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

“What if I talk to her about this new job, and she thinks it’s a great idea and wants to move away from here for a fresh start?” Jesse asked. “Maybe she’d like to go back to full-time nursing where she works a shift and then comes home without having to do fill-in ranch stuff.”

Mia shook her head. “Mama is happy here on Sunflower Ranch. She gets to be a nurse to Poppa, and that’s enough. Don’t make her choose. That’s not fair to her. You make up your own mind, and either leave us behind again or stay. But I’ll tell you right now”—she pointed her finger right at him—“I’m not leaving again, and even crossing the Red River into Oklahoma is going to be like going to a foreign country to me from now on. I’ve learned my lesson about testing out the grass on the other side of the fence. It’s not greener, and it tastes bitter.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jesse admitted.

“Well, why in the hell are we having this stupid conversation then?” Mia hopped up and got back on her four-wheeler. “I was worried that you were serious.”

“I was testing you.” Jesse removed his hat, resettled it on his head, and smiled up at her.

“Did your old Army buddy even call you? Or was that Poppa telling you to check on something?” Mia eyed him suspiciously.

“Air Force, not Army, and yes, it really was my friend. His name is Frankie.” Jesse settled into the seat of his four-wheeler. “I turned him down, but he’s going to give me until the end of the week to think about all that money, and then try to talk me into it again.”

Mia did a head wiggle. “Army, Air Force, Marines, whatever. It’s all men in uniforms.”

“You’d better not let a veteran hear you say that,” Jesse said. “And there are women, too, you know.”

“Did you tell him about me?” Mia asked.

Jesse nodded. “I sure did, and he knows that my dad isn’t well, and Mama needs me, so no matter what he says, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Does that decision make you sad?” She had to raise her voice over the noise of the engine.

Jesse shook his head. “Not in the least, and Mia, I would never hurt your mother.”

“I’m holding you to that,” she declared as she sped off ahead of him.

Had Mia given him permission to date Addy? And with their past, how did they even begin to date? Would it feel strange, he wondered, or would going out with her be as natural as the kisses had been?

* * *



After supper that evening, Addy helped Sonny get out to the back porch so he could watch the alpacas. She popped up his folding chaise lounge and set a glass of sweet tea on the table beside it. Then she pulled a rocking chair over beside him and sat down.

“You ever get bored out here on the ranch?” Sonny asked.

“Nope,” she answered.

“I’m glad, but I wanted to ask. Jesse is a medic, and he could monitor my meds and do what you do. I wouldn’t want to hold you back if you wanted to work in a hospital or nursing home, again,” Sonny said.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” she asked.

“Not in the least. I hope you stay here even after me and Pearl are gone on to eternity. You and Mia make this place complete, but I don’t want you to ever have regrets like Jesse would have had if we hadn’t supported his decision to join the Air Force.”

Addy patted him on the arm. “No regrets. I’m happy right here, doing what I do. I just hope Jesse and Mia can find some kind of middle ground and have a friendship if not a father and daughter relationship.”

“And what about you and Jesse?” Sonny turned his head and looked right at her.

She couldn’t keep from blushing. God! At thirty-eight years old, I shouldn’t get red cheeks at the mention of his name.

“It’s good to have my friend back in my life. I didn’t realize how much I had missed him, and Sonny, I want to apologize for not telling you and Pearl about Mia. I cheated both of you out of so many memories by keeping that to myself. It wasn’t fair to you,” she said.

“But you brought her back to us when we needed her the most,” Sonny said. “Sure, we would have loved to have been part of her life the whole time, but we’re not complaining. You had your reasons, and they were good ones. If it had been out of spite or anger, it would have been tough to forgive you, but it was done out of love for our boy, so…” He shrugged. “I’d like to see you two be more than friends, Addy. Don’t waste precious time when the two of you could be together. I regret that I didn’t take my sweet Pearl to all the places she wanted to go when we were young enough to enjoy it.”

“We’ve agreed to take everything slow,” Addy said.

“As long as you’re going forward,” Sonny advised.

Pearl came outside and slumped down in the rocker on the other side of Sonny. “I thought, at this age, we would be sitting out here watching our grandkids play in the yard, not baby alpacas romping in the pasture. But I’ve got to admit, I’m glad that Mia wasn’t pregnant. Not that I’m so old-fashioned as to be upset by a single mama, but I wouldn’t want her to have to raise a kid by that wild O’Malley boy.”

“Amen to that,” Addy agreed. “You’ve got to admit, though, that the alpacas are cute, and you don’t have to worry about one of those sweet little girls running off with a worthless guy.”