The green scenery outside the window spooled by very quickly as Darren turned from the two-lane highway onto the old dirt road that would lead to Clouds End Farm. A plume of dust rose behind his pickup truck. He noticed that the long blades of grass on either side of the road were coated in a fine layer of dirt. Apparently, it had been a while since it rained. He hadn’t really thought about the significance of that in a while. He wasn’t a rancher anymore. Now he was a gym teacher. And, really, that was what was going to make him happy.

Well, that and Maggie. Darren reached over to the passenger side of his truck and gently took her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and lifted them to his lips. “Thank you for riding out here with us.”

“I’m glad to be invited along.” She turned and offered him one of her big, beautiful smiles. “It’s really beautiful out here.”

Bella bounced up out of her seat, straining against her seatbelt and making a half-squealing noise that sounded weirdly like the nicker of a very small pony. “You’re going to love it!” Bella gushed. “There are horses, Maggie! Horses! They are everywhere. It’s amazing!”

“Do I like horses?” Jaeger did not look too sure. Darren could see his small son’s frown in the rearview mirror.

It was Maggie who turned around and gently reached out to touch Jaeger’s knee. “Sweetie, it doesn’t matter if you like them or not. I’m sure it will be wonderful to see them all. Horses are very beautiful. And even though I don’t ride, I love to pet them and feel how soft their noses are.”

Her easy manner seemed to be exactly what Jaeger needed. The little boy smiled broadly and nodded. “I think I’m going to like this place.”

Maggie picked up Darren’s hand and lifted it to her lips. She nuzzled his knuckles one by one. He could see her from the corner of his eye. Her sweet expression told him she knew exactly what she was doing to his composure with her lips. He had needed a distraction from the stress of the upcoming custody hearing. Now he was absolutely sure that he’d picked the right sort of distraction.

Darren pulled up in front of the barn and parked his truck. As before, Bella was basically out of the vehicle before they’d even come to a complete halt. Darren rolled his eyes. The girl was going to kill herself with either excitement or a complete lack of paying attention.

“Wow.” Maggie whistled. “That girl loves her horses. Does Laredo have any idea how pony crazy she is?”

“Not a clue,” Darren muttered. Then he turned and smiled at his son. “What about it, Jaeger? Are you ready to go see some horses?”

“Yes.”

The little boy looked so solemn. Both Maggie and Darren helped him unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the truck. Jaeger kept hold of Darren’s hand as they walked toward the corrals and the big riding ring where Darren could see Aria giving a lesson.

“Is that your friend?”

There was simple curiosity in Maggie’s voice. Darren had not realized until this moment that he’d been worried Maggie would think there was something more between him and Aria. It was sort of a bad impression that Darren had of women in general. Or perhaps it was more that until Maggie, Darren had never really been monogamous.

“Yes. That’s Aria Callahan. She was Jesse’s best friend growing up. She’s lived out here all her life. We’ve known each other since grade school.” Darren cast a sideways look at Maggie as they headed in Aria’s direction. “If you want any dirt on me, I’m sure that Aria will be more than willing to oblige. She loves to torture me.”

“It’s probably deserved,” Maggie said archly. Then she reached out and took his hand.

With Jaeger holding tight on his one side, and Maggie on his other, Darren felt like the man who had everything. Sometimes he could not believe he’d been this fortunate. Then he realized that there was a familiar truck and trailer rig parked near the barn.

“Jesse is here,” Darren murmured.

Maggie cocked her head curiously. “I would think you’d be glad. You’ve been saying ever since that insane party that you want to tell her what your father said.”

“She may kill me before I have a chance,” Darren said darkly.

Jaeger pounded his little fist on his chest. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her!”

“Thanks, kid,” Darren said drily. Then he pointed to Maggie. “See? I have a bodyguard.”

“And he’s even better looking than you are,” Maggie teased.

Finally, they reached the ring. Aria had already spotted Bella and was now helping the girl climb the fence so she could better see the horses. It was odd to watch Aria with Bella. The woman obviously had a really good way with kids, but there was something in her manner with Bella that was just different.

