Grandma snorted. “Lance, dear, you and I both know that’s never going to happen.”
“Exactly what I told him.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
Lance groaned a little. “Don’t really have one, other than to read the romance novel he prescribed. That’s my starting point, I guess.”
“Reading a romance novel, huh? Think you can find some inspiration for your own life between those pages?”
“What do you mean by that?” A single brow pitched to a point.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just that a beautiful woman you’ve always had eyes for is suddenly back in town. You’re babysitting her young daughter. Has all the trappings of a heartfelt novel, doesn’t it?”
Lance had his doubts.
But along with those doubts was a good dose of hope, and as it turned out, hope was the stronger of the two emotions when it came to his feelings for Sarah Hart.
CHAPTER 5
Two things startled Sarah about the text that appeared on her phone screen earlier that day. First, that it was from Josephine Major, and second, that it came at the ungodly hour of five-thirty in the morning.
She shouldn’t have been surprised, though. The woman was a true powerhouse, up before dawn to tackle the farm’s many chores. She was self-admittedly one of those “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” types of people, and Sarah couldn’t deny that her work ethic was admirable, even if unachievable for the average person.
All day, Sarah had been pondering the meaning behind the invitation to come by the ranch.
As she sorted and shelved books at the library, she couldn’t help but float into memories from her childhood visits to Snowdrift Stables. Sarah had never been what one might call a “horse girl.” She usually preferred to admire the majestic animals from a distance behind the safety of a secure fence.
But Lance had always liked them, and when he’d invited her along with a group of friends for an afterschool trail ride one chilly autumn day, she’d saddled up, despite the lump of fear lodged in her throat.
She’d been the oldest yet still the smallest of the bunch and was given the largest horse on the ranch as her steed. Big Buck, she recalled his name. He was a slow, arthritic guy, poking down the trail while the younger teens loped through the forest at breakneck speed. Before she knew it, Sarah had been left in their dust, literally. She’d almost collected her reins, pointed Big Buck’s nose in the direction of the barn, and headed for home.
But just as she was about to do so, Lance came trotting through the trees on his chestnut gelding, grin as wide as the brim on his borrowed cowboy hat.
“You two okay back here?” he’d asked. His eyes were the clearest, iciest blue, like their beloved Lake Pinewood when frozen over in the depths of winter.
“This horse only has one speed, and it’s in reverse.” Sarah could hear the hoots and hollers of Lance’s friends echoing throughout the wooded hills just beyond the ranch. He had flicked a quick look over his shoulder, registering their raucous cheers. She’d expected him to leave right then and there. To stick with his buddies and let Sarah and the world’s slowest horse fend for themselves.
But he hadn’t.
Lance had guided his quarter horse around toward Big Buck’s flank and rode beside her for the next two hours. Honestly, it could hardly be called riding. They plodded around the acreage at a pace as slow as molasses in winter. Lance’s horse would toss his head every once in a while, frustrated at the lack of speed, but Lance didn’t seem to mind.
They’d talked the entire time.Reallytalked. Not the sort of surface stuff Sarah had been accustomed to with Lance. Not like when he would come into the house after the boys had finished with practice and he’d catch her curled up in a big armchair, book cracked open. On those occasions, he would ask her what she was reading and leave it at that.
But this trail ride felt like an interview. A compatibility test, in a way. What did she want to be when she grew up? Where did she want to live? How many kids did she hope to have? If she could own anything—however outlandish—what would it be? Her answers came fast and decisive: a librarian, Snowdrift Summit, two, and a sleigh. She’d taken a ride on one as a young girl and it had been one of the most magical moments of her adolescent life. Each time she would deliver her reply, Lance would just nod, like he could fit himself into all of her answers. See himself in each of her dreams.
She’d enjoyed the ranch before, but she fell in love with it that day.
Even as a grown adult, Sarah couldn’t help but feel a sense of giddiness the moment the tires of her four-runner crossed the property line and entered the ranch. Laney was quietly snoozing in the rear seat even though she’d taken a long nap back at the cabin. Sarah could rarely transfer a still-sleeping Laney from her crib to her car seat without waking the little girl. But it had been a big day of shortbread making with Grandma and Grandpa, and Sarah had a sneaking suspicion her daughter had finally crashed from the sugar rush.
In any other scenario, she would have told her parents to go easy on the sweets, but she knew they meant well and that there was little harm in letting them spoil their granddaughter every once in a while.
She would have left Laney with them to continue napping if Nana Jo hadn’t asked for the toddler to come along. Plus, a piece of Sarah was excited to show her daughter the ranch that served as the backdrop to so many of her own childhood memories.
Even with the windows rolled up to shield against the winter chill, Sarah could hear the whinnies of the horses that chased her along the fence line, keeping pace with her car. It was a big, warm welcome, full of snow that kicked up from theirpummeling hooves and snorting, frosty breaths that suspended in the air like small clouds.
She knew it was only in her imagination, but as she drove past, she could almost swear she caught the faint scent of the hay barn—the fat bundles of orchard grass and alfalfa stacked high within its walls.
Sarah didn’t have this in Sacramento. Sure, there were ranches just a few cities over from the capitol, but none housed the nostalgia that the Snowdrift Stables evoked within her. She wanted Laney to grow up with her own beloved recollections of the farm, and it warmed her heart that it wasn’t just a possibility now, but a delightful reality.
