Second Chance Ranch Read Online Free PDF

throat. She never dreamed that one day, her own daughter might be one of these kids.
    Grabbing her purse, she ran out the door toward her truck. She’d get more information down at the clinic. History was not going to repeat itself. She planned to fight for whatever medical care available.
    Her daughter was not going to die.
    * * *
    “It’s so nice having you home.” Grace Davidson patted the down comforter on his bed. The dog didn’t wait for another invitation and jumped up. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour, and Fletcher, get down.”
    Zac ruffled the neck of the golden retriever. “It’s okay, isn’t it boy? This bed is big enough for the both of us.” He flopped down making the entire mattress jump.
    The old green blanket on his bed spoke of comfort and security. All year ‘round, he would kick back on his bed and settle into the comfy softness. No matter how hot the days got, the evenings cooled to a comfortable temp while nights could get down right cold. He’d done some of his best thinking stretched out with his fingers linked behind his head and the smell of softener surrounding him.
    His room sat as he’d left it, not a speck of dust to be found. Rodeo buckles lined up on his dresser; football and rodeo team pictures scattered on the wall; the complete set of Hardy Boys mysteries on the bottom shelf of his bookcase. He didn’t know whether to draw comfort or alarm from the lack of change. “I’m not very hungry, Mom. Don’t make a big deal over me.”
    “Accept you as a challenge - yes; make a big deal over you - no. Never have; never will. Still, you could use a bit of fussing over. No sense in always being the strong one when you have a perfectly good family ready to rally around you.”
    “I don’t need rallying around.”
    “Oh, honey,” the familiar determination edged with compassion touched her tone, “you do. This is a big change in your life. I never expected you, of all my sons, to move back home. You were always the explorer, the seeker. You were never content here at home, yet, here you are. There’s something on your mind whether you realize it or not.”
    He dug his fingers into the dog’s fur and scratched until Fletcher rolled on his back and wiggled. “Why is it so strange that I want to come home? The ranch is here. I can run the financial operations of Davidson Enterprises over the Internet and local bank connections. There’s a great highway system just past the ridge and Gunnison has an airport.” He turned his palms up, half expecting his mother to fill them with her skewed logic. “Gabe runs the ranching; I run the money. And if Nick ever gets his act together, he was born for PR. If anything, he’s the one that shouldn’t come back to Hawk Ridge — not that he has a mind to.”
    “No need for insensitivity, Isaac.” Graced swiped her hand at his knee. “We were talking about you, not your brother.”
    Golden hair and blue eyes came to mind. A laugh that put wind chimes to shame. Jennifer held the key to his dreams nestled on a twenty-four hundred acre spread. “Maybe I’m hungrier than I thought.”
    “Food’s different around here now. Since your father’s heart attack,” his mother explained as Zac concentrated on the topic of food, not blonds. “I’ve been trying to find different ways to make chicken taste like beef. It hasn’t worked. I don’t know what I’d do if Melanie wasn’t around. She can convince your father eating sand is good for him.”
    “Now that, I’d like to see.”
    “Hush up. Your father hasn’t been an easy man to cook for. I tried preparing his favorite dishes like they told me to - substituting this, that and the other - but your dad would have none of it. Melanie comes around with salads and a few fish recipes, and all of a sudden, he’s ready to sample the eats of the world.”
    His sister-in-law had a way with Martin Davidson. Glad to see someone did. His dad had always run the ranch with the attitude of