The Rancher's Redemption

“Now that you are here, I’m okay if you stay.” She hesitated. “I am worried about what Coretta will do next. As only Gabby, you, and Nate know who Roman’s father is, I could do with some backup.”

“Okay, and how about I take you both out for pizza afterward?” Adam couldn’t quite believe he was still flapping his gums. Even his own family wouldn’t recognize him right now. “Make sure she doesn’t follow you home.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Lizzie was looking at him as if she’d never met him before either. “Let’s see what mood Roman is in before we make that decision, okay?”

“Sure.” He made sure the ignition was turned off and got out of the truck to open the door for Lizzie. “How’s he been?”

“Fine.” She sighed. “But every time he sees a bee he flips out.”

“Sensible kid.” Adam followed her up the path to Gabby’s, keeping a close eye on Coretta’s front door, but there was no sign of movement.

Gabby opened the door and let them through the child gate. Her house was a comfortable, bright space with a big kitchen that led out into the yard. The refrigerator was covered in pictures done by the kids—at least half of which were dinosaurs. The kitchen table bore evidence of the afternoon’s work, weaving bookmarks with paper strips and pots of glue.

Adam glanced through into the yard where Roman and two other little boys were running around with their arms out like fighter planes, screeching at the top of their lungs. It reminded him of growing up with four brothers and made him wonder where all that fun and energy had gone in his life.

“He ate all his lunch and he had a good nap.” Gabby was talking to Lizzie as she found Roman’s little backpack and handed it over. “I haven’t seen ‘her’ at all today.”

“Well, thank goodness for that,” Lizzie said. “Maybe she’s finally gotten the message to leave us alone.”

“She’s been behaving oddly for a while now.” Gabby frowned. “I’m wondering whether she’s suffering from some kind of dementia and that her obsession with you and Roman is just part of it. Does she have family living around here?”

“Not that I know of,” Lizzie replied. “Not that any of them would talk to me even if they did.”

Roman came rushing in and went straight into his mother’s arms. “I saw a caterpillar! It was green and red!”

“How cool is that!” Lizzie patted his dark, curly hair. “Are you ready to come home now?” She glanced over at Adam. “We’ve been invited out for pizza at Gina’s.”

Roman’s attention immediately pivoted to Adam. “How did the bug get squashed?”

Adam blinked at him. “What?”

“In the stone.”

“Oh, the fossil!” Adam said. “Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

* * *

Lizzie watched as Roman took Adam’s hand and danced alongside him on the sidewalk, peppering him with questions about the fossil. She walked behind them, Roman’s backpack slung over her shoulder, and just enjoyed the moment. If someone had told her six months ago that Adam Miller would’ve emerged as her somewhat grumpy champion, she would’ve died laughing. But here he was, his concern for her obvious. She didn’t really know how to deal with it, or him.

The beguiling smell of pizza reached them long before they saw the shop. Roman pulled on Adam’s hand, trying to make him speed up. As the man was built like a mountain and had the stubbornness to go with it, Lizzie already knew it wasn’t going to make any difference.

They ordered and sat outside in the sunlight while Roman unpacked all his dinosaurs from his backpack and gave Adam a lecture about each one. Adam was both remarkably patient and attentive to her son, reminding Lizzie of when they were at school and he’d helped her with her math homework.

She wiggled her toes. It was nice to be sitting down and not doing the serving. She didn’t often have pizza because it was too expensive, and she could get leftover food from the café. Twice in one week was a luxury indeed.

Adam turned to her. “You should bring Roman out to the ranch.”