nodding toward the odd animal Ty had noticed on his way in. “A friend of hers had to move away, and the family couldn’t take livestock to their new neighborhood. Allie begged us to take him in, and—”
He ended with a shrug, and Ty laughed. “You couldn’t tell her no. Why does that sound familiar?”
“Hey, now, that’s not fair. He told me no plenty of times,” Morgan protested.
“I was talking about your little sister, Jessie,” Ty clarified, taking a drink of his lemonade to sell the comment to her. That got him the raised eyebrow again, and he couldn’t keep back a grin. To his relief, the look mellowed slightly, and while she didn’t exactly smile back, at least she wasn’t glaring at him anymore.
When they saw who was sitting on the porch, the girls broke into a run, although one of them lagged behind by a few steps. As she got closer, Ty could see that she was doing her best to keep up with her faster twin but couldn’t quite manage it. In response, Skye slowed her pace and circled around the girl, as if encouraging her to keep going. Something about that twanged his heart deep inside, in a way he’d never felt before.
Shoving away the baffling reaction to someone else’s child, he waited for JD to make the introductions.
“Girls, this is Ty Wilkins, an old friend of ours who’s back for a visit. Ty, this is Hannah—” he pulled one of them close “—and Allie.” With her, JD paused a moment to let the comment sink in before smiling at her. After a couple of seconds, she answered with a faint smile before moving past him to where Morgan was sitting.
Ty didn’t have much experience with kids, but he knew a shy girl when he saw one. Standing, he took off his hat the way he’d been taught and smiled at each of them in turn. “Ladies, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Hannah thrust a hand at him, shaking his with a firm confidence that reminded him of her bold mother. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
Wow, that was a kick in the teeth, he mused. Made him sound ancient. Then again, to her he probably was. Allie didn’t venture out to follow her sister’s lead, and he settled for another smile in her direction. “Your grandpa’s been telling me about how you ended up with an alpaca named Teddy. It was real generous of you to give him such a good home.”
“He’s a good boy,” she allowed in a voice so quiet, he had to strain to hear it. After that, she patted Morgan’s cheek and drifted into the house without another word.
Obviously, there was something different about her, but he’d never dream of asking what it might be. Fortunately, her twin filled in the blank for him. “Allie has a-tism, so she’s shy around people. It was nice of you to talk about Teddy, ’cause she really likes him.”
Following that very straightforward explanation, she skipped inside, Skye right on her heels.
The revelation hung in the air, creating an awkward silence that Ty had no clue how to fill. Morgan looked especially uncomfortable, and JD reached over to grasp her hand in a reassuring gesture. “Both our girls are special. That’s what we focus on, right, honey?”
“Right.” She made a valiant attempt at a smile that fell woefully short. Standing, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on things inside, then unload that feed I bought in town. Hope you enjoy your visit, Ty.”
He suspected that she didn’t come close to meaning that, but as she disappeared inside, he couldn’t really blame her for not welcoming him with open arms. She’d told him she’d never forgive him, and he believed her.
“Well, I’d best get over to my place and see how bad that old cabin looks,” he said, putting his hat back on before extending his hand to his neighbor. “Thanks for the talk and the lemonade. I enjoyed ’em both, just like always.”
That leathery hand held on to his for an extra pump before letting go. Then JD gave him a sage look, as if he knew what Ty was keeping from them all. “You’re welcome here anytime, son. Starting over ain’t easy, but it might go better if you get a little help once in a while.”
“What makes you think I’m starting over?”
“I was born during the day,” the old rancher told him with a chuckle, “but not yesterday.”
Grinning, Ty strolled out to his truck feeling a lot more chipper than he had just a couple of hours ago. As he drove out and headed for his place on the other side of the Whittakers’ east pasture, something about Morgan’s twins was nagging at him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something about them that felt familiar to him.
They were both the spitting image of their mother, he reasoned. That must be it. But even as he tried out that explanation in his head, it didn’t sit right with him. Then, because he couldn’t think of anything else, he put it out of his mind. As JD had noted, starting over wouldn’t be easy, but he had a lot of years left, and he had to come up with a productive way to spend them. What that might be, he couldn’t say, because the only skills he’d ever had any interest in learning were useless outside the rodeo arena.
Beyond that, the modest Cape-Cod-style cabin he’d referred to hadn’t been lived in since his parents had moved away five years ago. No doubt, there was enough work to do there to keep him well occupied and prevent him from thinking too much about the still amazing—and still maddening—Morgan Whittaker.
“What on earth is Ty Wilkins doing here?” Morgan’s little sister, Jessie, demanded in an outraged whisper.
“Visiting with Dad,” Morgan replied evenly, keeping her voice down to avoid alerting her daughters that there was something amiss. She focused on the apple juice she was pouring, then reached into the cookie jar for some fresh molasses crinkles.
“And?”
Morgan ignored the question and set the snack on the scarred oak table that dominated the large country kitchen. “Girls, why don’t you take your snack into Grandpa’s den and watch TV? When you’re done eating, take a whack at your homework. I’ve got some chores to finish up, but if you get stuck, I’ll help you after dinner.”
“I got my work done at school, Mommy,” Hannah replied as she picked up the plate and one of the glasses. Turning to her sister, she added, “I can help you with yours, if you want.”
Morgan’s heart swelled with pride at the selfless offer. Hannah was so patient with her twin, helping but never coddling, always asking permission rather than shoving in to do things for her. It wasn’t easy parenting a child with such a profound challenge, but Hannah’s fabulous attitude made it easier for Morgan.
“That’s very sweet of you, honey,” she approved, giving her a quick hug.
“Sweet,” Allie echoed, lightly patting her sister’s cheek, a faint, absent smile passing over her features as she turned away. Their interactions were often like that, but it was more than Allie could manage with most people. The doctors told Morgan the passing touches were a good sign that she was starting to overcome her inherent timidity and making progress into a more normal mode of interacting with others. Every day, usually more than once, Morgan prayed that they were right.
Once
