LITMIR.BIZ

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Cole chorused.

      “And our grandma!” shouted Emma and Noah, whose simultaneous attempts to climb on Joy’s lap went from shoving to a WWE match before Daryl banished them to opposite sides of the table.

      “Sorry, Joy.” Daryl stared down his kids until they apologized, as well.

      “After raising six kids, five of them boys, I don’t break easy.” Joy’s hands shook as she wiped beneath her eyes. “I couldn’t be prouder to call you my stepchildren and grandchildren. Hopefully, once the trial’s over, we’ll all become a real family, too. I want that more than anything.”

      Heath spied his doubt in his siblings’ eyes. They’d never get along with the Cades, not with so many years of bad blood between them, no matter how the feud started, especially with their face-off in court next month. Joy was the exception.

      In the week since she’d moved in, Heath had noticed subtle improvements. Family dinners happened every night. Baskets of freshly laundered clothes appeared on their beds daily. And the moment anyone mentioned a food preference, the item materialized in the fridge the following day.

      Is this what having a mother is like? Heath had caught himself wondering since the wedding. He’d devoted his childhood to pleasing his real mother, to smoothing things over and making others happy. Having someone else take care of him and his family left him unsettled...and feeling almost unneeded, if that made any good sense.

      “Let’s not talk about the trial for now,” Pa said, gruff. “Joy, who should we ask to help?”

      She tapped her chin. “Jack’s working across the state as a sheriff’s deputy. James is ranch manager, so we can’t spare him. My nephews are learning the ropes and don’t have enough experience. Jared’s touring with Amberley so that leaves either Justin or Jewel.” No mention of Jesse, of course, the son she’d lost to violence related to his opioid addiction.

      “Justin?” Cole exclaimed. “Heck no, not unless you want the place burned down. Remember the Fourth of July when he decided to light fireworks from the church steeple and set the roof ablaze?”

      Joy smiled widely at that, and Heath’s stomach plummeted. If not Justin, then the rancher assisting him would have to be...

      “Who would you pick, Pa?” Daryl wiped fudge from Noah’s chin.

      “I’ll let our range boss decide. He’s in charge of ranch operations while I’m away.” All eyes turned Heath’s way.

      Heath’s stomach twisted something awful, and he opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. Jewel’s dogged determination to free the spare, her no-nonsense efficiency in mounting the new tire and her dry, quick wit had impressed him.

      Her challenging, irritating and obnoxious personality, not so much. She was a tough, experienced, capable cowgirl, whose mouth would be a constant source of aggravation. Kelsey had given him until summer’s end to agree to a wedding date, and he needed time, space and peace on the open range to stop bucking his future...something he’d never get riding alongside the brash redhead.

      Worse, the connection he’d felt with Jewel last night, the way his thoughts kept straying to her today, warned him of trouble ahead if they spent too much time together.

      “Heath?” Pa prompted.

      Time to pry his tongue off the roof of his mouth. There was nothing for it. “Jewel.” Heath scraped back his chair. “If you’ll excuse me?”

      He trudged to the porch and leaned over the railing, soaking up the fresh air. Twilight was still at the stage where it was more lavender than onyx, with the fireflies just beginning to turn on and off in the yard. Standing there with the birds chirping in the trees, the crosscut-sawing of the crickets and a cattle dog snoring at the top of the stairs, was usually restful.

      Heath shoved his hands in his pockets, yanked them out again, then laced them tightly behind his back, unable to settle his mind. Spirit. Heart. All around him, broad-shouldered mountains rose, penning him in, pinning him down.

       Goodbye, Nashville.

      He squeezed his eyes shut as a burning knot of emotion formed in the back of his throat. Without other prospects, he’d have to accept Kelsey’s father’s offer to become a partner in the supply business.

      He’d have to set a wedding date.

      Give up gigging.

      Music.

      He sucked in a sharp, stinging breath, then blew it out. He heard a fluttering overhead and then the hoot of an owl, which for some reason struck him as menacing.

      At least his new, lucrative job meant he could help keep Loveland Hills on secure financial footing. It wasn’t the life he’d dreamed of, but it was the one he’d been dealt.

      Best he accepted it.

      Besides, he loved Kelsey...didn’t he? They’d been together for so long he wasn’t always sure. Their relationship was comfortable, like a pair of worn slippers...and just as boring. But that was typical of people who’d been together as long as he and Kelsey had, he’d heard.

      The door banged open behind him, and Pa clapped him on the back. “Jewel will be a whole lot easier on the eye than Justin.”

      Heath shifted from foot to foot and swatted away something feathery, a moth. Looks weren’t everything. He’d watched Jewel at local rodeos through the years; she was a talented roper and rode as well as any man. The question was: Would she listen to him and take orders? Between her and Justin, he’d wager her daredevil brother would be easier to handle, despite what Cole said. This year’s herding had to go off without a hitch. The stakes were too high for mistakes.

      “You sure you’ll be okay handling the cattle drive while I’m away?” Pa asked. “Joy’s fine canceling the trip.”

      Heath jerked his lips into a smile big enough to ease his father’s concerns. Pa deserved to be happy. “You bet, Pa.”

      His father’s tense expression softened. “Never thought I’d have this second chance with Joy. I appreciate it, son.”

      “No thanks needed. It’s what family does. We’re always here for each other.”

      Pa nodded. “So, what was the important thing you wanted to tell me?”

      Gnats whined in Heath’s ears and tree frogs piped. He stared at the distant moon and shook his head. “It wasn’t that important.”

      Which was true.

      Nothing was as important as keeping his family happy and at peace. Now he just needed to make peace with it himself...

      And manage antagonistic Jewel Cade while driving cattle through one of the worst droughts in his state’s history.

      His fingers clenched around the rail once his father strode back inside. What had he just signed up for?

       CHAPTER THREE

      JEWEL INHALED THE comforting vanilla scent of Ma’s neck as she hugged her tight in the Lovelands’ circular drive. The morning clouds were a deep, ominous gray. They churned like muddy waters stirred up from the bottom of a lake, mirroring her mood.

      She dropped her head on her mother’s shoulder and closed stinging eyes. How had her plan to become Cade Ranch’s range boss crashed and burned in less than twenty-four hours? She’d be working Loveland Hills for the next month, her chance to prove herself to James gone. Despite a sleepless night, she still hadn’t completely processed it all.

      “I’m going to miss you, honey.” Ma’s hazel eyes searched Jewel’s when she stepped back.

      Above her earnest face, the stately poplars surrounding the Lovelands’ homey ranch house swayed. It reminded Jewel of a Hallmark Christmas ornament, with

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