She had worked hard to change the reputation of the De La Rosa family. Her daughters, niece and nephews were not going to grow up as laughingstock of the county like her and the boys.
She was proud of all her brother and cousins had overcome, and she was going to make sure the ranch stayed in the family and flourished.
That was a full-time job. The last time she’d allowed good looks and a charming smile to distract her with dreams of another life, it hadn’t ended well. Her hand lightly touched the mark along the side of her temple.
Unfortunately, she had the scars to prove it.
Just because he was nice to his mother-in-law and obviously loved his kids didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t interested. She wasn’t.
As the sun touched the land the next morning, Belle turned the horses out. She stood at the fence and watched them run. The air was fresh with wet earth, and the sky was clear. No sign of the storm.
She hadn’t ridden the southwest pastures in a while.
Fence day was on her schedule this morning. Starting her daily ritual, she patted the post next to her as she spoke to it. “Oh, Guardians of the Pastures, it’s time to visit your brothers-in-arms in a faraway land.”
She rolled her eyes at herself. Really, Izabella, you need more time with adults. This was what happened to someone who didn’t have time for people.
Selena might be right to worry about her holding conversations with objects. At least they weren’t answering back yet.
“Mom!” Cassie came running around the barn with her five-year-old sister and Frog, their Australian shepherd, close on her heels. That dog rarely left their sides. “We did our morning inside chores. Can we go to Cabin Two? We want to show Meg and Hannah the baby goats.”
Lucy nodded, her dark curls flying around her face. “And the chickens.”
Belle waved Lucy over to her and slipped the rubber band off her wrist and onto her daughter’s unruly hair. “It’s early and Meg and Hannah had a long night. Feed the chickens and gather the eggs. I’ll cook some breakfast and, before we feed the goats, I’ll call and see if they want to come over. They have a lot to deal with, so I’m not sure what their dad wants to do.”
Lucy pouted. Cassie’s shoulders slumped. “But they wanted to feed the baby goats and I told them they could help. They were super excited.”
Before she could say anything, her phone vibrated in her pocket. “Girls, I’m not arguing about this. The chickens are waiting for you.”
Heads down, they moved to the henhouse as if they’d lost their puppies. She shook her head. So dramatic.
Her phone vibrated again. It was Quinn. “Hi, Quinn. Sorry, I was distracted.”
“No problem. I assumed that running a ranch you’d be up already. The girls are driving me crazy saying that they’re supposed to help bottle-feed baby goats this morning. Do you know anything about this?”
She laughed. “We’re going to have to watch our girls very carefully. They’re plotters. Poor Jonah doesn’t have a chance. Cassie told me they’d asked to help feed the goats.”
He groaned. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to them about inviting themselves.”
“I’m pretty sure Cassie organized all of this. She has a knack. I know you have a lot to deal with today. Why don’t you bring them over to the house? In another hour I’ll have breakfast ready. You and Gina can join us. The kids can hang out with me today while you take care of the house.”
“Three extra kids? That’s a lot.”
“Nah. Around here, that’s the norm. Yours are all potty trained and can feed themselves. That’s a bonus. You remember Xavier? He has triplets. Two-year-old triplets. And my brother’s little girl is here all the time, too. She’s six. Yours will fit in fine, and if they don’t, I promise to call.”
“So, it’s okay if we come over?”
“Sure. In fact, I’ll be driving past your place, so I can pick you up—I have to drop some mail off to Damian.”
“Damian?”
“Yes. Another De La Rosa. We’re everywhere. Xavier’s younger brother. He lives in the farthest cabin.”
“Okay.”
With a slight shift in plans, Belle loaded the girls into the old Suburban, gathered the Sinclair clan and went by Damian’s. As usual, her cousin was sitting on the porch, looking as though he were on guard. His two Belgian Malinois sat on either side of him. She hadn’t even heard of the dog breed until he’d come back from the army with one. Now he had two. They were as silent and stoic as their master.
“Stay here. I’m going to give Damian his mail. He doesn’t like strangers.”
As she climbed out, she heard Lucy say, “He likes horses and dogs. He doesn’t like people at all.”
She shook her head. Were they making it worse, letting Damian hide from the world? Everyone was afraid to force the issue. He was safe out here. But was it enough? Would he ever be happy?
A few words, very few, and they were on their way to the barns. Once inside, she loved the sound of all the childish giggles as they took turns bottle-feeding the four goats. A local rancher had given them to her to hand-raise after their mother had abandoned them.
The morning flew by. Before she knew it, all the chores were done, and breakfast was eaten. As she made her way to the stables, Elijah joined her to help check the fences.
Jazz and her daughter, Rosie, were hanging out until after lunch. Then Jazz would be heading to town for a meeting.
The best part was that Gina had volunteered to watch the kids for the rest of the day. Her girls didn’t have grandparents of their own, so they were eating up the attention and already calling her Baba. She would be added to the list of adopted grandparents her girls were collecting. They craved family connections, and Belle was grateful that Xavier’s and Elijah’s in-laws accepted her daughters, too.
Out in the pastures with Elijah, she discovered that the storm had caused more damage than she’d predicted, and they didn’t get home until the sun was close to the western horizon. Horses put away, Elijah headed for his truck, and she went to the back porch. Gina was in a rocker, reading.
“Sorry. We’re later than I thought we’d be. Have you heard from Quinn?”
Looking over her glasses, she nodded. “My car is totaled, but the insurance company is being difficult. Everything in the kids’ rooms is a total loss.” She shook her head. “Every time I start thinking of all the little things we lost, I get overwhelmed, so I’m reading. We’re all safe and have a place to stay. Thank you for your help.”
“De nada. Reading’s a good strategy. It’s one of my favorites. Where are the kids? Are they inside?”
“They watched a movie, then asked to go out to the garden.” She pointed to the large area surrounded by the tall fence.
As Belle headed toward the garden, she planned out the next week in her head. She reflected that ranch work was hard, but it recharged her heart, mind and body. She reached the garden gate. “Cassie?”
No answer. “Lucy?”
She stood in the center of the garden and listened. Five kids should make some noise. “Cassie. Lucy. I’m tired and not in the mood for hide-and-seek.” They loved hiding in the garden. The walls of green bean runners and