Brooke’s Bliss

Nights in Bliss, Book 15

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About the book

Brooke Harper thought she would make it big in New York City, but she knew her heart would always be back in her hometown of Bliss, Colorado. She’d intended to come home as the big-shot fashion designer she’d always wanted to be, but her dream job turned into a nightmare, and now she’s crawling home to lick her wounds. When she meets up with two hot cowboys one night at Hell on Wheels, she decides they’re just what she needs to get her groove back.

Bailey Kent hasn’t stopped thinking about Brooke since he met her years before when he first visited Bliss. She’s his dream woman, and now she’s within reach. She responds so beautifully not only to him, but to his brother. They’ve shared women all their lives, but both know Brooke is the one. There’s only one problem. She’s his muse, but she sees him as a way station, not the destination on this journey she’s taking.

Only one problem? Shane Kent knows his brother sometimes doesn’t see the bigger picture. Bay’s head and heart are wrapped up in his art, and it’s Shane’s job to remember the reality of whatever situation they’re in, and this time it’s big trouble. Their last job took them to a ranch that might have been selling more than cattle. Shane witnessed something criminal and they ran, but their old crew is looking for them and he’s worried they’ll find Brooke, too. And then there’s the fact that they once hit on her sister-in-law and her brothers hate them…

It'll take a miracle to bring these three together, so it’s a good thing Bliss is known for them.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Brooke waved to Logan Warner, who sat in the driver’s seat of the Navigator. They hadn’t been forced to do anything so ordinary as fly into the small airfield in Alamosa. Nope. Seth Stark’s “cabin” came with its own landing strip and small hangar.

And Nell and Poppy protesting at the end of it.

It was good to be home.

“Tell your brothers hi for me and that we hope they’ll come out and meet our little monster,” Logan said with a smile. Logan had dropped off Seth, Georgia, and their son at the big cabin they kept here in Bliss and given Brooke a ride into town. He was planning on slipping into The Trading Post and surprising his moms.

“I will, and thanks so much, Logan.” Logan was only a year older than she was and he had a kid. A whole kid. Wesley Stark-Warner was the cutest baby. After her niece and nephews, of course. Wes was a cuddly six-month-old who looked at the world through curious eyes.

She’d held him and wished she could find wonder in the every day the way that baby did.

The Navigator rolled away, and Brooke stepped into Stella’s Café and thought about the fact that just this morning she had been in Manhattan. It had taken less than twenty-four hours to leave her entire life behind. She’d even packed what little she had in case she decided not to come back. She’d stuffed her suitcase as full as possible and started searching the Internet for the cheapest flight she could find, thinking it could be days before she could get home.

“Brooke,” a familiar voice called out.

She turned and saw her brothers sitting near the window in a corner booth at the front of the café. Their booth. When she’d been a kid, they would always try to get that particular booth because you could see all of the people walking down the sidewalk. Stella’s was in the heart of Bliss’s downtown. Which consisted of about two blocks. Doc’s office was on one end and the “downtown” ended with the sheriff’s station on the other. In between were a bunch of stores and restaurants. Stella’s and Trio and The Bear Creek Lounge. The Trading Post was across the street, and she’d noticed the Bee Bliss Store. The honey farm had been selling their wares for decades, but someone had given the place a glow up.

Home. She was home, and even though a couple of things had changed, what hadn’t was this feeling.

Her heart filled. She’d been numb the last couple of weeks, but seeing her brothers made those walls quake. The numb part was going to end at some point, and she was not looking forward to it. Not at all.

But not now. It wasn’t happening now. She plastered a smile on her face and strode over, rolling her big suitcase along the black and white laminated floors. Nothing changed in Stella’s except the special. When things got worn, Stella found a way to restore them, from the red leather seats to the shiny countertops, Stella’s looked the way it had when Brooke was a kid.

A wave of comfort sank into her skin for a moment. This was her home. These were her brothers. They would understand. They would help her.

