Return to Homecoming Ranch (Pine River #2)

“It’s no big deal, buddy,” Sam said. “Come on, let’s go to town and check it out.”


Libby didn’t care why her car hadn’t started. If it had started, Sam never would have made her get into his truck. Her life would be vastly different this morning, and not in a good way. She couldn’t help but smile at that.

Sam said to Madeline, “I’ll be back to pick up the horses this evening.”

“Great. Thank you, Sam,” Madeline said, her gaze still on Libby.

Sam put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and started him toward his truck.

Libby watched him walk away. But when she turned toward the house, Madeline’s close proximity startled her.

“Oh. Sorry,” Libby said and tried to step around Madeline, intending to walk up the porch steps to the house.

But Madeline put her hand on Libby’s arm. “Not so fast, Libby Tyler. You sure are smiling a lot for someone whose car broke down in the middle of a freak blizzard. So where were you last night? At the Grizzly? Or in jail?”

“Geez, Madeline, you’re worse than my mother,” Libby said, and jogged up the stairs to the house.

“What do you expect? You come home wearing a shirt way too big for you and a big fat smile on your face!” Madeline shouted after her, and jogged up the steps after Libby, with the dogs on her heels.

Libby looked down at the long-sleeved T-shirt she’d borrowed from Sam. “Oh. Right.” She walked into the house and let the screen door bang behind her.

“So what’s the big secret?” Madeline said, following her with the army of dogs. “Why can’t you tell me where you were or why you’re so happy all of a sudden?”

“Am I?”

“Yes!” Madeline insisted. “You’ve stomped around here since you came back from Mountain View, and today, you’re all smiles and giggles.”

“You’d stomp around, too, after a week at Mountain View, trust me. I don’t know why I’m happy, Madeline. I guess the first snow of the season does that to me. I love it. Don’t you love it? All that time in hot and humid Florida, don’t you love the first big snow?”

Madeline’s eyes narrowed. “It’s my first big snow,” she said. “And it’s very cool. Unfortunately for me, Luke ruined it by reminding me that we have a ceremony to stage in a few short days and it will be muddy.”

The ceremony. Libby groaned—she hadn’t thought of it in the last twenty-four hours. “Not to worry,” she said. “We can spread straw around. And the horses are going down to Sam’s tonight, right? We’ll have it cleaned up in no time at all.”

Madeline cocked her head to one side. “What about you? Going to Sam’s tonight?” She arched a brow.

Libby smiled. “You should really consider a career in police interrogations. We were stranded by the snow, just like you.”

“So obviously you were stranded at Sam’s house,” Madeline said, folding her arms. “Instead of, say, the Grizzly. Because that would make more sense, you know. Your car broke down in town, not at Sam’s.”

Libby suddenly burst into laughter. “Okay, so what if I was at Sam’s last night? You’ve been telling me to move on, haven’t you?”

Madeline’s eyes widened. And then her face broke into a wreath of smiles as she abruptly grabbed Libby by the shoulders and swung her around. “Libby! You and Sam? Really?”

“Me and Sam,” Libby said, happy to share some news with Madeline for once that wasn’t bad. “Ohmigod, I’m giggling.”

“That’s fantastic!” Madeline cried, flinging her arms wide. “We love Sam!”

“We? Who’s we?”

“Me and Luke, of course. And Leo and Bob. And Dani, for that matter. We’ve all been rooting for him.”

“Wait, what?” Libby asked, her smile fading a little.

Madeline clucked her tongue. “It’s obvious that Sam has a thing for you—”

“A thing for me!” Libby exclaimed.

“Oh come on, you know that,” Madeline happily scoffed.

“No, I—I didn’t think it was a thing,” Libby said uncertainly, but suddenly things were beginning to make sense.

“Oh, sure,” Madeline said. “I don’t know. I noticed it when I first moved to Pine River. Remember that night we were in town for First Tuesdays?”

Libby thought back to that night. Madeline had just moved to Pine River to be with Luke, so she and Libby, in an effort to form a sisterly bond, had gone to take a look at some of the crafts that were sold in town on the first Tuesday of every month through the tourist season. Libby remembered that night very well, but not because of Sam. That night, she’d seen Ryan and the kids with Gwen. She’d been surprised by it, and had assumed it was a visitation agreement. She remembered how agitated Ryan had been when she’d approached them to say hello to the kids.

“Sam was there, remember?” Madeline said.