Page 113 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

“I think it was. Or is.”

Her response intrigued me. “I’m leaning that way too, but why do you believe it is?”

“She wanted Buck to return to the ranch, but not until after your father died. She wanted you to go to the Lilacs, but not until after her brother died. Those are two things she could’ve decided on before she passed away.”

“What about Porter?” I asked.

“That one is harder to figure out.”

“I told Buck I thought whoever the trustee is must have had something on Roscoe while he was still alive. Not that it kept him from being an asshole.” I scrubbed my face. “The other thing I said was if our mom hadn’t left East Aurora, if her brother had succeeded in forcing her to have an abortion, none of us would be here.”

“If only Miss Cena was still alive,” Juni murmured.

“I wondered if it might be her doin’ all this.”

She nodded. “Me too. But your point about Porter is a good one. His accident happened after she passed away.”

“Only Holt and Flynn are left. I hope there isn’t anything they’re forced to do. Unfortunately, I think there will be.”

“Look at it this way. Buck returning to the ranch had a happy ending. He and TJ seem so in love.”

“I wondered if traveling to East Aurora was just so I could meet you. I still think it’s part of it.”

Juni smiled. “I hope Porter finds happiness.”

“Me too.” While I nodded and said the words, I wasn’t convinced it was possible. It had taken time away from him for me to realize how he seemed to carry a weight on his shoulders that he couldn’t bear. So he drank—just like my father had.

“I pray he can exorcise his demons. That may be the best we can hope for.” When I reached up to scrub my face, Juni caught my hand and kissed the back of it.

“I love you, Cord.”

“And I love you.”

By the time we landed,both Juni and I had received a message from Sam saying she and Beau were already at the airport and would give us a ride to the Lilacs.

“So, um, you might want to take your ring off,” I said when we deboarded and were walking from the private terminal to the public one.

Juni shook her head. “Nope. I’mnevertaking it off.”

“Sam will notice.”

“I’m okay if she and Beau know first. We already invited my family to meet us at the Lilacs later.”

As I’d anticipated, Sam spotted the ring immediately, and soon, she and Juni were both in tears, hugging.

“Many congratulations,” said Beau, shaking my hand. “When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t figured that out yet. What about you?”

“Initially, we were talking about Christmas, but I’m a wanker and pushed Sam to move it up.”

“When and why?” I asked.

“Mid-May, and don’t you want to marry Juniper as soon as she’ll agree to it?”

“I guess so. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“I have. No way I’m giving Samantha the chance to change her mind.”

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