by Alice Ward
“Clementine, Glory, and the foals are still in the pasture,” he told me. “I guess they didn’t want to stray too far from home. Everyone else is gone.”
“Shit!” I exclaimed. I set off for the stables with James close behind me. We met Renee just outside of the barn and I didn’t slow down to greet her.
“Willow, Cole just told me what’s going on. Is there anything I can do to help you?” she called after me.
I looked over my shoulder. “Get Clementine, Glory, and the babies into stalls. Then stay there and see if anyone else comes back on their own. I’ve got my cell, we’ll keep in touch.”
We reached the stables just as Matt led Mayhem, Seven, and his mustang Sadie outside.
“We’ll start in the pasture and see if we can pick up their tracks,” I directed as I swung myself in to the saddle. “Let’s just hope they didn’t have a clear path to the mountains. If they get lost up there, we may never find them.”
I gave Mayhem a swift nudge to the flank and we set off for the thoroughbred pasture.
***
It took seven hours, but we managed to round up all of the horses. They’d split into two groups; one mingled with the remaining cattle in the large grazing pasture while the other paid a visit to a pond on the far side of the property, near the mountain land. Most of the horses were happy to follow us home, but Locomotion had to be roped and led.
“I’m so glad everyone’s back where they belong,” Renee said with a happy sigh. She fed Thunder a sugar cube and then set to work brushing briars out of his mane. Matt was prying a stone from Liberty’s hoof while I rubbed antibiotic ointment over gashes on Snowball’s belly. James was in a stall with Locomotion, patiently trying to calm him down with offerings of apples and sweet feed.
“And in one piece,” I added. “This could have been a lot worse. I still can’t believe someone did this. When James said that the horses were gone, my first thought was that someone had stolen them.”
Renee nodded. “I had the same thought. I hope you don’t mind, but I used the office computer while you were gone. Your dad called and asked me to order a new security system. He wants to put cameras up all around the ranch.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea,” Matt agreed. “If someone tries this again, we’ll catch them in the act.”
“Excuse me?” a timid voice called from the front of the barn. I looked up and saw a short, skinny woman with long brunette hair standing in the doorway. I wiped my hands on a nearby rag and walked towards her.
“Hello, can I help you?” I asked. The woman looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her.
“I hope so,” she blushed. “My name is Marci Brewer. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for Cole Rogers? I’m an old friend of his. We knew each other in college. I just moved to the area, and I wanted to talk to him about buying a couple of trail horses.”
Marci Brewer! I think she’s the one Daddy dated in college! What in the world is she doing here? I never gave James her name; I couldn’t remember it. Did he find her on his own? God, I’m being rude…
“I’m Willow Rogers. Cole is my father,” I said, offering her my hand. She shook it and smiled.
“Of course, Willow. It’s so nice to meet you. So is your dad around?”
“Cole is out in the pasture,” Renee said. I turned and saw her approaching us. “We had a bit of a catastrophe here today, over half of our livestock got out. I’m Renee Parker. It’s nice to meet you.”
Marci’s eyes shot back and forth as she shook Renee’s hand. “Half of your livestock… so you’re…”
“I’m Cole’s fiancé,” Renee finished. Marci blushed and it was obvious that she’d come to the ranch for more than trail horses.
“Why don’t you come up to the house?” Renee suggested, ignoring the woman’s embarrassment. “I need to check on dinner and Cole should be back soon. He can show you the horses, and then you can stay and eat with us.”
Marci rocked back and forth on her feet and nervously pulled at the hem of her shirt. “I don’t want to impose…”
“Nonsense,” Renee interrupted. “Kids, I’ll see you for dinner in about an hour?”
I felt trapped and was about to agree when James spoke up. “We have plans tonight, Mom,” he told her. He climbed over Locomotion’s stall.
“Plans?” Renee asked. “This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
I looked over at James and cocked my eyebrow, waiting for his explanation.
“We’re all meeting Lucas for dinner,” James said with a casual shrug. “In fact, we should really get going if we’re going to be on time. I’m sorry. I’d have mentioned it sooner, but I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”
Renee waved off the apology, but it was clear she wasn’t thrilled about being alone with Marci. “It’s fine. You kids have fun,” she told us. “Marci, let’s go to the house and I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”
Renee walked out of the barn and Marci reluctantly followed. James turned to Matt.
“So, do you mind if Willow and I tag along on your date tonight?” he asked. “We’ll take our own car so you won’t be stuck with us the whole time.”
“Of course not,” he agreed. “And you were right, we should get going. Who was that lady, anyway?”
“I have no idea,” I lied. “I guess she and Daddy knew each other a long time ago.”
“Uh huh,” Matt said. “If you say so.” His tone was doubtful and I knew he suspected that James and I were up to something. He walked to the back of the barn and started putting away the horse brushes and ointments.
James turned to me. “So what do you say? Feel like going to town for dinner?”
I looked down at my dirty overalls. “Not exactly… do I have time to shower and change?”
He lowered his voice and leaned in to me. “Do you really want to go to the house right now? Besides, you look beautiful. There’s nothing sexier than a woman who’s not afraid to get dirty,” he said with a wink.
