by Kate Pearce
“Sexist much?”
“Come on, Ry, nine times out of ten, it’s the boys who do the most ridiculous things.”
“True,” he acknowledged. “Not that me and HW ever did anything wrong. We were little angels.”
“Yeah, right. I went to school with you both, remember?” She turned back toward the bar and he followed her. “I knew I should’ve taken off my name badge, but according to my dad, if you’re a Hayes you’re always on duty.”
“No cane today.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Nope.”
Dude, she talked less than I do.
“Not so stiff?”
She didn’t even bother to answer that and settled into one of the booths. He took the seat opposite, as her father slid a glass of Coke in front of her.
“Here you go, love.”
Avery made a face. “I hope there’s alcohol in there.”
“Not on my watch.” Tom handed her a napkin. “Ry said you’re having a business meeting, and you know my motto—never mix business with pleasure.”
Avery sighed as he walked away. “No chance of me ever getting drunk in this bar. I suppose that’s a good thing.”
Ry held up his beer and clinked it against her glass. “There’s always the Red Dragon.”
“Nancy works there in the evenings. She’s just as overprotective as my dad.”
“It’s a small town. By the time I used to get home after a night out, Ruth always knew exactly what I’d done, and how I was going to pay for it.” He rubbed his ear. “For a small woman she certainly knew how to put the fear of God in all of us.”
“Just like my mom.” She sipped her drink. “So, what did you want to talk to me about, Ry?”
She was direct. He liked that about her.
“Do you remember the senior prom?”
“Mine or yours?”
“Mine. You were there.”
She grimaced. “Do we really have to go through all this again?”
“We didn’t go through it the first time. I was an eighteen-year-old idiot.”
“You weren’t the idiot.”
Ry took a slug of beer. “Okay, HW was, but—”
She held up a finger, interrupting him. “So why are you doing the apologizing?”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Because I always—”
“Apologize for your twin. Why is that?” She sat back. “You might look like him, but you’re not responsible for his mistakes.”
“He hurt you.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, he did.”
“And, at the time, I didn’t call him out for it.”
This time her smile was brief. “As you said, you were eighteen.”
“And you were even younger.” He pressed on. “He shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“No, he shouldn’t have pretended to be you when he kissed me.”
Ry winced. “He just got caught up in the moment, and—”
“Don’t make excuses for him. He knew what he was doing. He was peeved because I’d always liked you better than him.”
The age-old instinct to defend his brother rose again. For the first time Ry held it back. “You’re right. I’m still sorry I didn’t stand up for you.”
“I didn’t stick around to see what you did, to be honest. I ran out of there like the place was on fire, and went home.” She sipped her soda. “So are we done, now? You’ve apologized, and I’ve moved on, okay?”
“You sure about that?”
She shrugged. “Heck, he wasn’t that great a kisser, and it’s not as if there was anything between us, was there?”
“No?” He looked down at his menu. “Actually, I was the first Morgan to kiss you.”
She frowned. “When?”
“At recess when you were in first grade.”
“Oh . . . yeah, I’d forgotten about that.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Really?” He fought a smile. “You kicked me so hard in the shins I thought I was going to cry, which would have destroyed my street cred with my seven-year-old crowd. I suppose I should be glad you didn’t aim anywhere higher.”
“You deserved it.”
“I know, but I remember thinking you were something special from that day forward.” He hesitated. “I was going to ask you out after the prom. Hell—I was going to take you to it except you’d already decided to go with Tucker.”
“You were?”
He raised his head to meet her startled gaze as heat washed through her cheeks.
“I thought this meeting was about starting fresh.”
“Yeah.”
She pushed her drink away. “So we’re done, then.”
Reaching out, he gently closed his fingers around her wrist. “I’d like to take you out for dinner one night. Will you come with me?”
She went absolutely still. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
She eased her hand away and awkwardly stood up. “Because we’re not the same people anymore.”
He leaned back in his seat to study her. “You look pretty much the same to me.”
She briefly closed her eyes. “But I’m not that girl who had a stupid crush on you.”
“And hopefully I’m not that insensitive eighteen-year-old idiot who blew the chance to ask you out.”
She looked away. “Don’t make me have to say it.”
He eased out of the seat to stand beside her. “Say what?”
She stuck out her hand and then patted his sleeve when he didn’t reciprocate. “Take care, Ry, and thanks for coming by.”
“Wait a minute.”
She walked away, her gait slightly uneven as she favored her right leg. He thought about following her, and then imagined Tom’s face if he started arguing with his daughter right in the middle of the lobby.
Did she really think he cared how she looked? Part of him was slightly insulted that she should think so little of him. He tracked her out of the bar, through the lobby, and watched her go into the elevator before resuming his seat.
She’d looked less offended, and more . . . scared. Maybe it wasn’t about him at all. One thing he’d learned from watching HW mess up was to bide his time and not rush into things. The impulse to ask Avery out on a date had come out of nowhere. But once he’d said it, it made perfect sense to him. He’d always liked her and now with school far behind them they were definitely equals.
