Page 88 of Married with Mayhem

17

SABRINA

Anni has a nice touch and a gift for weaving perfect French braids. I never turn down the chance for her to play with my hair.

“Sit still,” my sister warns. “Or the right side will be crooked.”

I touch my head and feel the outlines of two thick braids running down either side. Anni swats my hand away and I settle down on my belly with my chin propped on my hands to let her finish. I’m lying on the most chaotically colored quilt ever assembled from strips of scrap fabric. The sweet scent of grass tickles my nose and the cheerful landscape of Bright Hearts Ranch stretches out in front of me.

The ranch sits on a large piece of land just outside of town. The place belongs to Luca’s brother, Cale, and his wife, Sadie. A picturesque sanctuary for a variety of rescued animals ranging from dogs to goats to horses, I can’t imagine a happier place.

A popup canopy gives us some comfortable shade here on a grassy field between the house and the corral where the guys are working with the horses. When I look to my right, I see a fenced in yard where dogs of different shapes and sizes caper aroundmerrily. Nearby, Sadie does her best to keep up with eighteen-month-old Margaret, a carbon copy of her redhaired mother, as she toddles around with endless energy.

Beside me, Jane naps with her little body curled into a ball atop the quilt. She’s wearing a ‘Future Gamer’ pink onesie, a gift from me.

“Mama should have come with us,” I say as Anni’s deft fingers move rapidly through my hair.

“She’s cleaning my house,” Anni says and ties off the braid tail with an elastic band. “She insisted.”

Anni finishes her work and stretches out on Jane’s other side. Her hand briefly cups the back of Jane’s head and a small smile animates the baby’s sleeping face at the feel of her mother’s loving touch.

“Janie,” I whisper into the shell of a tiny pink ear. “You are the most loved little girl in the world.”

My sister smiles at me and then turns her attention to the scene in the corral. A spirited argument has broken out between Luca and Cale Connelly.

“Are they really fighting?” I ask because all that gesturing and shoving between two imposing men looks a little rough.

“Sort of,” Anni says cheerfully. “Luca enjoys using his verbal gifts to provoke his big brother. Seems like he succeeded this time.”

Cale Connelly, who used to be one of the most feared mafia hitmen in New York, seizes his younger brother in a headlock. He grins while he messes up Luca’s hair.

Luca, no slouch when it comes to strength, struggles his way free and circles his brother like a furious tiger. Cale laughs at him.

But now they’ve attracted more attention. Peggy is the petite no-nonsense caretaker of Bright Hearts Ranch and emerges from the tiny apartment adjoining the main house. She stopsafter a few strides and yells at the Connelly brothers for being ‘horrible, rowdy boys’.

“Sorry, Peggy,” they say in unison.

She crosses her arms and scowls. Strands of her white hair dance in the light breeze and she turns her sharp eyes elsewhere. Anni waves at her. Next, Peggy’s gaze drills into me so I reach for a square of the cinnamon cake sitting on a plate. When I arrived, Peggy accused me of being too skinny and ordered me to eat cake. I’m not skinny, but I’ll happily eat cake.

Satisfied that people have stopped fighting and started eating, Peggy marches back to her kitchen. I confess to feeling slightly relieved. Peggy is a little intimidating.

A rhythmic sound catches my attention and my eyes lock onto the sight of Monte riding a large brown horse. They are moving fast until he pulls on the reigns and slows the horse to a quick trot.

I swallow the last bite of cinnamon cake and lean on my elbows, eagerly devouring the view.

Monte is not exactly a typical cowboy. He wears a Yankees baseball cap and sneakers. But he sure does a mighty fine job of sitting atop that horse and calling the shots.

He’s moving at a slow walk now and Cale holds the gate open for his return to the corral. Monte pauses just inside the corral and says something to Cale, who nods. Monte pats the horse on the neck and then shows off his athletic skills by casually jumping out of the saddle, landing neatly on his feet in the dirt.

I’m so busy ogling Monte that I fail to notice Luca’s arrival until he plops down on the blanket beside Anni.

“How are my girls?” He gently places a big hand on Jane’s back and then shifts closer to Anni.

She sits up and her husband immediately starts using her lap as a pillow. Not that my sister appears to mind. She runs herfingers through his hair and watches Monte walk the horse back to the barn.

“I wouldn’t have expected Monte Castelli to be a horse whisperer,” Anni says.

I’m disappointed when Monte vanishes into the barn and I no longer have something nice to look at. “He’s mentioned spending time at his cousins’ ranch. He joked that horseback riding was mandatory.”

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