I heard him crying, so I rushed from the kitchen, leaving the fire low on the food I was making for lunch. A minute later, I was picking Makas up and rocking him gently, quieting him.“Is he hungry again?” Dan said from behind me. “I can feed him, if you’d like.”I glanced over my shoulder at him, giving him a smile.“It’s fine. You can head back to your office and I’ll take care of this. Lunch will be ready soon.”Dan shrugged. “I don’t have much left to do right now.” He pushed off the doorjamb, walking over to me with his arms held out. I passed Makas over to him, pouting. He smiled down at our baby, bigger now though no less fragile at one year and a few months old. “Working from home has a lot of perks. I can help you out when I’m bored.”I snorted. “As long as you’re actually working.”He shot me a grin. Makas had calmed down. He’d had plenty of time to get used to Dan and calmed down pretty quickly when it was Dan holding him. I would have been a little bit jealous, but I lov

I got up early to go to work, just like every other day. I knew it was different, though. I just didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t have time for breakfast, so I stopped by a café on the way for a coffee that would tide me over until it was time for lunch. Just like always.Once I arrived at work, though, it was obvious I couldn’t hide or ignore what had happened. My business was thriving, and that was all I wanted to think about. But it was hard to when the people that worked for me kept staring at me like they expected me to fall over.I ignored them the best I could. Even when they stopped talking every time I passed by. Even when several people asked me how I was doing too many times before lunch. I pushed it all away.Then, the call came.What does he want now?That was the thought in my mind when my phone rang, and I saw my grandpa’s name on the screen. He was perhaps the last person I expected or wanted, to hear from. He barely paid much attention to me, so after the surpr

I was on the road pretty late, but it was early morning when I got close to the ranch. I didn’t pay much attention to the scenery when it was dark, but now that it was daylight, I couldn’t help but look around.How long had it been since I’d been away from the chaos of the city? Out in the country, it wasn’t quite so crowded. There were large fields with the occasional house or building. I passed some small towns on the way before I got to the one closest to the ranch. It had been years since I was back, and in that time, my grandpa had been insisting I came back. He had been even more insistent about it more recently.I can't believe I’m going back, though.The last time I left, I’d been pretty sure I would be staying away for good.I slowed down the car as I came closer to the last place I wanted to be. If my place weren't so dangerous for the moment, I wouldn’t have gone to begin with. Now that I had, I couldn’t help but regret it. Like I knew something bad would happen on this tri

I got back home that same evening. I was so tired out from driving all over the place that the first thing I did was go to my bedroom and fall into bed. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had a very long, very restful sleep.When I woke up, I felt like a new man. Why couldn’t I go back to work just as usual? I had work to do. It was a business I’d strived for on my own, for years, without the help of my family. So what if my grandpa didn’t leave his ranch to me? I had enough to my name to feel good about going independent. And, either way, I still wouldn’t have taken it.I was probably not the person meant to have it, anyway.So, I went around getting ready. I hadn't woken up too late, and after an extra day of absence, I was in a hurry to get back into the swing of things. My life wouldn’t go back to normal if I just sat back and waited for it to, after all.I had some time for breakfast, and for the first time in a while, I made some. I had ingredients all over the ho

I was not meant to take care of a ranch.I’d always known, and it was one of the reasons I’d left to begin with. I was reminded of this when I tried to take care of the ranch after the funeral.There was a time when I’d had a try at it, so it wasn’t like I didn’t know. But, for several months, I’d changed that knowledge into what I could do for my business, not how to take care of a ranch. In a lot of ways, my business in the city had been easy, especially since I’d had some partners that helped with the bulk of the work.I had the ranch foreman to help out, but he was just another part-timer that had come in after I’d been gone, so most of the work still fell on me. I was starting to regret selling everything and coming down here so impulsively.Then, Rachel walked into the office one morning, hands fisted on her hips with a fierce, determined look on her face.“I’m going to help you, Jason, and you’re going to let me do it,” she declared, voice firm.It surprised me. Ever since our