He finished his beer and put his hat back on. It was a small town. He knew where she lived, and she’d be up at the ranch helping with the wedding of the century for the next couple of months. He nodded to Tom, and stepped out onto the raised wooden sidewalk. Down at the corner of the street was the Red Dragon—the only bar in town. He contemplated dropping in for another beer, and a meet-up with Nancy, who probably knew Avery better than anyone else in the world.
But that was for another day.
He could wait.
* * *
The next morning Ry came down the stairs yawning so hard his jaw almost cracked. He hesitated at the kitchen door, aware of raised voices, which took him right back to being a kid and seeing his parents fighting. The memory still made him feel kind of sick.
He loudly cleared his throat and went in.
“Morning, Chase, January.”
They were seated at the table, nose-to-nose, glaring at each other. For a second, neither of them looked away, and then Chase sat back.
“Hell. Morning, Ry.”
January shot to her feet, brushed past Ry, and stormed out the back door, slamming it behind her.
Chase winced. “Ouch.”
“Problems in paradise, bro?” Ry asked as he helped himself to coffee.
“She’s doing too much. I just tried to tactfully point it out to her.”
Ry looked at the sheets of paper scattered around the kitchen. “And how exactly did you do that?”
“I’ve been tracking her time over the last few days, and—”
; “Hold up.” Ry picked up the nearest piece of paper and scanned it. “What the hell?”
“It’s just a schematic of her time management skills, and how she’s overscheduling herself, and not getting enough sleep. I took the information from the smart watch I bought her.”
“You gave her that report?”
“I wanted to back up my concerns with facts.”
“You gave a stressed-out, sleep-deprived woman a minute-by-minute guide to her whole life?”
Chase straightened out one of the crumpled sheets. “From your tone I guess you think that was a mistake?”
“Dude.” Ry shoved a hand through his fair hair. “Don’t you? Didn’t she just storm off muttering something about castrating you?”
“It didn’t go well.” Chase frowned. “But I am worried about her. I know she’s got to finish her thesis herself, and she’s determined to continue on with the guest-ranch project, but surely someone can help her with the wedding?”
“She’s got Yvonne and Avery helping her.”
“I know, but aren’t there professional wedding planners around or something? I’m happy to pay for one if it makes January’s life less complicated.”
“I hear you, but she’s got to agree. You can’t just make the decision for her.”
“You’re right.” Chase stood up and took a deep breath. “I’d better go and apologize. When she’s calmed down I’ll suggest the idea of a wedding planner, and we can take it from there.”
“Great idea, bro.”
Chase paused at the kitchen door. “Sorry about the shouting.”
“It’s all good.”
“No, it’s not. Hearing myself getting loud in this particular space?” Chase shook his head. “Brought back too many memories.”
“Yeah.” Ry kept his attention on his coffee. He really didn’t want to go there with his brother. They’d spent twenty years not talking about the last fight his parents had in this very kitchen, when his dad had been stabbed and his mom and baby sister disappeared into the night. Why was everyone suddenly willing to talk about it now?
“At least you and HW didn’t have to see any of that.” Chase spoke almost to himself as he went after January, leaving Ry at the table.
Ry took a deep breath. The trouble was, he and HW had never been any good at doing what they were told. And when Blue had snuck out onto the landing to see what was going on, they’d followed him, and seen their father in his bloodstained shirt stagger out of the kitchen and into the yard, shouting for his wife.
At five, Ry had only the haziest memories of the rest of that terrible night, but the image of his wild-eyed father desperately screaming for Annie was seared into his brain.
“What’s all this mess?”
He looked up as Ruth came into the kitchen.
“One of Chase’s less brilliant ideas in action.” He got up and started picking up random pages alongside Ruth. “January’s not real happy with him.”
Ruth snorted. “She seems fine with him now. I had to drive around them in the yard, they were kissing so hard.”
“Wow, he’s a quick worker.”
“Or January’s a saint.” Ruth washed her hands and put on her apron. “My vote’s on her. Now, what can I get you to eat?”
After a stack of pancakes and bacon, Ry was more than ready to ride off on the range and finish up the repairs to the pasture that ran alongside the Lymond spread. Chase and January hadn’t returned to the house, which wasn’t a surprise. On a ranch as big as theirs there were plenty of places to go if you didn’t want to be found for a while. Or to murder someone if January were so inclined. The abandoned silver mine was a death trap all by itself.
“Where’s BB?” Ry asked.
“Down at Maria’s school helping out at the library.” Ruth pointed her spatula at him. “Now, don’t you laugh. He’s being a good parent.”
“I know, but BB in a library?”
“He’s not stupid.”
“I never said he was. He’s just not exactly the quiet type. He can barely sit still for five seconds.”
“Jenna’s going with him, so I expect he’ll be fine.”
“True love.”
“She certainly calms him down.” Ruth topped up his mug. “Roy said to tell you that when you’ve finished the repairs to come and find him and Billy at the eastern end of the pasture.”
“Will do.” Ry considered his grandma as he finished his coffee. “Is January stressed?”
