Page 122 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“Mom,” Gareth called, following after her. “Let me help… that tray will be heavy.”

Deanna gave her son an adoring look, cupping his cheek before they disappeared down the hall.

“This place is amazing,” I said softly as I looked around. “Did you see the pond? How could you not want to live in a place like this? It's paradise.”

Lysse tucked some hair behind my ear in a subtle effort to draw my attention. “So tell me, Rosie, you’ve been to the beach, experienced international city life, and now here we are on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. What is your favorite?”

Leaning forward, I rested my chin on my hand, mulling that over. Everything we’d done so far had been amazing, each place having its special something. How could I possibly choose?

“Don’t roll your eyes as I give you this answer, okay?” I warned, knowing even if he agreed, chances were he’d still do it.

Lysse drew an X over his heart. “Promise… even crossed my heart.”

“This is going to be the most cheese ball thing ever to be said, but… I think any place would be my favorite as long as I was there with all of you,” I admitted.

Not only did Lysse roll his eyes, but the others even groaned at my sappy response. Thankfully, Warrick scooped me up as I started to pout and snuggled me close. “Don’t mind them, Care Bear. I personally love that you are so damn cheesy. This way, I’m not the only one who says shit like that in this family.”

We were all distracted when Deanna and Gareth rejoined us, carrying a tray of filled glasses and another full of daintily cut sandwiches. There was no way she’d done that just now, seeing there were four different types to choose from. Just how much had she done to prepare for us to visit?

“Bailey-Rose, the lemonade is for you,” Dee pointed out. “Gareth wrote down the list of things to avoid so I can make sure we have something for you to enjoy. I make my tea strong and sweet, so I think that might be a little too much for you, darling. As for the sandwiches, I didn’t know what everyone would like, so I did a little of everything. We have ham and cheese, egg salad, hummus and cucumber if anyone is a veggie lover, and my famous chicken salad.”

“Thank you, Mrs. … I mean, Dee,” Yun-Sun said, catching himself. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for us.”

“Nonsense, meeting my sugar bear’s pack for the first time is a major deal,” Dee argued, sitting in a well-loved armchair. “Now help yourself… there's plenty to go around. I've got more in the kitchen.”

For the next few hours, we chatted and filled my mom in on how we met, Bailey-Rose’s surgery, and the adventures we’d been on for the past few weeks. I’d been worried that coming home after so long, Mom would start in about how I’m never around and worry over every little thing I do. What I hadn’t expected was for her to be so absolutely invested in getting to know my pack. Granted, once my brothers found their packs and matched with their Omegas, they didn’t bother coming home anymore.

I knew she worried about me more because of what happened with Callie and the fact it hit me so hard. It was another reason I didn’t want to be here in this house that reminded me of my little sister, not that you’d know I had one since there wasn’t a picture to be found. My fathers decided it was best to remove all traces of her from the home so Mom wasn’t tortured by Callie’s ghost, which was one of the many things I viewed differently than my fathers.

Through our bond, I could tell that while Bailey-Rose was enjoying the social time, she was anxious to do something else. I glanced at my watch, seeing it was getting close to dinner time for the animals and us.

“Hey, baby girl,” I said once the conversation fell to a natural lull. “If you want, it’s almost time to feed the horses. Any interest in helping me?”

Instantly, her eyes lit up. “Yes, one hundred percent yes.”

Grinning, I stood and held out my hand to her. “Then let's go see what you ordered from Ranch Depot. You’ll need something other than sandals to wear out to the barn.”

The guys excused themselves as well since it would be a good chance to get settled and figure out rooms. One of the rooms was larger and had a king-size bed with a futon that pulled out into a queen bed. This meant we either agreed to snuggle up to all be in the same room or split it three and three. We decided to split the rooms, and we’d rotate who slept with Bailey-Rose.

“It’s only for a short time,” Vili pointed out. “We will manage until going home.”

When we decided to come here, we decided to stay for three days so we had a week at home before our leave ended. Of course, for most of us, nothing really changed after that, but Ulysses and Yun-Sun still hadn’t decided what they were going to do for the long term. Either way, we had a little over a week before we had to worry about all that.

Once the rooms were sorted, the boxes were opened, and our girl was decked out in jeans, boots, and a T-shirt, we headed to the barn. The moment we entered, I was hit with every scent that reminded me of home and fond memories of growing up here. Guys were tossing hay down from the loft, prepping for feeding, filling the air with its sweet scent. God, I’d missed this.

“Gareth… Gareth Watson, is that you?” an older gentleman asked, walking over to us.

It took me a moment, but I recognized the man as Tripp Carson. He’d been brought on as ranch manager a few years after Callie’s death. My father, Jonathan, had concluded we needed someone who didn’t know our family trauma to run the ranch. So he fired the man who’d been working for our family since I was born and brought on Tripp.

“Mr. Carson, it's nice to see you,” I greeted, shaking the man’s hand and gestured to my right. “This is my bonded Omega, Bailey-Rose.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Tripp said with a tip of his hat. “What brings you two out here…getting a little dark for a ride.”

“Actually, we were looking to help with feeding,” I explained. “Do you still use the annex barn as the old folks’ home?”

Tripp grinned and nodded. “Sure do,… best-looking lawn ornaments in all four counties that I know of. If you two want to handle those four, we’ll settle up here in the big barn.”

“Sure thing, you still keep your notes in the same place?” I asked.