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after her for long moments before he finally moved off the porch and walked back to his truck.
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    Later that evening, as Vanessa attempted to pack what things she needed for the trip to Vegas, the phone rang.
    Praying it wasn’t another call from Hope’s lawyer, she picked up the phone located on the nightstand by her bed and was surprised to hear Maura’s voice on the other end of the line.
    Even though the two women had been longtime friends, Maura had a husband and two young children to care for, along with her part-time job at Bridget’s medical clinic in Ruidoso. She was too busy to make a habit of calling.
    Without preamble, Conall’s sister exclaimed, “Bridget just told me about your friend—and the babies! Dear God, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now!”
    Swiping a weary hand through her hair, Vanessa said, “I feel like every ounce of energy has been drained from my body, Maura.”
    â€œBridget told me about you fainting. Thank God Conall was there with you. How are you feeling now?”
    â€œPhysically, better. I’m packing for the trip right now. But my mind is racing around in all directions. How can a person feel grief and happy excitement at the same time? I feel like I’m being pulled in all directions.” She eased down on the edge of the bed. “But mostly, Maura, I’m scared.”
    â€œScared? You?” Maura scoffed. “You’re one of thestrongest and bravest women I’ve ever known. What do you have to be scared about, anyway?”
    Brave? Strong? Maybe at one time, years ago when she’d first headed out to Las Vegas on her own, she’d been brave and determined to make a better life for herself. But her mistakes with Jeff had wiped away much of her confidence.
    â€œTwo little infants, that’s what! You’ve got to remember I’ve never had a baby. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of one.”
    Maura’s soft laugh was meant to reassure her friend. “Trust me, dear friend, giving birth doesn’t give you an inside corner on taking care of babies. It’s a learn-as-you-go thing. Believe me, you’ll be fine. And isn’t it wonderful, Vanna? You with children! You’ve wanted some of your own for so long now.”
    As tears stung, Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s true. But I didn’t want them this way—with my friend dying. She was…well, I’ve talked about her to you before. She was such a generous person and so fun and full of life. She was planning to…come back here for a visit later this summer to show me the babies and see where I grew up. Now—” her throat tightened to an aching knot, forcing her to pause “—I’ll be bringing the babies back without her.”
    Vanessa could hear Maura sniffing back a tear of her own. “Yes, it’s so tragic, Vanna. I would have loved to meet her. But it wasn’t meant to be and you can’t dwell on her death now. You have to concentrate on the babies and remember how much your friend wanted them to be loved and cared for.”
    â€œYou’re right, Maura,” Vanessa said as she tried to gather her ragged emotions. “I have to move forward now.”
    Maura cleared her throat. “Well, Bridget says that our brother is traveling with you to Vegas. Frankly, I’m shocked about this, Vanna. The rare times he leaves the ranch are only for business reasons.”
    Surely Maura could see that Conall considered Vanessa a business reason and nothing more. “I tried to tell him it wasn’t necessary.”
    â€œOh. I thought you might have asked him to go.”
    Vanessa drew in a sharp breath. “Are you serious? I would never ask Conall to do anything personal for me! He just made all these decisions on his own. And I have no idea why.”
    â€œHmm. Well, his last secretary was a real bitch,” Maura said