"What about him?" Sarah wasn't following his point.
"His whole family is here, and they're basically on the run. They ran the ranch just fine while we were at the gardens. Let him keep doing it. The ranch will be theirs without them buying it."
"Isn't that a little risky?" Vinia asked. "We barely know them."
"But Luke does. And he's a king. That has to give him points for something. And if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't. What's the worst that can happen? Even if they burned all the buildings down, we still have the land."
Vinia called Ezra and asked him to come to the kitchen while she still had Colton there. Sarah watched from the sink as she washed out her mug as Ezra entered.
Vinia pointed to a chair before she dove right in. "We are moving back to the Sacred Gardens."
Ezra smiled at her. "That's wonderful. I'm happy that all of the drama has passed."
"True," Colton responded, "but it leaves the ranch here empty. Well, except for your family."
"There are two other couples here, too. But they're just on vacation."
"Which is why we want to ask you and your siblings to take over the ranch."
"You mean run it without you?"
Vinia nodded. "Exactly. Treat it like it's your own. We won't interfere, except for maybe Joey, who will want to keep the rodeo here once it's up and running. But she can fly back and forth when the time comes."
Sarah sat at the table with Ezra. "I already asked Wren to take over the bakery. I know she's worried about Xandros finding her, but I don't think he'd come all the way to Colorado. You're safe here."
Ezra looked from one of them to the other. "This is amazing. We were just talking last night about our next move. We didn't want to outstay our welcome here. This is like a godsend."
"Then I'll take that as a yes," Vinia chuckled. "I'll have Danielle draw up the papers to make it all legal." She held up her hand. "I'm not selling it to you, I'm just renting it to you. You'll still have to make all the payments and utilities and keep it running."
"And take care of the horses," Colton added.
"And put up with the rodeo," Sarah finished with. "But that helps pay the bills, so it's a good thing."
After Ezra left to tell his family, Vinia looked at Sarah. "So, are we going shopping tomorrow?"
"For what?" Sarah shrugged, not understanding why her mother suddenly wanted to go shopping.
"A wedding dress. You need a wedding dress."
"Oh." Sarah's face heated up. She hadn't even thought about wedding details. All she cared about was being married to Luke.
"We'll leave early and head out. There are a couple boutiques that we can check."
Sarah rubbed her belly. "This should get us some funny looks."
"Who cares," Vinia stated as she kissed Sarah's hair. "We're moving away. Let them talk."
Joey ended up going with them the following morning while Danielle worked on the contracts for the ranch. Valerie was wrapping up the schooling for her kids before they moved, so the three of them set out.
Joey watched the campers fly by that were set up in the field for her rodeo performers. "I hope they don't mind that I won't actually be living here."
Sarah reached up and patted her arm. "I hope you don't think that you have to move because of me."
"Oh no," Joey protested with a wave of her hand, "I'm excited about moving. But you know how people get stuck in the rut of everything staying the same."
Vinia snorted. "I totally understand. But I have a good feeling that Ezra and his siblings will be perfectly capable of running the ranch."
The first bridal boutique they stopped at didn't have any dresses that would work with a baby belly. The lady smiled prettily, but it didn't break Sarah's heart that they had to go elsewhere. The second boutique was bigger, and the woman was extremely welcoming. She gently laid a hand on her belly.
