Chapter 2
RANSOM
Ransom stared across the moonlit field, convinced for a moment that he must be dreaming.
But the cold wind through his hair and the snow crunching under his boots told him that the sight before him was real.
He’d pictured Hailey Sinclair so many times over the years—not in that fancy get-up she wore on television, but just like this—her long, blonde hair loose and messy, just like all those years ago when they were teenagers in love.
She stared at him, unmoving, and it took him a second to figure out why.
“You’re still scared of dogs, aren’t you?” he asked.
She nodded her head almost imperceptibly.
“Okay,” he said, turning to the dogs. “Elsa, Anna, Olaf, barn.”
The three of them sprang into liquid motion, leaping and flying happily across the snow toward the old barn behind the A-frame.
The rest of the canines Ransom was training lived in that small barn with the attached paddock, which he had transformed into a neat and cozy space as part of his business. But Anna, Elsa, and Olaf were family pets and they normally lived in the house.
When he was satisfied that the dogs wouldn’t cause any more trouble, he glanced back at Hailey.
The fear in her eyes was gone, replaced by a familiar twinkle that transported him back to a time when things were very different between them.
“Anna, Elsa, and Olaf?” she asked, quirking an elegant brow.
“I let the kids name them,” he said, shrugging.
He didn’t mention that he’d done so out of desperation to give them something happy and solid when their mother took off the moment he arrived home.
“Your kids have good taste,” she told him. “I love that movie.”
“Me too,” he admitted. “And I’ve seen it enough times to be very sure how I feel about it.”
She laughed a real laugh this time, and his heart ached. There was a time when he would have done just about anything to hear that sound.
But I messed that up. And there’s no going back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, unable to think of any reasonable course of events that might lead to Hailey standing outside his house in the snow at night.
“I, um, was just moving into the cottage,” she said, pointing toward the trees. “And the power went out.”
“The cottage?” he echoed, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“I bought your parents’ old place,” she said, looking a little embarrassed. “I’ll be living in the cottage while I fix up the house. I didn’t know you lived right here.”
Ransom knew the place had finally sold. He just didn’t know who’d bought it until now. He would have liked to buy it back himself, but he was already in over his head with the dog training and the kids.
He’d expected to have more time for that. It was a big place and more expensive than most of what Radcliffe had on the market. He’d figured it would sit a while. It had been a surprise when the For Sale sign came down.
“Wow,” he said, nodding again and feeling kind of like one of those bobblehead dogs the kids always wanted for the car.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’m sorry to bother you. I just drove down from New York and I think I’m kind of out of it. I should have just called the power company instead of running over here.”
“No way,” he said quickly. “This is what neighbors are for. Why don’t you come on in and warm up? We can figure out what to do together.”
She blinked at him.
“Unless you don’t want to?” he said, lifting his hands. “No pressure.”
“I’d love to,” she said firmly.
But it was hard not to notice her nervous look.
She’s thinking about how stupid I was back then. She doesn’t want anything to do with me, and I don’t blame her.
“There aren’t any more, um, dogs inside, are there?” she asked.
“No,” he laughed, feeling relieved that it wasn’t him she was worried about. “There are no more dogs, at least not in the house. Come on.”
It was the most natural thing in the world to offer her his hand, and he had extended it to her before he realized it was happening.
What are you doing? You’re going to scare her off…
But she snatched it before he had a chance to take it back. It felt so good to have her hand back in his that he was almost breathless as he led her across the snowy meadow to the house.
“Who’s that?” Mae yelled from the front porch.
The six-year-old stood on the porch floor in her socks, though it was covered in a thin layer of snow. Her two ponytails were uneven and there was a generous amount of red sauce on her sweater and her right cheek, but to Ransom she was perfect, with her bright smile and her nice, loud voice.
“This is Hailey,” he told her. “She’s our new neighbor.”
But Mae only frowned at Hailey for some reason.
Travis scampered out in his socks too before Ransom could stop him.
“I know who you are,” Travis yelled. “You’re Jessica Sugar Bomb.”
“Yesssss!” Mae squealed, her frown disappearing and her eyes lighting up. “An explosion of sweetness!’
Ransom winced. He knew Hailey had been hoping to be a serious actress. It was bad enough that she’d spent basically her whole career on a soap opera. That cereal commercial was probably the last thing she wanted to have quoted at her.
