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Jake suddenly thought of his mother. She had gone the opposite route. How could he say which of them was right? “She and Emma are all alone in that apartment.” He didn’t like the idea of that.
“Liv and I asked her to stay at the farm,” Jesse said.
“Did she agree?”
Jesse nodded. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this, but she’s filed for divorce.”
Jake had so much anger toward Troy, yet he could almost have kissed him, now. His own behavior had driven Hannah to take that final step.
Jesse jumped out of the truck. “In the meantime, you should take Hannah on a horseback ride. Take her to that spot, right over there.”
Jesse pointed to a rolling hill that swelled upward to a peak. He had been there a few times, and understood why Jesse suggested it. It was probably the most beautiful spot in Minnesota. But there was a problem. “I don’t have a horse.”
“Can’t be a rancher without at least one horse on the property,” Jesse teased.
Jake’s ranch didn’t have anything like as much wild pasture as the Gunderson ranch, where a horse would be more practical to traverse some of the terrain. His ATV seemed to be all he needed.
“I’ve only ridden a few times,” Jake confessed.
“That’s gotta change.” Jesse shook his head. “Something about that spot makes women swoon.”
“Swoon?” Jake laughed.
“You know, Emma likes to ride.”
How did the old country song go? His dog… well, pig… his horse, and his girl. Was Hannah really going to be his girl? He shook his head, feeling like a teenager again. He liked it, though. When was the last time he’d felt this happy?
A long, long time.
* * *
The apartment above the barn had one bedroom with a set of French doors, a kitchen along the back wall, and a sliding glass door leading out to a tiny balcony. Hannah remembered when she’d first moved in as a teenager. She’d thought she hit the jackpot with her own balcony. She’d imagined putting out flowers in pretty clay pots, setting up a couple of chairs and a table, maybe even growing herbs or something in the summer.
Troy had hated the apartment. He didn’t like the “witches” watching over him. He felt too far away from his friends. He wanted to be in town. He didn’t like living above the smelly animals.
Now, Hannah felt an excitement she hadn’t felt back then. She looked out at the balcony. There was a table with a couple of chairs and a tiny umbrella. A flower box with three clay pots hung on the rail, ready for planting. She could look out over the fields, see the rows of green crops curling around the rolling hills toward the creek.
It was a dream come true.
“Hey, Jesse’s back,” Olivia called. “Want to go and grab some of your things?”
Hannah put her hands on her hips and nodded firmly. “Yes, let’s go right now.”
When they walked out to the driveway, she saw Jake standing next to Jesse. He removed his hat when he saw the two women approach.
“Jake?”
“I heard you were moving and might need some help?” he half-asked, wringing his hat in his hands.
“That’d be great.”
Olivia grinned, then winked at Jesse as she headed to the truck, pulling Jesse by his sleeve. The kids came running out from the barn.
“Emma, go grab your school bag,” she ordered. She looked down at her feet, making sure they were still on the ground, because she could have sworn she was floating. “I’ll meet you guys at my apartment.”
She hurried to her car, hoping Emma wouldn’t dillydally. She wanted to get back to the apartment quickly, to make sure she hadn’t left underwear lying around, or anything else that Jake didn’t need to see.
When she pulled up, the truck didn’t register at first, but then Emma said, “What’s dad doing here?”
