on that note, it’s time for me to leave or else sleep on this sofa tonight. I’m emotionally drained from this day, but I want you to know I couldn’t have survived it without you.”

“This coming from the woman who doesn’t need protecting?” he teased.

“I still don’t, but I do need a friend to lean on occasionally,” she said.

“Give me time to get my boots on, and I’ll walk you up to the house,” he offered.

“Just to the door is good enough. I know the way home.” She smiled.

He stood up and offered her his hand. She downed the rest of her drink, set the empty on the table, and put her hand in his. “Quite the gentleman,” she said.

“I’m almost thirty-nine years old, but Mama would still take a switch to me if I was anything but a country gentleman.” He kept her hand in his all the way to the door. “Thanks again for the massage and for keeping me company this evening.”

“Thanks for the beers and for being here for me,” she said.

He tipped her chin up with his fist, looked deeply into her eyes, and kissed her—not a quick brotherly peck on the cheek or forehead, but a scorching hot one that told him that he had deep feelings for Addison Hall.

When the kiss ended, she took a step back and said, “Do you think that’s wise?”

“Oh, yeah.” He grinned. “I really do. Good night, Addy. See you at breakfast.”

* * *



Addy sat down in one of the rockers on the back porch and touched her lips. They felt hot, but they were surprisingly cool. She’d been there only a few minutes when Pearl came out wearing a white cotton nightgown that was six inches too long for her.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” She eased down in the chair beside Addy and set a can of root beer on the table between them. “I’m not surprised after this day.”

“I had a beer with Jesse,” Addy admitted. “I hope that helps me sleep. Is Sonny all right? His blood pressure and everything was good, but I worry that we’re causing him too much stress. You will tell me if you think we need to move out into our own place, won’t you? There would be no hard feelings, and I would still come out here every day to be your nurse.”

Dark clouds shifted over an almost full moon. Thunder rattled off in the distance, and a streak of lightning zigzagged through the sky. For some reason it seemed fitting that the day would end with a storm. It had, after all, started with one.

“If you and Mia left, Sonny would go crazy. Y’all being here and Jesse coming home has helped him more than any new trial things or his medicine possibly could,” Pearl said. “Do you think that you and Jesse will ever get together?”

Addy wasn’t sure she was ready to even think about such a thing, much less answer the question. “Would we blow an amazing friendship if we did?”

“Did I ever tell you that Sonny and I were best friends when we were growing up? That was back in the days when no one believed a girl and boy could be friends without getting involved.” Pearl picked up a farmer’s magazine from the table and fanned with it. “The air seems so close when there’s a storm brewing, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” Addy agreed. “Evidently, y’all became more than friends.”