“Well, she’s certainly trying to cram thirty hours of work into a twenty-four-hour day, but we’ve all done that.”
“Do you think she’ll let Chase persuade her to hire a professional wedding planner?”
Ruth snorted. “Not in a million years.”
“Me neither.” He contemplated her for a long moment. “What about hiring someone she knows?”
Ruth smiled at him. “Smart boy. Want me to run the idea past her when she comes back?”
“Sure. Now just to prove that Chase isn’t the only cowboy in this family, I’m off to mend fences of my own. Real ones.” He kissed Ruth, rinsed his mug out in the sink, stowed the packed lunch in his backpack, and got moving.
He liked the slower pace, the chance to get on his horse and spend the day working hard in the open spaces of the ranch. He didn’t miss the city at all, or the endless traveling to the various rodeos. In their first couple of years, he and HW had turned up at about a hundred different rodeo events a year, crisscrossing the country in an ancient pickup truck, maybe making a thousand bucks for a thousand miles if they were lucky. Sometimes they made nothing at all.
He hadn’t heard from HW. Not that he expected to. Like all the Morgans, HW was as stubborn as a mule, and took his time to work up to an apology. Ry saddled Dolittle and headed out into the crisp morning. HW would be in Poway now, hustling to get those points and prizes to get him to the finals in late October. It was weird not knowing exactly what was going on in his twin’s life, but it was also doing great things for Ry’s stress levels.
He dismounted to unlock the last gate and closed it behind him and his horse. Chase had some wild plan to operate the ranch gates from some central GPS phone app or something. Ry was skeptical, but knowing his brilliant older brother he wasn’t going to bet against him. Farmers and ranchers everywhere would bow down and worship any guy who came up with a cheap system for automatic gate access.
Ry remounted and checked his cell before he moved off. There was nothing from HW, and nothing from Avery. He frowned at the screen. Had he even given her his number? He scrolled through his contacts, looking for hers, and found nothing. Wow, he was smooth. No wonder she wanted nothing to do with him.
Dolittle stamped his feet as if wondering at the delay, and Ry slipped his phone back into his pocket. The last thing he wanted was to lose it. Chase was also on about an alternative method of emergency contacts within the ranch. Blue had pretended to fall asleep when Chase was explaining it, and Ry had ended up laughing.
He smiled now as he contemplated a morning of twisting uncooperative coils of wire into the right alignment without cutting himself in the process. A man had to concentrate. He might complain, but for the first time in a long while, he felt . . . useful. That, and the thought of solving January’s dilemma made him determined to work hard all morning.
Chapter Five
Avery opened the screen door and went toward the kitchen, where she could hear Ruth and January talking. She called out a cheery greeting, and January came to hug her hard. Her friend looked tired, and way too stressed for Avery’s liking.
She took a seat at the table and accepted some iced tea before January sat opposite her, her hands clasped together on the table, her enormous engagement ring catching the light coming through the kitchen windows.
“So, what’s up?” Avery asked. “Something bugging you about the catering arrangements?”
“It’s more than that.” January sighed. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m spreading myself too thin. C
hase suggested we hire a professional wedding planner.”
Having dealt with many such people of varying abilities, from the excellent to the insane, at the hotel, Avery gave January a tentative smile. “That’s an awesome idea. Who are you going to hire?”
“Well, I was kind of hoping it could be you.”
“Me?” Avery blinked at her. “Why?”
“Because I trust you.” January held her gaze. “I don’t want some stranger coming in and telling us we’ve got it all wrong. I want to stick to the plans we made and carry them through to completion.”
“I’m not sure—”
January grabbed her hand. “Please, Avery. I really need you.”
“I’ll have to talk to my parents about this. Working for you will take time away from my commitments at the hotel.”
“I get that. We do want to pay you properly for your time.” January fluttered her eyelashes at Avery. “Please? I’ll love you forever, and so will Chase if it stops me being so grumpy all the time.”
“Can I think about it?” Avery glanced from January to Ruth, who had been listening quietly in the corner.
“Sure.” January squeezed her fingers and let go. “I understand.”
Avery checked her cell and stood up. “Sorry I have to rush off, but I’ve got to sort out some details for an event at the hotel this evening.”
“It was good of you to come out here at such short notice. I wanted to do this face-to-face.” January rose, too, and walked with her out of the house. “Let me know when you’ve made your decision, okay?”
“Will do.” Avery paused to get down the steps. “What did Yvonne think?”
“She thought it was a great idea, and the start of a potential new career for you.”
“She would,” Avery grumbled. “I’m surprised she didn’t want to do it herself.”
“She hasn’t got time, and she also doesn’t have your exceptional organizational abilities and eye for detail.”
“Flatterer.” Avery winked at January.
January kissed her cheek. “Hope to hear from you soon, okay?”
Avery was about to get in her car when she heard hoofbeats and turned to watch Ry loping his horse down the steep slope from the high pasture behind the barn. He was perfectly balanced even on the uneven ground, and so relaxed he made it look like a walk in the park, which she knew from past experience it certainly wasn’t.