Then she remembered all the ways they’d helped her before. Like giving up their twenties to raise her, pouring all their money into her education. They’d spent their party time, college time, young adult era, working—Max on the horse ranch they’d grown up on, and Rye had taken a job as a county deputy and later was elected sheriff. All so she could have a good life, be successful.

She put them in danger by joking about them.

“Hey, how was the flight? I heard Seth took the big jet this time,” Rye said, scooting out of the booth and opening his arms for a hug.

She breathed her brother in. He smelled like pine and fabric softener. Home. She was not going to cry.

She stepped back, settling the big case beside the booth and sliding in across from them. Max hadn’t gotten up but she didn’t mind because he had a baby sleeping on his shoulder. Her newest nephew. Eli Harper was almost a year old, and he was the sweetest chunk of humanity. “It was great. I was so lucky Georgia called.”

Max snorted, his hand on his son’s back. “You weren’t lucky. Rach called Georgia and demanded she take you with them. She knew damn well Seth, Georgia, and Logan were coming home this weekend and staying for a few weeks. She also knew you hadn’t taken a lot of personal time in the last couple of years beyond quick trips, and she knew that company of yours takes time off this month to send a big part of the team to Milan.”

Brooke felt her jaw drop. “Rachel said she was inviting me out of courtesy.”

Rye’s head shook. “Nah. She planned this whole thing to make it as easy for you to come home as possible. Now she thought you would be coming in for the shower. She meant to talk you into a week if you weren’t going to Milan.”

That ticket to Milan had been far too expensive. “I’m not part of that team, and we do slow way down when they’re gone. We’re encouraged to take time off now.”

Not untrue. They were between fall and spring. She supposed most of the vacations she’d taken in the last few years had been around this time. Had her sister-in-law been plotting and planning? To get her home?

“Yeah, see, you look at Rach and see nothing more than a gorgeous woman,” Max began.

Brooke shook her head. “No, I do not.”

She was well aware Rachel Harper was a force of nature. Her sister-in-law was the single most competent woman she’d ever met.

“But there’s more to her than beauty.” Max was good at ignoring anything and anyone when he wanted to make a point. That he didn’t need to make. Her brother was incredibly dramatic for a cowboy. They tended to be known for their stoicism, but not Max Harper. He was a rebel. “There’s a ruthless will to that woman that will not be denied.”

“His balls just met up with her ruthless streak,” Rye quipped.

Oh, she loved her brothers, but she was with her sister on this one. “Four kids in seven years, Max. Four. If she had taken your balls herself and hung them like a trophy on the wall, I would have helped her design the case for them.”

Max shrank back a little. “I think Rachel might be a bad influence on you, sister.”

Rye grinned. “Nah, she’s taught Brooke how to stand up for herself. And don’t tell her you taught her how to do that. You taught her to knee a dick if one got too close to her.”

She hadn’t had one get close to her in forever. Not since she’d broken it off with that guy from down the hall when she found out exactly how many friends with benefits he had.

“Well, she had to protect herself because she was so pretty,” Max argued. “Still is, and that is one thing I need to talk to you about.”

Rye sighed as though they’d already had this argument. “They’re out on the G. I scarcely think they’re going to try to run our sister down. She told them a polite no at Christmas. Stef swears they’re good kids.”

A flash of heat went through Brooke. “Are you talking about the Kent brothers?”

They were the only cowboys who hit on her at Christmastime, and it wasn’t some sleazy thing. Bay had asked nicely if she would join them for a drink at Trio or to have some dinner or lunch while she was in town. His brother had stood behind him, watching her with hooded eyes like she was a treat and he was sure he would be denied.

Now that she thought about it, only their words had been polite. Everything else about their demeanor had reminded her of a couple of hungry predators desperate to eat her up. She’d stood there in the beautifully decorated town hall with all the happy families around her. The wholesome atmosphere should have had her backing away, and yet all she could think about was how nice it would be if they made a meal of her. She’d had a vision of one of them feeding her his cock while the other ate her pussy like a starving man.