I looked up at the house and wondered what might be going on behind the walls. James was right. The last thing I wanted to do was step foot through the door. “Okay, I’ll go,” I agreed. I grabbed my Stetson from its wall peg and covered my unruly hair.
“If you’re following me, it’s time to go,” Matt told us as he walked to the front of the barn. We followed him outside and he climbed into his truck. “I’ll see you at O’Brian’s,” he said before shutting his door.
James and I climbed into the cab of his truck and fastened our seatbelts.
“So how pissed at me are you?” James asked as he turned the key in the ignition. The truck growled to life and James steered it down the driveway.
“So you did have something to do with Marci showing up,” I frowned. “I wasn’t sure about that until just now. How did you find her?”
“I went through those yearbooks you mentioned. The one from Cole’s senior year had a long love letter from Marci tucked inside. I did a little research online and learned that she’d recently gotten a divorce and moved to the area.”
“So did you just call her up and ask her to drop by?” I asked.
James shook his head. “Not exactly… I put together an email about the new trail rides, and I sent it out to a huge group of people. I figured if Marci had any lingering feelings for Cole, she’d show up after reading about the ranch. It was pretty clear by the look on her face that she wasn’t really interested in buying trail horses.” He paused and glanced over at me. “You haven’t answered my question. Are you pissed at me?”
I moved a strand of hair away from my eyes and stared out the window at the sunset. “I don’t know… your mom running into Clark was one thing. But this seems so… manipulative and deceptive. They were already fighting. Emailing Marci may have crossed the line.”
“I sent the email long before we left for Kentucky, Willow,” James told me. “And after what happened in Kentucky, I’m sure it was the right thing to do.”
I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘after what happened in Kentucky’?”
“After that piece of shit put his hands on you and kissed you right in front of me,” James fumed. “Do you know what I realized when I saw him do that?”
“That Bradley is an asshole?” I suggested.
The corner of his mouth turned up, but he shook his head. “No, I already knew he was an asshole. When he kissed you, I realized that if our parents get married, I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life watching someone else kiss you. And I’ll have to stand idly by as your doting stepbrother. If they get married, Willow, it will be the end for us.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Are you sure about that? Maybe it would all work out… maybe we could all be happy. I’m sure we’re not the first people to fall for each other after their parents got together.”
James shook his head. “It would never work. People like to pretend that they’re accepting and nonjudgmental, but that’s almost always a façade. They’d be nice to our face and rally against us at their weekly church potluck. If you don’t believe me, ask Matt. I’m sure he gets that kind of treatment all the time.”
I sighed, knowing that James was right. Once we were family, a huge stigma would shroud our relationship.
“I wish you could scoot over next to me, like you did on the way home from Sterling,” James said softly.
I glanced around and saw that Matt was the only other person on the road. “Just till we get to town,” I said. I unbuckled my seatbelt and moved to the middle of the seat. James wrapped his arm around me, and we flew down the highway in content silence.
***
When we walked into O’Brian’s, Lucas spotted us from his booth. He jumped to his feet and rushed over to greet us.
“Willow, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said, wrapping me in a hug. “I was so excited when Matt called and told me you guys were joining us tonight.” Lucas pulled away from me and kissed Matt hello. They made an adorable couple. Lucas was tall and broad, with brunette curls and clear green eyes. His complexion was darker than Matt’s, but I knew that was probably because he spent more time in the sun.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Lucas,” I told him. “Thanks for letting us butt in on your date.”
“My pleasure,” he said, leading us to the booth. He and Matt slid in on one side, James and I took the other. “Congratulations on your big win this weekend. I’d love to come out and see the horses someday.”
“Anytime,” I told him with a smile.
O’Brian’s wasn’t really a restaurant, but more of a bar that served really good food. A waitress arrived at the table and we all ordered draft beer and cheeseburger plates.
Lucas looked at James and smiled. “I heard you had quite an eventful weekend yourself. How’s the hand?”
“It’s still sore,” James confessed. “But it was worth it to see that bastard hit the ground.”
Lucas laughed. “You had a pretty satisfied look on your face in that video.”
James cringed. “Has everyone in town seen that damned video?”
“Oh honey, I’m sure everyone in the country has watched it by now,” Lucas teased. The waitress delivered our beers and James took a long drink from his glass.
“I’m glad the cameras caught it on tape,” Matt said. “Now everyone knows what a creep Bradley Miller is. I still can’t believe we ever thought he was a nice guy.”
The guys talked about the Derby and I zoned out of the conversation. I felt an odd sensation that I was being watched and quietly surveyed the room. It was quickly clear that I didn’t have one set of eyes on me, but several. Every woman in the bar seemed fascinated and envious that I was sitting next to James Parker.
With the way I look right now, they have every right to wonder what he’s doing with me…
James seemed oblivious to the stares. I didn’t know if he was ignoring the women on purpose, or if he was so used to the attention it didn’t even register anymore. I sat up straight and turned back to my friends, just as the waitress delivered our food to the table.
“Oh my God, this looks so good,” Matt said, covering his fries with ketchup.