“Well, if it isn’t Darren and”—Aria glanced down at Jaeger—“mini Darren. Wow. Hey, kiddo. You must be Jaeger. I’ve heard a lot about you from your aunt.”

“My aunt?” Jaeger said, mystified.

“You have?” Darren was equally mystified.

Aria rolled her eyes and put her hand out to Maggie. “My name is Aria. You will have to excuse these silly Hernandez boys. They forget that as women, we converse about just about anything.”

Maggie was hiding a smile and a laugh, Darren could tell. But then she was also very warmly shaking Aria’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Bella had climbed down off the fence. She was slowly walking toward Jesse, who was also walking toward them while leading a little grey mare. Darren watched Bella’s reaction. It was incredibly odd.

“Is that,” Bella whispered. “Oh! It’s Smokey! Aria, that’s Smokey. It’s Smokey! Why is Smokey here?”

Maggie looked at Darren and mouthed, Smokey?

Darren shrugged. He had no idea why the kid would know any of the horses, much less any of the ones that would come from Jesse’s ranch. But when Bella and Jesse started chatting about the mare, whose name was apparently Smokey, Darren realized that he had missed a few points.

Jesse nodded to Darren as he approached with Jaeger, Maggie, and Aria. “Bella was just telling me that she and Smokey met when her daddy took her out to the big ranch for a visit.”

“It was so awesome!” Bella was talking so fast that her eyes were on fire with excitement. “Uncle Cal let me sit on Smokey’s back. She just stood there. She was so calm and perfect, and I just love her!” Then Bella seemed to realize that they were not at Uncle Cal’s. “Why is Smokey here?”

Darren knew exactly why Smokey was here. Apparently, Jesse had decided to sell the little horse and was about to ask Aria if she had any potential buyers. The little grey mare was cute and sweet and would probably fetch a pretty price too.

But to Darren’s absolute amazement, Jesse pursed her lips and then squatted down to Bella’s level. “I brought Smokey out to Aria’s place just to say hi. That’s all. I thought she could use a trip. You know? Do you ever get bored?”

“All the time!” Bella moaned. “Daddy is always working, and I’m always just sitting there being bored. If we had horses at our house, I would be lots less bored, but my daddy hates horses.”

“Since when,” Aria snorted.

Jesse stood up and looked at Darren. Then she bit her lip. “Hey. It’s good to see you again.”

“You too.” Darren felt so lame, but he didn’t exactly want to drag the baggage out in front of the kids. “Can we talk for a minute?”

Maggie seemed to get the gist almost immediately. She took Jaeger’s hand and gestured to Aria and Bella. “Can we take Smokey over there and get her some grass? Horses like grass. Right? I don’t know a lot about them. But I know that much. Maybe Jaeger can pet her. That would be good.”

The kids went with Aria and Maggie, leaving Jesse alone with Darren. It was what needed to happen, so why did he feel like he wanted to beg Maggie not to leave him alone? Dammit. Darren was acting like a complete tool.

“What do you want to say, Darren?” There was something in Jesse’s tone that was almost combative. It didn’t remind Darren of Jesse’s personality at all.

He thought about that for a moment. Life did funny things to people. “You’re harder than I remember.”

“That’s what happens when the family you thought you had turns out to be nothing more than a bunch of people using you for your land.” The bitterness in her voice cut him to the quick.

“I was not like that,” Darren fired back. He slapped his chest with the palm of one hand. “I am not like that!”

“I know you’re not. I’m talking about your father. The man who was supposed to be like my father!” Jesse spun around and turned her back to him. She shoved her fingers through her long blond hair and made a frustrated sound. “Do you have any idea how confusing it is to have Laredo hounding me all over the place trying to find ways to steal my land? What the hell? Right? Or how about all of these phone calls I’m getting from the man I’ve called Uncle Joe all my life telling me that I’m his child and therefore my ranch and my assets are really his?”

“Surely he didn’t…” Darren had to reconsider that. “Was he drunk?”

“Possibly. With him and Laredo, it’s really hard to tell these days.” Jesse shook her head. “So, what do you want to say?”

“I want to say that I went to some social function—a birthday party—the other night and I told Dad to leave you alone. I told him to back off. I told them all. And they agreed.”

