Page 44 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

She turned her head, burying her face in my chest. “What if that’s what I want you to do?”

“Then, I will. Soon, but not tonight.”

When she pulled away, I sensed surrender. As though, like me, she was giving in to what she knew was right, as difficult as it was.

“I like you, Juniper Chance. Very much, in fact. But there are some things we need to address before we take this any further.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“You told me you’re leaving town.”

“I may have exaggerated my departure.” Her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her gaze in the way that drove me mad. “I’ve sent out resumes, but so far, no interviews. I may have blown my chances.”

“What makesyou say that?”

“Right after graduation, I had several job offers, but I turned them down. Almost all were on the West Coast, and I wasn’t ready to leave the east. A big part of that is how much my parents need my help at the restaurant.”

Her mention of it reminded me that I wanted to ask about the name. “You said it’s called the Goat?”

“Yeah, kind of weird for a restaurant. I don’t know why my dad didn’t change it.”

“Change it?”

“He bought it from someone else. Why?”

“There’s a bar in Crested Butte with the same name.”

“That’s a coincidence.”

Something in my gut told me it might not be, but I didn’t have a logical explanation for it. “Do you know who owned it before?”

She shook her head. “No idea, but I’m sure my dad remembers.” Juni turned her body to face the fireplace. “You said there werethingswe needed to address. What else?”

“You just said you weren’t ready to leave the east. I don’t live on the coast, but Colorado is definitely the west. When my year is up, I plan to go home.”

“You make it sound like being here is a prison sentence.”

I scrubbed my face. Other than to Pete, Beau, and Sam, I hadn’t told anyone else here why I was. “My being here wasn’t my idea,” I confessed.

Her eyes scrunched, and for the third time, I told the story of my father’s trust and its stipulations. I explained that if I hadn’t come, hadn’t gotten the job at the Lilacs, and if I didn’t stay a full year—that I couldn’t even leave for more than forty-eight hours—my brothers, sister, and I would lose the ranch, along with any other assets contained within the trust.

“What do you mean you can’t leave? You can’t even go home for a visit?”

“The way it was worded was very specific. It said I have to maintain residency at the Lilacs full-time and cannot leave for more than forty-eight consecutive hours.”

“You can’t leave the Lilacs?”

I nodded.

“How can that be legal?” she asked.

“When my older brother did his time”—I winked—“he had someone look into it. According to that attorney, it was iron-clad. He said whoever drew it upmade sure of it.”

Juni stared into the fire. “So you really don’t want to be here.”

I reached for her hand. “I can tell you that, since I arrived, I found a lot I like about this place.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I should probably get home.”

---