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Scarred,” she ended, biting her bottom lip between her teeth.
    Joe reached for her hand, but Dr. Hardy had already taken both of Sophie’s hands in his. “Look at me, Sophie,” he said, all traces of humor gone. “Look at me, sweetheart, and listen to me. It’s a scar. That’s all it is. And it will be gone soon, or as close to gone that you’ll forget it’s even there. But that scar, visible or not, isn’t you. Do you understand that? If that’s anS on your jaw right now, it stands for Survivor. Don’t forget that.”
    Sophie nodded, and Dr. Hardy and his nurse left the room.
    â€œSophie? He’s right, you know,” Joe said. “You are a survivor. And you’re going to be fine. Five more weeks at your apartment with the nurse I’ve hired, until the orthopods take that brace off your leg, and then you’ll be with us, at the ranch. Six months from now, once Dr. Hardy is done with his magic, it will be as if this never happened.”
    â€œBut it did happen, Dad,” Sophie told him, a huge tear slipping down her cheek. “Every night when I close my eyes I remember that it happened. Every day, now that the bandage is off, I won’t be able to forget that it happened.”
    She tugged her hand free of Joe’s and pulled the large diamond ring from her third finger, left hand. “Here,” she said, handing the ring to Joe. “Tell Chet I’ll see him in six months, not before then.”
    â€œOh, honey, don’t do this,” Joe begged her, while inwardly he relaxed, with at least one problem being solved for him. “I’m sure Chet will be banging down the door to see you, to change your mind.”
    â€œLike he’s been banging down the door all week?” Sophie asked, her smile wry. “No, Dad. I just want to go home to my apartment, wait for this thing to come off my leg, and then come to the ranch. If you want me there?”
    â€œIf I— Ah, baby,” Joe said, folding his daughter into his strong arms. “All I want out of life right now is to have you home with us again.”

Three
    H ome. It had never looked so good.
    Sophie sat in the passenger seat as her father drove the car along the private roadway, past various ranch buildings, heading toward the huge, circular drive that fronted Hacienda del Alegria—the House of Joy.
    She gave a small, lopsided smile as she remembered the day River had told her about another House of Joy, somewhere in Nevada, that had been a topnotch “pleasure palace” in its heyday, years earlier. Sophie had been highly affronted, saying that wasn’t what her parents had in mind when they’d named the ranch, and then minutes later had retold the story to her oldest brother, Rand, giggling as he looked shocked that his little sister would even know about such things.
    River had gotten into big trouble over that one—which served him right, because Sophie had also been subjected to quite a lecture from Rand on what a lady isn’t supposed to let anyone know she knows, even if she knows it.
    Sophie held up a hand and squinted into the setting sun as the car entered the huge circular drive. Nothing had changed since her last visit. Nothing altered the physical beauty that was Hacienda del Alegria.
    There was still the central area of the house, a two-story, sand-color adobe structure sporting California’s version of a pillared porch, and a terra-cotta roof.
    The sun still rose against the front windows, and set behind the house, over the wonderfully blue Pacific Ocean that lay below a series of cliffs.
    Single-story wings wrapped back from either side of the house, affording every room a view of the ocean, of the marvelous gardens, of the courtyard, pool, and gardens that played such a large role in the everyday life of everyone who lived in the house.
    And so many, many people had lived in Hacienda del Alegria over the years. Her