And she’d said no. That woman in her vision wasn’t the woman who took Manhattan. She was too old to run around having wild nights with cowboys. By the time her mother was her age she’d had two kids and been married for a long time. To a dick, but married.

She’d told herself that no came from a place of logic and reason. She was leaving, so it would be nothing more than a one-night stand. They didn’t have a place in her life, and it was so obvious they were looking for something more. They needed. She’d felt it, and it called to her and… Damn it. She’d said no because she felt something for them and it scared her.

Max growled. “Little fuckers called me old.”

“They called you vintage,” Rye corrected.

“They asked me if I remember when JR was shot.” Max’s jaw tightened. “I wasn’t born then. I don’t even think our momma was born then.”

So the Kent brothers were having fun with hers. She wondered if they knew she was their sister. Likely not. They probably thought she was a tourist having fun for the night. Or a relative visiting, which she had been. That feeling she got from them had probably been nothing more than her own projection. She read way too many romance novels. “Mom was born, but she would have been a baby. So the Kent brothers are back in town? I know they were here for the holidays, but I assumed they would go back to whatever ranch they were working. I think the older one mentioned they were between jobs and would be working again after the new year.”

“They decided to hang around,” Max said with a frown. “Stef talked to Jamie and McNamara, and now they are living and working on the G.”

They were here? Not here here. But here in town. Not in town since the Circle G was absolutely outside of town, but here.

Her brain was threatening to fritz. Lack of sleep. That was it. It wasn’t her libido turning on and thinking about how well those cowboys could handle her.

“Are you talking about Shane and Bay?” Stella stood at the end of the booth. She was dressed in blinged-out jeans, a Western shirt, and some serious diamond jewelry that Brooke would suspect was lab created, but Stella’s hubs was the CEO of Talbot Industries, so those puppies were real. The cowboy hat on her head, though, had almost certainly come from The Trading Post. The café owner was a study in contrasts. A bit like the town itself.

“I’m talking about those two assholes who better not sniff around my sister like they sniffed around my wife,” Max said as primly as a six-foot two-inch cowboy could be. “My sister is a good girl. She’s saving herself for marriage, and it won’t be with two lowly cowpokes.”

Brooke looked to Rye. “He’s joking, right?”

Rye winced. “Just let him live in a haze of delusion. It does him good. He’s going to find you a husband, and we’ll pay the family your bride price in well-trained horses. And maybe the barn cat. She’s good at what she does.”

Stella’s grin told Brooke she was thrilled with the drama. She filled the coffee cup in front of Brooke, despite the fact that it was afternoon. “I’m going to be honest. I thought those two boys would hit the ground running when they got here. I’ve told all the younger women around to be on the lookout, if you know what I mean.”

Max used his free hand to point Stella’s way. “See, that is a public service.”

Brooke didn’t think that was what Stella meant, but she wasn’t getting her brother spun up again. They hadn’t even gotten to pay for her lunch yet.

“Oh, I was telling them where to go if they had an itch to scratch.” Stella never had minded spinning Max up. She seemed to think it was a fun game.

Max’s frown went even frownier. “Well, Doc better run a blood panel on those two because I’m pretty sure they’ve already run through half of Southern Colorado. I’m glad Trev’s baby girl is too young for them to try anything on.”

“She’s just a kid,” Brooke pointed out, though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. When Max got going, he did not stop.

“I wouldn’t put anything past them. They might take one look at little Miranda and think she’s the way to riches.” Max nodded like he’d finally figured out their evil plans. “That’s what they’re doing. Looking for a meal ticket.”

Stella’s eyes rolled. “Well, then they are the dumbest cons in the history of time since Stef offered to set them up wherever they liked so Bay can work as an artist. He offered them their own cabin. They turned him down.”

