“He wanted to be here to see you off, but he was called in for an emergency a couple of hours ago. I hope you both have fun. After all the commotion you’ve been through, you certainly deserve this vacation time to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“You can say that again,” Sean said, and put his arm around Cassandra’s shoulders. “She’s been through a lot. I’m hoping to relax her nerves, bring her back with a smile of contentment on her face. Mandy and I will be waiting in the car, Cass.”
Cassandra and Shannon walked slowly arm-in-arm and followed behind him.“Just what did he mean by that? This sounds to me like you may be coming back with a wedding band next to that beautiful engagement ring.” She stopped and turned Cassandra around to face her. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”
*
They were back on the road, after spending three days in Colorado Springs with the twins. They’d taken the kids out for Easter dinner. Carrie and Corey Cooper made a big impression on them. They both had strawberry blonde hair and sky blue eyes.
“Carrie is such a pretty young lady, isn’t she?” Cassandra said. “And Corey, what a handsome young man. What did you think of them?”
“They seemed to be two very courteous kids, very friendly and polite.” Sean smiled. “I liked them. They also seemed to be happy and obviously well raised, with great respect for adults.”
Kyle and Carrie, Corey and Kayla; it was hard to see her twins so close to someone other than themselves. However, she could see when she looked into their eyes, that all four of them were very much in love.
“It was really nice to meet them. Kayla and Carrie’s engagement rings are so similar; everything the four of them did, for that matter, had shown how much alike they actually are. Both couples seem to be just perfect for each other.”
“What a surprise when they said they’re from Texas,” Sean said. “Corey mentioned that their parents have a horse ranch somewhere near Houston.”
“I’m sure Kyle and Kayla were both excited to hear that.” She smiled as she thought about how they’d always enjoyed being at Nick’s ranch. Fleetingly, she thought of Nick and wondered how he was getting on with his new wife. She hadn’t seen him since that terrible night at Pinewood Hills.
They took it slow, enjoying the scenery, and constantly pulled over to the side of the road, to take photographs while traveling through the beautiful mountains and deep green valleys.
Sean phoned Ben and Cheryl to let them know that they’d be arriving in Amarillo sometime tomorrow and would call them from their motel. They planned to meet with them in the afternoon, and to enjoy a night out with their friends.
When they arrived in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, they pulled into a quaint little town called Little Oak, and found a nice motel where they decided to spend the night. After they’d eaten in the motel dining room, they decided to take Mandy for a short walk.
They strolled along the sidewalk that led through town. A light breeze swirled a few leaves around and Mandy playfully tried to catch them. They came upon a small pond, and approached a large flat rock where they sat and savored the beautiful evening. They listened to the light ripple as the wind softly blew across the water. It became a bit chilly, and when Sean noticed Cassandra begin to shiver, he removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.
Hearing the sound of a tiny quack, they looked down along the edge of the pond, and saw a duckling, trapped between some boards where there’d once been a wooden ramp. Apparently, it had climbed over one of the boards and fallen into the water, and now surrounded by pieces of wood, it was unable to get back out. The mother was swimming around, squawking wildly at the edge of the pond, her other ducklings following close behind.
Cassandra pointed. “Oh look. The mother seems frantic, and she’s probably afraid we’ll hurt it.”
Sean slowly moved over to the duckling and at that point, the mother squawked even louder, and seemed so worried about her little one. He reached down into the water and carefully lifted the duckling over the piece of wood, then gently placed it into the pond. The baby hurried off to its mother, and they quickly swam a few feet away from them. When Sean sat back down on the rock, the mother turned and looked at him, and let out a quiet squawk, as if to thank him. Then she slowly took off to the other side of the pond, and her ducklings followed in line.
“That was so sweet, and Mandy stayed very still. She quietly sat and watched, as if she knew not to bark.”
“My good deed for the day,” Sean said. “Let’s head back to our room.”
“Yes, your jeans are wet at the ankles. I can’t believe you did that. I thought the mother was going to attack you, and it seemed that she ended up thanking you.”
“Even the ducks love me,” he said, and they both chuckled when Mandy poked her nose into Sean’s hand and wagged her tail.
“Come on, my beautiful swan.” He took her hand in his, and led her back to their room.
Chapter Forty-three
After spending yesterday afternoon and evening with Ben and Cheryl, Sean and Cassandra were back on the road, now headed west toward Albuquerque. Sean had planned for them to check in at the motel he’d stayed in last month, depending on what time they arrived.
