by Kate Pearce
After watching her deal with Dolittle and then get down and dirty with him in her office, Ry had decided to give her some space. The last thing he wanted was to push her into anything, although being with her and not touching her was harder than he’d anticipated. Did she even want to be in a relationship? She certainly hadn’t asked for clarification, but neither had he. They’d always been friends, and somewhere in his heart he’d always hoped for more. But HW had spoiled those early adolescent dreams, and then they’d left town.
He’d been too shy at school, assuming that anyone with any sense would prefer his twin to him, while taking every opportunity to hang out with Avery at school and at any event that involved horses. He was pretty sure she’d seen him as a friend and never thought of him as anything special. But he’d always admired her outgoing personality and her determination to not be just “one of the Hayes kids,” but her own person.
He fired up the engine of his truck and the dog barked and jumped into the front passenger seat. In his more reflective moments, he was glad he hadn’t started something with Avery back then, because he was pretty sure the relationship wouldn’t have lasted, what with his crazy rodeo schedule, and her accident . . .
The thing was, he still liked her, and maybe if he took things slow and steady she’d work out that she liked him, too. If he could just keep his hands off her. He hadn’t bargained for the heat between them.
Succumbing to temptation, he sent her a text.
You okay?
Yup, you?
He grinned at his cell like an idiot. All good here. Just heading out.
More fences?
How did you guess? You free for dinner tonight?
The pause this time was longer, and the dog nudged his shoulder as if telling him to get a move on.
Could be.What time?
7? I’ll call you when I get to town.
OK C U later x
He eased off the brake, and drove off. His canine buddy put his head out of the window, his tongue hanging out, huge ears flapping in the breeze. Ruth said the dog hadn’t told her his name yet, and that Ry was welcome to listen in and take the critter on if he wanted. Looking at the dog’s goofy grin, Ry decided to take Ruth up on her offer. But if the dog didn’t come up with something soon for his name, Ry had a few ideas of his own . . .
Life was good. It really was.
* * *
“What in thunderation is that?” Roy shaded his eyes as the roar of a helicopter drowned out everything around them in the dusty, sunbaked pasture. “The landing strip’s on the other side of the darned ranch.”
Ry spat out a mouthful of dirt the chopper had stirred up. “Maybe they aren’t landing.”
“They’d better not be. Scaring my cattle like that.” Roy scowled at the large silver helicopter that made another pass, and then flew to the east.
“Probably some of Chase’s buddies from Silicon Valley.”
“Fools,” Roy muttered as he put down his hammer. “I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”
“Looks as if your wish will be granted.” Ry shaded his eyes. “Yeah—they’re landing down by your house. You sure you aren’t expecting anyone?”
“We’ll find out. You coming?” Roy stomped over to the truck and got in.
As Ry was driving, he guessed he was.
He didn’t know much about helicopters. This one was new and had lettering on the side that looked like a TV station or something similar. By the time they arrived, several people were emerging from the helicopter, some of them in cowboy hats.
He glanced at Roy, who shrugged.
“I have no clue who these folks are, but that’s a California TV channel that features local sporting events.”
Ry didn’t doubt his boss’s knowledge. Ruth and Roy were TV addicts and watched every reality show, soap opera, game show, and sport known to mankind.
“Better see what they want, then.”
Ry parked, left the window open for the dog, and got out. The hot, dry wind swirled around him like a desert storm, coating him in fine white dust. He put his Stetson on and strolled behind Roy to the group gathered just beyond the helicopter.
One of the women was pinching her nose. “Oh my God, the smell! How can anyone live in a place like this?”
Seeing as she was standing directly downwind of Roy’s pigs, Ry wanted to smile.
“Can I help you folks?” Roy raised his voice to be heard above the winding-down whine of the helicopter.
“Roy! Dude! ”
Ry’s gut tightened as the tallest of the guys turned and came toward them, hand outstretched.
“That you, HW?” Roy didn’t sound any more welcoming than Ry was feeling. “Don’t you know better than to scare every living creature on a ranch?”
HW’s grin widened. “Nice to see you haven’t changed, Roy. How are you doing?”
He clapped an unresponsive Roy on the shoulder and turned to Ry.
“Hey. What’s up, bro?”
“Nothing much.”
HW turned back to Roy. “I’m sorry about the landing. The team just wanted to get a sense of the ranch from the air, so I was giving them the tour. I had no idea where the cattle were running.”
“Team?” Roy asked.
HW made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “Yeah, these guys are from the Cally4Nya network. They wanted to do a piece about me before the rodeo finals.” He glanced between Roy and Ry. “When they found out I grew up here? They really wanted to see the place.”
“Your cell not working, HW?” Ry contemplated his brother for a long moment.
“You mean why didn’t I call?” HW grinned. “It was a last-minute decision. I really didn’t think anyone would mind. Ruth is here, isn’t she?”
“At the main house.” Ry stuck a hand in his pocket. “How are you expecting to get up there?”
“Ry . . .” HW lowered his voice. “Could you just get over yourself for a few minutes? This is important to me. I want to make a good impression so I can attract more local sponsors. How hard is it to give us all a ride up to the ranch?”