Max gestured Stella’s way like she’d just made his point. “Because they are holding out for more, and they are going to take one look at my rich, successful baby sister and think they can mooch off her for the rest of their lives.”

She shook her head. “Not rich. They would not fit into the tiny thing I call an apartment.”

Max plowed on. “They’ll probably want her to introduce them to all her artsy fartsy friends in New York City.”

Another head shake. “They’re mostly fartsy, and they’re poorer than I am.”

Not that she had many friends. The people she’d thought were her friends were the same people who turned on her and went along with the let’s get rid of the chick who doesn’t like having her work stolen and won’t blow a dude to keep her job plan.

She looked to Stella, determined to change the topic. She wasn’t going to think about those two men. She was here to take a breath and figure out her next steps. “Could I get a burger? Georgia’s on a health kick because Logan’s cholesterol came back out of range. You should have seen Seth trying to choke down his beet salad. Surprisingly, Logan was cool with it.”

“That boy’s been eating beets since he could have solid food,” Stella admitted. “And yes, I’ll get you a juicy burger, baby girl. It’s good to have you back. Are you in town for the weekend?”

“I’m here for a couple of weeks. The company I work for takes a sabbatical this time of year when the owners all head to Milan.” Not an untruth, but not the whole truth. She had four weeks before she was getting kicked out of her apartment. Unless she found a job, which she wasn’t going to do here in Bliss. Deep breath. Two weeks. She was taking two weeks to figure out what she wanted to do. She gave Stella what she hoped was a confident smile. “I’m here to help Rachel with the party and to finish up the guesthouse. Although I’m wondering if the guesthouse isn’t really the doghouse. How many times have you had to sleep there, Max?”

Max shrugged. “It’s comfy if I do say so myself. But I did not sleep out there because my wife was angry. She prefers I sleep on the couch so she can wake me up and yell at me some more. The tiny house is for guests and those times when I need to be close to the mares. We’ve got two who are going to foal in a couple of months. I’ll sleep out there when we’re getting close, and it’s got a place for Noah, too, so Animal Doc and I can switch off if the birth gets difficult.”

“It’s a cute place.” Rye sat back. “I’m afraid all of our bedrooms are taken now, so if we’re going to have our sister spend time with us and not sleep in Paige’s room, we needed some space.”

Her niece’s room used to be hers. She’d grown up there, the space morphing from pink and princesses to rock star posters and some black paint from her goth phase. The first time she’d seen that room as a little girl’s, she’d gotten teary because she’d known she would never be the daughter of the family again. It was Paige’s place now, and she was so happy to be her aunt.

“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Brooke said, trying not to sniffle. It would be good to have a space for herself.

She might have to live in that tiny house and work here at Stella’s for the rest of her life and pretend she was doing something important.

“Hey, if you want to stay in the big house, I’ll make room,” Rye said, looking at her with sympathetic eyes. “We held off on using that fourth bedroom for as long as we could. I probably should have squeezed my office into the living room.”

Absolutely not. “Rye, I don’t live there. I’m happy Paige has my room. I’ve shown her all my hidey-holes, and when she’s a teen I’m going to teach her how to sneak out the west window.”

“What?” Max’s head came up.

Stella laughed. “Oh, I remember the days. I’ll be back with lunch. Let me know if I need to heat up a bottle for Eli.” She leaned toward Brooke, whispering conspiratorially. “We keep a bottle warmer in the kitchen now since we are in a baby boom. They are coming up everywhere, and soon we’ll have three more.”

“Four because the Stark-Warner clan is in town, and they’re staying for a month or two while Logan’s on summer break.” She had lunch with Georgia once a month or so, but they lived on the Upper East Side and she was down close to Battery Park. And everyone was busy. So busy. She never had time to do anything because she was busy making her boss look good.

“Teeny and Marie are going to spoil that baby rotten,” Stella announced and winked as she walked away.

