The Maverick Cowboy

by Kate Pearce

  So he really had been the only one of Billy’s sons to completely repudiate his father? All the others had grown up and realized there were more sides to a story than you could ever imagine. Except he hadn’t learned that. He was late to the party as usual, due to his inflexible nature.

  “Are you okay?”

  He was staring so hard at the ground that he almost walked into Jenna and had to catch her by the elbows to stop her from falling.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “You don’t look it.”

  “I’m yet again realizing what an idiot I’ve been.”

  “What happened?”

  “Just family stuff.”

  “Ah, okay.” She took the hint and tried to ease out of his grasp, but for some reason he held on.

  “I used to think that knowing right from wrong, and black from white, was the only way to live. I thought that if I stuck with those certainties, then I wouldn’t go wrong or stray from the right path.”

  “And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “But there is. You end up blinkered, and you hurt people.”

  She cupped his cheek. “Real bigots never realize that, Blue, so I think you’re doing okay. There’s nothing wrong with having standards and principles. Where would we be without them?”

  He slowly exhaled. “When did you get so sensible?”

  “Just lucky, I guess.” Her mouth quirked up at the corner. “And about twenty thousand dollars of family therapy during my childhood. I’m very good at handing out advice.”

  “Do you know what Ruth’s idea of family therapy was? Cleaning out the barn together. She had a theory that if she wore us all out, we wouldn’t have the energy to fight or be miserable.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Yeah. She and Chase somehow got the rest of us through our childhood. Maybe I need to work harder.”

  “I can think of one way for you to expend some energy.”

  “Right here and right now?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “What was that about being discreet?”

  “I meant you could help Chase with setting up the dais, idiot, but I see Ry is already helping him.”

  He kissed her on the nose. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my little brother. He’s the quiet one of the family.”

  “Well, one of you had to be. He’s tall. I can’t believe he rode bulls.”

  “Yeah. I’ll need to get a ladder if I want to get in his face.”

  “Or stand on a chair.”

  They’d reached his brothers, and he was still holding Jenna’s hand.

  “Ry. This is Jenna. She’s one of the McDonalds.”

  Jenna smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

  “What’s up?” Ry looked from her to Blue. “You’re Dave’s sister, right?”

  “No, his cousin.”

  “She’s from the prettier side of the family.” Blue wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. “And she’s a damn fine vet.”

  “Nice.”

  “She’s helping us get the horses ready for the guest ranch,” Chase chimed in as he finished haphazardly banging in a nail Blue was fairly certain he was going to have to replace if he didn’t want the dais to collapse.

  “Cool.”

  As they walked away, Jenna looked up at Blue. “You’re right, he doesn’t say much. I like him already, and he has such pretty eyes. They’re almost as golden as his hair.”

  “Hmmph.” Blue considered his younger brother. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Don’t worry, all the women will.”

  “Yeah, but five seconds of conversation with him, and they’ll all be running for the hills.”

  Jenna cast a speculative glance back at Ry over her shoulder. “I dunno about that. Sometimes you don’t want them to talk much.”

  “Jenna McDonald . . .”

  She grinned at Blue and backed away. “Just kidding. Gotta go help January before she has a meltdown.”

  Blue slowly shook his head. Every time he was with her, she surprised him. It was like watching a tight flower bud unfurl into something glorious. He almost laughed at himself. Where had that come from? He sounded all romantic and shit. But he’d never had such strong feelings for anyone before in his life.

  Ruth was beckoning imperiously and he knew better than to ignore her. There were lights to string around the trees and a parking lot to organize. Hopefully, after that he’d be able to get a shower and change into something clean. There was only an hour before the official start of the party, so he’d better get a move on.

  * * *

  “Do I look okay?”

  Jenna turned from adding another layer of mascara to find January right behind her.

  “You look beautiful.”

  January worried at her lip. “Really? Because I want to look nice for Chase and I’m not used to wearing expensive clothing, and I’m worried I look like an imposter.”

  “Yvonne helped you choose this dress, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And is she ever wrong about anything concerning clothes?”

  “No.”

  “Which is why you can be sure you look beautiful,” Jenna said firmly. “And Chase wouldn’t notice if you turned up in a feed sack. He’s totally in love with you.”

  January finally smiled. “He is, isn’t he? God knows why.”

  “Because you are awesome.” Jenna patted January’s shoulder. “Believe.”

  “It’s hard sometimes because Kevin—”

  “Kevin was and continues to be a first-class douche.”

  “True.” January nodded. “Thanks for reminding me.” She sat down at the vanity and smoothed moisturizer on her face. “You look great, too.”

  “Oh, this old thing.” Jenna was wearing her favorite green dress. Blue had already seen it twice, but she didn’t have the funds or the time to go shopping, and Yvonne wouldn’t let her go on her own.

  She took out her cell to check the time, as she had been given the responsibility of getting January to the party, and noticed a screen full of messages.

  “Wow, Chase set up five-minute alerts to keep me on track.”

  “He would. The big nerd.”

