Page 11 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

“Not forever.” Hallie wanted to make that perfectly clear. “Just for a few weeks.”

Mama gave her a sly smile. “Unless we can talk you into staying longer.”

“I’m not staying longer, Mama. Daddy and I don’t get along.”

Mama’s green eyes turned sad and Hallie wished she’d kept her big mouth shut. “That wasn’t always true. You used to be his little shadow.”

“That’s the point. I don’t want to be someone’s shadow. I want to make my own way in the world.”

“Well, of course you do. And you will.” Mama patted her cheek. “You’re a strong, capable woman who can do anything you set your mind to.” While her daddy sucked at making his daughters feel confident, Mama never had.

“Thank you, Mama. I hope you don’t mind me using the cellar to brew my beer.”

“As long as Mimi doesn’t mind sharing the space, I don’t have a problem with it.” She hesitated. “But you might want to run it by your daddy.”

“I doubt he’ll go along with it. Daddy has never been happy with my chosen career.”

“Because he always thought you’d be the one who took over the ranch.”

Hallie couldn’t help losing her temper. “That’s bull, Mama, and you know it. Daddy never wanted his girls to take over the ranch. He wanted our husbands to.” When Hallie had finally figured that out, it had been the worst day of her life.

Before Mama could reply, Belle and Corbin walked up. Belle looked like she’d had one too many sips of champagne. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes twinkled, and there seemed to be a permanent dopey smile on her face.

Corbin had the same goofy smile.

“You two are just so cute,” Noelle said. “Aren’t they, Hal?”

She was going to say sickeningly so, but decided that probably wouldn’t ingratiate her to Corbin. “Just too cute.”

The slight smirk Corbin sent her said he didn’t believe her for a second. Which made her realize that kissing up to him might be harder than she thought.

“So what are y’all talking about so intently?” Belle asked.

“Hallie was pointing out that Daddy never wanted us girls to run the ranch as much as our husbands,” Noelle said. “Which explained why he got so mad at Sweetie for dumping Jace.” She glanced at Corbin. “You probably don’t remember Jace, Cory, since you and Sunny showed up after he left for college. He used to date Sweetie until she broke up with him their senior year of high school. Which about killed Daddy since he’d been spending every summer since Jace was fourteen grooming him to take over the ranch.”

Corbin’s gaze narrowed on Jace who was now dancing with Mrs. Stokes. Since he still had that pained expression, Hallie figured he was still getting a walk down football memory lane. “I didn’t realize Jace was a cowboy. I thought he was a football player.”

“He was until recently.” Mama shook her head. “I talked to his mama just the other day and she told me the entire story about him being kicked off his team. She’s worried sick about him. Says he’s going through a major depression. Which was why I was so surprised when he showed up. His mama never mentioned him coming to Wilder.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Noelle said. “Hallie seems to think he stopped by to see his cousin. But as far as I can tell, he hasn’t spent much time talking with Decker. In fact, it looks like he’s been avoiding Decker and Sweetie like the plague.” She glanced at Hallie with a knowing look. “Just another reason to think his heart is broken.”

“I doubt that, Noelle,” Mama said. “It’s been twelve years since Sweetie and Jace were together. I’m sure that’s water under the bridge.”

“What’s water under the bridge?” Mimi walked up.

Hallie sighed. Just one more family member to talk about Jace.

In the crook of Mimi’s arm slept a tiny striped kitten. Tay-Tay was Corbin’s kitten, but Mimi was just as attached to the cat as Corbin and loved having her visit the ranch.

“Jace still being sweet on Sweetie,” Noelle answered Mimi’s question. “Mama thinks it’s water under the bridge. I don’t.”

Mimi looked at the dance floor. “You might be right, Noelle. But the best way to get over hurt is to deal with it head on. Hopefully, that’s what Jace is here to do. Wilder is his hometown. He should be able to come back and enjoy seeing his family and friends without harboring any bad feelings . . . or having to listen to a bunch of people rehash old football stories.” She looked at Hallie. “Halloween, go rescue him from Fiona Stokes.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Is there a problem with that?”

There was. While she had rather enjoyed chatting with Jace in the hayloft, it had left her with too many vivid memories of things she’d just as soon forget.

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