I looked down at my greasy cheeseburger and fries and realized that I hadn’t had anything to eat all day. I dug into my plate and the table was silent as everyone else did the same.
“So Willow,” Lucas said after swallowing a mouthful of fries. “James here tells me that he’s not going to rodeo anymore. Do I have you to blame for that?”
I choked on a bite of burger and washed it down with a sip of beer. I cleared my throat and turned to James. “You’re quitting the rodeos?”
“My bad.” Lucas blushed. “I guess it wasn’t your idea.”
“I never said I was quitting,” James corrected him. He looked down at his plate and pushed ketchup around with a burnt French fry. “I just said that I want to stick close to home, for the time being.”
“Well if you’re not giving them up, why don’t you ride with me in Denver next week?” Lucas asked. “I’m sure we’d walk away with the team roping buckle. Willow and Matt can come watch, and then we can all go out on the town. It’ll be like a double date that lasts all weekend.”
If I’d had anything in my mouth, I’d have choked again. Panic raced in my chest and I looked back and forth from Matt to James.
One of them told Lucas about James and me… but which one? Surely Matt knows better, the things I talk to him about are private. But why would James have confided in him?
Lucas seemed to read my mind. “Relax, Willow. Yes, I know about you and James. Believe it or not, I figured it out for myself that night you showed up to the rodeo in Aztec. I’ve never seen James shake a woman as fast as he got rid of Katelyn that night. I asked him about it and he told me how he feels about you.”
Relief flooded my body.
James was talking about me… he actually told someone else about his feelings…
“James also explained the problem with your parents,” Lucas continued. “Personally, I think you’re overreacting.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? I keep going back and forth about it. On one hand, it’s not like we’d suddenly become blood relatives. But on the other, I think James has a point. There will be a lot of people who think our relationship is… incestuous,” I spat out the dirty word. James tensed next to me, and I wished I’d just kept my mouth shut.
Matt nodded. “Judgmental people will find fault with you, no matter what,” he agreed. “You shouldn’t live your life to make them happy. You’ll never succeed.”
“This handsome man of mine is right,” Lucas agreed. “If we were worried about other people’s opinions, we wouldn’t be here right now. I say love who you love, and everyone else can go fuck themselves.”
Matt nodded, but James tensed his shoulders. “It’s not that simple, Lucas,” he argued. “Willow is right. If our parents get married and we continue seeing each other, people will call it incest whether the name fits or not. And that kind of talk could ruin Willow’s career, not to mention our family. I’m not sure that Mom and Cole would ever accept us, much less anyone else. They expect us to be a family, not a sex scandal.”
Is that true? Would Daddy be furious at the idea of James and me together? In all of this time, I’ve never once thought about that.
“Well, for what it’s worth, you have our support,” Lucas said, taking Matt’s hand in his.
Matt gave me a look that told me he was thinking about Marci’s arrival at the barn. “Who knows?” he added. “Maybe fate will step in and the engagement won’t be an issue anymore.”
Lucas didn’t pick up on his sarcasm while James and I ignored it. James turned the conversation to roping and gave Lucas a play by play of wrangling Locomotion while I stared down at my beer and wondered what we’d find when we returned home.
CHAPTER 7
The ranch was dark when we got home that night. James dropped me off at t
he main house and I crept inside, careful not to make any noise. I took a long, hot shower and then burrowed under my blankets for a long, surprisingly restful night. I woke up the next morning to the aromas of coffee and bacon.
I pulled a sports bra on under my t-shirt and padded barefoot into the kitchen. Renee was at the stove, flipping pancakes.
“Good morning, Willow,” she said in her sing-song voice. “I’m glad you’re up, I was just about to wake you. We’re having a family breakfast this morning. Your dad just left to get James; they should be here shortly.”
I was surprised by her cheerful mood and wondered what was going on. “The bacon smells great,” I said as I poured a cup of coffee. I carried it to the table and sat down.
“Thank you, dear,” Renee replied. She cracked eggs into a glass mixing bowl and whisked in cream and spices. She poured the mixture into a sizzling skillet and tossed in tomatoes and peppers. She moved without looking at me, and my stomach tightened with nerves.
She doesn’t seem herself… what in the world happened while we were gone last night?
I heard the front door open and a few moments later, Daddy and James stepped into the room. James pulled out a chair next to me while Daddy walked to the stove and wrapped his arms around Renee.
“This all looks wonderful, darling,” he told her.
Renee thanked him and dumped the eggs out onto a serving platter. James took the pitcher of orange juice from the middle of the table and poured himself a glass while Renee and Daddy carried in the platters of food. I stabbed a pancake with my fork and Daddy cleared his throat.
“Kids, there’s something we need to talk about before we eat,” he announced. He took Renee’s hand and turned to us with a frown. I let my fork fall to my plate and fidgeted with my t-shirt under the table.
“What is it, Daddy?” I asked, doing my best to sound innocent. James sat rigidly next to me, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“It’s been brought to our attention that the two of you have been doing a little… scheming, for lack of a better word,” he said. “Honestly kids, did you think we wouldn’t figure out you were behind all of this?”
