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

“You do know that you can stay out as late as you want,” Jesse said. “You are a grown-up now.”

“Yes, sir!” She snapped a smart salute to him.

“And there’s our sassy girl back in her skin,” he teased.

“That wreck just spooked me, but I’m fine now,” Mia announced.

After supper, Addy took Sonny’s vitals, gave him a neck massage and his evening meds, then left him and Pearl alone to watch their favorite Saturday evening shows on television. She went right to her window and stared out at the bunkhouse in the distance. Some evenings, Jesse sat in the living room or on the front porch with his parents at the close of a day, but not that night. He said he had to return some phone calls to his old teammates and had gone to the bunkhouse.

Addy had lived in the ranch house for five years. She had been content, if not ecstatically happy there, just knowing that Mia was loved and had a stable environment. But tonight, for the first time, the place felt more than a little lonely.

Jesse walked up to the window that faced the house. His silhouette showed that he had a hand up to his ear, so evidently, he had indeed needed to make a few phone calls. For some crazy reason, that made Addy feel better. She waited until she saw him drop his hand and lay the phone down before she slipped down the hall and out the kitchen door.

He was on the porch when she arrived. He’d changed from the jeans and pearl snap western shirt he had worn to the bake sale into a pair of loose-fitting pajama pants and a faded T-shirt with a bull rider on the front. He was barefoot, and his hair was still wet from a recent shower. When she was still five feet away, she caught a whiff of the shaving lotion that always set her senses to reeling.

“I was hoping you would come tonight. I came out to look at the Strawberry Moon.” He pointed up at a full moon hanging right above the treetops. “Has Mia come home yet?”

Addy hiked a hip on the porch railing. “Not yet, and she hasn’t called or texted. That’s a good thing after the way she’s almost set my phone on fire every day since the wreck.”

Jesse crossed the wide porch and hugged Addy, then kissed her on the forehead. “Seems right to be here with you and that big old lover’s moon so close, it feels like we could reach up there and touch it.”

“I thought it was the Strawberry Moon, not a lover’s moon.” She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

“It’s both,” he said. “Mama talked about the bake sale when I would call her, but I didn’t know until today that they had named it the Strawberry Moon Bake Sale. She said they always have it on the last weekend in June, and that’s when the Strawberry Moon is out. The Native American culture called it that because that’s when the wild strawberries were ready to pick, along with other fruit. Mama said it seemed fitting to name their fundraiser after that because some of the ladies brought jams they made from the fresh fruits they had harvested. Tonight, I’d rather it would be a lover’s moon.”

“Why are you telling me all this, Jesse?” Addy asked. “You only go on and on about something when you are super nervous.”

“You know me too well,” Jesse sighed.

“Are we really going to give this a try?” she asked.

“I’d sure like to.” He removed her hands from around his neck. He kissed each knuckle separately and then turned her hands over to kiss the palms. “But first, I think we’d better be up-front and honest with Mia. Her reaction to us might make you change your mind.”

“Mia means a lot to me, but I can make up my own mind about what I do. What about how you’ll take her reaction?” she asked.

“My mind is pretty well made up.” He flashed a grin so brilliant that it would have paled the sun. “When I came home, from that first minute, I could feel something still between us even after all these years. I’m not making the same mistake I did all when I was too young and stupid to realize what I had right in front of me.”

“All right then, we’ll tell her tomorrow after church,” Addy agreed. “But, Jesse, let’s take it slow. We’re not kids anymore, and we need to be sure that this is more than a physical attraction.”

“Anything you want, darlin’,” he said. “As long as I can hold you, and—”

The door flew open before he could even finish his sentence. Mia rushed outside and dropped to her knees in front of her mother. She laid her head on Addy’s lap and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

Addy’s mind went into high gear. Had Mia wrecked her truck, decided to run away with Ricky again, or robbed a bank? Whatever it was, she would be there for her daughter. But please, Lord, don’t let it be something illegal or that worthless Ricky coming back into her life, she prayed as she wrapped Mia up in her arms.

“What’s happened?” Jesse laid a hand on Mia’s shoulder. “Are you all right? Do we need to take you to the doctor?”

Addy sucked in air and held it. “Has something happened to Sonny?”

Mia raised her head. “I’m fine. I think Poppa is good. I didn’t go through the house. I came straight here, and…” Her chin quivered, and tears continued to flow down her cheeks. “I hoped you’d be here. I’m so so sorry for…” Her voice broke, and she buried her face in her mother’s lap.