“At our ranch—the one I grew up on, I mean—there was this old oak tree in the front yard and my dad carved a big heart in the trunk of it with his and my mom’s initials inside when they were dating. It was my grandparents’ ranch back then. I used to look at it and think it was a sweet, romantic thing to do.” I shrugged, embarrassed. “So, I thought, maybe…” I left off, feeling my face heating up.
“You want to get a tattoo of a heart with our initials in it?” Ben asked.
When I nodded, he hugged me.
“I think that’s sweet. Maybe here, on your bicep. Or on your back?” He touched in between my shoulder blades.
“No,” Angus said, and I looked up, meeting his gaze. “Over his heart. Where we belong.”
Letting out a breath, I nodded.
***
“That’s looking good, boys,” Angus said, surveying what Ben and David had gotten done. They had insisted on fulfilling their promise to get the Borders’ garden in shape, but all other work to restore the old ranch was being done by a professional team hired by the medical facility in Hudson City. They had paid Nova and Eric a large sum of money for the place, although the two remained owners of the ranch on all public records. In reality, they helped run the place in exchange for living there, and that suited everyone. The money they were paid was more than fair considering the state the ranch was in, and it allowed Nova and Eric to purchase some animals at auction. The contract stipulated that, should the omega facility be closed down in the future, the ranch would revert back to Nova and Eric Borders. If they ever chose to leave, the animals and what property they owned when they came to it would go to them.
By mid-June, all the fences had been mended, the new roof was on the ranch house, and several cabins had been built on the property. A sign was erected at the beginning of the long driveway that readBorders Ranch for Troubled Teens. The group of omegas would be kept separate from the teens, who would all be betas. Alphas, even teenaged ones, would not be taken into the program because any accidental meeting between an alpha and an omega could prove disastrous. The devised excuse for this was that the more aggressive natures of the alphas would hinder the healing of the betas.
After quitting her practice in Hudson City, Laura had settled into one of the cabins on the Borders’ property. I didn’t think she was actually romantically involved with Nova and Eric Borders, but I did think that, if the pheromones Nova put out every time Laura was near were any indication, it was only a matter of time.
On a Saturday early in July, the temperature hovered in the high 80s, and the blue sky stretched out endlessly without a thundercloud in sight. Angus, Maddox, and I decided it would bea great day to take Ben and David to the river after they showed off their work on the Borders’ garden.
Proudly, David pointed out the rows of turnips, lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, snap peas, carrots, and beets that were ready to harvest. The new omegas, who would be arriving in a few days, would take over and do that job.
After we’d admired those plants, Ben led us to those that weren’t quite ready for the table: big, heavy potato plants; cabbage; broccoli; cauliflower; onions; bush bean plants with short, bouquet-like clusters of tiny white flowers; pole beans climbing on wooden stakes; summer squash; and flowering zucchini plants, their yellow blossoms open to the sky.
“You two have done a wonderful job,” Angus said proudly.
“I’ll bet Nova and Eric were pleased,” I added.
Ben nodded. “They wanted to pay us, but we said no.”
“Well, we have a little surprise for you to celebrate all your hard work,” Maddox said.
David’s eyes lit up. “Really? What is it?”
I smiled. “We thought we’d take a drive to the river.”
Ben and David looked at each other, twin grins spreading on their faces.
“Laura’s going to watch Ollie for us, David. Take him inside and nurse him. I put one of the bottles of extra milk in his bag. Then we can be on our way.”
Maddox took the bag from the truck and handed it and the baby to David. While he was inside, I showed Ben that we’d tucked bags of swimsuits and towels in the truck bed. When David came out of the house a few minutes later, he climbed into the bed with me and Ben, while Angus and Maddox sat in the cab.
“Why is Angus driving so slowly?” Ben asked after we’d gotten started. He didn’t have to speak loudly for us to hear because Angus was literally going five miles per hour up the dirt road.
“I think he’s being careful due to precious cargo,” I said, gesturing to him and David, who both rolled their eyes.
“I’ve only been swimming twice since I came here,” David told Ben. “This is going to be great.”
“I don’t know how to swim, though,” Ben said.
“I’ll teach you to float,” I told him. “And, eventually, to swim, too. But if you can float, you can keep from drowning.”
Ben looked doubtful, but he nodded. “Are we going to fish, too?”
“Fly-fishing is better done in the mornings or evenings. We’ll do that another time,” I promised.
Over seven hundred miles long, the North Platte River was a tributary of the Platte River. Since the area where we were planning to swim was dam-controlled, the water there was clear and cold. Angus chose a small, quiet sandy beach in a little-known area secluded by large cottonwood trees. It was the perfect place for the five of us to enjoy the afternoon together.