Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Rhett
The wind whipped furiously, making it difficult to stay on the road. I grinned and leaned into it, embracing the feel of the pavement underneath me. There was nothing like the lonely Wyoming highways for putting on speed, for feeling the throb of the engine and the way it mimicked the beat of my heart. Not another soul in sight, just me and my bike with the big sky above us and the Bighorn Mountains looming in the distance. The sun was beginning to rise, snuffing the stars out of the sky one by one.
It was a pretty damn perfect morning—if I could forget about where I was heading.
Not that home was a bad thing. In fact, I’d been missing the ranch. It had been almost two years since I’d been back, longer than my usual intervals away. Cole’s wedding in Tennessee last year had given me a great excuse to skip my annual visit, since I’d seen the family there anyway. Couldn’t take more time off work, all that.
Excuses were a good thing, since I tried to stay as far away from here as possible.
But as the months had passed, I’d found myself thinking about everyone more and more. My nieces had to have grown a ton since the wedding. And Cole settling down into his own life made me realize the others probably would soon, too. Things were changing.
Jonathan was eighteen now. Hard to believe my baby brother was now the age I was when I first took off. He’d be graduating soon, and who knew where he’d end up? I recognized the wildness in his soul. It mirrored the wildness in mine and in Cole’s. We’d left, and he probably would, too.
I wasn’t a sentimental kind of guy, but even I had some weird feelings thinking about that one.
It was good that I was making time for this. Besides, it was only a few weeks at most. I’d done a hell of a lot worse things for a few weeks at a time. I could survive living with my family for that long.
Even if doubt crept in when I tried to reassure myself about it.
I grinned again when the landscape started to change. The straight highway began to curve, and the sparse pines lining the road started to thicken as I got close to Wildwood, a damn cute town that sat in the shadows of the Bighorn Mountains. It was one of those places people flocked to from the cities to play cowboy for a week, snapping photographs of the old-fashioned storefronts and hitching posts that lined Main Street.
Suckers. Playing cowboy was a whole lot different than actually being one.
I blew through town, then opened the bike up on the last few turns, feeling an odd nostalgia when I recognized the land that belonged to my family. It was my father’s now. Had been my grandfather’s before that, and his father’s before that. Someday, it would technically be shared by the rest of us, split evenly—on paper, anyway. We all knew that it would really belong to Travis, just like he belonged to it. Like Dad, he lived and breathed this land. It would be in good hands.
I was glad for it. Partly because I was happy for him. Partly because the land deserved someone who would take care of it. But mostly because it left me free from the responsibility of carrying on a legacy that had never been my dream.
I slowed down as I turned onto the long drive that led up to the main house, passing by the big sign that read Falcon Ridge Ranch, followed by the guest cabins that were tucked into the trees that lined the left side of the driveway. Dad had insisted on building the cabins there, despite Mom’s belief that the guests would prefer to be out back with views of the horses. Didn’t matter, Dad had said. When he was eighty, he wanted to be able to sit on his back porch, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over his pastures without any tourists spoiling the view . Figured he had been right about that one.
The scent of sagebrush filled my nostrils as I rode straight toward the sun rising behind the mountains. I loved the ranch this time of day. The guests were usually still sleeping, since playing cowboy didn’t require being up before dawn. But my family would be up, probably congregated in the kitchen, finishing up breakfast and pouring hot thermoses of coffee as they split up duties for the day.
I couldn’t wait to see their faces when I walked in.
I hadn’t told them I was coming in case I changed my mind at the last minute. But I was here now, and despite my ambivalence, it felt good to be back. Besides, they needed my help, and for once, I was doing the right thing. I could almost picture Mom getting all misty-eyed over it, proud of her boy for coming to the rescue.
Had to admit, that would feel good for a change.
The ranch house looked almost exactly the same as it had when I’d lived here—over a decade ago now. It was a modest home, considering how successful my parents had been at expanding the operation so that it could support all seven of us Hawkins kids if we wanted it to. The main house was the same one my grandfather had built for his bride. It was a two-story log cabin made of Eastern White Pine, with three stone chimneys jutting out and a sprawling front porch with old-fashioned porch swings on each end. The tourists loved it. So did I, now that I wasn’t crammed into it with six other kids and not an ounce of privacy.
I parked my bike out front and strode up the curving walkway toward the porch, noting the fresh plants out front, all native to Wyoming. That would be Beth’s doing, I figured. She had a knack for that kind of thing.
I pulled out my key and let myself in through the front door instead of knocking. Didn’t matter that I hadn’t lived here in over ten years. I was a Hawkins, and a Hawkins didn’t knock at Falcon Ridge Ranch.
