New Year, New Man: A Kiss on Crimson Ranch / The Dance Off / The Right Mr. Wrong

“I’m going to head back to the table,” Josh said quickly. “Dave and Noah are at the ranch this week.”

Craig stepped in front of him. “I hear Serena Wellens is there, too.”

“She prefers Sara Wells,” Olivia interjected.

Craig shot his wife a silencing glare. “You may have heard that in addition to my duties as mayor, I bought the old community-center building in town. I feel as though it’s my civic duty to bring some culture back to Crimson. There are plenty of people who’d drive over from Aspen with the right incentive.”

Josh took a slow pull on his beer. “You think Sara is the right incentive?”

“A D-list celebrity,” Craig said with a chuckle, “is better than no celebrity at all.”

Without thinking, Josh reached out and grabbed the other man by his shirtfront, pulling him close enough to see the whites of his eyes. “You’re not using Sara for anything, Wilder. Don’t talk to her. Don’t even look at her. You were a slimeball when we were young, and I don’t see that much has changed.”

Craig fidgeted. then narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to need the support of this town and the visitors’ center to draw people to your ranch. Don’t forget that.”

Olivia stood and smiled at Josh. “I volunteer at the visitors’ center. I’ll make sure you get whatever publicity you need, Mr. Travers.”

“Shut it, Liv,” Craig said on a hiss of breath.

“I’ll wait for you in the car,” she answered, and turned away.

Josh released Craig and stared as he stomped off after his wife. He couldn’t imagine all the things wrong in that marriage, but he’d meant what he said. He wouldn’t let anyone use Sara for her fame. She deserved much more than that.

His eyes tracked to where she sat at the table. A man he didn’t recognize sat next to her now, with Ryan standing between them, his face alight with excitement. The other man was clearly another Hollywood type. A shaggy beard covered his jaw, but his button-down shirt looked like some sort of expensive fabric. and a heavy gold Rolex flashed on his wrist.

Crimson had seen its share of wealth and fame. The town’s close proximity to Aspen drew enough moneyed tourists to keep the town thriving. He’d been able to ignore them growing up and hoped that wouldn’t change. The who’s who wasn’t the crowd he hoped to attract to the ranch—his ideal guests were people who’d appreciate the beauty and majesty of the mountains as much as he did. People who wanted a true Colorado vacation experience. But money was money, and he’d take what he could get if it meant having enough savings to buy the ranch at the end of the summer.

Watching Sara smile at Ryan and the other man made him wonder what she truly wanted. He was only guessing at the things that made her happy.

He had trouble believing all she cared about was selling her grandmother’s house. Already she was an important part of his daughter’s life and had captured a big part of his heart, even if he didn’t want to admit it. But he couldn’t blame her for wanting to reclaim her life on her own terms. He only hoped he could convince her there was room enough in it for him.

Chapter Eleven (#ulink_28249b0a-e631-5c15-b01b-df6603d891df)

Sara twirled the stem of the wineglass between her fingertips as she looked up at the stars dotting the Colorado night sky. It was well past midnight, but she wasn’t the least bit tired.

She’d feigned a yawn when the group had gotten back from town, needing to be alone to sort out her thoughts. Her emotions were a jumble, and something about sitting under the vast expanse of stars calmed her frazzled nerves.

Footsteps echoed across the flagstone path that led from her small porch to the main house. She half expected Ryan to seek her out and thought about retreating into her cabin, unwilling to submit to his relentless pressure any more tonight.

But the way the hairs on her neck pricked as the figure drew closer made her think of beating a retreat for an entirely different reason. Instead. she remained rooted in her chair as Josh’s tall figure came clearly into view.

“I saw your light on,” he said simply as he hoisted one hip onto her front porch rail. Buster trotted forward out of the darkness, sniffed at her leg and plopped onto the ground.

“I couldn’t sleep yet,” she answered. “I have a lot on my mind.”

He glanced up at the sky above them. “This is as good a place as any to work things out.”

Her mouth curved into an unwilling smile at how succinctly he’d guessed her reason for being outside tonight. Still, she shivered as a sudden breeze whipped up from the creek bed behind the property.

“Your grandma loved that robe,” he said as she cinched the belt of it tighter.

“I found it in her bedroom.” She smoothed her fingers across the soft folds of chenille and cotton. “I hope you don’t mind that I took it.”

