Winning Over the Rancher
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Viv Royce
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CHAPTER ONE
THE STORM HIT so unexpectedly that everyone on the ranch was caught unawares. There hadn’t been any warning on the weather forecast, nothing beyond the normal line about potential thunderstorms, something to be expected on hot and humid July nights.
But as soon as he heard the wind bang at his bedroom window, Cade Williams knew there was nothing normal about this.
He jumped out of bed, grabbed his jeans and shirt off the captain’s chair by the desk and stuck his bare feet into his boots determined to go outside and see what he could salvage. He prioritized in a heartbeat. The barns were pretty much stormproof with small windows of reinforced glass and extra bolts on the doors so the animals inside were safe. He didn’t want to consider the possibility that an entire roof would be peeled off. Nothing he could do about that. But there were toys left in the yard from his sister Gina’s twins, and any object grabbed and flung by such strong wind could do substantial damage. He had to round up anything unattached.
He hurried down the corridor, taking care to muffle his footfalls and not wake his mother sleeping in the master bedroom he had to pass. As permanent residents on this multigenerational ranch, they both slept in the left wing of the ranch house where the family bedrooms were located. The right wing held guest rooms that had been allocated to Gina and the twins. Her old room, still as it had been when she had left home to go to college, with boy band posters on the wall and her prom dress in the closet, hardly fit a pregnant mother of two.
His throat tightened a moment. His little sister a pregnant mother of two. A widow at that. Protectiveness swept over him as a tidal wave just like that day a month ago when Gina had moved back to the ranch after her house had been sold. She had arrived with two crying little girls in her arms, a menagerie of rescue pets and no more possessions than the clothes on her back. She had stood in the yard looking about her as if she was disoriented, not fully realizing where she was and that she was home now. She had lived a totally different life for so long, far away from the ranch and the simple ways she had grown up with. A dramatic accident had forced her to return, empty-handed. But Cade had known for certain things were looking up now, for Gina, the twins and the vulnerable life forming inside of her. Life had dealt them hard blows, ripping all security away from them and leaving them exposed, but their family would be there for them, no matter what it took. This ranch would be their safe haven. The place where they could recover and build a new future.
He had thought that, until now. The wind howling around the house seemed an enemy force determined to throw new trouble into their path.
Cade gritted his teeth as he passed the archway leading into the spacious kitchen. From the shadows a sleek silhouette slunk up to him. Rosie, their Border collie mix, got ahead of him and placed herself at the front door, blocking his path. Her whole stance told him he wasn’t getting past her. The rattling of the storm outside made her flatten her ears and he bet she wanted to get away from the door that was being attacked by the forces of nature. But she wouldn’t move as long as she was on duty to keep him inside. To protect a member of her family from harm.
“Sorry, girl, but I have to go out. There’s work to do.”
Usually at the word work Rosie got all excited. But now she eyed him like he was out of his mind. Obviously in her estimation, there was nothing to be done outside that door.
She was just like him: determined and stubborn when she wanted something, and he had to reach over her to pull the door open. The moment, however, that he opened it a crack, the wind threw rain and hail inside and whistled past him into the hallway tearing overalls off the coatrack and knocking a crystal vase off a side table. It crashed to the floor in a thousand pieces, scattering the red dahlias like bloodstains on the boards.
Rosie whined and pressed herself against his legs, pushing him away from the door. Her ears came up as she barked low and her worried gaze at him said more than a thousand words. It was dangerous out there and she wasn’t letting him walk straight into it.
Suddenly, his mother stood by his side, grabbing his arm. “This isn’t a normal thunderstorm,” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “This is a derecho.”
Cade froze at the word. He had heard about derechos from his father and grandfather. They came out of nothing and could do enormous damage. The last one had hit when he had been two. They had lost most of their harvest and it had been questionable whether the Williams ranch could even survive that season. Along with their trees, their future had been uprooted and it had taken them years to fully recover from the damages.
