Finally Home Read Online Free Page B

the chilly weather kept her inside.
    As she sipped from a mug of coffee, she heard a light knock at the door. Quickly she ran to open it, thinking of Noah.
    It had been a couple of days since she had seen him. Maybe he finally realized how ridiculous selling Moonlight Ranch would be and was stopping by to give her the good news.
    “ Thomas!” Amanda squeaked after flinging open the door. “What a surprise.”
    He smiled awkwardly. “Hi, Mandy. Uh, my son isn’t here--is he?”
    She frowned, her brows knitting together fiercely. “Here? No, Thomas, I haven’t seen him since the night we all had dinner.”
    He relaxed a bit, “I’m not meaning to pry, you know. I just had to ask. It was a logical thing to assume since you two seemed to be getting along so well that night.”
    Amanda was still baffled, and now a little embarrassed, by what Thomas had been thinking. She looked down at her feet for a moment and grinned.
    “ Perfectly alright. I understand why you might have thought--” she stopped. Her blue eyes were suddenly wide with concern as she looked at Thomas.
    “ Why are you searching for Noah? Is something wrong?”
    “ Oh, I don’t know if there’s anything wrong. He’s been gone for two days and I was just wondering where he was. But I’m sure he’ll show up if he feels like it,” Thomas shrugged. He then waved his hand toward the fence. “I brought one of my cowpokes with me to fix that fence those two spunky horses of mine busted into a couple of days ago.”
    She glanced at the gangly young man waiting patiently by the gate. “Thanks, Thomas, but I’m still worried about Noah. He didn’t say a word to you before he left?”
    He playfully tugged on her blond ponytail. “I didn’t mean to cause you worry, Mandy girl. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
    She could sense he was just pacifying her. “I just don’t understand him, Thomas. I didn’t when I was little and I don’t thirteen years later either!”
    “ I think you understand Noah’s wild spirit better than you think,” he chuckled, rubbing his gloved hands together. “It’s a bit nippy,
    so I’m gonna hurry and get that fence fixed. Why don’t you come down to the ranch for Thanksgiving on Thursday? Unless you already have plans.”
    “ I did have plans with my mom but she canceled on me.”
    “ How’s Donna doing these days?”
     
    “ Same old mom,” Amanda responded flatly.
    “ How about your dad? Have you heard from him lately?”
    She thought of her father, who she hadn’t seen since her parents divorced when she was eight. “He called me a couple of times in Chicago but that’s been about five or six years ago.”
    “ You know I’ve always thought of you as family, Mandy. And Barbara did, too,” he nodded, remembering his beautiful wife for a moment. “So I hope you will think of this ranch as your home.”
    She laughed softly, pulling her sweatshirt sleeves over her hands to protect them from the chilly breezes wafting through the porch.
    “ I already do, Thomas. I’ve felt at home here ever since I first visited the ranch when I was a kid. Thanks for being so kind.”
    “ Ok, enough of this mushy talk!” he tweaked her red nose between his fingers. “I’ll see you at the Thanksgiving table! And be prepared for some non-traditional grub. Maria has been experimenting lately!”
    She giggled cheerfully, closing the door after he left. But as soon as she was alone, her mind helplessly drifted to Noah. She wondered if he had left for good this time.
    ********
    Amanda was pleased to see the sun peeking out from behind a mass of clouds when she stepped from her truck. According to the local news station, the next couple of days would be a little warmer in Sage. Which was absolutely fine with her! The warmer, the better.
    She thought she had left behind those bitter winds in Chicago. But just her luck, they followed her to Texas.
    She locked the old red truck that used to be her grandfather’s. Grinning,