Page 24 of Roaring Fork Rockstar

“Is that why you all seemed sad when Flynn mentioned him at dinner?”

“We miss him, but the irony is, going there was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. He reconnected with Cici Morris—they had a thing years ago. She owns the ranch now.”

I paused, considering how much to share about my brother’s struggles. “Porter was in a bad place before that… drinking too much, blaming himself for things that weren’t his fault.”

“What kind of things?” Keltie asked softly.

“My brother has a habit of shouldering blame that isn’t his. Protecting others even when it costs him. There was an incident—a drunk-driving accident. He took the fall for someone else. Lost his reputation in the rodeo community. Turns out he’d already made a commitment to his sobriety by then.”

Keltie’s eyes widened. “Wow.”

“Right? Well, anyway, the trust forcing him to Morris Ranch seemed like another punishment, but it became his salvation. Cici saw through him in a way none of us could.”

“And now?”

“Sober over a year. Married to Cici—although that’s kind of a secret. They’re holding off for the big announcement and shindig until after his year is up. Regardless, he and Cici are building something real there—a partnership between our ranches for roughstock contracting. He found himself, I guess you could say.”

Keltie tucked a curl behind her ear, her expression thoughtful. “What about Cord? Does he have a story too?”

“Cord’s was the strangest. He had to go live in East Aurora, New York, for a year. None of us had even heard of the place. It turns out that’s where our mother was from.”

“Really? And none of you knew that?”

I shook my head, remembering the shock when we’d discovered our mother’s hidden past. “Our mom died when Flynn was a toddler. I was seven. We didn’t know much about her life before Colorado. She never talked about it, and our father shut down any questions.”

The memory of my mother’s face flashed before me—her gentle smile, the way she’d sing me to sleep. She’d kept so many secrets from us, yet I couldn’t find it in me to be angry with her. Not anymore.

“Cord met Juni there and discovered all these connections to our mother’s past. Even found out we had cousins we never knew existed. Sam is one of them.”

She gasped. “Sam is your cousin?”

I scrubbed my face with my hand, wondering how much I should admit to. “But, uh, you and I aren’t. I mean, we’re on different sides of the family.”

I could see her shoulders drop in relief.

“That’s how I felt,” I said.

Keltie raised her chin. “The way you read me, it’s eerie sometimes.”

She didn’t know the half of it, but that was definitely not something I was going to bring up tonight or any time soon.

“Our mother kept a lot hidden that we’re still unraveling.”

I thought about the family tree Sam had shown us, the complex web of relationships that connected the Rookers, the Wheatons, and apparently, the Marquez family as well.

“There was a moment, when Cord first told us everything he’d discovered, that it felt like meeting our mother all over again. Learning she’d had all this history we knew nothing about.” I swallowed, surprised by the emotion that still surfaced when I thought about it. “She told Cord something once, before she died. She said, ‘I pray that someday, when you learn about the decisions I’ve made, you can understand why and forgive me.’”

“She knew you’d find out eventually,” Keltie said softly.

“I think she did. I can’t help but wish she’d been here to explain it herself.”

Keltie reached across the space between us, her fingers brushing against mine. The touch sent warmth through me that had nothing to do with the fire.

“It’s almost as if fate is directing you all to find your happiness,” she said, her voice gentle.

I snorted. “It’s not fate. It’s a faceless, nameless trustee, who set the whole thing up to remain anonymous.”

She must have heard the edge in my voice, because her expression turned more serious. “What do you mean by anonymous?”

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