“No,” Cade said, everything inside bucking against the idea a monstrous thing like that would hit the ranch that was his sole responsibility after his father’s death ten years ago. “It isn’t a derecho. There hasn’t been one in Boulder County for thirty years. You’re wrong.”
His mind raced. The apple trees and flower fields exposed to the unforgiving weather had to provide much needed income. With Gina back at home they had three extra mouths to feed. Not to mention the debts she had come with. Nothing could happen to that all-important harvest.
“I have to go out there,” he said hurriedly. His heart hammered under his breastbone. “Maybe there’s still something I can do to—”
But his mother clung to his arm, pleading desperately. “Stay inside, Cade, please. What if you get hurt or worse? Who will take care of Gina and the little ones if something happens to you?” Her features, which still carried the softness of youth, suddenly looked haggard in the diffused light of the corridor lamp. “We can’t lose you. Not you too.”
The pain in her voice kicked him in the guts. They knew what loss was. First Dad, then Gina’s husband, Barry. Now it was up to him to keep them safe. It went against everything inside him to do nothing, let the storm tear his precious property apart. But staying in one piece was more important now, for all of them.
He gave in to her and had to use all his weight to bolt the door against the wind that wasn’t about to be shut out. It seemed to wail with malicious glee as it grabbed the hanging baskets, his mother’s pride and joy, and broke the chains they were secured with like they were cobwebs. His mother shrank under the crashes of them falling, destroying her beloved geraniums. But Cade’s mind was on his dahlias and zinnias in the fields. The flowers had to survive the storm, somehow. They were the family’s income. If the flowers got destroyed, how would they make it through this season? Pay Gina’s debts and provide a stable home for her? This wasn’t just about money. It was about family and the promise he had made to his sister and her crying little girls. How am I going to manage?
“Cade, come.” His mother ushered him back to the kitchen by the arm while Rosie shepherded him from behind. It was as if both of them were afraid he would escape and run outside anyway. To save what he couldn’t save?
CADE SAT UP with a jerk. He groaned as pain flashed through his shoulder muscles. He had fallen asleep at the table, head on his arms, and every muscle was sore. He carefully tested his numb arms, moving his fingers to coax feeling back into them. His ears registered something right away.
Silence.
Welcome, wanted, wonderful silence.
A sudden quiet, the absence of all those nerve-racking thudding and creaking noises as the storm pulled at the hundred-year-old farmhouse, shaking the rafters, rattling the panes and howling through the chimney.
It’s over.
Relief seeped through his body and he exhaled in a huff. He let his sandpapery eyes adjust to the light from over the stove as he scanned the kitchen.
By the burned-out fireplace stood the well-polished mahogany rocking chair that had been his father’s. His mother sat in it; her graying head sagged to one side, chin on her shoulder as she slept. In her arms, cuddled tight against her, sat a little girl, her honey-blond hair pulled back in a braid, her pajamas flaming red against the dark blue nightgown his mother wore. Her bare little feet were tucked under her and his mother’s hand rested protectively on her legs. Even in sleep she was guarding her granddaughter like a lioness. That poor, fatherless girl.
Cade swallowed hard. He walked over quietly and recovered the paisley bedspread that had slipped down from the sleeping forms. Ma had brought it from her bedroom to create a cocoon for the little girl.
With a tender smile he covered them both, resting his finger a moment against the five-year-old’s cheek. She slept so peacefully now. Despite her fear of the ordeal outside, she had known she was in good hands here.
Rosie, settled between the rocking chair and the fireplace’s stone edge, looked up at him. She wanted to get to her feet, but he put his finger to his lips to indicate she had to be quiet, then added the hand gesture for her to lie back down. Her amber eyes followed him as he turned to the other seat by the fire, a big brown leather club chair. Gina had curled up in it like she used to do as a teen, her legs over one of the chair’s thick arms. The other twin lay sprawled across her, burying her little face in her mother’s warm neck.
