Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“I’m so glad I came home with you this Christmas.”
He chuckled. “Me too!”
“We’d better get in there and help clean up.”
Lacing his fingers in mine, we walked hand in hand to the kitchen where we were immediately put to work.
Ladd
The arena in the barn was full of noise and activity. The older kids from the haven arrived before it was time to open gifts, and I wasn’t sure how my mother and grandmother managed to pull this off, making everything run as smoothly as it did. But the kids were having a fantastic time, and it all flowed efficiently.
I glanced around and saw Vivianne with the same little girl she’d spent time with earlier that morning at breakfast. Her name was Logan, and the way she smiled at Vivianne left my heart feeling as if it had doubled in size in my chest.
“She fits in perfectly,” my father said as he walked up next to me. “She’s wonderful with the kids.”
Smiling, I nodded. “She is.”
“She’ll make a wonderful teacher, if that’s what she decides she wants to do.”
“Also a wonderful mother.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “Boys, I hope. I’ll need them for the ranch.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Because the four you have aren’t enough.”
My father shrugged. “You’ll have the store, and Jason will be off chasing a dream to play football. He wants nothing to do with the ranch.”
I turned and looked at my father. “You know I love this ranch, Dad. I’m not leaving it, and I’ll very much be a part of it.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a slight shake. “I know you will be, Ladd. I don’t begrudge any of my kids for following their dreams.”
“What if we have girls?”
It was his turn to laugh. “Have you seen your mother and grandmother on a horse? They can round up the cattle better than Derek or any of the other ranch hands.”
“That’s true. And give it time, I’m sure we’ll have Viv out there as well.”
A wide grin appeared on his face. “She reminds me so much of your mother.” He paused before adding, “You know, I met her father once.”
Stunned, I drew my head back. “When?”
“Through a mutual friend of ours. He grew up in River Falls and invited me to his wedding. Came from money, was an only child, and his father was also in politics. The mayor of a small town near Colorado Springs. But Don Pennington wasn’t a nice guy. Thought he was above everyone and everything, even tried to overshadow our friends’ wedding. He bragged about becoming a lawyer and then a senator. Had dreams of becoming president, from what I remember.”
“Did you ever see him after the wedding?”
He shook his head. “No, but our mutual friend, his name was Ron, said no one could stand the guy in college. Said he looked down on everyone and felt like he should have gone to Harvard or some other fancy college like that. I have a hard time believing Vivianne is his daughter. She has such a caring heart.”
“Did Mom tell you anything about their conversation?”
“Yes, she did. Don’t worry, I won’t speak about it to anyone.”
“Never crossed my mind you would.”
He drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “Honestly, Ladd, I’m not surprised he’d treat her the way he did. From what I’ve read about the guy, he was focused only on making a career for himself. The stupid idiot obviously has no idea what a wonderful daughter he has, how she could add so much more value to his brand…if that’s what they call it.”
“Maybe he does, but it just doesn’t matter to him.”
My dad looked at me, then back to the arena. “Well, his loss is our gain.”
“Sure as hell is.”
He clapped my back. “Come on, we need to get out there. Your mother wants to bring in a few horses for the kids to have a chance to ride around the arena.”
“I was wondering why we kept that half open. Do you know which horses she wants? I can get David and Mike to help me saddle them up.”
“No need, Derek and a few of the guys volunteered to help out today with the horses.”
That didn’t surprise me in the least bit. The ranch hands were invited every Christmas to join us, but always politely declined. I never asked my father why none of them ever went to go visit their own families. Once, he’d told me the life of a cowboy could be a very lonely one, and I had a feeling he’d been talking about our ranch hands.
“I’ll go see if they need help anyway.”
He winked. “Thanks, son. I’m going to go see what your mother needs from me.”
I made my way through the arena and to the stables, where Derek, Leo, John, David, and Mike were helping saddle up a few horses.