  Jenna’s smile died as she scrolled past Chase’s texts to another set she’d missed while she was busy setting up the party.

  “Oh dear God, no,” Jenna breathed.

  “What?” January swiveled around in her seat. “Is something wrong? Has Kevin turned up?”

  “No, you’re good . . . it’s just that . . .” Jenna could barely form words. “My parents gave my sister my address, and apparently she’s passing through, and . . .”

  “Cool! You can invite her to the party.” January paused. “Or tell her you have the plague, whatever works best for you.”

  “She knows about the party.” Jenna sucked in a breath. “She’s asking whether you’d mind if she and her boyfriend dropped by.”

  “If you don’t want her here, I can always say no, and you can blame the bridezilla.” January fixed her gaze on Jenna. “Is she a problem?”

  “No, she’s . . . gorgeous and successful, and self-confident, and I usually need a week to prepare myself to deal with her, you know? She’s very fond of me and wants me to be happy, but she doesn’t see any way but her way.”

  “Sounds a bit like the Morgans.”

  “I suppose she is.” Jenna sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll have to see her. If I don’t, she’ll get worried and report back to Mom, and then my parents will come up here to see if I’m really okay and . . .” She waved her hand around in a spiraling gesture. “All hell will break loose.”

  “Then tell her she’s welcome.”

  Jenna tapped in a reply, pressed Send, and held her breath.

  “She’s coming, She’ll be here around six thirty.”

  * * *

  Blue took a moment to walk around the perimeter of the parking lot and make sure the two Hayes boys he’d hired to direct traffic knew what they were doing. He ha
d no doubt they’d do a good job. They were almost professionals after the spring branding season and their stints working the Morgantown festival. And he was paying them, which sometimes their parents didn’t.

  Looking back at the soft lights decorating the California oaks that reflected on the water in the creek made him smile. It was one hell of a place to hold a party. He must ask Chase and January if they’d decided to do weddings at the new guest ranch. He’d bet they’d make a killing.

  It was good to be home, and these quiet moments before all the guests descended on the place were extra special. Being able to share this evening with his brothers, his grandma, and Maria made him more thankful than he could ever have imagined. And then there was Jenna. The frosting on his particular cake, the unexpected missing part of him that made sense of everything he was.

  Bad timing—what with leaving the Marines, finding out he had a daughter, and starting a whole new adventure with the family ranch—but too good to let go. The roar of a V8 engine punctured the silence, and the familiar blue of Chase’s massive truck turned into the parking area and drew up almost beside him.

  Chase got out followed by Ry, who appeared to have exchanged one faded T-shirt for another one and possibly washed his hair in preparation for the event.

  “Hey,” Ry acknowledged him and then turned to open the door to help Ruth out. She was wearing a dress that he thought he recognized from his going-to-church days as a kid.

  “Where’s January?” Blue asked as Ruth started handing him stuff out of the truck and issuing orders nineteen to the dozen.

  “She’s coming with Jenna.”

  Chase’s usual relaxed expression was absent as they walked toward the dais.

  “You worried she won’t turn up?” Blue teased.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s not your wedding day.” Blue punched his arm. “Dude, she loves you, anyone can see that.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “And then there’s all your millions . . .”

  Chase stopped moving. “January doesn’t care about money.”

  “Exactly.” Blue swung around and stared right into his brother’s eyes. “So don’t stress, okay?”

  “Okay. But can you just text Jenna and make sure she’s on schedule? She hasn’t been replying to my one-minute alerts.”

  Blue rolled his eyes. “Really?”

  Chase turned away, and Ry joined Blue on the dais where Ruth had started to light the candles.

  “He’s not like I remembered.”

  “Who, Chase?”

  “Yeah.”

  “In what way?”

  “He’s a lot more . . . human, you know?”

  “Thank January for that.”

  “She’s cool.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So’s Jenna.”

  “She’s taken.”

  “Dude. Like I didn’t notice.” Ry winked at him and sauntered away, hands in his pockets, golden eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.

  Blue heard another familiar engine and looked across to see January’s old truck coming through the open gate. Roy and the hands had moved the cattle and horses farther down the pasture so there was no danger of any runaways joining the party. Escaping behind Ruth’s back, he walked down to meet the truck.

  Jenna wore her green dress. She’d pinned her hair up in some kind of soft style on the top of her head, which immediately made him want to slide his fingers in there and mess it all up.

  January looked . . .

  “Wow.” Blue grinned at her. “Look at you, beautiful lady. Chase is a lucky man.”

  Her smile was so hopeful it literally made him choke up. He immediately cleared his throat and offered both of them an arm.

  “Can I escort you both to the party?”

  “Now who’s being all fancy?” January poked him in the ribs. “Is Chase okay? Jenna was threatening to shut off her cell if he didn’t stop checking in on her.”

  “He was just being his usual overanxious self.”

  “I suppose I should be glad he didn’t send a security team to escort me from my bedroom to the creek.”

  Blue chuckled as he spotted his older brother talking to Ruth.

  “Hey, TC! Someone’s here for you.”

