LITMIR.BIZ

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fist into the other “—love as if I’ve never felt it before. I wanted to spend every second with her. After two days, I asked her to marry me.”

      “Where do you plan to live?”

      “Man, I don’t know. I haven’t thought it through.”

      “You better start thinking. She doesn’t seem like a girl who would enjoy following the rodeo circuit and sleeping in the back of a truck.”

      “Mom would probably let us live here in the house. Lisa seems to like the house.”

      “After what you pulled, you’ll be lucky if she still lets you live in the bunkhouse.”

      “I know. I lost it for a minute. I’m just nervous about everything. I’ve never been this nervous in my life.”

      Quincy felt a pang of sympathy for his brother. He’d gotten himself into a mess. “First, you need to tell Lisa about your living arrangements and talk about how she’s going to fit in with you riding the rodeo circuit. There’s very little work in Horseshoe for an actress. Second, you need to apologize to Mom profusely. And third, you need to apologize to Jenny.”

      Paxton nodded as he followed him into the kitchen and apologized to his mother. He then asked if he could sleep in the house while Lisa was here and his mother said it was okay. He would have to sleep in the bedroom downstairs next to hers. Paxton frowned, but he didn’t say anything.

      Quincy went to wake Grandpa, deciding it was time to let Paxton handle his own life. He had enough worries of his own. He’d hurt Jenny and that would weigh on his mind for a while. And his heart.

      * * *

      JENNY SAT ON the back stoop with a wine bottle in her hand. She tipped it up, taking a swig. She’d made a fool of herself tonight, and it was going to take a lot of wine to erase the memory of her standing in the Rebel den pouring out her heart to a man who really didn’t care.

      Daisy, the family dog, hopped up on the step and sat beside her.

      “Hey, Daisy, I made a fool of myself tonight. You know that feeling like when you chase that gopher into a hole and you start digging to reach her, but that gopher is long gone? I kept digging, Daisy, hoping to find just a little bit of emotion on Paxton’s face for me. There was none. And beside him stood this goddess with the most beautiful blond hair I’ve ever seen in my life. Can you believe that? He replaced me with a goddess.”

      Daisy whined as if she understood every word. Jenny took another swig from the bottle. “You know, Daisy, looking back, I’ve come to the conclusion that I should have fool tattooed on my forehead. I clung to a fantasy in my head about Paxton. He was my soul mate, my dream come true because we met in school and became the best of friends. He was there when my mom died and I was there for him when his dad passed away. We needed each other. But he was on the rodeo circuit so much and around buckle bunnies and beautiful women. A lot of temptation. I truly believed, though, that he loved me. Now, how stupid is that? You tell me, Daisy.”

      She drank more wine, and the beautiful blackness of the night around her felt as comforting as a warm blanket. Here, no one was gaping at her or thinking she’d lost her mind. Here, she was safe at home.

      “And then there’s Quincy. Good ol’ Quincy. He’s loyal to a fault. I thought he was my friend and would stand beside me. We’ve shared as much as Paxton and I have and he let me down. Bad.” She drank the last of the wine and stared off into the night.

      She was going to miss Quincy probably more than Paxton. She’d been waiting all her life for Paxton to come back and she’d just realized he was never coming home to her. Big moment. Big letdown. Big realization. She was comfortable with Paxton and she’d always known he was going to disappoint her, though with Quincy it was a shock, and that was why she was sitting here drinking wine as if it was Kool-Aid. It hurt that her friend Quincy had discarded her, too. Oh, well.

      “Let’s go find more wine,” she whispered to the dog. She stood and swayed. “Maybe not.” Gingerly, she made her way inside, humming under her breath. Tomorrow started the rest of her life.

      * * *

      QUINCY AND ELIAS helped Grandpa up the steps and into the house. “I can walk by myself,” Grandpa complained.

      “Fine,” Quincy said and let go. Grandpa staggered and caught the wall.

      “Ready to let me help you?”

      “You’re a pain in my ass, but you’re my favorite grandson.”

      “Hey,” Elias said. “I’m standing right here.”

      Grandpa patted Elias on the shoulder. “You’re my favorite grandson.” Grandpa had said that to all of them at one time or another. “Let’s go to Rowdy’s and get a beer.”

      “It’s after midnight and everyone is going to bed, including you, Grandpa.”

      “Spoilsport.”

      It took him ten minutes to get Grandpa in bed. He called Elias for help to remove his baggy jeans and boots. They covered him up and walked out of the room with long sighs. It was a good thing they loved the old man or they just might choke him to death. He was that ornery.

      “Did I tell you boys about the time I was in love with two women at the same time?”

      Quincy and Elias stopped in their tracks. Neither wanted to listen to Grandpa’s stories this late, especially when he was drunk.

      “Yeah, now go to sleep,” Quincy said.

      They waited and soon heard snoring. They high-fived. Elias went into the kitchen and got a beer and Cheez-It crackers.

      “You’ve got to be kidding.”

      “What?” Elias went into the living room, picked up the remote control from Grandpa’s chair, sat on the sofa and flipped on the TV. “After having to remove Grandpa’s pants, I need liquor, preferably something stronger. Sadly, this is all I have.”

      Elias could hold his liquor better than anyone Quincy had ever met. Soon he would crash and they wouldn’t be able to wake him for several hours. Quincy shook his head and went outside to sit on the porch to de-stress from the night. Mutt was asleep in his bed and didn’t move.

      Quincy didn’t even want to think about Paxton and Lisa. That was out of his hands and he wasn’t interfering. In the morning, Quincy knew Falcon would take a strip off Paxton and Phoenix. Their behavior tonight wasn’t tolerated in the family. And Quincy would somehow try to smooth the waters between the brothers, like always.

      Running his hands up his face, his thoughts of his brothers faded and they turned to Jenny. She was the bright spot in his life. He knew the days she worked and the days she was off. When she was off, he always headed home early to be with her.

      She would bring beer and peanuts. They’d sit on bales of hay and watch the paints and talk. He’d shared more with Jenny than with anyone in his life. His tour in Afghanistan he shared with no one, except Jenny. After his dad had died, Quincy had joined the Army, much to his mother’s distress. He’d had to get away. The ranch wasn’t the same without his father. He hadn’t been able to stay away, though, and after his tour he’d come home. There was no way to explain what he’d been through or what he’d seen. Jenny had just listened and that was all he needed.

      Jenny’s mom had died suddenly when Jenny was in high school and she’d shared her deepest feelings and sadness about that time. She’d also talked about Paxton and her fear he was never going to settle down. Quincy had never offered advice about his brother, feeling it wasn’t his place. But they seemed to be able to talk about anything.

      During the springtime, she was a lot of help when the mares gave birth. Since she was a nurse, she wasn’t squeamish and they’d sat many a night in the barn when a mare was having a difficult time.

      His life would now change, and he would be lonely again, just like when he’d returned from Afghanistan. Jenny had filled that empty

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