Brooke slid out of the booth. “I’m going to wash my hands before we have lunch. Thanks for that, by the way. And for the ride out to the house. I’ve heard that the Farley brothers have started up their own ride share service.”

Rye shook his head. “Why their parents let them fix up an old limo, I have no idea. It’s a menace, but at least they drive like old ladies. The new schoolteacher used them so they wouldn’t feel bad. It took forty-five minutes to get from school to her sister’s house. In the valley.”

Well, she liked a nice drive so she wouldn’t complain. “I’ve already put the app on my phone.”

“Let me know if you need to go somewhere,” Max offered, though she didn’t want her brother driving her around.

She turned and walked to the bathroom, taking a long breath. She had time, but she needed to figure out how she was going to tell them she didn’t have a job anymore.

Keep it together, Brooke. It’s a couple of weeks at home, and Gemma will help you come up with something.

“Brooke Harper?”

She looked over, and a familiar face was at the sink. Cleo Rhea. She’d been one of the forty-seven students in Brooke’s graduating class. Brooke hadn’t been particularly close to her, but she’d liked working with her on theater projects. She felt a smile slide over her face. “Cleo, what are you doing here? The last thing I heard you were working the LA theater scene.”

Cleo was a thin young woman with a long blue bob and a nose ring. She was clearly in her witchy phase as she wore a flowy white skirt and a T-shirt that said Theater is Magic. The white contrasted to her gorgeous dark skin. She gave Brooke a hug and stepped back to look her over. “And I heard you were taking over the fashion scene in New York.”

Brooke sighed and shook her head. “I’m working at a house but definitely won’t be taking over anytime soon. I’m in town for my sister-in-law’s baby shower.”

Cleo laughed. “I can’t believe how many kids your brothers have now. It’s kind of crazy. Everyone’s got babies. I heard Stef and Jen are trying for another one, and Nell is pregnant again. I think I should protest her. After all those lectures…”

Brooke had to laugh because she remembered those lectures, too. “I think she would probably get teary and say she’d done the right thing.” Brooke sobered. “I think it was an oops, from what Rachel told me. We should probably let it go. I assure you those kids will grow up with the smallest carbon footprint possible.”

Cleo settled her bag over her shoulder. “I’m directing the drama at the rep theater this year.”

The Bliss Repertory Theater had been around since shortly after the town was established. They ran three shows in rotation all summer long. A comedy. A drama. A musical.

Her brothers would take her to every show during the summers. Max would almost always fall asleep, and she was certain Rye hadn’t loved them all—not a big theater person—but they never failed. Her heart squeezed with the memories.

Cleo’s expression had taken on a distinctly thoughtful air. She looked down at her watch. “Hey, you could be the answer to my prayers. How long are you here?”

Forever. A few days. It could be anything. “At least a couple of weeks. I’m kind of on a sabbatical.”

If by sabbatical she meant fired and blackballed across the industry…

“I’ve got a rehearsal in a couple of minutes, but I would love to talk to you about something. Any chance you could have a drink with me? The cast is celebrating a birthday tonight at Hell on Wheels. We would love to see you.”

What else was she doing? Brooding. She could do that any time. Railing at fate. Also something she could put off in favor of drinking too much and making some truly bad decisions. If she’d said Trio, it might have been an easy no. Zane Hollister ran Trio, and despite the fact that he hadn’t been around when she was a child, he kind of acted like an overprotective uncle. Sawyer Hathaway, who owned and ran Hell on Wheels, had been around for her childhood. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but he also wouldn’t call her brothers if she ended up crying in the bathroom.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I would love to meet the cast. It’s been a long time since I got to enjoy a season,” she said.

Cleo smiled brightly, an air of odd relief about her. “Excellent. Drinks are totally on me. We’re going to meet around nine. Come with an open mind. It’s good to see you.”

And she was gone.

Why did she need an open mind?

It was a mystery and one she could solve.

