“Well whoever the hell she was, she’s gonna kill somebody if she keeps driving like that,” Charlie carried on with thoughts of the crazy driver filling his mind. They headed back to the ranch where Charlie’s brothers, Andrew and Matt Henley, were talking by the horse stables with their father Phil.
* * * *
Terry watched from the front porch as all her men gathered by the horse stables. It was a beautiful day for riding and as she watched her sons and husband talking she couldn’t help but smile. There was no mistaking which men were the Henley men. They each resembled their father and his strong, masculine, fit physique.
Andrew was the oldest at thirty-eight, married, and the local town physician. He was as handsome as some movie star or top male model but with a more masculine, sporty attitude. He wore his dark brown hair wavy and a little too long for his mother’s taste, but it enhanced his matching dark brown eyes. He had always been the local heartthrob.
His brother Matt was thirty-six and engaged to get married to Janie, a local nursery school teacher. Matt had short dirty-blonde hair and light green eyes and he worked for the local newspaper as a journalist part-time, and the rest of the time he helped his brother Charlie take care of the ranch along with her other two sons, Dante and Trevor.
Dante was thirty-two and quiet as a mouse since returning from serving in the military. Trevor was restless and almost identical in appearance to Dante with matching hazel eyes and dimples. Their cousins Jasper and Freddie helped run the ranch, too.
Charlie was thirty-four years old and very attractive with his dark reddish-brown hair, hazel eyes, and tough rugged appearance that went along with his attitude. He was a hard-ass and proud of it as he ran the ranch along with his father Phil who was soft-spoken and old fashioned.
“Do you boys want to come inside now for lunch? I’ve only been waiting a half hour you know?” yelled their mother Terry from the front porch. She was a thin woman in her late fifties with salt-and-pepper hair she wore short and behind her ears. She had the same brown eyes as her oldest son Andrew. She was tough and full of energy even though the arthritis was kicking in more lately than ever causing her to slow down a bit. She still kept holding her own around the ranch. Today’s lunch of cold cut hero sandwiches was a hit with all the men as they gathered around the large kitchen table. There was room for twenty if needed and when family got together, every chair in the house was taken.
“How was your ride?” Terry asked as she passed around the basket of hero rolls.
“Don’t even get him started, Aunt Terry,” Jasper answered as Terry looked toward Charlie.
Everyone listened as Charlie spoke about the rude, reckless driver from the city.
“Oh my. I wonder if that was Diana and Lou’s girls. She said they were coming to live with them along with their grandson. They haven’t seen one another in years. Excuse me while I go call her and see.” Terry rather excitedly rose from the table and headed into the other room.
“What is she talking about?” Andrew asked.
“It’s a long story, son, but from what Lou has told me, his two daughters and his grandson Ben have been through a lot in the past five years. They’ll be home safe where they belong. So did you get to fix that fence out by the Riley’s place?” Phil asked, obviously changing the subject. The men got the message as they continued to talk about the ranch and the jobs that needed to be done.
* * * *
Lori drove the car up the long dirt driveway and instantly saw their mother and father sitting on the front porch. The house was beautiful and appeared well maintained and country-like. Her hand was shaking as she felt the tears reach her eyes. They hadn’t seen their parents in years.
She placed the car in park and turned off the engine. Their parents were running toward them with smiles wide. Lori, Maggie, and Ben got out of the car, rushing to see them. In an instant they all embraced, tears flowing, and Diana cried hysterically as she held her daughters and her grandson Ben.
“Praise the lord. Oh God, praise the lord,” Diana cried out as her husband Lou joined the embrace.
Lori watched as her father picked Ben up and held him in his arms.
“Hello, son, I’m your grandpa.”
“I know you are and you don’t look old at all.” Ben hugged his grandfather as they all chuckled.
“This is your grandma,” their father told him.
“You have the cutest smile, Ben. You look just like your mama,” Diana said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Lori gave her mom a hug as they headed toward the front porch.
* * * *
Diana turned to look at her two gorgeous daughters and grandson. She needed to touch them, embrace them, kiss them every chance she got. They had missed out on more than five years of parental love and guidance. They were forced to leave their homes because of the power and obsession of another human being. Diana was a believer in destiny. She felt that love conquered everything and anything thrown its way. She didn’t like violence, was turned off by television and watching the nightly news. It broke her heart to think of all the victims out there who didn’t have help or who couldn’t escape the violence. She was glad that Derrick was no longer walking this earth. She prayed to God to bring her daughters home safely, and here they were a bit worn out from the whole ordeal but alive and well.
“What’s a matter, Mom? You’re daydreaming and about to burn the bacon,” Lori said as she took the fork from her mother’s hand and took over the cooking task.
“I’m sorry, baby, it’s just that I’m so happy you and Maggie are finally home, safe and sound. Never mind my handsome grandson. How did you like your surprise, Ben?” Diana asked as she sat down in the chair next to him.
“I love it, Grandma. It’s the greatest swing set I ever had. We had a small, really old one at our last house but my daddy showed up and tried to hurt us.”
Maggie rubbed his hair with her hand. “No need to worry about that anymore.”