Rodeo Family

She’d never met Zach’s ex. Had never even seen her.

Aiden touched Nadine’s chin to bring her attention back to him. She wondered whether the presence of a woman was unusual enough for them to vie for her attention.

“Tell me what else you liked,” he said.

She outlined all that she thought was strong about his writing. Aiden watched her without a word, his serious attention charming her.

When she finished, he asked, “Can you put it in the paper?”

“The newspaper?”

“Yeah.”

He’d surprised her. She had no idea what Lee would think. “I can ask the publisher, if you like.”

He nodded so hard a hank of hair fell across his forehead. “I’ll write another story,” he said. “Just for you!”

Nadine looked at Ryan on her other side. “Do you write, too?”

“No, but look what I can do!”

He jumped up from the sofa and did a somersault across the carpet.

Aiden joined him and they started to roughhouse.

They rolled around on the floor like a pair of bear cubs in freshly fallen snow, so much like two halves of a whole it was hard to tell where one started and the other ended.

Zach and Rick carried on a conversation with Nadine, asking questions about how the fair was coming along—Nadine was on the Rodeo Revival committee, and the event was only a month away—while she kept her eye on the two boys grappling and giggling.

Apparently, this was normal. Neither Zach nor Rick batted an eye. But Nadine noticed...and remembered the admonishments she’d received as a young preteen.

Don’t slouch. Stand up straight.

Only speak when spoken to.

Don’t get your clothes dirty.

Put your books away now. Cleanliness is next to godliness.

Tidy up. Tidy up. Tidy up.

Do better.

Brush out those ridiculous curls.

Be a good girl.

And the worst of all: You’re just like your mother.

Considering that she’d always adored her mother, Nadine hadn’t understood what her aunt meant by that. Not when she’d first arrived in town as an eleven-year-old, at least. But in time, her aunt had made certain Nadine was clear that it wasn’t a compliment.

The loop of recriminations hadn’t stopped, even with her aunt’s death four years ago. Like a Möbius strip that never ended, Nadine had internalized her aunt’s voice.

God, she was tired of it.

The twins stopped fighting and ran from the room. They pounded up the stairs. Nadine meant to get her story as quickly and painlessly as possible and then stay far, far away from Zachary Brandt and his enchanting boys.

Chapter Three (#u1d471d90-c6d1-5dd6-ba3b-17b5fe89ffc4)

Nadine parked her car on Main Street, wishing for the hundredth time that she had a garage to protect it from the elements. She needed a car in rural Montana, but if something serious happened to the one she had, she wouldn’t have money for another unless her circumstances changed drastically.

She hadn’t saved money in New York. She might have worked long hours, but living there was expensive.

Lee didn’t pay her well. If she didn’t get this story and he fired her, getting another job in her field would be nearly impossible after that incident in New York.

She couldn’t think about it. Couldn’t face her own hubris. Had left it behind in the Big Apple.

Her stomach cramped. She picked up her bag and walked down Main to the Rodeo Wrangler office, staring at the gold and black lettering on the door.

Lee had made promises when she’d come home.

He had no children. No heirs. He’d intimated he wanted to retire. He needed someone to take over.

That someone would be her.

Coming home in a state of utter loss, his promise had been a prayer answered.

But now she faced this changed man and his unreasonable demand.

Lee stood in the large plate glass window watching her approach.

When she’d worked for him in high school, she had never gotten a bad feeling from Lee. He’d given her a first shot at journalism and she had been grateful. Who was this man he’d become and what had he done with the Lee Beeton she’d known?

Despite her anger and feelings of betrayal, sadness filled her.

He’d once been a decent man.

Judging by the look in his eye, he was in the same mood as when she’d left to go out to the Brandt ranch. He would want a full report, she was sure. His gaze seemed almost malevolent.

Boy, she was chock-full of exaggeration today. Or maybe not.

How could she have misjudged him so badly? As a teenager, she had thanked him profusely for the opportunities and the experience. And when she’d returned to Rodeo a year ago with her tail between her legs, Lee had once again agreed to give her a job. She’d seen signs that he had changed. Grouchiness. Tension. Impatience. Her friends had said he’d been slowly becoming more bad-tempered over the years. Nadine had ignored all of this, but could no longer.

Not with his demand for dirt on a fellow citizen.

She stepped into the office.

Without preamble, he asked, “Did you get it?”