“Bullshit.” Jesse spit the word out like poison. “I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it. Hell could freeze over before Joe Hernandez will give up on getting my land.”

“My father claims he’s afraid that you’re going to be approached by someone named John and Katie. Your mother’s family?”

“Ah, yes.” Jesse put the balls of her hands against her eyes. “They filed a restraining order against my family. My aunt and uncle were in financial trouble and asked for help. I wasn’t allowed to help them.”

“Think about that for a moment,” Darren said slowly. He could not believe he was about to defend his father. “I’m not saying my dad was right. Okay? But if you were entrusted with someone’s assets to hold for their daughter, would you be okay with someone else trying to coax her out of that money?”

“They were my relatives!” Jesse exploded, turning on him and pointing in his face. “How was it wrong for them to ask me for money?”

“Because you were a child,” Darren said quietly. He gestured to Bella and to his son. “That kid is mine,” Darren said fiercely. “Do you have any idea how quickly I would say no to one of my brothers trying to borrow money from him for any reason? I’m about to go to court to fight his mother because she has been financing her whole life off of his child support. If I should die—God forbid—and he has to go back to that woman, I want someone I trust to keep any money I leave to my son for him and only him. I don’t care if Laredo is bankrupt. I don’t care if you are!” Darren told Jesse roughly. “I don’t want Jaeger to give you one red cent, because he’s going to need it. I’m not going to be able to provide for him. And you and my brothers are adults who can damn well figure your own shit out.”

Jesse opened her mouth to respond but said nothing. She looked blown away. It was odd. For the first time in all of these years, Darren really and truly got it. He’d never looked at Jesse’s situation from a parental viewpoint before. He had never seen his father’s point of view. He had never seen his mother’s. He had never even thought about Jesse’s parents.

Right here and right now, Darren realized that Jesse’s family had done the best thing that they could have. They had put her under the care of someone who was so pigheaded and selfish that he kept her inheritance safe for a decade and helped to grow it bigger because it probably suited his own selfish needs.

“I never thought of it that way,” Jesse whispered.

Darren actually laughed. “That’s okay, kid. Until right now, I never did either. I tell you what, having a kid screws with your head. It changes everything.”

“He’s a cute kid,” Jesse said wryly. “And what the hell? You got a hot chick to go with him?”

Darren rolled his eyes. “I’m just thankful I didn’t have to try to make a go of it with Jaeger’s mom. The woman is crazy with a capital C.”

“Avery says that you’re going to court to try and win full custody.” Jesse slowly started meandering closer to the others. “I hope you get it.”

“Me too.” Darren smiled as he considered what his life could actually look like in another week. “Sometimes I want to pinch myself because it can’t all be true. It can’t be this good. I was a total screw-up. We’re not supposed to get this lucky.”

Jesse punched him in the shoulder and grinned. For once she seemed to shed a few years and look like the obnoxious eleven-year-old who had come to live at their ranch. “Don’t tip off fate, silly. So far, the universe probably just doesn’t realize that it’s stopped crapping on you. If you tip it off, you’re screwed.”

“Gee, thanks, Jesse.”

“Anytime, Darren. Anytime.”

Darren gestured to Smokey and Bella. “So, what do we do about that?”

“Let me think on it,” Jesse murmured. “I’ll talk to Cal. He’ll know what to do.”

Darren grunted. “That was pretty much your go-to move, even when you were a kid. Let’s talk to Cal. He’ll know what to do, say, be, think, or any combination of the above.”

Jesse actually blushed. “I like Cal.”

Darren thought that was probably only the tip of the iceberg, but he let it go. There was no reason to ruin this picturesque moment with his family. Maggie was beaming as she helped Jaeger to pet Smokey’s nose. Jaeger was looking extremely excited and comfortable although not nearly as much of a rabid fan as Bella, which was good. Laredo was going to have his hands full.

I wonder if Maggie and I will have any girls.

The thought ghosted through his head and would not go away. Kids with Maggie. Life with Maggie. It was all good, and he could not wait to start. There was only one more hurdle to get over before they got to the happily ever after.