Glenna had figured her out. Phoebe would give her that.
Glenna was a quiet woman. The opposite of how Phoebe’s mother had been. Glenna was more like Pip. Her mother had been much more like the fierier Perci.
Glenna had a soothing manner about her that Phoebe probably would have liked if they had met anywhere else but her father’s front yard the night before. She probably would like Glenna.
Phoebe was reserving judgment.
She was a bit distrustful where strangers were concerned. It had taken her a while to trust Joel, too.
Phoebe settled in for the day. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Glenna’s daughters were total hellions that reminded Phoebe of Perci, Pan, and Pip as children. Phoebe had always had to ride herd on them to keep them out of trouble.
Parker seemed to enjoy having children around to play with, but he took off to his bedroom after a while. Said there were too many girls around. Patton had choir practice, and Pete had driven him in to town. Pete was flirting around with a girl right now, and took every opportunity to go to town to see if he could run into her.
Phoebe busied herself by helping Glenna prepare a pot roast for dinner.
Glenna seemed…competent. Nice.
A little shy. Phoebe hadn’t really expected that, for some reason.
Not exactly like someone trying to sink her claws into Phoebe’s innocent, overly trusting father. Phoebe smirked to herself as she imagined her father’s response if she ever called him that out loud.
Her father wasn’t innocent and unknowing and vulnerable—not even for one moment.
He was strong, healthy, and…needed. Very, very needed. He’d had a heart attack after her mother’s death, but the underlying cause had been found and surgically corrected shortly after.
It had terrified them all, reminding them how quickly someone could be lost. Phoebe would never forget how tenuous life could be. How quickly someone you loved could be just gone in an instant.
It was after that scary night when Phoebe had taken over in so many ways. And had organized her sisters into very efficient little lieutenants to do her bidding.
They had marched to her orders like good little soldiers until they hadn’t needed to any longer.
All of that was over now thankfully.
But old habits died hard.
Her father was healthy. He was relatively young. And he had children to raise.
She knew exactly how hard that was, and how much work the ranch was. He’d had to hire two of her younger cousins part-time to help replace Pip. Her sister still helped when she could, but Pip had three children and her own plans for life now.
Phoebe falling for Joel had changed everything for everyone. In a good way. But it had definitely meant change.
She probably would have still met Joel. She’d come to that realization a few years ago, watching the way her sisters had circled around with his brothers. With the way his brother Nate and her sister Perci had been with each other, and the way Pan had been hired by Levi as his housekeeper…meeting Joel would have been inevitable.
Change was inevitable.
Just how it had happened, had been totally random.
Phoebe was starting to accept that she couldn’t control everything anymore. But she knew herself well—she was good at being the one in charge.
But…she really couldn’t be in charge at her dad’s. Not anymore. He and the boys had to do what was best for them. Regardless of what she thought about it.
What she thought about a stranger in her mother’s kitchen.
She tried to tell herself that as Glenna held her own youngest close and rocked the girl until she was sound asleep. The older girls were in the family room watching an educational program for a few minutes while Glenna tended her youngest and Phoebe took care of Aria. “Are the girls settling in ok?”
Glenna nodded. “I think so. I have always homeschooled. So thankfully, we don’t have to change that routine. When I was working second shift at the women’s charity, the girls came with me. And we did their school during slow times. I’m glad for a more normal routine. They want to do their school tomorrow when Parker does. They idolize him.”
“He probably likes that. I think, as the baby of the family—he’s also the youngest cousin—he was feeling a bit invisible. The movie made him feel important. And he likes it.”
“He’s wonderful. They all are. Your father has helped me out so much letting us stay here.”
“He needed the help, too.”
“That’s what he said. But he could have hired someone local. He…I think he only hired me to help Robin out. And because Lacy Deane asked him to. Lacy and Robin were worried about me.”
Robin. Phoebe hadn’t seen her since Phoebe was seven years old. “How long have you known Robin?”
“Thirteen years. She was there with me for every one of my girls’ births. Evey’s middle name is Robin. Robin and her kids, and our friend Rory—they are my family. I have always been able to count on them.”
She meant it.
Phoebe knew she was pushing when she asked the question that was burning in her mind. “And the girls’ father? Where is he?”