Cade fetched a folded blanket from the sofa, unfurled it and tucked them in. He retrieved the stuffed bear that had slipped out of Stacey’s grasp and put it beside the little girl. To outsiders the twins were identical especially when they wore the same clothing, but he clearly saw little differences. Stacey had more of the Williams chin. Pa would have loved to hold these little darlings in his arms.
But he had never had the chance to see his grandchildren.
Grief slashed through Cade but he pulled back his shoulders and grabbed the boots he had kicked off. He had work to do.
“That’s your problem, Cade,” Shelby’s voice echoed in his head. “You always have work to do. You live for the ranch and there’s no room for anything else in your life. Not for hobbies or for trips with friends. Or for me. We can’t see each other that often because of my job in the city and when we can, you have some tree to trim or a cow is about to calve at a friend’s ranch and you have to help. You also got elected into some farmers’ collective or other, have a meeting to attend or a petition to organize to get the city council to address the dangerous traffic situation on Main Street. I used to like that you did all of these things, were so committed to helping your community, but...these days you’re there for everybody but me. I just can’t deal with being second best anymore.”
She had looked genuinely sad at her conclusion. It had been the reason for their breakup. Not falling in love with someone else, no betrayal, no big blowup. She hadn’t shouted her reasons at him in anger or with hot tears. No. It had been a well-thought-out, quiet acknowledgment that the ranch came first in his life and she couldn’t accept that.
He hadn’t been able to argue with her. In fact, he still didn’t know what he could have done to make their situation any different. This was his life. On a ranch the work simply never stopped. He couldn’t tell a harvest-ready crop that he’d be back after the weekend. Or a cow about to calve in the evening that she’d better do it in the daytime. And that traffic situation on Main Street had really been dangerous and the city council had just needed a bit of public pressure to finally do something about it. Yes, it took time to organize things, but...he liked to be involved and it kept him so busy he didn’t even miss socializing.
“Do you know the last time we attended a birthday party together?” Shelby had asked him. “Eight months ago. I dragged you there. Since then we’ve been invited out often enough, but you never have time to go.”
“If you love that sort of thing, you can go,” he had said. “I’d never stand in your way.”
“I know.” She had sighed. “You don’t mind me going alone, because you don’t want to go anyway. And you don’t miss me when I’m not around. You feel totally fine on your own.”
It had been true back then, and it still was. Weeks could go by without him seeing anyone socially and he didn’t miss it. After all, he talked to enough people at the farmers’ market and the meetings for the ranchers’ association where he was recently reelected as regional representative. People emailed and called all day about ranching issues that needed a spot on the agenda. It wasn’t like he was a recluse.
Doesn’t matter anyway, he told himself. With Gina and the kids here, there’s no room to think about things you want for yourself. It has to be about them now. Solving their problems, making them safe.
He walked into the hallway, picked his Stetson off the rack and pulled it over his eyes. It always felt good to be able to do something, put his pent-up energy into hard work with a clearly visible end result. It was a quarter to six. If he worked quickly, he might have the yard cleaned up before Ma and Gina woke up.
At the front door he froze. There was beautiful stained glass on either side of the tall oak door and the left panel was broken. It wasn’t a huge crack but it couldn’t be easily repaired. He’d need an expert for it. Another bill.
He opened the door and stepped outside, glancing down to detect what had hit and broken the glass. Something bright yellow lay on the tiles. The handle of a child’s shovel. Little Stacey loved to use her own tools to help him with the flowers. For a few carefree moments she could forget her daddy had died and her life was in turmoil. But if the storm had ruined the apple harvest and the flower fields, the safety that Cade longed to provide for those precious little girls would be at risk. Without money the debt collectors will come after them.
Even here.
Clenching the shattered shovel’s handle in his hand, he crossed the yard. Pink blooms from the hanging baskets were scattered everywhere like wedding confetti. The twins’ plastic tractor lay with its wheels in the air and his SUV had a gash on the side like an open wound. His eyes registered it and calculated the damages. But he had two main priorities: the animals and his orchards.