She washed her hands and took a long breath. Smile.

Everything was fine.

* * * *

Shane sat back and tried not to give away the fact that his whole body had gone on full alert the minute that girl walked into the café hauling that big old suitcase behind her.

Really big suitcase. The last time she’d been in town she’d used a carry-on.

It was creepy stalker shit that he knew that, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been looking for any excuse to get close to her, and he had been prepared to carry whatever luggage she had.

Thanks so much. That’s so sweet of you, but I’m leaving for home in a couple of days. I need to spend as much time with my family as possible.

And yet he’d caught her watching them. Even after she’d turned them down at the Christmas party. When she’d danced with him, he hadn’t felt like she was trying to stay away from him. Her body had brushed against his, and they’d had a magical moment when she looked up and her mouth had opened slightly and he’d almost kissed her.

Brooke Harper didn’t look toward the back of the café. Her whole attention was on her brothers, who sat on the other side.

“What exactly are we going to do until they finish up?” Bay had his back to the door. “I can’t drink anymore coffee, and if I stuff another piece of pie in, Trev is going to make a joke about me being tubby. You know not all of us have ex-NFL quarterback metabolisms.”

Trev McNamara was actually the best boss they’d ever had. Well, he and his partner were. The Circle G was run by Trev McNamara and James Glen. Trev had bought into the ranch years back after his NFL career had ended in scandal and he’d moved from Texas to Colorado, bringing along his wife, Beth, and partner, Bo O’Malley. Bo preferred working the ranch to dealing with the business side of things. Bo was great, but Shane wouldn’t call him a boss.

When the Harper brothers had walked in and taken a place near the big windows, he’d known he would try to wait them out. Or at least sneak by without Max Harper starting something. Bay couldn’t help but take the bait every single time. Now he had a different reason. Now he wanted to sit here and watch her.

She was smiling, but it wasn’t her goddess of the world smile. There was a tightness to her whole body that gave her away. He’d made a careful study of the woman who would fit so perfectly between him and his brother. He was starting to think she might be the only woman in the world for them.

And wasn’t it the story of his life that she didn’t want to want them.

The chemistry was there. She was curious. She watched them both but she was…scared? Disappointed in her own needs? Disgusted that she was attracted to a couple of lowly cowboys? One he could fix. The second he could possibly turn around.

He was deeply worried it was the third, and he couldn’t make himself more respectable.

Bay, he could talk up. Bay was a real artist. He was quirky. Bay was Stef Talbot’s student.

Shane was just his bastard brother.

“I know you think it’s a funny rivalry, but the Harper brothers are cornerstones of this town.” His brother rarely thought about anything but his art. He was brilliantly talented but could be short sighted when it came to…well, anything else. “If we irritate him and he wants us gone, he can do it.”

Bay sat back with a long sigh. “Somehow I think Stef would have something to say about it. He’s happy with the work I’ve been doing. He’s planning a whole… What did he call it?”

“Showing.” Sometimes Shane was sure he listened to Talbot more than his brother did. Sometimes he was sure he knew more about the damn art world than the actual artist. “He and Jennifer are going to do a showing at the end of the summer, and they’re inviting a bunch of people they know who have influence in that world. He thinks you’ll be able to make some serious sales.”

Bay nodded. “See. There’s no way he’s going to pick Max over his star pupil.”

Short sighted. “Max, who he views as his brother. Max, who’s the godfather to his son. That Max?”

Stef Talbot didn’t have any blood siblings, but he considered the friend group he’d grown up with to be his family. Max and Rye Harper and Callie Hollister-Wright were his siblings, and he would never turn his back on them. Rachel Harper was Jennifer’s best friend. The billionaire did not need to make money off of them. It was pure kindness that he was doing all this work for Bay.

Bay sighed. “Fine, but I don’t think you understand. I know he seems like we annoy him, but Max enjoys being annoyed. He’s one of those guys. He likes the banter. Especially now that he’s married with all those kids. It reminds him of when he was young and could fuck around with people.”

