Chapter 5 Ransom
RANSOM
Ransom gathered ingredients from the fridge and cabinets for lasagna, glad to have something to do with his hands while his heart and mind reeled over Hailey Sinclair.
The radio was keeping him company—one of the local children’s choirs sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and the sound was cheerful enough that he figured it ought to take the edge off his worries.
The truth was, he hadn’t really had time to settle himself into the idea of being home yet, let alone being the most important person in Travis and Mae’s world.
Willow being home should have made him feel overjoyed, but instead it only made him feel nervous about how strained their relationship was now.
Of course Jensen Webb had been home for a couple of years already, so Ransom knew that he was bound to bump into his former best friend at some point. He wasn’t sure how that would go.
And now on top of it all, here was Hailey Sinclair, with her big blue eyes and her shy smile, making him feel like his heart was too big for his chest.
I disappointed her once, he reminded himself. It’s not like she’s going to give me a second chance.
But as much as he told himself he was only helping her to try and right his past wrongs, there was still a tenacious thread of hope in his heart that maybe she would see past the stupid way he’d handled things when he was a kid.
And that was a bad idea.
First of all, because he was still settling in here—in the house, with the kids, as a civilian.
And secondly, because he was pretty sure she wasn’t going to stick around.
Now that the news of her not being on Ridley Hospital anymore was public, he was sure that her agent would be calling in a day or two, offering her some amazing opportunity, maybe even the chance to play a role that would really let her show off her skills.
And Ransom didn’t want to get in her way this time any more than he had last time. Not that she would stick around for him now anyway. What woman in her right mind would trade in stardom for a country life with the man who broke her heart?
On the radio, a choir finished up “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and another group started “O Come All Ye Faithful” as he finished chopping up onions and peppers and threw them in the pan with some olive oil, and he found himself thinking again about Willow.
Making Mom’s famous lasagna always reminded him of his sister.
Hailey kind of had a point. He had made sacrifices for Willow, but that was as it should be, how all older siblings should behave, wasn’t it?
He never expected her to fall all over herself trying to thank him or anything like that.
He just wanted her to know that he had her back, that she could trust him to have her best interests in mind, and her deciding to enlist against his advice felt like the opposite of that.
There was a knock at the front door just as the onions began to sizzle and squeal. He glanced in that direction, but didn’t want to step away from the stove with the food cooking.
“Come in,” he called out, bracing himself.
He had no idea if Willow would be glad to see him, or if she would immediately start yelling at him. But he expected that she would just be polite and distant, like she had been every time they talked over the past few years, and that was even worse.
The door opened slowly, and his baby sister slipped inside. She looked really good—strong and happy. Her hair was long and down around her shoulders and she was carrying a big paper bag.
Suddenly, he didn’t know what to say.
“Wow,” Willow said with a smile. “The place looks really nice.”
“Come on in,” he told her, wishing he hadn’t just started cooking, but also kind of glad for the distraction. “I’m right in the middle of this.”
“Lasagna?” she guessed.
He nodded before turning back to the pan.
“I guess Travis and Mae are going to be happy tonight,” she said.
He had never felt so awkward around his own sister before, and he tried to think of something to make the feeling go away, but he came up blank.
“They’re good eaters,” he said, feeling dumb as soon as he said it. They’re good eaters? That’s the best you can do?
“There’s a pie in there for you,” Willow said, stepping into the kitchen and placing down the bag on the counter. “Hopefully the kids will like it.”
“Thanks,” he said, meaning it. It was really sweet of her to think about the kids.
He was trying to think of what to talk about then Willow grabbed the tomatoes and a knife and put herself to work.
He had to smile at the familiar feeling of cooking in the kitchen together. Mom always kept so busy that the two of them had prepared plenty of meals together up in the big farmhouse.
“Thanks,” he told her.
She nodded, her eyes on the tomatoes, and he let himself pretend for a moment that nothing had ever gone wrong between them.
The house instantly felt more like home with his sister here. Maybe they could make a regular thing of this now. The kids should get to know her. They were already planning to spend a family Christmas together here with Mom and Aunt Rhonda, if their aunt was up for the trip.
He began to weave a fantasy in his mind—time spent with Willow, making up with Jensen, Hailey deciding to stay in Trinity Falls forever, and all of them sitting around the table.
“So, how’s it going?” Willow asked.
It felt like a splash of cold water in his face.
Ransom had always been a dreamer. But his reality was pretty far from perfect right now. That’s how it was going.
“The kids are adapting really well,” he said carefully. “They’re tough as nails. And I’m figuring it out.”
“You’re clearly killing it,” she replied cheerfully, gesturing around the house. “You’ve got this place looking like a home. I remember when it was more like a summer camp.”
“We sure made a lot of s’mores around that fireplace,” he said, smiling at the memory as he stirred the onions and peppers.
The conversation slid into planning for the holiday.
With Mom and Aunt Rhonda here, it was going to be tight.
But he was pretty sure he had it all figured out.
And he didn’t have to decide on a menu, since they had so many traditional Christmas dishes they made every year, he couldn’t possibly add anything new to the lineup.
“It’s a lot for you with the kids,” Willow said. “Do you want me to just handle the food?”
The suggestion stung a little.
“I’m fine,” he heard himself say roughly. “You think because I’m a man I can’t handle kids?”
His awful words hung in the air for a moment, and he wished he could take them back. Things had been going so well.
What’s wrong with me?
“Not at all,” Willow said, thankfully not reacting to his bad attitude. “I think because you’re a single parent you’re busy. And I’m here with nothing to do, so I’d like to help.”
“Sorry,” he sighed, feeling awful. “I guess I’m still figuring this out.”
“It’s weird being home, isn’t it?” she asked.
That hit hard.
And as little as he ever thought he’d want to talk to his baby sister about the military, now that they were both here and safe, he found that it was actually exactly what he wanted.
They talked quietly as they finished preparing the lasagna.
He suspected that like him, Willow was grateful to have something to do with her hands.
The conversation moved to her new apartment, which was over Carla’s Place, a gathering space for older folks in town.
And before he knew it, the lasagna was in the oven, and the banter between them was starting to feel like old times.
“Let’s have a look at this pie,” he said, heading over to the bag.
Willow looked really pleased with herself, and as soon as he peeked inside, he could see why. A perfect Cassidy Farm pumpkin pie was inside, the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg bringing him back.
But it was impossible to get a Cassidy Farm pumpkin pie at this time of year. People reserved them months in advance.
“They made it just for you,” Willow said with a smile, anticipating his question.
When he lifted the pie out of the bag, he spotted another surprise inside.
“No way,” he breathed. “You brought Scrabble?”
When he glanced up at his baby sister, there was so much hope and happiness on her face that it hurt his heart.
How did I ever let things get so bad between us?
But he couldn’t change the past. The best he could do was focus on the future.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d have time to play,” she ventured. But he could see by the look in her eyes how much this meant to her.
“Oh, I see what this is,” he told her teasingly. “You think now that you’re all grown up you can beat me. Don’t you?”
She laughed and he headed over to the counter.
“I’m going to put on some coffee,” he told her. “Then we’re eating pie and playing this.”
And for that moment, all of his other fears and concerns melted away, and for the first time in a long time, Ransom felt like everything was just fine.