He entered the big wooden barn and walked around quickly. Cows and goats all there. Check. Chickens safely settled in their coop in the back. Check. Guinea pigs sleeping, only their noses sticking out from under the straw. Check.
Mollie and Millie, the rescue donkey pair, stood close together. They had had some trouble adjusting to their new surroundings and seemed to gain confidence from each other’s company. Or was it to avoid the water dripping from on high? Glancing up, Cade detected several dark spots among the rafters. There had to be water leaking into the hay loft. “I’ll be back with the toolbox soon,” he promised the donkeys, patting their soft noses. “But first a look at the trees.”
His heart racing, he rounded the largest barn to get to the entrance into the apple orchard. How bad would it be? The force of nature was awesome. Just a few years ago a strong November frost had killed one third of all their trees. Cade had been glad his father was no longer alive to see it. The family legacy had meant so much to him, protecting what his ancestors had built here, gradually expanding the orchards and adding flowers to their offer. The losses because of the cold had made Cade even more aware this was all his responsibility now. The farm, the family.
What if he couldn’t protect it?
The orange early morning light was kinder than the sharp midday glare would have been, but still he could see the damage clearly. His boots caught behind torn-off branches and slipped on wet clumps of moss. There were scattered leaves everywhere, loose ones and those still clinging to twigs. Immature apples littered the ground. A young tree had been uprooted, falling over and attaching itself to its neighbor as if desperately trying to stay upright. Its roots reached into the air like tentacles searching for a hold.
Cade sat on his haunches a moment, patting a root as if to reassure the tree. If the roots hadn’t been broken, he might try and put it back. “It will be alright,” he said in a low voice. “It will be alright.” But he knew that even if he did replant the tree, the chances were slim it would survive. Trees weren’t made to be broken.
Tears stung his eyes but he forced himself to his feet again and walked on. His heart hammered as he stepped over shattered branches, mini apples skidding away under his soles. If only their most precious tree was still standing... The oldest they had. It didn’t bear much fruit anymore. But it was a living memory of the way this ranch had started with his great-grandfather. It was the heart of the farm, of their family traditions. It stood for the past generations of Williamses, their resilience and their hope. If it had been destroyed...
There! Cade saw the tree in the warm morning light. It was still upright.
He exhaled with relief, his fists relaxing by his side.
But this breather lasted but a heartbeat. Something about the tree’s silhouette was off. Half of its left side had been torn away. The tree was unbalanced now. Come another storm, it would probably fall over anyway. Because it was no longer able to fight back.
Cade’s eyes burned as he stopped beneath it and looked up. This was the very spot where his father had died of a heart attack while working in the orchard. Death had swept him away, quickly. Doc Martins had said that he had probably not realized a thing, had died before his body had even hit the ground. It had been a small consolation. To think his father had at least not suffered.
But now Cade wondered if this was the place where their family hopes and dreams would die as well. There was so much damage, so much of their future harvest lost. How would they survive this year? How would they make money? It wasn’t just him and Ma having to live off the ranch. Gina too, and her twins.
And the unborn baby. Just three months and it would be born. The son Barry had longed to have. The child he’d never carry in his arms.
“Cade...”
He turned round in a jerk to see Gina standing in the wreckage. Her eyes were red rimmed, her cheeks blotched. She pulled the yellow raincoat she had hurriedly donned over her nightwear tighter around her. He had hoped she would stay inside to make breakfast for the girls. But here she was, seeing everything he hadn’t wanted her to see. She bit her lip before she spoke again. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
Despite her realistic assessment, he saw in her eyes that she craved his denial more than oxygen. His reassurance that it wasn’t over for them, in this place. After everything she had lost already—her husband, her home—she had to be terrified.
“No.” He said it through gritted teeth. “It just looks bad. Wait until I’ve cleared this mess away. The broken branches, the apples that didn’t...” Make it.