  Chase’s expression when he turned around and saw January was another of those moments that Blue would always remember. How his brother had overcome his fear of intimacy and let himself be loved was a lesson Blue was beginning to want to learn.

  January walked toward Chase. He met her halfway and kissed the living daylights out of her.

  Beside Blue Jenna sighed.

  “That’s so nice.”

  “Nice?” He looked down at her. “It’s epic. I’m practically blubbing like a baby here.”

  “You are not.” She searched his face. “You’re a big bad Marine.”

  “And he’s my big bro, and it’s way cooler than I thought it would be to see him being happy for the first time in his life.”

  She stood on tiptoe and kissed him firmly on the mouth. “Blue Morgan a romantic. Who would’ve thought it?”

  He kissed her back. “You?”

  “Yeah, but that’s our little secret.”

  “True.”

  A sharp poke in the back had him turning to see Ruth.

  “When you’ve finished canoodling, can you talk to the band? They’ve just arrived and need help setting up.”

  “Canoodling?”

  “You know what I mean.” She gave him her best death glare.

  “I can do that.” Ry wandered over in the direction of the second raised dais.

  Ruth pointed at Blue. “Then you can start setting out the water bottles and plastic cups.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Blue tipped his hat to his grandma and sighed. “Will you help me, Jenna?”

  “Sure.”

  “She’s going to help me finish sorting out the food.” Jenna was led firmly away by Ruth in the other direction. She looked helplessly back over her shoulder and Blue winked at her. If he wasn’t careful, he and Jenna would spend the entire night apart. But he was a Marine. Tactics were his forte, and he had no intention of allowing that to happen.

  He checked his watch as a procession of trucks and SUVs bounced their way down the dusty track toward the party area. Behind him the band was tuning up, and Ruth was in her element. It was going to be a great evening, and he was going to spend it with Jenna, Maria, and the rest of his ever-increasing family.

  Life was good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Jenna?”

  Blue snagged hold of Jenna’s hand as she went by him and drew her close against the noise of the band and the chatter of the happy guests. Maria was being whirled around the dance floor by Billy, and the pair of them were laughing at each other. January was slow dancing with Chase, and they might as well have been the only people there. The party was a blast, and Chase and January were rocking it.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She raised her face to his, her expression troubled. “My sister’s here.”

  “Were you expecting her?”

  “As of about two hours ago. January knows, and she said it was okay.”

  “Which sister?”

  “Lily.”

  “The older one, right?”

  “Correct. She’s just arrived. I’m going down to find her.”

  He took her hand.

  “You don’t have to come with me.”

  “I’d like to.” Blue raised an eyebrow. “Unless you don’t want her to know about me?”

  “I’m fine about that, I just thought you might have better things to do with your time, like talk to Ry.”

  Blue glanced over to the tables where he could just about see his brother surrounded by a crowd of females. “I think he’s busy.”

  “He’s certainly popular.”

  She was walking easily with him now, her hand relaxed in his, their arms swinging in unison.

  “She’ll probably be near the exit i
f she just turned up. What’s she driving?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He spotted an unfamiliar white Range Rover Sport. “I bet that’s her.”

  “Yeah.” Her fingers tightened within his. “I think it is.”

  A tall blonde dressed in a short white minidress and sky-high heels was standing by the car looking down at her phone and chatting to a guy who looked like he’d just stepped out of a magazine cover shoot. The pair of them looked completely out of place against the rural backdrop.

  “Lily!” Jenna waved. “Over here.”

  The blonde smiled and picked her way through the uneven soil toward Jenna. “Jen! Darling!”

  Blue stepped back as Jenna was enveloped in a hug and both of them were surrounded in a cloud of expensive scent and beauty products.

  “Thanks so much for letting us come over. Daj offered me a lift back to LA in his private jet, so I was able to find some time to come out and see you.”

  Jenna gestured at Blue. “This is Blue Morgan. He’s part owner of the ranch.”

  Blue tipped his hat, “Ma’am,” and then held out his hand to Daj. “Welcome to Morgan Ranch. We’re celebrating my brother’s engagement tonight. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

  “How sweet.” Lily smiled at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a party at a ranch before.” She slipped effortlessly between Blue and Jenna. “What exactly do you do here when you’re not throwing parties?”

  “Mainly cattle ranching, but we’re expanding into the historical dude ranch business.”

  “How fascinating.”

  Jenna fell behind to talk to Daj, and Blue continued back up the slope with Lily chatting away at his side. At one point she stumbled, and he offered her his hand to help her over the more rocky terrain. Just as they reached the tables, Blue spotted Chase and beckoned him over.

  “Chase, this is Jenna’s sister, Lily, and her friend Daj.”

  “Nice to meet you guys, and thanks for coming to my party.”

  Lily looked up at his brother. “Oh my God, Chase Morgan? Cofounder of Give Me a Leg Up?”

  “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “I work for Heyer Biometrics! I met you a few years ago.” She turned to Daj. “These guys were one of our initial backers.”

  “You seem to be doing pretty well now.” Chase smiled. “I heard you were looking for round three funding.”