Chapter One #2
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.