“Don’t fool me, Cade.” A tear ran down Gina’s cheek and hung on her chin, before dripping to the lapel of her raincoat. “This...” She gestured around them. “Means we have almost no harvest this year. The early and late varieties, all lost. Ma will say we’ll just have to be frugal. That we can economize. But how can we ever save money with those debts to pay off? The debts I brought along.” Her voice quivered.
Cade stood with his feet planted apart, his hands balled into fists. Gina had lost everything she had, her home, furniture, car, savings. All because Barry’s sudden death had revealed how much debt he had incurred to offer his family a good life. Several maxed out credit cards, loans... Not to mention the mortgage on their dream house.
The forced sale of the house and possessions had paid off most of the debts, but not all. Gina had to pay those soon or get into legal trouble. He had told her he’d help her deal with the debts this very summer as it made no sense letting them collect interest. But right now he had no idea how to make good on that promise. Their livelihood was about gone.
Gina stood shivering, her hands on her stomach in a protective gesture. “I can’t see how we can do this. If Pa was still alive...”
“If Pa was still alive,” Cade said with difficulty, “he would tell us that life goes on. And that if we just do what we always do—pick up the pieces and stand side by side. We’ll make it.”
He heard his father’s voice in his head as he spoke the words, saw that weathered face smile at him. For you, Pa. “Like we always have.”
“Oh, Cade...” Gina hugged his neck. He put his arms around her narrow shoulders and felt how they shook as she sobbed.
Every day she tried to put on a brave face for her children. She played games with them and baked cookies and told bedtime stories. He rarely saw her shed a tear. But now as he held her, and felt how the sighs racked her slender body, he knew she had been hiding her pain inside, fighting the battle by herself. Not to burden them. To be strong for them.
He knew what that was like.
“Hey, sis...” He hugged her tighter, leaned his cheek against hers. “We’ll make it. We always have. The twins and the baby need us.”
“That’s just it.” She swallowed hard. “It’s harder now for Ma and you because we’re here.”
“No.” He shook his head quickly. Gina should never feel like she made life difficult for them. As if her arrival was the final straw that would break them. Sure, it would be a challenge to get things organized financially, but he was up to it. “We love having you here. Please believe that.”
“But the debts...” Her voice broke on the final word. Owing people sizeable amounts of money represented a huge threat to her. Every morning when she woke up she had to feel that darkness hovering at the corners of her existence, waiting to close in.
“Listen to me now.” He took her gently by the shoulders and held her away from him, locking gazes. The tears in her eyes broke his heart but he wanted her to see the determination in his face as he renewed his promise to her. Here and now. “We’ll find a solution for the remaining debts somehow. You’ve already come so far. I won’t let you fall on the last hurdle, okay?”
Her lips wobbled but she nodded.
“You’re safe here.” He squeezed her shoulders. “I’ll never let you and the girls get uprooted again.”
Her phone rang. It had a Sesame Street ringtone the kids adored. Gina pulled it up and checked the screen. “It’s Lily.” Her blotched features lit in a smile. “When she said we’d stay in touch, I thought that it would be hard because she’s so busy with work. And you know how those things go when there are a lot of miles between you. Besides, she did so much after Barry died. She’s been amazing while she’s also grieving. Her brother gone, the pizzeria sold off...” Gina’s features tightened as she seemed to fight new tears.
When Barry and Gina had married, they had taken over the pizzeria owned by Barry’s parents. On the list of best restaurants in Saint Paul, Minnesota, it had been a very profitable business and soon Gina, who had been used to rather modest means on the ranch, had been living in grand style: surprise trips, her own brand-new car. She had helped in the restaurant and suggested many small changes to the interior decor. It had been a real communal undertaking for them. And after Gina had become pregnant with the twins and could do less work there, Lily had been asked to step in, temporarily. She had put her college education on hold to do it. Barry’s sister had been helping out with the restaurant since her teens. And she and Gina had soon become best of friends.