Shane worried the “banter” reminded Max that they were assholes who’d hit on his wife before they got married.

And now he wanted to hit on the guy’s sister again.

She laughed at something her brothers said but he still didn’t buy it.

None of her socials had mentioned she was coming to Bliss. In fact, she’d talked about spending the whole summer in Manhattan working on what she called her fall line.

So why was she here?

“They’re awful. I don’t understand how we’re supposed to deal with half-done costumes? Are they going to be ready? We’ve only got six weeks before we open,” one of the women was saying in the booth in front of them. There were four people, and they’d been here even longer than he and Bay. Three women and one man, and they were obviously in some kind of crisis.

But he had a crisis of his own.

She was here, and it might be their last shot.

Were they even ready to make a go of it with any woman? Much less the one he was pretty sure was the right one? What the hell did they have to offer her? It wasn’t like they owned much of anything.

Bay held up his hands, obviously giving up the argument. “Fine. But when I’m polite to the man, you’ll see what I mean. We have a relationship, Max and I, and this will tilt that fucker, and you might not like where we land.” He took a long breath. “I don’t think we should be held hostage here so my presence doesn’t offend the prince of Bliss County. Besides, don’t you think our waitress is going to get antsy? We are literally taking up a table she could be earning another tip from. Especially since you’re a miserly bastard.”

He wasn’t. They didn’t have a lot of money, but he tipped. He simply didn’t throw down wads of cash the way Stef did. He tried. The whole money thing was in his lap, like most of their existence.

“Shane, I’m sorry.” Bay frowned, his eyes softening. “I shouldn’t have used that word.”

He had to think about it for a second, and then he waved his brother off. “It’s fine. I am what I am. It doesn’t bother me. Also, you didn’t mean it that way. You know your mother was surprisingly old fashioned for a woman of her age.”

He’d been called it all by his stepmom’s family. Bastard. By blow—he still wasn’t sure what that meant. Illegitimate. Base born.

That was Shane Kent. First of his name. Ruiner of Marriages. Mistakenly Born.

Someone should have worn a condom.

“My mom was a mean woman who couldn’t find it in her heart to be kind to a kid who had nothing to do with the circumstances of his birth,” Bay corrected.

“No, but my momma could have handled it better.”

His mother had gotten sick of waiting for her married lover to leave his wife and marry her.

“I’m sorry all the same. I’ll be nice to Max, but we have to think about the fact that we’ll be late if we don’t leave soon,” Bay pointed out. “Some of those supplies we picked up are for the work this afternoon. Bo is planning on mowing the back field, and we need to get those parts in or he’s going to have a hard time with it.”

He’d thought he might be able to get through this without telling Bay who was sitting in a booth across the café, but they were tight on time. He glanced over and she wasn’t there. Her big suitcase was by the table, and it looked like Max and Rye were in serious conversation, though Max also had a now-awake kid trying to stuff his fist in his father’s mouth.

Damn, but he wanted that life.

He shoved the thought aside. The key takeaway was that Brooke was gone and they could sneak out and walk right by. Easy peasy. They didn’t have to engage. She likely wasn’t staying for long and would be back to her high-powered job in New York, surrounded by men with affluence and money who came from good families.

“We should go. I’m being ridiculous. Like they’ll even notice.” He pulled out the cash and set it on the table. And then pulled a few more dollars out. He didn’t mean to be tight with money but money was always tight.

The woman from the booth in front of him strode back, a huge smile on her face. “I have a solution. I ran into Brooke Harper. She’s literally got a degree from Parsons, and she’s in town for a couple of weeks. She’s coming to the party at Hell on Wheels tonight, and we’re going to make her part of the team. She’s fabulous, so everyone is expected to treat her like the queen she is.”

The group got up, all chattering about the party tonight.

