Page 4 of Secret Baby at Mountain Creek Ranch
“I want to prove to you,” I continue. “That I can be there for Sam.”
“You already are there for him.”
“I don’t just want to be there for him on my days off. I want to see him every day. What would you say about spending some time with me on my family’s ranch?”
3
TRIS
“You can’t move Sam away from everything he’s ever known,” Tara says when I tell her.
"We aren't moving," I say, closing up my suitcase. "We are going to spend a little time with Jameson on his family’s ranch.”
“What are you going to do on a ranch?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, but I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for Sam. He’s already been through so much. I want to give him a chance to experience life outside of the city. I want him to get to know his father more than a few days at a time.”
"Are you guys going to tell him the truth, finally?"
“Jameson wants to tell him.”
“And you?”
“I’m not sure I’m ready. I need to know for sure that Jameson is going to be there for him. I think the time we spend at the ranch will help me see that.”
Tara walks hand and hand with Sam down the steps of her apartment complex to the car. He’s still sleepy from me waking him up so early to leave, but I wanted to get on the road. The drive is almost five hours, and I'm hoping that Sam will sleep for a couple of those hours.
She helps buckle Sam into his seat and says goodbye to him while I load our suitcases into the trunk. Tara meets me by the driver's side door. Her eyes are glassy with unshed tears.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” She pulls me into a hug.
I hug her back tightly. I don't know what I would have done without her help for the past few months. I'm the big sister. I'm supposed to be the one with my life together. Instead, my little sister welcomed my son and me into her home without complaint.
“Try not to have too much fun without us.” I chuckle.
She laughs. “Yes, you know me. I’ll be living the dream with full control of the remote and no tiny Legos to step on.”
“We’ll see you in a few weeks."
I get in the car, knowing that if I stand there any longer, I run the risk of talking myself out of this.
A year ago, I would have laughed in the face of anyone telling me that Jameson Holloway would be back in my life and that I would live with him on his family's ranch.
The drive to Centennial Springs is longer than I expected. I have a whole new appreciation for Jameson making the trip so often since he came back into our lives.
“Sam, honey. You ready to see some real animals on the ranch?”
“Horses!” he yells from the backseat.
The prospect of seeing a real horse has consumed much of Sam’s waking hours and some sleeping ones too. Yesterday, he tried to tell me about a dream he had about riding a horse with Jameson. The smile on his face was enough to assure me that I was doing the right thing. He needs to know Jameson.
The idea of the two of them spending more time together tugs at two sides of my heart. The obvious side being that I want Sam to have a happy and healthy relationship with Jameson. But on the other side, I fear I'm going to lose him. For so long, it's just been the two of us. But now, with Jameson in our lives, I’m selfishly not ready to be the only parent in his life.
JAMESON
I haven’t been able to sleep since Tris agreed to bring Sam to Mountain Creek Ranch. There is already so much I want to show him. But it’s the horses I can’t wait to show off. I already told him about two of our horses, Millie and Blaze.
I told Tris to text me when she crossed over into Centennial Springs. I wanted to make sure I was back at the main house when they arrived. I told the family to make themselves scarce. I didn't need her and Sam to get overwhelmed by a loud crowd of strangers standing there waiting when they arrive.