Cade shook off the annoyance that itched at the back of his brain whenever Barry’s family came up. It wasn’t that he didn’t like them, but they were just...so different. Big-city people who valued outward appearance, prestige. How else could they explain the fact that Barry had spent so much money that he didn’t actually have? He had borrowed it to finance the grand lifestyle, not thinking of the consequences. Someday this whole construction of loans and debts had been bound to come crashing down around his ears, burying his family in the rubble. How could he have ignored the danger, put them at risk?
It had been heartbreaking for Gina to learn in the weeks after her husband’s death how huge the financial problems truly were, and that Barry had kept it all from her. With the best intentions maybe, not to worry her, but Cade had also wondered if Barry had wanted to avoid being judged for his bad decisions. After all, as someone raised to be frugal and save before you spent money, Cade hadn’t really been able to understand why his brother-in-law had borrowed money in the first place.
Lily’s call revived the pain and the unanswered questions. With them came a sense of uneasiness, even potential...danger? Because he didn’t want Gina sucked back into the lifestyle she had been torn away from. She had to have a stable home now, she and the children.
Gina answered the call. “Lily! I’m so glad to hear your voice. I emailed you last week about meeting sometime but I hadn’t heard back so... Oh. How exciting... I’m fine and so are the girls. We just had a touch of bad weather last night... Oh, you know? Has it made the news in Denver?”
He heard a cheerful female voice chirp on the other end of the line. When Gina had moved in to the guest room and Cade had helped her unpack since she was bone weary from the trip, he had put her photos on the nightstand: four shots in a single silver frame. Barry and Gina’s big white wedding, the newborn twins in their crib, a picture of all four of them on the beach in Florida and a shot of Gina with her sister-in-law. It had taken him some time to register it was actually Lily. He remembered her as the wedding planner in the expensive dress who had made sure everything went down without a glitch. The venue had been top-notch; the flowers came from a prizewinning boutique. It had been way too much to his mind, but Gina had been over the moon with it all. Still, all Cade recalled from the day was how uncomfortable he had felt in his suit and tie and how Lily had directed everyone where to stand and how to carry themselves for the wedding photos. One remark she had made had inserted itself into his brain like a sliver of wood under skin: “It has to look just perfect.”
Yes, she probably had a life where everything had to be perfect, flawless, from her appearance to her social media pages. It was something he couldn’t relate to, at all.
But in this photo Lily was wearing torn overalls and her dirty hands suggested she wasn’t afraid to dig in. At his surprised question Gina had mentioned something about Lily having been a member of the volunteer squad that tended the communal garden. It had been Gina’s pet project: a freely accessible garden full of flowers and vegetables for the neighborhood to enjoy. A green haven in the concrete jungle of the city, for people to come and unwind, learn about growing your own food. The rescue pets had also found a loving home there. “I did tell you before about Lily’s help with the garden,” she had said with an exaggerated eye roll. “You never listen, do you? When it’s not about apples or dahlias, you just don’t care.”
It had been a playful remark, but it still stung. He realized as he stood here that he knew next to nothing about Lily. Had someone ever told him what she had majored in at college? What hobbies she had besides gardening? In his mind she had always remained the superstar wedding planner with demands on everyone for the sake of her social media likes, but perhaps he had misjudged her?
The wedding was seven years ago and people did change. After all, Lily had graciously taken time away from her own life to help out at the pizzeria, the very business that had recently been sold because of her brother’s irresponsible spending. Had she also discovered with a shock that Barry had risked everything? And how had she coped with suddenly being cut loose, free to start her life anew? She had only been supposed to help out at the pizzeria for a few months, but it had turned into almost six years. Conveniently sucked into the family business with no room for her own wishes? He had no idea. He simply didn’t know Lily at all.
Cade caught himself trying to hear what Lily was telling Gina. But it was impossible to make out much. Gina looked deep in conversation as they kept walking. “Of course you can come and visit,” she said. “Nothing changed about that.”