“We’re just pulling into Albuquerque. Let’s take Mandy for a short walk, and then stop for lunch. We’re only about twenty miles away from our destination. It’s only noon, so we have plenty of time to find a place to stop for the night in the White Mountains if you’d like.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’m just as anxious to see this place as you are, since you’ve kept me in suspense for so long.”
*
Twenty minutes later Sean turned onto a gravel road. They drove about fifty yards, and Mandy barked excitedly. Sean slowed down, told Mandy to be quiet, and then stopped the SUV.
“Look, honey, over there,” he said. He pointed to a cluster of trees where a large herd of antelope was grazing.
“Oh, they’re so beautiful.” They sat and admired the wild, angelic creatures.
“I guess they spend quite a bit of time around here, especially during mating season. Let’s move on, I’ll drive slowly, so we don’t frighten them.”
After driving one mile further, they came to a fork in the road. He then turned onto a long, dirt road, driving slowly, giving her a chance to observe the elegant sight before them. There were enchanting mountains far off to the west, and to the east, hundreds of acres of splendid green grass covered miles of rolling hills.
He stopped the SUV and turned to look at Cassandra. “Look honey, straight ahead.”
Down the driveway about a half mile was the most breathtaking view she’d ever seen. Trembling, she turned to look at Sean.
“This was the surprise,” she said, and Sean nodded with a grin.
Up ahead she could see acres of green grass, bordered with white fencing; she looked at him, and in a soft whisper she said, “These are the thirty acres of land? It’s a ranch?” Again, he just nodded with that special gleam in his eyes.
“Well, it was a ranch, until the owners decided ten years ago to divide their property into several parcels. He’d divided the ranch into thirty-to forty-acre parcels. He sold all of them except for this one. They built the log home and have lived here for twenty years. They’d just recently renovated the home, and then found out that they have to move back to their home state.”
Off in the distance she could see a beautiful log home. Beyond the property, there were more mountains, snow still covering their highest peaks.
“Let’s go and take a look around. I called ahead and let them know we were coming.”
She was speechless as she admired the beauty that surrounded them.
The owners of the house came out to greet them, and let them know that Mandy could come with them to take a tour. Dog lovers themselves, they enjoyed watching her roam around the yard. They seemed to be a friendly couple in their late-sixties.
The house was awesome. There
were four huge bedrooms and two full-size baths. It also had a library/den, which they had added, on the east side of the home.
It was a dream home. Cassandra walked back outdoors after their tour, strolled over to the white picket fence, and turned around and around, admiring the astonishing views in every direction.
Sean came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Do you like it, Cassie?”
“Oh, you knew I would. It’s so beautiful... it’s a dream. It’s also obviously very expensive, I’m sure.”
“They have to sell, Cass. They’d received news of a family emergency and have to move back home. In order for it to sell fast, they decided to offer it for an unbelievable price.”
“Oh, Sean, I don’t know. Tell them we’ll think about it, and we’ll let them know.”
“I already did, Cass. I told them we’d call when we get back home.”
She looked around her again then looked back up at Sean. “This is so beautiful, it’s perfect, Sean, almost too good to be true.”
“It’s for you, Cass. It’s for us. Maybe we could call it Antelope Haven.”
When they drove back out to the highway, they saw rabbits, squirrels, and the same herd of antelope they’d seen grazing on the way in. This time they only raised their heads and watched as the SUV slowly drove by. Then they lowered their heads back down to the ground and continued eating the wild grass.
When they left the dirt road and were back out on the highway, she placed her hand on his thigh. “That’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. When you say you have a surprise, you really do mean a surprise, don’t you?” She glanced up at his smiling face, and she knew she was the luckiest woman on earth to have him back in her life.
Chapter Forty-four
“Mom, that sounds great! You’d be closer to us if you moved to New Mexico.”
“I know Kayla, but once you’ve completed college, you’ll be back to Minnesota. Then we’d be so far away from each other, I’d hardly ever see you.”
“But Mom, there’s been a change of plans, and this would make everything better than ever.”
“Change of plans? What do you mean?”
“We’ve been afraid to tell you, Mom. We’ve been waiting to get up enough courage to break the news. Now we can tell you, and everything will work out perfectly...”
“Go on,” she urged.
“Graduation is less than three years away. The four of us want to have a double wedding, Mom.”
“Well, that’s fantastic news, honey, but what does that have to do with Sean and me moving to New Mexico?”
“Corey and Carrie’s family has a ranch in Texas, remember? We want to have the wedding there, on their ranch. Mom, all four of us want to move to Texas once we’re married. You’d be nice and close.”
“Are you sure, honey? I need to speak with Kyle, too.”
