Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch

by Carolyn Brown

  She and Grady worked well together, spoke the same medical lingo, and they had shared lots of feelings when Amelia had died, but Jesse Ryan was off–limits for her and always would be.

  The preacher stepped up behind the lectern, cleared his throat, and said, “Good mornin’, everyone. I’d like to welcome Jesse Ryan home and back to our congregation, and to say that we all appreciate your service. Now, if you will open your Bibles to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, we’ll have congregational reading of the verses four through seven.”

  Addy flipped her Bible open to the familiar chapter and read with the rest of the folks in the church: “‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’”

  “We have four weddings this week in Honey Grove,” the preacher said when the reading was done. “That’s why I chose this passage to talk about this morning, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a message to all of us.”

  “Amen,” Sonny said loudly.

  “Glad you can agree, Sonny,” the preacher said.

  He went on to talk about each aspect of the verses, but Addy only heard the droning of his deep voice somewhere off in the distance.

  Love doesn’t have to be all fire and heat, the voice in her head whispered. It can be a quiet companionship, a relationship between two people who have similar interests and respect for each other.

  I want both, she argued. I want it all.

  You’ve kept your secrets, but if you ever want to have a marriage, you’re going to have to open Pandora’s box and let them out.

  “No,” she muttered.

  Jesse nudged her on the shoulder. “Don’t argue with the preacher.”

  “Shhh…” She put her finger on his lips and wouldn’t have been surprised if lightning had shot through the ceiling and zapped her into a pile of ashes right there on pew three. No one with a boyfriend as special as Grady should be letting an old flame make her feel like that.

  She would simply have to get over her silly infatuation.

  When the services were over, folks gathered around Jesse to welcome him home with hugs and pats on the back. She and Grady headed for the door, shook the preacher’s hand, and went straight to his car.

  “I don’t have time for Sunday dinner today,” Grady said, “but I can take you home. Has the tension eased up between Mia and Jesse? It can’t be easy on you for her to act like she is. I’d hate it if she treated me like she does Jesse.”

  “I believe she feels threatened so she’s lashing out.” Addy got into Grady’s SUV and closed the door. “You don’t pose a threat. You’re just my good friend. Jesse is going to be her boss before long.”

  “It’ll all work itself out, Amelia,” he said as he got in behind the wheel. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I was thinking about her when the preacher talked about love. I didn’t mean to call you by her name.”

  Addy patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all right. She was a big part of your life for a very long time. It’s only natural that you’d think of her when the subject of love came up.”

  “Thanks for that. I don’t know what I’d do without you to talk to.”

  “That’s what friends are for.” Addy wondered if she was always going to be just a friend. Not that she wanted more with Grady, but Jesse could be a very different matter.

  “Yes, and I love having you for my best friend.” He started the engine, backed out of the parking lot, and started driving toward the ranch. “You want me to talk to Mia? Maybe I could help her see that Jesse is a good person.”

  “Not right now,” she said, “but I might take a rain check and ask for help if she doesn’t straighten up.”

  “Just let me know,” he said.

  Addy’s phone rang, and she fished it out of her purse. When she saw that it was Mia, she sighed.

  “Mama, I won’t be having Sunday dinner with the family. Ricky and I are going to Bonham to eat at that little café over there, the one that serves those wonderful chicken fried steaks. See you later. Don’t wait up for me. I might be late coming home tonight.”

  “Whoa, girl! You’ve got evening feeding chores,” Addy said.

  “Tell Jesse to do them.” Mia ended the call before Addy could say another word.

  “Want to cash in that rain check now?”

  “Not just yet, but there are times when I wish I could ground her like I did when she was in high school,” Addy admitted.

  “Amelia wanted to start a family when we first got married, but I wanted to wait until I was established. Look what it got me. You ever going to tell Mia who her father is?” Grady asked.

  Addy shivered in spite of the heat. “Maybe someday, but not today. She’s not in the right frame of mind to tell her anything. I can’t understand how she turned into a person I hardly know.”

