her nose, then sighed and stood up. “Okay, what do you say we take these little guys for a walk in the stroller? I’ve been cooped up here for the past thirty-six hours with no one but Rick at night to talk to.”
“Ronny, I’m so sorry I left you alone yesterday,” Elissa said, the guilt overwhelming her.
Veronica smiled and stood up. “No problem.”
Elissa stared at her friend as if she’d grown another head. Veronica was halfway across the room before she realized that Elissa was staring at her strangely. Then she laughed at her friend’s expression. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just post partum,” she explained.
Elissa could only nod her head as if that explained everything. “Okay, thanks for the update,” she said.
Veronica laughed again. “It comes each day for about a half hour, then leaves and I can enjoy the twins again. It’s awful so be glad you only caught the tail end of the mood swing. And be grateful I just have the baby blues. I hear that post partum depression is really awful.”
Elissa had to take her friend’s word for it, never having gone through a pregnancy nor having any friends who had gone through pregnancy. The women she knew in New York didn’t want to ruin their figure and their careers for something they considered troublesome and annoying.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Elissa asked, following after Veronica with Maxine in her arms. They put the babies into the double stroller and pushed them out the door.
“Sure I’m fine. For now at least,” she said. She chuckled suddenly. “You should have seen Rick yesterday when I started crying. He just about turned green before losing all color in his face. I don’t think he stopped spoiling me at all yesterday.”
Elissa laughed. “I can imagine. It’s a little terrifying to witness.”
“Humph. Try going through it!” she said.
They laughed as they walked through the walkways of the immediate ranch area. “Why don’t you take me to see the newest member of the ranch?”
“Oh, Ronny!” Elisa said, eager to share her story. “Have you ever seen anything like it? Did Rick tell you what happened? Jake helped Lucy give birth to a tiny little foal. It was breach and the poor mare was in labor for hours, obviously in pain and straining….” Elissa laughed at Veronica’s rueful expression. “Okay, I guess you know all about the wonder of birth. But that was my first one and you should have seen how wonderful Jake was. He was so gentle, coaxing the mare to make it through the ordeal, then pulling that poor little foal out of her womb. I can’t imagine what that was like,” she said, staring at the barn to which they were heading.
Veronica watched Elissa’s face and wondered about her friend’s feelings towards Jake. “Elissa, when are you going to admit that you’re in love with Jake?” She asked after only a moment’s hesitation.
Elissa sighed heavily. “I have, to myself.”
“When?”
“This morning,” she replied.
“When you were getting out of his bed?”
Elissa’s startled expression snapped to Veronica’s. “How did you know?” Veronica laughed. “Oh, Lissy, when have you ever been able to hide something? An educated guess and only a few clues and I knew as soon as you walked into the house this morning.”
“I’m surprised that you noticed anything.”
“I’m post partum, not blind,” she said, laughing again. “So what are you going to do about the situation?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Veronica repeated, astonished.
“What is there to do? Jake and I are from different worlds.”
“Don’t you dare give me that load of Malarkey,” Veronica said. “You’ve already said you hate New York, you hate your job and you hate the life you have back there. So if you hate so much behind you, look ahead of you,” she said, pointing towards the barn where Jake was striding across the drive. He started the engine of a truck and drove off, waving to the two of them who were just standing there watching him drive away.
Elissa considered what Veronica had said. “It’s true, I do hate it back there.”
“What’s holding you there?”
“Nothing.”
“What’s holding you back from taking everything you want here?”
“Jake. I don’t know how he feels about me.”
Veronica chuckled at Elissa’s insecurity. “Honey, if you only knew Jake, you’d know he’s head over heels in love with you too.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Remember his house before you entered it?”
Elissa nodded. She remembered the dust and the refrigerator full of sandwich makings.
“Jake doesn’t let people into his life easily. And especially not women.”
Elissa nodded,