The party Brooke Harper was attending.

Bay stopped, his eyes catching Shane’s. “She’s here? She’s not supposed to be in town. I haven’t heard anything about her coming to town.”

They both listened to town gossip whenever they could. Strangely, Bo was the helpful one. The man was always willing to talk about what he heard. She’d turned them down once, but asking her again as long as they were polite and not aggressive was fine. They’d discussed it endlessly. She hadn’t told them she didn’t want to see them. She’d explained she needed to spend time with her family.

He knew it was an excuse, but he was taking it.

“She walked in fifteen minutes ago with a big-ass suitcase, and despite the smile she gave her brothers, I don’t buy it. She’s had some trouble,” Shane explained. He leaned over and let his voice go low. “And now we know where she’s going to be tonight. A bar.”

A public place. Where they could be as well.

He kind of wished he’d heard when that party was supposed to start.

Bay’s lips curled up as though he was thinking the whole plan through. “And we have tomorrow off.”

Shane held up a hand. “She’ll probably turn us down, and we need to be ready for that.”

Bay looked back, and Brooke was sliding into the booth. He stared for a moment, and there was a determined look on his face. “I’m ready for anything. I want a shot with her. I haven’t been able to get that girl out of my head for years. It’s always been the wrong time.”

“Let’s hope it’s the right time now,” Shane said.

Bay nodded and stood, putting his hat on his head and turning toward the exit with a resolute expression on his face. “Then I should probably start being polite to her family.”

They were always polite to Rachel Harper, and mostly to Rye. Max would be a new experience.

Brooke looked up as they approached the table, and her eyes went wide. Not scared wide. Nope. Her eyes were like a kid in a candy store, and she was wondering how much she could eat before someone stopped her. Her breath seemed to catch, and she bit her bottom lip.

“Miss Brooke,” Shane said with a tip of his hat. “Good to see you again. Mr. Harper. Mr. Harper.”

Max turned like a hawk scenting prey. Oddly, so did that baby boy in his arms. Father and son both stared at them with narrowed eyes. “You two. What are you doing here?”

“We came into town to pick up some parts for the mower. We’re clearing the back field for hay,” Bay explained, and didn’t even say a damn thing about how Max could use a haircut or how he should understand because he was so old he could probably use a few new parts, too.

Max frowned. “Yeah, it’s getting to be that time. You boys should head back to the G.”

Shane nodded his way. “Will do. Miss Brooke.”

“Just Brooke,” she said in a breathy tone, and then she seemed to realize how she’d sounded. She shook off the sex-kitten voice and sounded more normal. “It’s nice to see you, Shane. And Bay.”

Rye Harper sipped his coke and looked from his sister then back to them. “Shane, could you tell Trev we got Beth’s saddle in? I’ll bring it out for our session tomorrow.”

The boss’s wife had ordered a custom saddle for her riding lessons. She’d driven her husbands a little insane by requesting the Harper brothers teach her instead of one of them. Rye Harper had been coming out for a couple of weeks, teaching her how to ride and take care of her gentle mare.

“Will do, sir. Have a nice day, Brooke. It’s good to see you in our town again,” Shane said.

“Hey, what do you mean by our town?” Max asked, and Shane could have sworn the baby nodded as though he wanted to know, too. The kid was the spitting image of his dads, with golden brown hair and serious eyes. “You boys are going to be out of here by summer, right?”

Bay simply tipped his hat Brooke’s way, giving her a slight smile. “Y’all have a nice afternoon.”

“And what the hell did he mean with that bullshit mister stuff,” Max was saying as they started out the door.

“I do believe we call that a polite hello,” Rye replied with a chuckle.

“Those two assholes are planning something,” Max declared.

His brother looked back as he walked through the door. “Told you.”

Shane wasn’t listening. He was aware that Brooke watched them. The whole way.

They had their shot, and they were going to take it.

Copyright 2025 Lexi Blake