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

“You can have my room,” Addy told him. “I’m staying in the bunkhouse with Jesse tonight. I’ll feel a lot better knowing a doctor is in the house in case Sonny needs you.”

“Well, good for the both of you.” Cody yawned.

Addy stood and started inside the house. “While you shower, I’ll get some clean sheets on the bed.”

“Thanks,” Cody said. “I can’t remember the last time I slept in a real bed with clean sheets. Mostly, I catch forty winks in a hammock or on an army cot.”

“I’ll help you,” Pearl said.

Mia hopped up from her place on the top porch step. “You’re worn out, Nana. I’ll help Mama.”

“And I’m going to my place,” Henry said. “Thanks for not dying, you old coot.”

“Who’s calling who old?” Sonny asked. “You and I are the same age.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have to spend a night in the hospital,” Henry threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the dark.

“You need to get to bed,” Jesse said to his father. “Want some help?”

“I told y’all that only Mia can smother me,” Sonny reminded them. “The whole lot of you have got things to do. Cody, you get a shower and some shut-eye. Mia, you help your mama. And Jesse, you better take these leftover sandwiches down to the bunkhouse,” Sonny said with a broad wink. “You might get hungry later.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Jesse smiled. “Never know when a guy might appreciate a little food.”

* * *



Addy snuggled up as close to Jesse as she could possibly get the next morning after shutting off the alarm. “I love this cuddling time.”

“I love that no one is giving us hell for spending the night together.” Jesse made lazy circles on her bare back with his thumb.

“We’re adults,” she said.

“Yep, and we’ve got fifteen minutes before we have to really crawl out of this bed. What do you think we should do with that time?” He had a wicked grin on his face as his hands traveled down her back.

“I can’t think of much of anything when you’re this close,” she answered, “but I’m willing to go along with your idea.”

Half an hour later, they were scrambling to get dressed for the day, then they rushed to the ranch house. They barely made it to the kitchen when Pearl and Sonny arrived with Cody right behind them. Cody Ryan was a good-looking cowboy, but there was no way he was as sexy as Jesse—not in Addy’s eyes anyway.

Jesse put on a pot of coffee. “So, Cody, are you really going to stay in Honey Grove?”

“Yep, I was on my way home to surprise everyone when I got your call,” Cody answered.

“Now that a full-fledged doctor is in the house, I guess I won’t be needed so much,” Addy said.

Jesse took five mugs from the cabinet and filled them. He set three on the table and handed off the other two to his mother and Addy, then put another pot on to brew.

“Oh, no!” Cody shook his head. “I want to do some ranching. I’ve missed that, but I want to be a doctor, too. Nothing says I can’t be both, does it?”

“Not one bit,” Sonny answered. “Does that mean you’re going to be a part-time doctor?”

“Kind of, but more like an old-time doctor,” Cody answered. “I want to run my business from right here. I won’t see patients in a clinic or in an office, so I won’t need much in the way of staff—just a nurse.” He glanced over at Addy. “I would make house calls, and if the patient’s condition warrants it, I’d refer them to a specialist or send them to the hospital.”

“What would you need a nurse for?” Addy stirred up the batter for banana nut muffins.

“To help, for one thing, and as a witness for another. Kind of like when you go to the doctor for an exam and a nurse is always standing by.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Sonny said. “I’ll be your first patient.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Cody nodded.

“You can have Henry’s place for your office when he moves to Colorado in a few weeks. Until then, you can use my office to get things set up,” Sonny told him. “You’ll need to keep files and supplies and such, and his little house would be perfect.”

“Why don’t you take the bunkhouse?” Jesse suggested. “Since I’ll be the new foreman, I thought maybe I’d take Henry’s place. The bunkhouse is closer to the house, so you’d be close by if Dad needs you.”

Cody looked over Jesse’s shoulder right at Addy. “Would you consider being my nurse?”

Addy’s first thought was what would Jesse think of her accepting the offer; then her second was that this was her life and her decision.

“Nurse for what?” Mia came into the kitchen and went straight for the coffeepot. “Mama can’t leave the ranch. This is our home.”

Pearl explained what they had been talking about in a few words. “No one would be leaving the ranch. We’d just be adding a doctor to the list of who lives here.”

Mia took a sip of coffee, then set her mug on the cabinet and started setting the table for breakfast. “Too bad you’re not a vet. We could sure use one so that we wouldn’t have to pay Stevie so much.”