He continued, “She’s converting our old bunkhouse into a big cabin. And she has a petting zoo with all kinds of animals, even a pet skunk, and she’s going to offer hayrides.”
“Wow!” Caleb said. “I want to go to camp.”
“Me, too!” Ian exclaimed.
“Me, too!” little Jake mimicked the older boys.
“I guess Elise is right,” Brett said. “Your camps are going to make us a fortune.”
Trish chuckled. “And we didn’t even have to offer the rodeo riding classes.”
“What?” Caleb exclaimed. “Rodeo riding classes? Sign me up!”
“Me, too!” Ian exclaimed.
“Me, too!” Jake echoed.
Trish gave Brett a guilty look and shrugged. “Whoops…”
“Can’t imagine what the liability insurance will cost for that,” Brett muttered.
Trish laughed.
Sadie laughed, too. “Now, come back to the kitchen, you two. Trish needs to meet everyone else before the other guests arrive.”
“And she needs to get some chocolate chip cookies before Caleb eats them all,” Ian said. “Aunt Melanie said that when her babies were in her belly they really liked chocolate chip cookies.”
Trish was glad that she had Brett to hang on to as she met person after person and child after child. She would never remember all the names, but she would remember how kind and welcoming everyone was even though they’d never met her and must have heard about what she’d done in regards to her father’s will. But like Brett had assured her, they must have understood and didn’t judge her for any of the choices she’d made. The Haven family was more accepting of her than her own mother was.
Her heart warmed with appreciation for all of them. Then her partners from the Four Corners showed up, and her heart swelled with more love for them. They were all so kind and funny and special to her.
Frankie and Maci had always been her sisters, but now Liam and Blake were her brothers. And Elise was another sister and Lucy her niece. She had to make sure that nothing happened to the Four Corners because of her, because that was their home even more than it had ever been hers.
* * *
Bob wasn’t surprisedthat there was another party at Ranch Haven. His dad and stepmother loved throwing them. He was surprised, when he started wading through all the people in the house, to find Sue Lancaster among them. She’d dipped out onto the patio where he’d headed for relative peace from the chaos in the kitchen.
“Uh, hello, Sue,” he greeted her. “I didn’t know you knew Trish Dempsey.”
Sue shrugged. “I only met her once at the hospital. I’m not sure why I was invited. I guess it’s because I often watch Bailey Ann.”
Sadie’s grandson Dr. Collin Cassidy and his wife Genevieve had adopted Bailey Ann. The little girl had had a heart transplant not that long ago. “That’s sweet of you to watch her,” he said.
“She’s a sweet girl,” Sue said with a smile. That smile transformed her from the usually tense-looking older woman she was to the carefree teenager she’d once been.
He sucked in a breath at how lovely she was. “You haven’t changed a bit,” he murmured.
She touched her hair that was a silvery white instead of the pale blond it once had been. “I’ve changed a lot, Bob.” The tension was back in her face and body.
He sighed with disappointment. He knew that he’d messed up with her years ago, but he’d never figured out how. Or he just couldn’t remember after their last disastrous date because he couldn’t remember much about that date at all. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. He was sorry for whatever he’d done that had upset her. And he was even sorrier that she might have changed because of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Brett stuck closeto Trish to make sure that she wasn’t overwhelmed with all the people and noise like he usually was. Like his dad was. He’d seen him escape to the patio a short while ago.
That was where Brett usually went, too. But not today. Trish was meeting so many new people and he wanted to be there to support her. To answer any questions she might have and to make sure that nobody judged her.
But she kept looking around, and he felt that unfamiliar jab of jealousy again when he realized who she was looking for. “No sign of Stokes yet,” he mumbled.