  “Jesse came home,” Grady said as he drove toward the ranch.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Addy asked.

  “He has always been the wonder boy, and she could live with that. But now that he’s back, she feels like her place on the ranch is threatened, like you said before, and one other thing. Ricky is bad news, and he’s probably encouraging her behavior,” Grady answered.

  “Jesse’s not like that. He’s doing his best to get along with her, but she just won’t cut him any slack at all,” Addy defended him.

  “It wouldn’t matter if he had wings and a halo. The point is that she has always had first place in your life, in Pearl and Sonny’s and now she’s having to take a step down to second place,” Grady said. “I know how she feels.”

  “What are you talking about?” Addy shivered again.

  “I had a crush on you for a while in high school,” he admitted, “but the only boy you could see was Jesse Ryan, and he didn’t ever even ask you out. I would have been so honored to take you to either of our high school proms. And there you were with Jesse in your eyes, and he didn’t even ask you.”

  “Was it really that obvious?” Addy asked.

  “Yep, it was, but then Amelia woke me up and made me feel like I was somebody even better than one of the almighty Ryan boys who were always best at everything. I knew I’d fallen in love with her the night we won the academic bowl. I wouldn’t have even joined the team, but she talked me into believing that together we could beat the socks off Jesse Ryan’s team, and we did.” Grady’s whole face lit up at the memory.

  “I never knew that,” Addy said.

  “Doesn’t matter now. We’re all adults. I’m just trying to make you understand how Mia feels.” He patted her on the shoulder.

  “Jesse was always just my best friend, like you are now,” she said. “We decided in junior high that we couldn’t ever get involved because it would ruin what we had.”

  “Honey, everyone knew how you felt about him back then except you. I’m just glad that he’s not Mia’s father. I’d rather it was anyone but him. Was it a guy who worked on your grandmother’s farm?” Grady asked.

  “Her biological father isn’t important. She belongs to me.” Addy air-slapped him on the shoulder.

  “You’ll have to tell her someday. That could be part of her attitude right now. Everyone she knows has a dad, whether he’s worthless or a wonderful person, and she’s needing to know where she comes from.” Grady parked in the front yard and said, “I’ll see you at the end of the week. Call me if you need a listening ear.”

  Addy undid her seat belt with one hand and opened her door with the other. “Thanks for the ride and for the therapy session.”

  “Honey, you know you are welcome. God only knows how many times you’ve gotten me through the tough spots.” He nodded.

  Her high-heeled shoe got stuck between two boards on the top step and she stumbled, threw out her hands, a
nd tried to grab something, but all she got was an armload of hot Texas air. Then Jesse’s strong arms scooped her up like a bride. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took a deep breath.

  “Where did you come from?” she asked.

  “I heard a vehicle drive up and thought maybe Mama might need help with Dad,” he said. “I slipped out the side door after church and came straight home. I don’t remember you being clumsy,” he chuckled as he carried her into the house and set her on firm ground. “But back then, you wore cowboy boots everywhere, even to church.”

  “Thanks for…” she huffed, “saving me from a fall.”

  “Anytime. I’m a knight in shining cowboy boots, just looking for fair damsels to rescue. I thought Grady was coming to Sunday dinner.” Jesse sat down on a ladder-back chair in the foyer and pulled off his boots. “Been a while since I wore these except when me and the guys went out. I’ll have to get used to them again.”

  Addy sat in the chair beside him. “Grady can’t come after all, and Mia is off with who I assume is now her boyfriend.” She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes. “Give me cowboy boots over these things any day of the week. I’m not so sure I like this boyfriend of hers. He’s one of those wild, bad-boy types who would cause any mother to worry.”

  “She seems to have her head on straight, except when it comes to me. She does a pretty fine job out there of running a hay crew, so I reckon she can take care of herself,” Jesse said.