But when he turned to apologize, she was smiling up at the kids.
“Welcome to the Sweet Zone,” she announced in Jessica Sugar Bomb’s commanding voice, letting go of Ransom’s hand to throw her arms wide, just like she did on TV.
Mae clapped her hands, her feet jogging in place as if she could hardly stand still.
“What are you doing here?” Travis asked Hailey, grinning at her.
“Well, I play Jessica Sugar Bomb on TV,” Hailey explained. “But in real life I just bought the farm next door, and the power went out. My name is Hailey.”
“I’m Travis,” his son said in a friendly way. “I’m seven. And that’s Mae, she’s six.”
“You’re not the real Jessica Sugar Bomb?” Mae said sadly.
“Jessica Sugar Bomb is made up,” Travis explained.
“She has awesome sugar powers,” Mae said softly.
“I loved getting to be Jessica Sugar Bomb,” Hailey told her. “The costume was so cool, and they even let me keep the belt. Maybe you can come over and try it on one day.”
“Okay,” Mae said, perking up a little.
“Hailey is going to get warmed up and maybe have some dinner with us,” Ransom told the kids, hoping she would agree to stay. It was fun to see them interact with her.
“We don’t have any Sugar Bombs,” Travis said worriedly.
“Dad says they’ll rot our teeth,” Mae added, dead honest as always.
“That’s okay,” Hailey told them, her eyes twinkling like they used to when she was trying not to laugh. “I only eat Sugar Bombs on special occasions.”
“Well, we have spaghetti and meatballs,” Mae said. “And I’m making garlic bread with my brother.”
“That sounds amazing,” Hailey groaned as she headed up the porch steps to join the kids. “Can I help too?”
“Yes,” Travis said. “You can sprinkle the garlic because Mae sometimes puts too much.”
That was generous. Mae always put way too much garlic on, and Ransom scraped most of it off. But Travis was always very sweet with his sister.
“Where are the dogs?” Travis asked suddenly.
“They’re in the barn,” Ransom said carefully, not wanting to embarrass Hailey. “I thought they might like to visit with the others.”
“The others?” Hailey echoed, looking around like they could be anywhere.
“Our daddy trains dogs to help people,” Mae said proudly. “We have twelve dogs, but three are just for us.”
“And four are puppies,” Travis added.
“And all of them are in the barn right now,” Ransom added quickly.
“After dinner we can visit them,” Travis told Hailey with a big, encouraging smile.
Ransom couldn’t help smiling himself. He hadn’t anticipated how much the kids would adore the new career he was starting for himself.
Travis especially loved the dogs, and was always eager to help with feedings, trainings, and even cleanup.
It had been a great way to break the ice between them when Ransom first got home.
Travis took Hailey’s hand and led her inside while Mae scampered ahead, her wet socks leaving funny little prints on the polished wood floor as she told Hailey about how Ransom had made the meatballs, with special emphasis on the part where he smushed the meat in his hands.
“It smells so good in here,” Hailey said when they reached the kitchen. “And I don’t remember the house being this cool.”
Ransom smiled. He was proud of all he had done so far to make the place feel homier.
And the kids had made Christmas decorations, so there were paper snowflakes hanging all over the place, and drawings of Santa and the manger scene, in addition to the cozy plaid blankets and throws he’d put on the sofas when the weather had turned cold.
The fireplace was crackling now, and the place was comfortable, but in the early mornings those blankets were more than decorative.
This will really feel like home to them soon…
“Come on,” Mae told her. “We have to finish our garlic bread.”
“Okay,” Hailey said. “You just tell me what to do and I’m on the job, as soon as I’ve washed my hands.”
Travis looked over at Ransom with his eyes big and Ransom almost laughed out loud. He was constantly reminding the kids to wash their hands after they’d been outside.
All three of them went over to the sink and suddenly the image of them together hit him hard in the chest.
How many times did I picture her as the mother of my children?
The thought was there and gone before he could stop himself and he ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he was ever going to get his head together. The last thing he wanted to do right now was dwell on the past, but it was easier said than done when his past was standing in his kitchen.
Life had gotten a whole lot more complicated for Ransom the day Hailey left for New York so long ago.