The Alton family used to be happy. Thad, a hardworking rancher and a good father. Missy, a pretty wife and devoted mother. They married when they were both 18 and started having babies right away. Unfortunately, Missy just couldn't get used to the isolation that came with being a rancher's wife. So, after giving birth to their 6th child, she left. She went back to the Chicago, where she had grown up. After all, she was only 36 and was still pretty hot, even after having 6 kids. She left a note for Thad and the kids. It asked that they please understand and not to contact her, she just couldn't do it anymore. Thad was devastated. He made good money being a rancher and could have easily hired help to take care of the house and kids. But who would want to come live with them out in the middle of nowhere?
He understood why his wife felt isolated but, he was angry with her for leaving him and the kids. Their oldest daughter, Paige, a beauty with thick dark hair and blue eyes had step right up and starting taking care of her younger siblings and the house. He was so proud of her. So, when he came in from the barn about 2 weeks after Missy had left and found Paige crying on the couch, holding her youngest sister, newborn Abbey, he thought that reality had finally settled in and that Paige had realized that being a mom was too much for her. He went over, sat next to her and took her in his arms. He kissed her head and told her that it was okay, he would find help and that she didn't have to worry about anything. She looked at him with her tear filled eyes and told him that the house and the kids were not the problem.
Apparently, Abbey, the youngest child had been nursing with Missy for the 2 months Missy had stuck around after her birth. Now that Missy was gone, and had taken her milky breasts with her, Abbey was not taking to a bottle. Paige told Thad that Abbey had been losing weight. When he looked into his daughter's eyes he saw the concern she had for this baby. A mother's concern. He thought about the great job Paige had been doing taking care of things. She really was a good mom and for the first time, he realized that these past few weeks she had been acting as his wife too. Maybe it was because he was missing Missy so much but, in that moment, he began to see his daughter in a different way. He noticed her caring touch, holding his baby. He noticed the curve of her breast under her tight tee-shirt and the way her hair hung down with the ends curling around where her nipple was poking through her shirt. He knew his daughter knew about force lactation from working with animals on the ranch.