I pushed my long hair back, doing a quick check in the entryway mirror to make sure I didn’t look too rough, then strutted into the kitchen, smiling when I saw I’d been exactly right. Mom, Travis, Beth, and Jonathan were all in the kitchen, thermoses in hand, talking quietly. Two years and things hadn’t changed.
Mom was the only one facing my direction, standing at the head of the kitchen island where she presided like a queen over the others. She was a tiny woman, but no one would ever doubt that she was in charge. Her long red hair fell down her back, and her green eyes glinted as she gave instructions, looking more like a Celtic warrior than the rancher she was.
Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me. “Rhett? What on earth?”
“Hey, Mom,” I said, grinning. “Got any breakfast left? I’m starved.”
She blinked twice, then threw a glance at Travis, who frowned. He looked at Beth, who looked at him, then at Mom. Jonathan was the only one who returned my grin.
This wasn’t right at all.
Mom shook herself, then gave me a hesitant smile. “Well, goodness, Rhett, it’s good to see you! Of course we have food. Ah, there are muffins over there,” she said, pointing to the large white bowl sitting on the kitchen counter. “And there’s still a cup of coffee in the pot. But what are you doing here?” She shook her head again, then came over and grabbed me in a warm embrace.
I hugged her tight, realizing just how much I’d missed her. “I’m here to help.”
“Help?” She looked at me blankly, then threw another glance at Travis. He hadn’t bothered wiping the frown off his face.
“Yeah. I figured, with Dad out of commission for a few weeks, you could use another hand around here. I was in between projects and I’m overdue for some time off, so”—I shrugged—“I thought I’d take a few weeks to pitch in.”
Her face softened. “Well, that’s really sweet, Rhett. We’re thrilled to have you, of course.”
Were they though? Because all the looks they were exchanging said something different altogether.
“Yes.” Beth, my sweet younger sister, jumped in, coming to give me a hug. “You caught us by surprise, that’s all.”
Jonathan snorted. “Yep, that’s all.”
Mom sent him a sharp look.
There was definitely something going on that I didn’t know about.
“Where’s Claire?” I asked, realizing my other sister—and the one family member, other than Mom, that I could always count on to be happy to see me—was missing. Finn, Beth’s twin, was also absent, but that was no mystery. He was a professor at the university in Montana and couldn’t get away while school was in session.
Travis finally spoke up. “Claire’s out on a search. I guess that makes your arrival pretty good timing. We really could use some extra help today,” he admitted. “We were trying to figure out how we were going to manage things with just me, Mom, and Beth. We’ve got a four-hour horse tour this morning, and we like to send two people. Maybe you could be her second.” He looked to Beth as if for approval, and I saw her give a small nod.
“Whoa.” I threw my hands up and took a step back. “I’m here to help, but I’ve been awake for almost twenty-four hours. Drove all night. I’ve got to grab some sleep before I do something like that.”
“Shocker,” Travis said with a tight smile. “Here to help, but not really.”
“I just need a few hours,” I protested. “Then I’m all yours. But I won’t be good for anything without some rest. I’m dead on my feet.”
“Alright,” Mom said, giving Travis a warning look. “You can crash in Jonathan’s room for now.”
“Hey!” Jonathan protested. “He said he’s going to be here for a few weeks. Are you saying I have to share that long?”
I jerked my head back, surprised by his attitude. Jonathan and I had always gotten along well. Probably better than my parents liked, since they didn’t want him turning out like me.
“Just for today,” Mom soothed, checking her watch. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll get him set up in Jimmy’s loft or an empty guest cabin. But I don’t have time right now. We’ve got to get a move on. Jonathan, help Travis saddle up the horses before you leave for school, okay? Beth, can you help me set up the guest breakfast?”
Beth smiled and nodded, then shot me an apologetic look, like she knew this wasn’t exactly the reception I’d expected. “Sorry. It’s a crazy day here.”
“Yeah, I see that,” I said. I gave them all a tight smile. “I’ll scarf this, then grab a few hours of sleep and check in with you after to see where I can pitch in.”
Travis let out a strangled laugh.
Mom gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Get some sleep. Oh, and say hi to your father, won’t you? He’ll be so glad to see you.”
“Sure.”
But I doubted that, especially after the way everyone else had reacted. Thought I’d get a little bit of gratitude, but it felt like I was in the way.
Which, come to think of it, was half of why I’d left in the first place.
It was only a few weeks, I promised myself. Six at most. No one could expect me to take more than six weeks off of work. Maybe not even that. Maybe four would be long enough to do my duty, get them through the rough patch.
Two if they found someone to hire temporarily.
I could do anything for two weeks.
I shook my head as I headed up the stairs toward Jonathan’s room. Even I didn’t believe I could last two weeks here.