Page 3 of Daddy's Little Farmer

“It was nice meeting you,” the girls said.

“I hope I’ll see you again,” Mara said. She grabbed onto the horse’s halter. “Come on, Charlie.”

Rafael watched her lead the horse back into the paddock.

“Let’s get you all back to the airport,” Tony said.

The group settled into the limo. Rafael looked back at the farm, more disturbed than he thought he should be for a woman he didn’t know.

“Tell me about her story,” Rafael said abruptly, ignoring his friend’s chuckles.

The older man wiped a hand down his face in frustration. “I was best friends with Mara’s father and promised him I’d care for her after he died. She lived with her mother and sister, who are bitches with a capital B.” Tony looked at the girls. “Excuse my language, ladies.”

They giggled.

“Mara has always been a sweet girl, and she has difficulty standing up for herself or saying no to people. A guy named Joseph Coleman got her to marry him by a judge before I heard about it. He was in his late forties and married her to care for him and his mother, who was also a B and terminally ill. She spent the first two years doing everything, from taking care of his bedridden mother, to the house, caring for him, and even most of the farm because he worked at the bank in town. She wouldn’t let me help her get a divorce. I would have said her living anyplace was better than her own home, but I was wrong. Her husband’s place was abusive.”

“Why didn’t the authorities get involved?” Darian asked.

“They tried, but she always denied it.”

“Why?” Aleena asked.

“I think part of it was she had nowhere else to go besides her mother’s. I tried to get her to move in with my wife and me, but she wouldn’t do that either. Her mother-in-law died about two years after she moved there, and then her husband died in a car accident about seven months later. Neither had a will or other relatives, so the farm and everything went to her.”

Tony shook his head. “I thought she’d finally find some peace. I thought she’d get rid of the animals, and she did for the most part, but then she started bringing abused or injured ones home. Add to that, a realtor started harassing her to sell because he knew he could make a lot of money from it. People around the area are always looking for acreages and will pay good money for them.”

“Jesus, that poor girl,” Kaleb said.

“That’s not the end of it. Mara’s sister, Judith, thinks she should sell it and give her half the money.”

“Why?” Darian asked.

“Who knows the woman’s reasoning, but Mara has held strong so far. I think that has to do with the animals. I’m trying to help as much as possible, but she sometimes makes it hard.”

Rafael had so many ideas racing through his brain, but he needed some time to think about them.

“I feel so bad for her,” Larkin said, looking up at Darian. “Isn’t there anything we can do, Daddy?”

Darian nodded.

Rafael cleared his throat. “I’ll take care of it.” He ignored the smirks on his friends’ faces. He turned to Tony. “Give me a few days, and I’ll get back to you.”

“I’ll take any help I can get. The woman is as sweet as can be but as stubborn as her donkey.”

The group shook hands with Tony, got settled in the private plane, and took off. Rafael watched the girls get settled in the back, where there was a table they used for playing cards.

“What are you thinking of doing?” Gage asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you think you’ll take her as your own?” Kaleb asked.

“I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. I don’t want to jump into anything that might hurt either of us.”

“Well, if you don’t want her, I’ve got several men I’d like her to meet. Every one of them would love to have a woman like her,” Darian said.

Rafael nodded. He was confused at the anger that built in him over the idea of another man touching her. “I’ll get back to you.” He didn’t like that he was already possessive of her and needed answers to some of his questions before deciding.

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