LITMIR.BIZ

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that this day was coming.

      His arrival must have made some noise, because a little girl came rushing out of the barn, brown curls bobbing. Amber, Quinn’s daughter. Rylan grinned. Little-known secret: he liked kids. Kids were easy, and honest, and thought being a grown-up meant doing what you wanted to do and not what someone told you. At least with kids, he never had his choices judged. To them, he was “cool.”

      “Hey, short stuff!” He hopped out of the cab and slammed the door.

      “Hi,” she offered, but stopped short, tilted her head and stared at him. “Are you going to be my Uncle Ry now?”

      Yep, blunt honesty. He grinned back at her. “Looks that way. I’m okay with it if you are.”

      She nodded. “I gots a dog. Her name is Molly.”

      “Congratulations.”

      With a happy giggle, Amber turned around to run back to the barn, but stopped when she saw Quinn coming around the corner. Rylan liked Quinn, and he was happy for his sister. They’d make this work out somehow... He knew his brother and sister didn’t realize it, but he actually did care about their happiness. That was the only reason he’d come back.

      That and the heavy sense of inevitability that told him he probably should face his demons at some point.

      And then a blond head appeared, the streaky strands of hair twisted back in a braid. His gut clenched. Maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe he could be that lucky. He wasn’t ready for the confrontation he knew would be coming.

      The woman came around beside Quinn, both of them talking, and he recognized the long legs, curvy figure and slight sway to her walk. Kailey Brandt. He held back a groan. Why did she have to be here right at this particular moment? Why couldn’t he have had time to prepare, to work out something to say?

      He hadn’t spoken to her since Valentine’s Day, when she’d hopped into his truck and had gone back to the motel with him after the benefit dance at the Silver Dollar. He’d slipped out the morning after, before she woke. It had been a coward’s move and one he wasn’t proud of. He figured he deserved whatever she would sling his way. He’d just hoped to avoid it for a little while longer.

      “Daddy, Uncle Ry’s here!” Amber’s sweet voice broke the silence and both Quinn and Kailey looked up. Quinn’s face broke out into a smile while Kailey’s...

      Damn. His gut twisted again. She looked ready to commit murder.

      “Rylan,” Quinn greeted him, holding out a hand. “Glad you’re finally here.”

      Rylan shook his hand. “Me, too, Quinn. Congratulations on your engagement. Glad my sister isn’t marrying some pansy-ass.”

      Quinn laughed. “To the point. And a compliment, I think.”

      “It is.”

      His gaze slid over to Kailey. Her lips were set in a thin, unrelenting line, her eyes as cold as January ice.

      “Hello, Kailey.”

      She looked down at Amber, who was within earshot, then pasted on the falsest smile he’d ever seen. “Why, hello, stranger.”

      Quinn frowned, looking from Rylan to Kailey and back to Rylan again. “Okay, I’m just a guy and even I can tell there’s some friction here. What’s going on?”

      Kailey patted Quinn’s arm. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’d better get back home now. Chores to do and stuff.”

      Without so much as a nod goodbye, Kailey marched off in the direction of her truck. Rylan noticed it was a year or two newer than his, a V8 with a crew cab and lots of power to tow a trailer full of stock. He had no doubt she could do it, too. She was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. And one of the toughest and most capable.

      Quinn’s voice was low. “That have something to do with Valentine’s Day?”

      No sense making excuses. Rylan met his gaze evenly. “Probably,” he admitted.

      Amber bounced away to play with Lacey’s pup, Ranger, and Quinn blew out a breath. “You know, Lacey insisted that you guys were adults. That I needed to let things be. But let me tell you this. That girl is one of my best friends.”

      “Warning received,” Rylan acknowledged. “I’ll make things right. I don’t have any intention of hurting her, Quinn.”

      “Intentions are funny things,” Quinn replied. But he let the matter drop, thankfully. “Have you been inside to see your sister yet?”

      “No.”

      “She’s thrilled you’re here. Just so you know.”

      Unease settled over Rylan again. He’d come to Crooked Valley as requested, but he fully intended to do his own thing and on his own schedule. That was the agreement. None of this convincing-him-to-stay crap. He’d be on the road most of the summer anyway, hitting as many rodeos as possible in his run for the National Finals title. He had a real chance this year and he wasn’t about to blow it.

      “I’ll park the trailer and make my way up in a bit.”

      Quinn nodded. “I’ll see you later then.”

      He gave Ry a clap on the shoulder before moving on toward the rambling farmhouse. Rylan looked after him, vague memories stirring in his brain. He’d been little but he still remembered. He remembered Grampa Joe and Grandma Eileen and learning to ride the horses and the sound of his dad’s laughter. Grandma had made the best chocolate cake he’d ever had, and Grampa Joe had bought Ry a pony to ride since he was younger and smaller than Duke. The pony’s name had been Daisy and he’d doted on her from the first moment, feeding her treats of apples and carrots, and brushing her every day.

      His early childhood had been absolutely perfect.

      There were other memories, too. He remembered how it had felt to hear the news that his father was never coming home. It had been incomprehensible to imagine a world where Dad wouldn’t come thumping in, dropping his duffel and looking so tall and important in his uniform. Ry had spent hours in the barns, sitting with the horses, smelling their warm, pungent hides and trying to make sense of it all. He’d told Daisy all his feelings, burying his face in her coarse mane when things got to be too much for him to understand.

      And then even that had been taken away when their mother had moved them to Helena and that small house on a postage-stamp lot. The city, for God’s sake. No fields, no chocolate cake and no Daisy.

      He would never invest that much of himself in a place again. No commitments meant no disappointments, and that was just how he liked it.

      He got back in the truck and found a nice level spot to park his camper.

      * * *

      KAILEY HAD THOUGHT a lot about what she’d say to Rylan Duggan the next time she saw him. She’d also known that Lacey and Duke had asked him to come to Crooked Valley. His presence here would ensure that the ranch stayed in the family, and with two of the three Duggan siblings invested in it now, his agreement was especially important. She understood that.

      But to her knowledge he hadn’t agreed, and he certainly hadn’t advised anyone of his arrival. He’d just shown up, wearing those faded jeans and a cocky grin that had made her traitorous body stand up straight and pay attention.

      She hated him for that. Almost as much as she hated that she was just that weak to fall for a sexy smile and fine ass. Well, falling for it and acting on it were two different things. He wouldn’t get the chance to burn her again.

      Dust puffed up in clouds behind her tires as she drove along a dirt road parallel to the Brandt ranch. Just beyond the next ridge was the bend in the Crooked Valley Creek, where the water slowed, creating the perfect summer swimming hole. She needed some peace and quiet, some tranquility, before she went home. The last thing she wanted to do was take this mood inside.

      Sometimes it really sucked being in her late twenties and still

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