  “Grady says that she’s jealous of you. Maybe we should have stayed here at Thanksgiving when you guys came home instead of going out to Granny’s place, so she could have gotten to know you back when she was just a kid,” she said.

  “Don’t know why she’d be jealous of an ugly old cowboy like me. She’s the princess around here,” Jesse laughed. “Why did you leave when we came home, Addy?”

  “Seemed like the thing to do at the time. Y’all could help with the ranch work, and spend some time with Sonny and Pearl without us interfering. You were a medic and Cody is a doctor, so I wasn’t needed. We had always gone to Granny’s for Thanksgiving ever since I was a little girl, so she expected us to be there.” She shrugged.

  But the real reason was that I didn’t want to… She couldn’t even complete the thought.

  “I figured that was it,” he said.

  Pearl came in the front door with Sonny right behind her. “Y’all going to chew the fat all afternoon or wash up for dinner?”

  “I’ll do that soon as I get out of these Sunday clothes and into my overalls.” Sonny headed down the hallway.

  “I’d rather chew on some of those chicken and dumplings,” Jesse said. “Do I have time to run out to the bunkhouse and get into some more comfortable clothes?”

  “Of course.” Pearl stopped long enough to kiss him on the cheek. “Just don’t take too long. Where’s Mia?”

  “Off having dinner with her boyfriend.” Addy stood and started down the hall toward her room.

  Jesse was halfway to the kitchen when Sonny stopped for a moment and set his jaw. “I don’t like that Ricky kid. He’s been trouble since the day he was born. Why’d she have to go and take up with the likes of him anyway? If he hurts her, I’ll—”

  Pearl locked her arm through his and said, “Mia is smart and independent. We might have to haul him to the hospital if he does anything she doesn’t like, but we don’t have to worry about our girl. Now, go on and get changed while I finish getting the food ready, sweetheart.”

  “Yes, darlin’.” Sonny leaned over just enough to give her a kiss. “Have I told you how much I love you today?”

  “Three times, but I never get tired of hearing it,” Pearl answered.

  Addy was stripping out of her off-white sundress when she remembered what Mia had said about her finding a guy to make her happy. “I have to get beyond this”—she frowned—“blast from the past before I can give anyone my heart. That saying really dates me.”

  She pulled on a pair of faded jeans, a T-shirt with a horseshoe on the front, and her comfortable boots. She gave the high heels that had caused her to fall a dirty look as she left the room. Mia was going to be so mad when she found out Pearl had made chicken and dumplings. That was her daughter’s favorite Sunday dinner.

  “Serves you right for being so bitchy the past couple of days,” Addy said as she entered the kitchen.

  “Who was bitchy?” Pearl looked up from the stove, where she was dropping bits of dough into a pot of boiling broth.

  “My daughter,” Addy answered. “She’s been horrible. Didn’t you see it?”

  “Of course we did,” Sonny chuckled. “But, honey, she doesn’t do well with change. She’ll be fine in a few days. I just wish she wasn’t going out with that O’Malley boy.”

  “Hopefully, she’ll get tired of him and show him the road real soon,” Pearl said.

  “Get rid of who and what road?” Jesse asked as he hung his hat on a nail in the utility room and came on into the kitchen.

  “We were talking about Mia’s boyfriend,” Pearl answered.

  Jesse leaned over and sniffed the steam coming off the pot of broth. “That smells so good. I bet if she brought him home to Sunday dinner, that would tame him right down.”

  “Well, now!” Sonny thumped the table with his fist. “That’s a great idea. Next Sunday I’m going to invite him myself, and then after we eat, me and him are going out on the porch for a come-to-Jesus talk.”

  Addy had no doubt that one of those talks wouldn’t do a bit of good. It might even push Mia farther away from the family and right into Ricky’s arms. After seeing her sitting so close to him in church, and the way they were holding hands as they crossed the parking lot to his truck, Addy had no doubt that they were more than friends.

