Chapter 1

Sawyer handed over his squirming three-year-old, "Reese has been talking about seeing you all morning, Bridget," he said, shaking his head at the way his daughter was already clinging to the young woman. "She loves Saturday mornings. I'm thinking it might be time to get her into preschool. She needs to spend more time with kids her age."

"She's such a little angel," Bridget said, hugging his daughter. "I'm sure she'd love it."

"Don't let her fool you," he said, shaking his head. "There's a little devil hiding under that sweet smile, but she's your problem now. I'll be over at my usual table."

"We're going to have tons of fun today," Bridget said, grinning at him. "I have something fun planned for the kids today, so be prepared to be amazed when you pick Reese up."

"Got it," he said, taking Reese back and giving her a hug and a kiss. "Be good for the big kids and have fun. I'll be on the other side of the room if you need me."

Reese gave him a sloppy kiss, "Wanna go play with Bridget," she said, patting him on the cheek. "Put me down."

"Put me down what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Please," Reese said. "Put me down, please."

He gave her one more kiss, making her giggle, then set her down, "Off you go then," he said. "Have fun and behave yourself."

Making his way over to the table where his friends were already gathered, he sank into a chair, thankful more than ever to have the companionship of the other single fathers gathered in the room. These few stolen hours were something he looked forward to all week, but this week he needed it more than usual and wondered what his life would be like without the support of the other single fathers.

All eyes turned to him when he sat down at the table, and a brief silence followed, "How are you holding up?" Jayce finally asked. "I mean, if you want to talk about it, that is."

"I'm okay," he said, shrugging. "I've always known there was a chance that Helen would want to come back here. To be honest, I'm not sure she has anywhere else to go."

There was another short silence, "She's not moving back in with you, is she?" Jayce asked. "I mean, you're legally separated and everything, you shouldn't be living together."

He shook his head, "I know that you're all worried that I'll give in and let Helen back into my life, but that's not going to happen," he said. "I have to talk to her because of Reese, but unless it involves our daughter, I'm done with Helen. I've already given her more chances than I should have. We're not good together, and we never will be; we never should have……"

"I'm sorry, Sawyer, we didn't mean to bring all that up, we were just worried about you," Jayce said, cutting him off. "You've been through a lot over the last three years. We just want you to remember that we're here for you, anytime, day or night."

He looked around the table at the smiling faces, nodding in agreement, and let out a sigh, "Thanks, you guys, I needed to hear that," he said. "It's not going to be easy. I've always given into Helen in the past, let her guilt me into letting her back in my life, but not this time. I want a divorce. I want off this roller coaster we've been on. Helen is sick; she's an addict, but I'm done letting my daughter suffer because of it, and I'm done letting her use it as an excuse to walk all over me."

Jayce slapped him on the back, "That's all we needed to hear. Now let's change the subject," he said. "Noah is going to call for a vote on expanding the group to include all fathers next week. I was wondering how you're all going to vote."

"I can't imagine this group without Noah and the others," he said. "I'm going to vote yes. It won't be the same group, but it isn't going to be the same anyway if we kick four of the founding members out. Times change, and we have to change with them. We'll still have meetings restricted to single fathers. This will just expand the group and bring us more opportunities to support each other."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Jayce said, slapping him on the back. "Now, if you could just say that a few more times before the vote next week, we might just get this done."

"You're putting me on the campaign trail?" he asked, looking over at Jayce. "How did that happen?"

"Come on, Sawyer, we're the only two still on the inside," he said. "Noah made an exception for you. I can't believe you don't want to help him out."

"It's not that I don't want to help, and you know it," he said, glaring at his friend. "I'm just not sure I'm in the mood for this."

"Maybe it will take your mind off Helen coming back," Jayce suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

He sighed, "Fine, who do you want me to talk to?" he asked. "I'll make my rounds on my way up to get some food, but that's all I'm promising. I was hoping for some downtime this morning."

"And you'll have it," Jayce promised. "Just as soon as you swing a few people over to our side."

***Piper***

Piper paused for a second to catch her breath, reached up and wiped the sweat from her face, then stuck the pitchfork into the pile of soiled straw and hefted it over her shoulder. It landed with a satisfying thud in the wheelbarrow behind her, and she bent to dig the tool in again, repeating the process until the stall was clean, then moved on to the next one. Cleaning stalls was way beneath her title as ranch manager, but she'd woken that morning feeling nervous and jittery and had needed something to burn off some energy and calm her.

