Page 19 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

When he got up and followed Grayson out, Nana put her hand on the seat in front of her and leaned forward. “He’s very handsome, dear.”

“Shush,” my mother repeated.

“Settle yourself, Patricia.”

I faced forward, shook my head, and laughed under my breath. Apart from when we were skiing, Cord and I hadn’t gone to a single place today where we didn’t run into someone I knew. My family being here, at the movies, was by far the most awkward. I just hoped Cord was really getting popcorn rather than racing to his truck and hightailing it out of town.

I closed my eyes, remembering how close we’d come to kissing. Or at least I thought that was what he was going to do. But why would he? And why would I want him to? We’d only met last night. Going to the movies wasn’t a date; it was just me showing him something else of note in our town.

So why was I so disappointed?

6

CORD

When I met Juniper, her brother, and their mother last night—which felt like days ago—Grayson had been friendly. Today, he was standoffish. I got it. If a stranger came to town and, in less than twenty-four hours, looked like he was about to kiss my sister, I’d be tempted to knock some sense into the guy.

I hadn’t known it was her family who sat in the seats behind us until I glanced over my shoulder and saw Patricia, who, like the night before, winked at me. Had she seen us? Did she know how close I’d come to kissing her daughter?

That they’d showed up when they did and chose the seats they had when there were two hundred or so others empty definitely meant I wouldn’t be tempted to try it again. And that was a good thing. I reminded myself I had no business starting something when my life was in such upheaval, particularly in a place I couldn’t wait to get out of and head back home.

I also had to figure out a way to talk with Juniper’s uncle, preferably before I met Hoss Schultz.

As far as the job, I had no idea what to expect. A ranch manager was on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, unless they had a number-two guy they could rely on without question. I doubted there was such a hand at the Lilacs. If there had been, he or she would likely have taken over for JD rather than me.

I shook my head and scrubbed my face. Everyone who heard I’d be working there assumed I’d be taking over the man’s job. That didn’t mean they were right. For all I knew, I’d be the bottom-rung ranch hand, spending my days mucking stalls and cleaning up horse shit.

Then there was the other, more important question about what I was doing here in the first place? In hindsight, it was easy to guess the reason our father had forced Buck to spend a year on the Roaring Fork was so he’d realize how much the place—and our family—meant to him. Before he came home for the old man’s funeral, I often wondered if we’d ever see him again.

Now, he, his wife, and their son, who they’d nicknamed Buckaroo, were living in the original homestead house, which they’d renovated in the months beforetheir baby was born. I could honestly say I didn’t remember seeing Buck happy, let alone to the degree he was now. That our father had had a hand in that was almost unfathomable, considering he made our lives as miserable as he possibly could until the day he died.

So why was I here, in a place I’d never heard of? Meeting Juniper was definitely a bright spot in what I suspected were going to be some dark days, but I sure as hell couldn’t rely on her to keep me entertained for the next several months.

I stood next to Grayson, waiting for our popcorn.

“If you’re playing a game with my sister, I’ll make you regret ever coming to East Aurora, and I won’t be alone in that.” His tone was low, and there was an edge to his words.

“I’m not,” I answered, lame as it was. “I’d say we’re friends, but how can we be even that? I mean, I can’t explain it, but have you ever met someone you feel as though you’ve known for years after only a few hours?” And what the fuck was with me running my mouth like I was? And to Juniper’s brother of all people.

Grayson turned to me and rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You couldn’t have said something to make me hateyou? You had to deliver a line as sappy as the ones in the movie we’re missing?”

I laughed out loud and, at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone I’d met in the Chance family seemed happy and good-natured. Truth was, everyone I’d met in East Aurora appeared that way.

“It’s my dad and his family you really have to worry about. His brother’s a cop.”

“I met him. He wants to talk to me about Hoss Schultz.”

Grayson’s lip curled. “He’s bad news. So is Miss Cena’s nephew, Jimmy. Everyone thinks they’re in cahoots to somehow take the Lilacs away from her. It’s just no one knows what to do to stop them. By the time there’s proof, it might be too late.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea, but it’s what most of the town fears.”

“It seems like the community is tight-knit.”

“We are. We’re also protective of our own.”

The girl behind the counter handed each of us a tub of popcorn.

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