  Chapter Seven

  Jesse would have waited another few days before coming home if he had realized that Monday was Honey Grove Family History Day. He wouldn’t disappoint his mother for anything, but he sure didn’t look forward to hitching a couple of borrowed mules to the old wagon and driving it into town.

  Pearl Ryan’s grandmother had been the president of the Town Planning Committee to celebrate the Family History Day, then Pearl’s mother took over, and when she passed away, Pearl herself had held the position for the past thirty years. The celebration was always held on June fourteenth. It didn’t matter what day of the week it fell on. If it happened to be on Wednesday or Sunday, then there were no church services that evening. Pearl declared that God understood the importance of family.

  Everyone around the community gathered in town that day, most of the locals on horseback or in wagons to commemorate those days when Honey Grove was a booming town. In 1890, the town was a central hub for area farmers, who used the railroad to ship their products all over the South. Pictures of early days were displayed in each building, so folks got a sense of how things had been down through the ages, and guides expounded on some of the more historic places that still remained. Then there was the tour of homes since Honey Grove had the most historic old houses of any small town in Texas. Each tour ended at the oldest church in Honey Grove, where Pearl and the refreshment committee served cake, cookies, and punch.

  Jesse felt like he’d been shot through a time machine when he drove the wagon around to the front yard that evening. His mother and Addy were dressed in vintage long dresses and bonnets and were putting cakes and cookies into the backseat of Sonny’s pickup.

  His father wore bibbed overalls and a straw hat and waited on the front porch swing. “Hey, son.” Sonny waved. “I sure wish I could go with you, but Addy and your mother vetoed that. Last year, the horses got away from me and we had quite a ride into town. It would be tough on me to climb up in the wagon, so I’ll just let you have that job.”

  “I’m in agreement with them,” Jesse said. “Anyone going with me? Where’s Mia?”

  As if on cue, the girl stepped out onto the porch. She wore a pair of cut-off jean shorts, a halter top that showed half her bac
k, and cowboy boots. “I’m right here, and the answer is no, I’m not going with you or anyone else. I’ve got better things to do,” she said. “Ricky and I have plans.”

  “You be careful, darlin’,” Sonny said. “That boy has been in a lot of trouble.”

  “Ricky and I don’t have secrets, Poppa. I know everything about him, and people have spread rumors about him that simply are not true.” She took time to kiss Sonny on the top of the head and then jogged out to her pickup truck.

  “Don’t stay out too late. You’ve got sheep shearing to do tomorrow morning,” Addy yelled across the yard.

  “I’ve decided to sell my sheep soon as they’re sheared. I’ve already got a buyer who’ll be picking them up tomorrow evening.” Mia waved as she got into the vehicle and drove away.

  “What brought all that on?” Sonny picked up his cane and got to his feet. “She’s named each one of those sheep and sat up at night with them when they were lambing.”

  “I’m wondering if I’m the cause of all this,” Jesse said from the wagon seat. “Y’all tell me that she was a sweetheart until this past weekend.”

  “She’d only been home from college three days when you arrived,” Sonny said. “She hasn’t been the same girl since she got here, but you’re right, it did get worse after you got here. I’ll have a talk with her tomorrow.”

  “I’ve tried,” Addy said, “but she shuts me out.”

  Pearl stepped up on the porch to help Sonny out to the truck. “I imagine she and Ricky have been keeping company at college, and he’s leading our girl astray. I’ll see what I can do, too.”

  When Sonny was in the passenger seat, Pearl took a look at what all was in the backseat and said, “Looks like you’re going to have to take your own car, Addy, or else ride with Jesse. We’ll have plenty of room to bring you home.”

  “I’ll just ride with Jesse,” Addy said.

  Jesse hopped down from the wagon and circled around the back side of it. “Let me help you,” he said. His big hands circled Addy’s small waist and lifted her up into the wagon. “There you go, Miss Hall. I’ll try to keep from hitting too many potholes, but you might want to hang on to your bonnet.”