Page 13 of Sean

“I got the room ready early this morning when Joe told me you all were coming,” Kelly explained. “Bathroom is through here.” She swung the door open to show the kids. “And there are some toys in the basket that you’re welcome to play with.”

“Thank you. This is great.” Julia was filled with gratitude as she surveyed the room.

“You’re down the hall. Come with me.” Kelly moved toward the door just as Emmy popped her head in.

“Hey, I thought I’d take the kids to the barns and introduce them to some of the horses,” Emmy said. “Okay with you?”

“Um…” Julia caught the excited, hopeful look on Lucy’s face. “Sure. They’d love that.”

“Great. Let’s go.” Emmy held out her hands. The kids ran toward her and peppered her with questions about the horses before they even got out the door.

“They’ll be okay,” Kelly said. “You’re all safe here.” Sean’s mother was watching her closely. Julia didn’t know how much the other woman knew about her situation, but she appreciated the sympathy all the same.

“Right, of course.” Julia found a small smile.

“It’s the hardest thing in the world to protect family because you always feel like you’re not doing enough.”

“Families are complicated,” Julia agreed.

Kelly snorted and waved to Julia to follow her. “Tell me about it. Lord knows, our family has had its share of troubles—past and present. This is actually the first time Sean has been back to the ranch since JP’s death.”

“He mentioned that he’d lost a sibling,” Julia said, not wanting to pry into their business.

“Four years ago. JP died in a SEAL training accident. He was twenty-one, but he was still such a kid in a lot of ways—my sunshine boy. He and Emmy were twins, always up to some kind of mischief. They were a boatload of trouble together, but oh, how they made me laugh.” Kelly’s voice took on a sadder, more wistful note. “Sean, on the other hand, was born serious. He always took everything so much to heart, even when he was just a little tyke. It’s led to some conflicts with his father. After the accident, that all got worse. Hence, the tension at breakfast.”

“What about Tara?” Julia asked. Sean’s older sister had a definite edge to her.

“She wants her brother back, desperately, but there’s a lot of talk that needs to happen first.” Kelly opened a door two down from the kids’ room. “Will this be okay for you? It was my great grandma’s room when I was a child. Then, my mother’s until she passed. I’ve always loved it.”

“It’s so nice.” The walls were lilac with crisp white trim, decorated with botanical prints. The bedspread was white eyelet, and a plush in green velvet chair sat near the window in the morning sunshine.

“Bathroom through there. Extra towels are in the linen closet in the hall.”

“Thank you.” Julia felt a little overwhelmed by the generosity shown to her. She’d been making do on her own for so long. “Your hospitality means so much to us.”

“You’ve had a rough time.” Kelly’s sympathetic tone invited confidences, but there was only so much Julia was willing to say. It was safer for Kelly if she didn’t know the whole story. But there was a little she was willing to share.

“We have,” she admitted. “My sister, the kids’ mom, died two years ago. Car accident. I’ve tried hard to be there for them, to protect them. But with this whole mess…”

“I’m glad Sean was there for you.” Kelly didn’t press for more than that, which was good because Julia didn’t know what to say next. “Take all the time you need to get settled in.”

“I can unpack later,” Julia said. “I’m going to head to the barn and help Emmy with the kids. They can be a handful.”

“She’s used to managing kids, but you probably want to get acquainted with the ranch.” Kelly seemed to sense that Julia needed reassurance. “We board horses, so owners are in and out, and we have five hands, but we know them all well. No one will be letting any strangers onto the property. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Julia thanked Kelly again and made her way outdoors. There were three barns, one larger than the other two, that sat around a central area. Two horses were tied off to posts there and being hosed off. Lucy and Amos were standing on either side of Emmy, watching in complete fascination as the ranch hand worked.

Julia stepped up to join them but let Emmy continue to take the lead as she guided them through the barns, introducing them to various horses and letting the kids feed carrots to some. Amos was happy when a gray horse took a treat from him, but Lucy was ecstatic the entire time, asking questions and smiling wider than Julia had seen in ages, making Julia’s hands itch for her camera. Of all the perfect places to land for her niece. Julia felt a little more of the burden she’d been carrying around for months lift. She didn’t feel completely safe—that wouldn’t happen until Wilson was behind bars—but she felt protected.

After spending the entire morning in the barns, Julia persuaded the kids to go in the house and get cleaned up. She got them both through the shower and unpacked and was heading for the kitchen to make them lunch when she ran into Kelly in the hall.

“Can you do me a favor?” Kelly asked. “I need someone to run lunch to Sean. He went out to fix the fence in the south pasture.”

Julia had seen him get into an old truck and drive away from the barns earlier. They’d exchanged a quick wave. “Sure, let me get the kids something, and then I’ll take food to him.”

“I can handle lunch for the kids,” Kelly said, “and Sean’s is ready to go. There’s enough for two. You can take the Gator that’s parked just outside the door. Do you know how to drive one?”

“I do.” She’d used one on a ranch in Wyoming that had hired her to take photographs for their website.

---