Ry glanced at Roy, who shrugged. “We can take them. You okay with that?”
“Sure.” Ry was already walking back to his truck. “I can take three in the back. The front passenger seat is already taken.”
Two of the people were carrying big items that looked like cameras and lights. He helped them load their gear in the bed of his and Roy’s trucks. They were nice and polite and thanked him for his help. Meanwhile HW continued to hold court with the other three, two females and one guy, who all seemed to think the sun shone out of his ass. Roy could take those guys. He’d settle for the real workers.
Before he left he called Ruth. She didn’t hold with texting or with the internet in general.
“Hey, HW’s turned up with a TV crew. You okay about him coming up to see you?”
“A TV crew?”
Ruth sounded way too thrilled for Ry’s liking. “Yeah. Cally4Nya. Roy says he knows them.”
“So do I! How exciting. I’ll set the table.”
Ry ended the call as the two techies got in the truck and immediately petted his big slobbery dog. Roy was still talking to HW, who was smiling his sweet golden grin. His twin was looking leaner than usual, his blond hair cut short and tight. Ry ran a hand over his unshaven jaw and grimaced. He wasn’t going to compete with his brother. It never ended well.
It didn’t take long to reach the ranch house. The two guys in the back spent every moment exclaiming over the views and the emptiness and the silence. Ry couldn’t decide whether they were horrified or intrigued. A lot of people couldn’t deal with the isolation. His mom had hated it.
A memory crept over him: He was standing at the foot of the bed watching his mom dump clothes in a suitcase while the baby was crying. They hadn’t had anything to eat for a long while, and he was hungry and had come looking for her. Whatever he’d said had made her angry. Her face had contorted with rage and she’d grabbed hold of h
im by his T-shirt . . .
“Wow! You grew up here? It’s awesome!”
Ry turned off the engine, got out of the truck with Dog, and helped the guys unload.
“Leave your stuff on the porch and come in and meet my grandma.”
He led the crew into the house, where Ruth was waiting in the kitchen. She immediately sat them down and started simultaneously feeding them and asking questions. Ry left her to it and headed back out, bumping into Roy and HW as they came in.
HW’s fingers closed around his upper arm. “Where’re you going, Ry?”
“Back to work.”
“But I need you here. Francesca wants to interview you.”
“So?”
“Please, Ry. Help me out? I need the exposure before the finals. You know how it goes.”
Ry met his brother’s gaze properly for the first time, noticing the shadows under his eyes and the worry lines bracketing his mouth.
He sighed. “Sure. I’ll hang around if it’s okay with Roy.”
“Thanks, bro.” HW grinned. “Roy’s down with it. He’s dying to be on TV.”
“Figures.” Ry made for the stairs. “I’ll just go and clean up.”
* * *
Avery checked her cell and found a message from Ry.
Sorry, change of plans. Can’t get into town tonight.
“What’s up?” Marley came into their shared office, a pile of folders in one hand.
“Ry said he’d be coming into town this evening and now he can’t make it.”
“Ry Morgan?”
“Yeah.” Avery contemplated her phone with a sense of real disappointment.
“Brother to multimillionaire Chase, superhot Marine Blue, and twin to HW?”
“That’s the one.”
Marley sank into the chair with a sigh. “You lucky thing. Are you going out with him now? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Because there’s nothing to tell.”
“Just a business thing, then?”
“Yes.” Avery hoped she wasn’t blushing at that downright lie. “But he’s had a change of plans, and he’s not coming.”
Which meant she wouldn’t be coming either . . .
Oh God, he was corrupting her without even trying. They weren’t even officially dating, and yet they’d both had their hands down each other’s pants. Were they just hooking up now? Was it totally about sex for him?
Not that they’d had sex . . . but oh God, she wanted to . . .
“Avery?”
She hastily collected herself. “It’s a shame he won’t be here. I have some financial information for January and Chase I was hoping he could pass along.”
“Then why don’t you meet at the ranch instead?”
“I could do that.” Avery’s thumb hovered over the keyboard of her cell.
“Then go and see him. I’ll manage here.”
“I know you will.” She checked the time. One hour before she was due to meet Ry. “I suppose I could go up there.”
“I would.” Marley winked at her. “You never know when business might turn to lurve.”
“You read too many romance novels.”
“So do you. In fact, you were the person who got me hooked on them.”
“That was Mom’s fault. She started it.”
She texted Ry back. Have paperwork to deliver so might come up there, okay?
The door burst open to reveal her brother Mark. “Tucker’s out, and there’s a snake on the back porch. Can one of you catch it?”
Marley shuddered and Avery stood up. “Sure. Can’t have the guests getting all scared like your big sister, Marley. But you’re going to have to help me, okay? Get the net and the bag.”
* * *
Ry shielded his eyes from the glare of the lights the TV crew had put up facing the pile of straw bales where he was supposed to sit to be interviewed by the very beautiful Francesca. The sun was going down and the sky was tinged with purple, a spectacular backdrop to the set. Ruth and Roy had already done their pieces and were now busy making up beds for the guests and planning a sumptuous dinner.
