The Forest Ranger's Child by Leigh Bale

life. Trying to control her. Which was why she’d left in the first place.
    “Dad, I don’t know if I want to do this.”
    “What are you talking about?” Hank boomed and Lily flinched. “This is your home. Your heritage. Everything I own in the world will one day be yours. Of course you want to be a part of it. You love working with horses as much as I do. What’s gotten into you, girl?”
    Lily felt the blood drain from her face even as hot needles of fear prickled her skin. The room seemed to close in on her, like it did whenever Tommy had gotten angry at her. She glanced around the kitchen, looking for a place to hide. A place of refuge. Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she blinked, refusing to let them fall. Why couldn’t she just have a rational conversation with her father? Just once, she wished he’d listen to her. And try to understand.
    “Lily, are you okay?” Nate asked, his voice soft.
    “Yes. Fine.” No! she wanted to yell. A part of her felt guilty for planning to leave because she didn’t want to go. She would love to stay at Emerald Ranch forever. But she couldn’t take Dad’s volatile temper. Every time she disagreed with him, he blew his cork.
    “Men and women all over the country are looking for good rodeo animals.” Dad ignored her. “Our horses come from excellent stock. We just need to train them and find the buyers.”
    “Dad, I won’t—”
    “Hush, girl! Of course you will.” Hank turned and kept talking to Nate.
    Whether it was the hormones from her pregnancy or years of enduring a man’s foul temper, Lily couldn’t take this right now.
    With a huff of exasperation, she threw her napkin down on the table and scraped her chair back. Nate and Hank jerked their heads up in unison.
    “I want no part of this,” she said. “I’m this baby’s mother and I’ll decide what I do with my own child. I won’t be forced into anything by you. I won’t!”
    Without another word, she whisked her dishes into the sink and walked down the hallway. She closed her bedroom door with a soft click. No slamming door. No screaming or yelling. Just a quiet dismissal.
    At the age of twenty-five, Lily was now a grown woman. Way too old to be told what to do by her father. She had her own child to think about. An innocent life that took priority over everything else. Even if that meant giving her sweet baby up for adoption.
    And yet, it wasn’t that simple. Lily had come here, depending on Dad to help get her through this difficult time. He’d taken her in and she was beholden to him. As destitute as she was, she couldn’t afford to push her father aside. She loved him. She cared about him. But she couldn’t let herself get sucked back into her old life, either.
    And why not?
    The thought came unbidden to her brain. Why couldn’t she stay? She loved Emerald Ranch. Loved working with the horses. And Dad had offered to hand her ownership of a world championship reining horse just for sticking around. She’d done nothing to earn that right. No feeding, riding, cleaning manure from stalls or training of Peg. While she’d been off living a wild life with a married man, Dad had stayed here and kept the ranch going. Yet he was willing to hand it all over to her.
    If she’d just stay.
    Another layer of guilt rested across her heart. Dad needed her. She couldn’t stay, yet she couldn’t leave.
    The mattress creaked as she sat down and reached up to clasp her mother’s engagement ring through her shirt.
    “What should I do, Lord?” She prayed out loud, her voice a soft quiver.
    She patted her stomach and a little foot thumped against her palm. Then she felt a sense of calm pass over her.
    “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll do what’s right for you.” She rarely spoke out loud to the baby, forcing herself not to become too attached to the child she planned to give up for adoption. But it hadn’t worked at all. She loved this baby more than her own life.
    The peaceful feeling that