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so! I’m off! You guys take care now…”
    They watched her walk up the hill towards the staff quarters and then they exchanged glances.
    “I’m not the only one who’s a bit worried, right?” Jake said.
    “No, hon.” Julie shook her head. “You’re definitely not alone in that.” Just then her cell phone rang. “Oh, boy. It’s Tammy…”
    Tamara Jenkins was Julie’s best friend, as close as a sister. She lived with Rob Cathay, the Sales Director at Open Skies. Funny, sassy and halfway to insane, Tammy was the first person she had told about the engagement. Sadly, it had been a voicemail, since Tammy was at a fashion design conference, but Julie knew Tammy would kill her if she had started telling people at the ranch without telling Tammy beforehand.
    Jake grinned. “Brace yourself, babe.”
    “I know, right?” Julie pressed ‘answer’. “Hey, Tammy.”
    Tammy shrieked. No words – just one long shriek. Julie held the phone away from her ear and Jake and Mattie could hear the noise. Everyone laughed.
    The shriek tapered off and Julie carefully held the phone close to her head. “Ummm. You done?”
    “For now! Engaged! Jules… engaged! ”
    “Yeah....”
    “OK, when do we party?”
    “I think you and Mattie need to talk about that.”
    “Put her on the phone. Right now. We’ve got some planning to do…”
    Julie gave Mattie the phone. “It’s for you.”
    **
    Annabeth knocked on the door of Vicky Thompson’s private staff apartment. She heard footsteps inside and the door opened. Phil Dobson was standing there, strong and broad and handsome.
    “Well, hey Annabeth.” His green eyes blazed down at her. “How you doing?”
    “Good. You?”
    He ushered her in. “Busy in here.”
    She looked around at all the packing boxes, the stacks and piles of things all over the place. “Vicky and Sonia are moving?”
    “Yep.” He looked delighted. “They’re moving in with me.”
    “What? Really?”
    “Yeah. My house isn’t huge, mind you, but I have more than enough space for a bedroom for Sonia. We’ll be fine there.”
    “I’m so glad.”
    “Me too.” He smiled, his battered face sweet and soft. “We’ll be having a housewarming party in about six weeks, after we do all the renovations and stuff, so I hope you’ll come. I mean, if you can drive in to Clarity from Denver.”
    “Um. Sure.”
    “Great. So, what can I do for you, hon?”
    “I was hoping to talk to Vicky.”
    “She’s not here, I’m afraid. She’s in Colorado Springs at the shelter.”
    “Oh, right.” It hadn’t occurred to her that Vicky might be doing her community service at the shelter for battered women and children this morning. “How’s that going?”
    “Good. Really good.”
    “She doesn’t find it… upsetting? It doesn’t trigger her?”
    Phil’s face clouded. “A bit, sometimes. But she’s tough. We get through it.”
    Annabeth nodded. She was sure that when Vicky was taken back to all those years trapped in a violent marriage, Phil was right there pulling her back to now. She thought about Vicky’s six-year-old daughter, another casualty and survivor of Carl Thompson. Vicky had kidnapped Sonia and given her to Vicky’s mother for safekeeping and then Vicky had run to Open Skies, looking for a new start, a better future for her and Sonia. An experience like that had to leave some scar or hurt on the little girl.
    “And Sonia? How’s she doing?”
    Phil’s face broke in to a huge smile. “Great. That girl is bright and smart and funny and just so damn sweet. She’s a joy, Annabeth. Truly.”
    “God, I’m so glad. I was worried she’d have a hard time adjusting to all this.”
    “Yeah, me too. I really thought she’d be scared of me , you know. Her father hurt her, and she was skittish around men. But we took it slow and now she’s all about the hugs and the cuddles. Kisses my nose when I leave for work in the morning.” He grinned. “Most precious damn thing that happens to me all