on it.
“No, honey,” Sabrina said absently, putting him into his stroller so he could “read” the book. “This is for higher education, not nutrition. You turn the page like this. See?”
Joe observed, but didn’t quite have the motor skills to figure out page-turning. Still, he was happy to pat the page for a moment. “So,” Sabrina said, “I guess what I really want to know is if you…if you’re—”
“If Jonas and I are still engaged.” Chelsea nodded. “No. We’re not. It was Jonas’s plan, to keep him from being embarrassed that he was the only brother without a woman. He was pretty devastated when he thought you’d gone to Washington and met another guy.”
“Oh,” Sabrina said. “That’s not what happened at all.”
“And any woman could have figured that out.” She nodded again. “But Jonas was in full protective mode. I figured the two of you had to work things out eventually.”
“So why did you come to Diablo?” Sabrina asked, wondering what Chelsea’s angle was, if not marrying Jonas.
She began checking in some books that were in the bin. “I’ve been taking care of my mother for a few years. She’s much better now. She told me to go see the world.” Chelsea glanced at Sabrina. “Mom lives next door to Fiona, you know.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Mom’s supposed to be keeping an eye on Fiona and Burke’s place until they get back. Who knows when that will be?”
“They’re elusive,” Sabrina murmured. “So did you tell Jonas you wanted to see the world?”
“Mmm. And he said New Mexico was a great place to begin. That if I’d pretend to be his fiancée, he’d fly me over here and help me get started.” The redhead grinned at her. “I want to do a lot of traveling, but I can tell Diablo is a great place to live. I may stay here for a while. I like family places.”
“Diablo is certainly that.”
Chelsea stopped checking in books for a moment to consider Sabrina. “You know, men think with their hearts more than we give them credit for. And Jonas really was freaked out that you were having another man’s baby.”
“It never occurred to me that he would think that,” Sabrina said.
“There’s the trouble,” Chelsea said cheerfully, going back to her work. “We never know what they’re thinking, and it’s usually nothing that we’d think at all.”
“Thanks, Chelsea,” Sabrina said, feeling immensely relieved. “I really appreciate you telling me all this.”
“Jonas can’t be annoyed with me for telling you the truth, can he?” She winked at her. “Anyway, he’s a nice guy and all, but I’m looking for adventure.”
“You’ll find it here.” Sabrina handed the picture book back to Chelsea, and little Joe let out an indignant squawk. “Oh, Joe, honey…all right,” she said, giving in. “I think he’d like a book to read, Chelsea.” She found her library card and checked the book out, then gave it back to him.
Chelsea looked over the counter at Joe. “Maybe he’s going to be book-smart like his dad.”
Sabrina laughed. “Maybe he’ll get some other kind of smarts from his mother, too.”
“Goodbye, Sabrina. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
She nodded. “I hope so. Goodbye, Chelsea.”
Sabrina went out, feeling much better now that she had some answers—and still not certain what to do about Jonas’s invitation.
* * *
“SO THIS IS IT,” JONAS SAID proudly the next day, when he’d finally dragged a reluctant Sabrina and little Joe away from Rancho Diablo for what he called “new family togetherness.”
Sabrina wasn’t certain what she thought about “family togetherness” time with Jonas. After her chat with Chelsea, though, she’d decided to give it a shot. Something was bugging her, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. The old “tickle” was back, warning her that something wasn’t quite as it should be.
Jonas was handsome as ever, gorgeous, in fact, yet she couldn’t allow herself to focus only on her emotions. But it was hard to forget what they’d shared, and how wonderful Jonas made her feel when she was in his arms. “What is it?” she asked, caution dampening her enthusiasm.
“This is Dark Diablo,” Jonas said, parking his truck in front of a small, spare farmhouse set among hardy junipers and spiny cacti, and framed by dusky canyons and arroyos. “This is my new home.”
Sabina blinked. “Home?”
“Yep.” He came around to help her out of the truck, then took Joe from her arms when she’d released him from his car seat. “This is Daddy’s new house, son. You get a swing set here, and a pony.”
“Wait,” Sabrina said, following them. “This isn’t home. You live in Diablo, at Rancho Diablo.”
“I’ve always wanted my own place. This is that place.” Jonas glanced around, pride evident on his face. “It took me almost four years to finally pull the trigger and buy this from the owner, but I did it.”
Sabrina looked around at the vast emptiness, her heart sinking. Of course, they were only a few miles from Rancho Diablo, but this wasn’t home. Home was with the people she’d come to know and love. She didn’t want Joe growing up alone.
She shivered. “There’s nothing out here.”
“I know. But I see cattle breeding and horses, and maybe something else. I’m not sure what.” Jonas smiled at her. “I can tell you’re not crazy about it.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel,” Sabrina said quickly. “It’s your place. But it just seems so lonely.”
“The previous owner was old. He’d sold off most of his equipment and buildings, intending to sell the ranch to a corporation, I think. But when I heard that we might lose Rancho Diablo, I began to think seriously about this place. I knew we could move our operations here, if we had to.”
Sabrina nodded. “That makes sense.”
“So now it’s mine. Come on inside.”
The small farmhouse, with its weather-beaten paint and dust-laden windows, was so different from the seven-chimneyed, English-style manor house at Rancho Diablo. Sabrina walked into a wallpapered kitchen that was large and bright, if not updated. “Where does the water come from?”
“Here we’re cistern. For the cattle, luckily, there’s a couple of good creeks and streams you can’t see from the house, but which I think I can run pipe to.”
She kept walking around the house. “It feels like Auntie Em’s home in The Wizard of Oz.”
“I plan to build my own place one day. This isn’t big enough for a family. And I like what I had growing up.”
“Where are the closest neighbors?”
He looked at her. “I think there’s some a few miles away. This is ten thousand acres, so it’s pretty private.”
“I’ll say.” She went up the staircase, finding three small bedrooms laid out at the top, with one bathroom in between. “All the bedrooms are upstairs.”
“Yes.” Jonas came to stand beside her, carrying little Joe. “Sabrina, everything can be changed.”
She swallowed. “I’ve lived in a lot of places, Jonas, so I think I’m pretty good at adapting. But I suspect you’re going to be very lonely out here. I know I would be.”
He blinked. “Lonely? I was thinking how great the peace and quiet