Spending time in the barn never failed to lift her spirits. It was where she felt the most at home on the ranch, and the physical activity was slowly calming her emotions. When she finished with the stalls, she'd saddle up her horse, take a long ride, and hope that when she got back, the hurt and frustration that Sawyer had forgotten her birthday would be gone. She was trying her best to be understanding, to forgive him for letting it slip his mind. He had a lot going on, but they'd been like family for six years; she'd always been there for him, and it hurt that once again Helen had come between them.

As if she'd conjured the woman from her mind, when she turned from the clean stall, Helen was standing in the open doors watching her, "After all these years, here you are still mucking out stalls," she said, her grey eyes sweeping over Piper, clearly assessing her carefully. "But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less. After all, you were always willing to do anything for Sawyer. Clearly nothing has changed."

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, keeping her voice calm when she really wanted to smack the other woman. "As you can see, I'm a little busy."

"Don't I even get a welcome back?" Helen asked, taking a few steps into the barn, wrinkling her nose at the smell. "Although I'm probably the last person you want to see. After all, I'm the only thing standing between you and Sawyer, so I can understand why you wouldn't greet me with open arms."

She studied Helen for a second, anger and jealousy surging through her, but kept her mouth firmly closed and her feet planted firmly in the ground until she got control of her emotions. Certain that she saw a look of disappointment on Helen's face for just a second, she took a deep breath and turned away from Helen, grabbed the pitchfork and started on a new stall, determined not to let the woman bait her into doing something she'd regret.

But Helen clearly wasn't going to give up until she got what she wanted, "Do you realize that it's been three years since we met?" Helen asked, walking over to where she was working. "I suppose I should wish you a happy birthday, twenty-four now, isn't it?"

When she didn't answer, Helen shook her head, "I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about it, I wouldn't want to either," she said. "I mean, here you are, pining over a man you can't have and getting older every day. If you're not careful, you'll wake up one day, and your whole life will have passed you by. Take my advice, give up on Sawyer; if he hasn't realized that you're in love with him by now, it's a lost cause. Find yourself a man before it's too late."

Doing her best to control her temper, reminding herself of the promise she'd made not to engage with Helen, she threw one more scoop of straw into the wheelbarrow, then set the pitchfork aside. This time when she just stepped past the other woman, picked up the handles, and started to push the wheelbarrow away, Helen's disappointment was evident on her face and she felt a little thrill of triumph. Letting out a sigh of frustration, Helen followed her across the barn, hobbling along on her high heels, her face wrinkled at the smell, clearly no more comfortable in the barn than she'd been the day she arrived at the ranch.

When she reached the far side of the barn and Helen showed no signs of leaving her alone, she stopped, then turned to face the other woman. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I'm quickly losing my patience with you," she said. "I happen to know for a fact that you're not supposed to be here at the ranch, and I don't think Sawyer is going to be happy when he finds out you were not only here but you were harassing me. What I do with my life is none of your business, and it never will be. I think it's time you left, Helen; you're not wanted here."

Helen narrowed her eyes, her face turned a bright shade of red, "He's never going to fall in love with you. He loves me, he always has," she screamed, then took a deep breath. "He's just using you, Piper, keeping you dangling so you'll leap at his beck and call. You're just making a fool of yourself. Sawyer will never be yours."

"The only one making a fool of herself is you," she said, taking a step toward Helen. "I'm going to ask you nicely to leave again, and then I'm calling the sheriff."

"You can't do that. This ranch belongs to me more than it does to you, I married, Sawyer, remember?" Helen hissed at her. "You're just the hired help."

She shook her head, "I guess you didn't know," she said. "I'm part owner in the ranch now, twenty-five percent to be exact. I'm surprised Sawyer didn't tell you, but then again, you've been gone for six months, and the two of you are legally separated."

Helen's face turned a bright shade of red, "You're lying," she screamed. "You little bitch, you're lying. Sawyer would never give you part of the ranch, you're just the hired help……"

"He had to find a way to pay for your rehab," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't insisted on going to that fancy place back east, Sawyer wouldn't have had to give me shares in the ranch instead of my wages."

Helen stared at her for a second, then chest heaving, she rushed at Piper with a scream, "You bitch," she said. "I'm going to get rid of you, I'm going to run you out of town, and you're going to be sorry you ever messed with me."