What? Cade’s mouth fell open. He had just heard Gina mention “meeting sometime” but he had no idea she had actually invited her sister-in-law for a visit to the ranch. Why would Lily want to come here? City people might idolize country life, the slower pace of things, and how authentic it all was, but in his experience they often had better things to do in their spare time than drive for hours into a remote area that was beautiful but wild. Although his ranch was situated on the way to the Rockies, there wasn’t a lot to do for tourists in this part of Boulder County and they only breezed by.
“Later today?” Gina asked.
Uh-oh. No way. He shook his head and made a cutoff gesture to indicate Gina had to think up an excuse to tell Lily no. It wasn’t possible to receive visitors now. Some other time.
Gina said, “I’d love to see you. But I have no idea if you can even get here with all the storm damage. There must be trees blocking roads and... Oh, really? You can see all that live online? I had no idea. I never check such things. Fine then. Around ten? Perfect. I can’t wait. Bye.” She disconnected and lowered the phone. Her red-rimmed eyes glowed with warmth. “Lily is already in the region. She wanted to surprise me by showing up today, but because she read about the storm online, she wanted to check in and make sure it was okay to come today.”
It isn’t.
“I had no idea you could follow traffic updates online. But Lily knows all those things. She’s so digitally savvy. She should be, it’s her job now.”
Aha. “What does she do then?”
“Marketing. I don’t know all the details, but she once told me it’s like when people want to launch a new product or give a business a boost, she helps them devise a campaign to convince customers to buy. She presents the perfect picture to get sales.”
Perfect picture, huh?
Gina was already rushing on. “Stacey and Ann will be so excited about this visit. They miss Lily so much. We did so many things together back in the city—baking cookies, tending to the communal garden, caring for the rescue pets. Lily also babysat the girls when Barry and I had a date night. They even asked when we were going out again so Auntie Lily could look after them.” She smiled, but her eyes also betrayed hurt at the bittersweet memories. “I know today isn’t the best time, but Lily’s visit will cheer up the girls after they’ve been so afraid of the storm. I just couldn’t tell her no. You do understand, don’t you?”
Cade sucked in air to give all the reasons why this was a bad idea. Not just because of the storm damage, but also because he didn’t want Lily near the girls. They were just settling in nicely, weren’t constantly asking about their old home or their friends anymore. He didn’t want Lily coming in for a day or two to rock the boat.
But he didn’t speak up. He couldn’t say anything about the girls missing their old life to Gina or she’d start crying again. The brief phone call had brought a positive change. She was suddenly smiling and looking forward to something. How could he not be happy when this unexpected visitor had the power to cheer up Gina and the twins? He’d keep a close eye on Lily to ensure she didn’t upset the girls with stories about the city and he could always take her aside and explain that they were trying to get the kids grounded again and she shouldn’t ruin it for them.
And the mess on the ranch? a small voice in the back of his head questioned.
Well, Lily would be driving out here through an area also affected by the storm so she’d be prepared to see damage.
Still, it hurt his pride a bit that he couldn’t show her the ranch at its best now that she had finally decided to visit. After Barry and Gina were married, they had barely come here for holidays. Barry had always had plans to take Gina away somewhere—skiing or yachting—or to go visit his parents who, after handing over the pizzeria, had invested in running a luxury holiday resort in the Florida Keys. He had been happy for Gina that she had such a wonderful life, but he had also secretly wondered if Thanksgiving or Christmas on the ranch had been too simple for Barry and his family. Lily had certainly never shown any interest. Not that she had to but... Now that she was coming, he felt sour that the ranch was in this state of disarray. It felt like he had to show off to impress her and how could he when a derecho had just swept over the land?
His boots were still caked in his ruined apples. There was a mile-long to-do list waiting for him. And most of all, he had poured everything he had into the ranch, everything he was. The damage to it felt like cracks in his own heart. He didn’t want anyone to see it this way. Let alone someone who was always hunting for picture-perfect.
