The Cowboy's Homecoming. Carolyne Aarsen

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      John with his blond hair and chiseled features was the perfect match for his sister, Heather, a stunning former model who was always looking picture-perfect.

      “I know you’ll have a hard time finding someone as glamorous as my future wife,” John returned with a laugh as he let his arm rest across Heather’s shoulders. “But I have faith in you. You never seemed to have any trouble in high school getting the girls.”

      Unbidden came a picture of Abby with her pretty auburn hair and her sprinkling of freckles.

      He shook his head as if to rid himself of the notion, getting up to take one of the bowls his sister Keira was carrying into the dining room. He sniffed as he put it on the table. “Ginger-glazed carrots. You read my mind. These from the garden?”

      “You bet,” Keira said, setting a bowl of baby potatoes beside it. “We might have been premature picking them, though. None of them are very big.”

      “I’ll say,” Tanner put in, pulling a chair out for his future wife. His dark hair, brown eyes and dark eyebrows gave him a hard look, but Lee knew the former bronc rider was a softie when it came to his sister. He also knew Tanner was the complete opposite of his deceased brother, David Fortier, Lee’s former friend. “We had to dig up a quarter of a row of carrots and four potato plants before we got enough for supper.”

      “It’ll be worth it,” Keira said, brushing her blond locks off her face. Her green eyes sparkled with humor as she sat down beside Tanner, flashing him a loving smile.

      “I’ll say it was. This looks and smells amazing,” Lee raved, his stomach growling.

      He hadn’t eaten since that single granola bar he’d grabbed at a gas station on his way up here. A combination of nerves and excitement at coming home had made it hard for him to eat. And after he’d met Abby Newton, any appetite he might have had faded away. Her veiled antagonism stuck in his throat, and he still cringed at the memory. He knew he would be facing the shadows of the past coming back to the ranch, but he didn’t think those shadows would take the form of actually encountering Abby so soon.

      “So, where’s Adana?” he asked, finally realizing that John’s daughter wasn’t with them.

      “She’s with Sandy’s parents,” John said. “They wanted to take her to put some flowers on Sandy’s grave.”

      “That’s pretty heavy for a two-year-old to deal with,” Lee remarked.

      John shrugged. “Sandy was their only daughter. They don’t want Adana to forget her.”

      Silence followed that pronouncement. John had been married to Sandy for two years before she died giving birth to Adana. Sandy’s parents still lived in Saddlebank and, from what Lee understood, took care of Adana from time to time.

      “And that’s only right,” Ellen said finally. “I like to think my children would remember me if something happened.”

      “Something already did,” Monty said, referring to the break in her neck Ellen had suffered over half a year ago. “And thank the good Lord you made it through that.”

      Guilt suffused Lee at the thought that his mother had gone through all that pain while he stayed away.

      “And thank the good Lord that the brace came off in time for Keira’s wedding,” Ellen said brightly. “I would have a hard time finding a mother of the bride outfit wearing that silly thing.”

      “You’d look good no matter what you wore,” Monty murmured, patting her on the arm.

      Lee couldn’t stop a tinge of envy at his family’s obvious happiness. Though he knew both his sisters had had their trials in the past, they had overcome them and had found happiness and someone who loved and accepted them exactly as they were.

      He hadn’t had the same experience. Abby had been the last woman he was serious about. Then it was prison and after that, trying to find work. He had tried dating but couldn’t seem to connect with anyone who he wanted to spend time with. Of course, once any decent woman heard about his prison term, she seemed to back off.

      “I think we can get started,” Monty said. “Like you said, Ellen, we are richly blessed. A wedding coming up next week, the anniversary celebrations and all our children home.”

      Then he bowed his head and thanked the Lord for the food, for their family and the many blessings they’d received over the years. He prayed for strength and for wisdom and thanked the Lord for his sacrificial love.

      When he said amen, Lee kept his head bent a moment longer, letting the prayer soak into his weary soul. The offshore drilling rig work he’d been doing—camp jobs and being on the road for weeks at a time—didn’t allow for much faith community. And he truly missed being a part of a robust spiritual life.

      He lifted his head to catch his father looking at him, a pensive expression on his face as if he guessed where Lee’s mind had been wandering. Then his sisters started chatting, people started passing bowls and plates and he was drawn into the give and take of family conversation and dinner around the Bannister table.

      For the first few moments, Lee was more spectator than participant. Other than the two years she’d worked in Seattle, Keira had stayed at Refuge Ranch working with their father, Monty, at his leather-working business, expanding it and putting her own mark on it. Heather had returned this spring and was settling into her work, teaching barrel-racing clinics. John had bought in to the ranch, and he and Heather were making plans to build an arena so she could train horses right on the ranch. Their lives were entwined with the daily rhythm of ranch life.

      Lee envied them the peace that suffused their lives. But he had grown up on the ranch as well, understood the language and the way of life, so he was soon drawn into the conversation as the topics moved to pasture management, maximizing profits and alternative feeding methods.

      An hour later, after dessert and coffee, Lee sat back in his chair, replete.

      “I haven’t been this stuffed in a long time,” he said, rubbing his stomach. “I’m sure I gained six pounds tonight.”

      “Three helpings of apple pie probably didn’t help,” Keira teased.

      “That’s the best apple pie I’ve had since I left here,” Lee said with a groan.

      “Guess we’ll have to add apple pie to the wedding menu.” Tanner grinned at Keira. “Cheesecake and trifle might not be enough for your brother.”

      Everyone laughed at that, and Lee was about to make a rebuttal when the phone rang.

      Monty got up to answer and Heather started clearing the table. Lee stood to help her and as they passed Monty, who was still talking on the phone, his father shot Lee a troubled glance.

      “Well, if that’s the way it’s gotta go, doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it,” Monty said, scratching his forehead with one finger. He said goodbye and then set the phone back in its cradle.

      “What was that about?” Lee asked as he set the plates by the dishwasher.

      “That was the editor of the magazine doing the piece on the ranch.” Monty crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter behind him. “Apparently the СКАЧАТЬ