Now it was Ry’s turn.
He’d always hated being hauled up in front of the lights to speak after a rodeo win. Sometimes he’d sent HW along to pretend to be him.
Francesca sat beside him and patted his arm. “You look so like your brother!”
“We’re identical twins, ma’am.”
Her smile thinned. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. I’m probably the same age as you are.”
Ry doubted that, but he’d been brought up to be polite.
“It’s a shame your oldest brother isn’t here right now. I would’ve loved to have interviewed the great Chase Morgan of Give Me A Leg Up.”
Blue had conveniently disappeared with Jenna, and Maria and Billy had muttered something about going to check on the new house site, leaving Ry to stand in for the rest of the family. He wished the others were around. They’d be far better at getting publicity for the new and improved Morgan Ranch. He felt inadequate just sitting there, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat dry. HW had always done the talking.
He made an effort. “You can probably catch up with Chase in San Francisco. He’s there once a month.”
“So I heard.” Francesca looked over at Tom, who was in charge of the shoot. “Ready to go? I’d like to get this done before the light goes. It’s so pretty out here.”
“Ready when you are,” Tom called.
She smiled at Ry again. “Okay, just be yourself, and don’t worry about getting everything right. We can always edit stuff out. We’ll start with you, and then bring HW in so our viewers can take in the sight of the two of you.”
“Great,” Ry murmured.
If it was up to him it was going to be a damn short interview, and a very long night.
* * *
Avery approached the unnatural circle of lights down by the barn with all the trepidation of a girl in an alien movie. What the heck was going on? Ry had said he was busy. He might have explained that something extraordinary was happening at the ranch. But maybe he hadn’t wanted her to come up. She checked her cell. He hadn’t replied to her last text, so she’d assumed everything was fine. She slowed down. Maybe this was a mistake.
“That you, Miss Avery?”
She jumped and slapped a hand over her heart as Roy’s voice came from behind her. He was standing on the porch of the house, looking down at her.
“Hi! I was looking for Ry. Is he busy?”
Roy nodded at the barn. “He’s being interviewed. Go on down, and when they wrap up remind everyone to come on in for dinner. Ruth’s expecting them.”
“Will do.”
Avery carried on down the slope, aware of a group of people behind the lights, all staring inward. She edged closer until she was right alongside them, but no one noticed her. Ry was sitting on a bale beside a beautiful blond woman who looked vaguely familiar. It was so quiet out on the ranch that she could hear what was going on quite clearly.
“I think it’s time to introduce your brother—the saddle bronc rider bound for the national rodeo finals, HW Morgan.”
Avery moved a step nearer as HW sauntered onto the set, tipping his hat to the interviewer and taking a seat beside his brother, who hardly acknowledged him.
Seeing them together only emphasized the differences between them that most people would never see. HW looked relaxed, confident, and golden . . . as if nothing could ever go wrong in his life. Ry smiled less and held himself more tightly, his hand clenched on his thigh as HW chatted to the woman.
She’d seen Ry being interviewed over the years, and he’d never looked comfortable. Now—with HW beside him—he looked downright miserable. The woman took the twins through a brief review of their childhood and early careers before turning to Ry.
“So, Ry, how does it feel having a superstar for a brother?”
Avery winced at the question, but Ry shrugged.
“He’s done amazingly well.”
“But how does it feel to have your identical twin succeed where you have failed?”
“I guess I just didn’t want it as much as he did.”
The woman leaned in. “And you’re okay with that? Rumor has it that you walked out when you heard your twin had qualified for the finals and you hadn’t.”
HW opened his mouth, but Ry got in first.
“Yeah? I don’t remember it that way myself. I’d already decided to come home to help restore the family ranch before I knew HW had qualified. I don’t like to break my promises.”
The woman turned to HW. “And what did you do when your brother deserted you at this crucial moment in your career?”
HW’s smile was a study in patience and humility. “I just wanted my brother to be happy, Francesca. I knew I’d be okay. I’d done most of the hard part.”
“Do you plan on going to watch your brother compete in Vegas, Ry?”
“If he wants me, I’ll be there cheering him on. It’s a great achievement.”
“I’m hoping my whole family can come out,” HW added.
“That includes your oldest brother, Chase Morgan, who runs a tech company in San Francisco, correct?”
“Yup. He’s already told me he’ll be coming.” HW grinned. “He’s been awesome.”
Ry said nothing, easing back so that all the light fell on his twin like the sun reflecting back the moon. Avery came from a big family. She knew how easy it was to get lost among a crowd of siblings, but Ry seemed to be intent on disappearing altogether. He was worth twenty of HW. Why couldn’t he see that?
Francesca turned to the camera. “Let’s wish HW Morgan all the best at the national finals, and many thanks to the Morgan family for hosting us today. We’ve had such fun!”
“Cut!”
One of the men beside Avery shouted, and she jumped. Attempting to avoid being seen, she circled around the cameras deeper into the shadows, and came out close to where the brothers were standing by the bales.
“Why did you tell her that bullshit, HW?” Ry was speaking.