“Oh, yes Mom, we’re very sure. The four of us have been talking about this, and we’ve all agreed. We were just worried about leaving you in Minnesota. This would be perfect. You and Sean would be so close; it would be so easy for everyone to visit each other.
“Well… it does sound pretty nice. I’m going to call Kyle and speak with him, and then I’ll talk it over with Sean.”
“Okay, Mom, but send us some pictures of the ranch. We’d like to see what it looks like.”
“Once you see these pictures, honey, all of you may decide to have that double wedding at our ranch, instead. I’ll call and let you know when Sean and I make the final decision.”
“Okay… you’d be happy there with Sean, Mom. I know you would. He’s really a super cool person.”
“Yes Kayla, that he is. Bye, honey.”
“Cassandra, we’re sure going to miss you,” Shannon said. They sat at Shannon’s kitchen table with their usual mugs of coffee and a coffee cake that she’d baked.
“We’ll miss you too, but remember, you’ll be coming to visit us soon. We’ll have plenty of room. The kids will all be on summer break. We’ll have a house full, but we’ll all have a ball.”
“I know, but who will I have my morning coffee with?”
“Hey, we can still do that.” They both wiped tears from their cheeks. “We’ll have each other on the Internet, every morning, with our cups of coffee.”
*
“Are you about ready to leave, Cassie?” Sean asked when he and Dan came back in. “Everything’s all set to go, out there. Looks like Mandy’s ready,” he said, when he looked down at her. She leaned heavily against his leg, and he almost lost his balance. “She’s so worried that we’ll leave her behind.”
“Okay, let’s hit the road.”
As they pulled away from the house, Cassandra and Shannon waved at each other. Everything was a blur of tears and she guessed her friend was suffering the same.
When they turned onto the highway, they headed south, toward their new life, their new home, Antelope Haven.
Sean placed his hand on top of hers, then lifted the back of her hand to his lips and softly kissed it.
She looked at him, and her eyes now held tears of joy, while her heart sang with delight.
Epilogue
Four years later…
Cassandra stepped out of the tub and dried off, then smoothed on her body lotion, the orange blossom scent, Sean’s favorite. He’d be home soon.
She dressed in her blue shorts and a tan, short-sleeved top and tied it at the bottom, leaving her midriff bare. She poured a glass of lemonade and walked out onto the porch where Mandy sprawled in the sunshine at the west end of the house. She sat down in the glider, and watched as the antelope roamed near the edge of their property, along the white picket fence. The sun shone brightly against the mountains.
All four of the children had decided to hold their double wedding here, at Antelope Haven. They’d invited all of their friends from UCCS. The Millers had attended, along with all members of the Cooper family. It had been such a beautiful sight. They’d held the ceremony in the rolling greens, a white picket fence leading up to the first slope, where each couple gave their vows.
After the wedding, each couple had left on their honeymoon. When they returned, they settled into their new homes in Lubbock, Texas, just northeast of Abilene.
Suddenly Cassandra saw the cloud of dust as Sean’s truck came down the dirt road.
Her life had been a difficult puzzle and the missing piece had finally fallen into place. She watched Sean coming toward her, toward their home, here on the sunny side of the mountain.
About the author
Charliann Roberts was born and raised in Minnesota. She has lived in Santa Monica, CA and currently resides in Arizona with her long-time sweetheart. They have a sheltie and a corgi, the two smallest herding dogs (although Chase and Kristi do believe they’re actually their children).
You can visit her website at www.charliann-roberts.com.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Nik Morton, Editor in Chief and my editor, Candy Stone. Your commitment, hard work and dedication were so very helpful to make my dream come true.
Thank you to Preston Spencer for the beautiful book cover!
Thank you to Natasha and Chris for your help with the questions I’d thrown at you every now and then. I love you both very much. A huge thanks to Kelly – thanks, Cuz, for following step-by-step through every chapter of my first draft. Thanks also to Lori and Colton for going through the entire book, looking for typos. A special thanks to Kathleen Ball for supporting me, giving me the encouragement I needed many times, and for becoming my best friend, having our daily chats online with our morning cups of coffee. Thanks to all of you who supported and cheered me on, asking for another chapter please; those of you who kept me going when I was ready to throw in the towel.
Last, but certainly not least, my most important thank you goes to Bob. You know me more than I know myself. You gave me that push to make my dream come true. You supported me, encouraged me and helped me through any rough spots
that came along. Thank you for making the sun shine brightly on our side of the mountain.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Other books by the author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty- eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Epilogue
About the author
Acknowledgments
The Sunny Side of the Mountain Page 23