He waited until she met his gaze. “Everything in that house belongs to you, Sara. Don’t forget that.”

“It doesn’t feel like mine.” She shook her head. “You and Claire belong here, Josh.”

“If I don’t push her away.” He repeated her words from earlier.

“Like you said, what do I know about making relationships work?” She tried to laugh but it caught in her throat. She wanted to muster the righteous anger she’d felt earlier but didn’t have the energy or inclination for it.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean that.” He stood, walking to the edge of the porch. “It scares the hell out of me to think of Claire with her mother. Jennifer wouldn’t know a maternal instinct if it bit her on the nose. Claire was an easy little girl, quiet and bent on pleasing whomever she was with at the time. Jennifer could send her off to school then shuttle her around on breaks, parading her in front of the media for a photo op before pawning her off on nannies or lackeys or whoever was available at the time. She let me have Claire more as she got older and had needs of her own. Now that Claire’s on the verge of becoming a woman, I’m afraid Jen will treat her as a young protégé, using Claire to get into clubs or entice men.” He ran a hand through his hair. “If I’m not there to protect her, there’s no telling what could happen.”

“Claire has a good head on her shoulders.” Sara didn’t know how to assuage his fears. “You’ve raised an amazing daughter and you have to trust she’ll make the right decisions.”

“I can’t,” he whispered miserably. “The stakes are too high. If I let her go...”

“You don’t know—”

He whirled around. “I do know, Sara. My sister died in a car accident because I left her behind. I didn’t take care of Beth, and I’m not going to make the same mistake with Claire.”

She stood, wanting to reach out to him. For the first time she saw the stark pain his strength hid so well. Now it made sense to her. It was in the hard line of his jaw, the square set of his broad shoulders, the sharp pull of a mouth she knew to be soft as a butterfly kiss. All of that hid the pain and guilt he felt over his sister’s death.

She knew what it was like to hide your true self so thoroughly that you almost believed the mask you wore was real. She knew the emotional risk involved in revealing the wound behind it.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

He turned away again.

For a moment she thought he’d leap off the porch and disappear into the black night. When he didn’t move, she came slowly toward him, wrapping her arms around his strong middle. Her cheek pressed against the back of his denim jacket. She breathed in his scent as she willed away the tension pouring off him. Willed him not to leave.

After a moment, his warm hands enveloped hers and he took a deep, shuddering breath. His muscles remained tight but he stayed with her. That was enough for now.

“Tell me,” she said again. “Please.”

“My father was a mean drunk,” he began. “My mom, she both loved and feared him. I’m not sure which one made her stay. In the end, it didn’t really matter. There were four of us kids. My brother Jake is two years older than me. When I was four, the twins were born. Beth and my other brother, Logan. My mom did what she could to keep us in line. My dad worked construction, mainly over in Aspen. The more time he spent building mansions for rich people, the more bitter he became about our tiny, run-down farmhouse. And the more bitter he became, the more he drank. Then...”

Sara laced her fingers in his. “What happened?”

“It’s not an uncommon story in the mountains. As beautiful as it is up here, it’s isolating, especially in the winter. Especially when there’s not much work or a man can’t hold a job because he’s too tempted by the bottle. When we were young, my mom tried to keep us away from him when he was in a mood. That didn’t always work with three boys underfoot. Beth was the only one of us he ever seemed to care about. She was shy and quiet. A hell of a lot easier to be around than the rest of us.”

He squeezed her hands. “As soon as Jake and I got big enough to fight back, Dad left us alone. He’d take out that anger on Mom when we weren’t around. She’d hide the bruises, but we knew. She never sent him away or thought of leaving. Said he needed her too much. More than we needed a decent life.

“Jake got a college scholarship and never looked back. I started on the circuit soon after. I sent money back to Mom when I could. Jake and I both did. But without us in the house to temper his behavior, Dad got even worse. Beth was so quiet, and Logan was a scrawny, sickly kid back then. Mom eventually kicked the jerk out, but it was too late. Beth and Logan were running wild. Beth had an older boyfriend. One night there was an accident. Beth and a group of friends had been drinking—the boyfriend was driving drunk. He hit an elk crossing the highway and...”

Sara wrapped her arms tighter around Josh’s waist as he spoke. The anguish and guilt were clear in his tone.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered.