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Chapter One
Middle of April
Dylan Weston lengthened his stride to catch up with his brother. “Carson, wait a moment, will you?”
With his hand on the door of his truck, Carson turned around, a slight frown pleating his forehead. “What?” he barked.
Dylan’s eyebrows shot up.
Sighing, Carson rubbed his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just …” He motioned toward their cousin Hayden Weston’s home where they’d lately been having their meals.
“Are you having second thoughts about the fact that we’ve moved to The Weston Ranch?” Dylan asked, not quite sure why his younger brother looked so ticked off.
“No, of course not. We both decided we want to start fresh, away from the unhappy memories of the house on The Grayson Ranch. It’s great to be here, it’s just they’re all so … so …”
“Happy?” Dylan grinned.
“It sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud, I know,” Carson sighed. “I get it, the cousins are all happily married, but geez, I don’t know, I’m not …” Clearly at a loss for words, he shook his head.
Dylan chuckled. “We’re not used to people being nice to each while they’re having their meals.”
“I can’t remember one meal where Mom and Dad weren’t at each other’s throats.”
Dylan touched his brother’s shoulder. “This is a new chapter, remember? When Hayden reached out to us last year, both of us were very excited at the prospect of consolidating the two family ranches that had been split up because of the fight-no-one-talks-about. As co-owners and directors of The Weston Ranch enterprise, we each have our own role to play. You sure you haven’t changed your mind about this?”
“No, it was a good decision. It’s a win-win for all of us. I learn so much from Hayden, and they, in turn, are pleased with our expertise as breeders as well as our knowledge of seedstock production.” He grinned. “And of course I don’t mind having our meals here. Isabella’s cooking is next level.”
“Your house is nearly finished,” Dylan said. “When you move in and can make a mess in your own home, you’ll hopefully feel more settled.”
“We’re not all neat freaks.” Carson chuckled. “No, seriously, I’m glad we’ve decided to move here rather than stay where there were so many sad memories.” He opened the driver’s door. “I’ll probably get used to all the smiling and talking and touching, but man, do they all have to keep kissing their wives all the damn time?”
Laughing, Dylan slapped his brother on the back. “You never know, all this kissing may just rub off on us one of these days.”
Snorting, Carson got in and started his truck. “I’m not ever getting serious about a woman. I’ll see you later. There’s still some of my stuff back at the house on The Grayson Ranch I want to fetch. The hands are moving in tomorrow.”
“See you later.”
With a wave, Carson drove away. Sighing, Dylan watched him until he disappeared around the corner of the house. His brother had always been the more sensitive, more intuitive of the two of them. That was probably the reason why the landscape photographs he took of ranch life and shared on social media were doing so well.
“Everything okay?” Cooper, the youngest of his cousins, had joined him.
“Yeah, no problem. It’s going to take some time to get used to having our meals in a friendly atmosphere. Things were very different in our house.”
Cooper touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” Cooper had the uncanny ability to know what was going on in a person’s mind.
Grinning, Dylan looked at him. “I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that you know what I’m thinking.”
Cooper smiled. “You’ll get there. I’m not much of a talker.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“You’re both still hurting. It’ll get better. Come with me? I want to show you something.”
Ten minutes later, Cooper put a small wriggling puppy in Dylan’s hands. “Meet Daisy. My guess is, she’s a boxer and about a month old. I found her next to the road. She’s been to the vet, has all her shots, all she needs now is a loving home.”
For a moment, Dylan was lost for words. Both he and Carson had desperately wanted a dog when they were boys. They’d constantly pleaded with their dad for a puppy, but their mother had refused every time until they’d finally stopped asking.
“I-I—” For some strange reason, he found it difficult to talk. “Thank you,” he managed eventually.
“Of course. Come on, I have a bed and food for her. As she gets older …”
Cooper was still talking, but Dylan wasn’t listening anymore. The puppy had fixed her big brown eyes on him. In that moment, something warm opened up inside of him.
It wasn’t a familiar feeling, and if he hadn’t been working and eating with his cousins for the last few months, he probably wouldn’t have known what to call the emotion welling up in his throat. He was happy.
Grinning, he lifted the puppy closer to his face. “Hi, Daisy.”
Yelping, Daisy licked his face.
June knocked but when no one answered, she opened Jonathan, her boyfriend’s apartment with the key he’d given her a while back. She’d texted him about ten minutes ago to say she was close by and wanted to see him. They should talk.
Jonathan had dropped the words moving in together and sharing their living expenses a few times, but she hadn’t been ready to give up her own apartment just yet. He’d even mentioned getting engaged a couple of times. Her reaction to that was the reason she was here.
She’d met Jonathan when a client had insisted she wanted her lawyer present at the signing of her first book deal. The lawyer was Jonanthan. He was nice and easy to talk to and when he’d invited her for dinner, June had accepted. After a while, they were dating.
That was what people did, right? She wouldn’t really know. She’d grown up in the foster care system and had no idea how these things really work. From what she saw around her, it seemed you met someone, you dated, and then at some point you moved in together or you got engaged and eventually got married—for the rest of your life.
The problem was though, over the last few weeks she’d gradually realized the idea of spending a lifetime with anyone, including Jonathan, wasn’t something she was looking forward to. Love was supposed to last forever, at least according to all the love stories she’d read, and she’d read thousands. She was proof, though, that that particular story was another myth.
She liked Jonathan and being with him was nice, but nice didn’t seem like a good enough reason to move in together. Shouldn’t something rock or explode or at least stir, albeit ever so slightly, when you were with someone you love? And shouldn’t your blood heat and your heart beat faster?
Okay, yes, she knew love didn’t work in the real world like it did in books and the movies, but surely there should be something, otherwise what was the point?
For the life of her she couldn’t imagine staying with Jonathan for the next week, let alone living with him for the next fifty years. They were good friends, that was all. What was more, she had an idea Jonathan felt the same way. He’d been more than a little distant lately.
As she closed the door, a noise from the direction of the bedroom caught her attention. So he was already here.
“Jonathan!” she called out as she walked toward his bedroom.
No answer.
The door was open and as she came closer, she heard the sound again. Only this time it was much clearer. Someone was moaning. Was he hurt? Frowning, she stepped into the room and froze.
Jonathan was in bed with another woman. A blonde whose world—if the sounds she was making were anything to go by—was actually rocking.
“Hi, Jonathan,” June said and crossed her arms.
The two on the bed scrambled to cover themselves.
Jonathan looked horrified. “What are you doing here? I … This is not what it looks like …”
Turning around she left the room without a backward glance. She threw the key he’d given her on the kitchen counter and walked out of Jonathan’s apartment for the last time.
As the elevator doors were closing, she heard his voice, “June! Wait, damn it—”
Fortunately, the doors closed, cutting off his voice.
In the parking garage, she got into her car and drove away. Shouldn’t she be upset? Cry? Be angry? She wasn’t any of these feelings, so what was this strange sensation inside of her?
As she approached her own apartment building, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she grinned. She was relieved. So, so relieved. That was the emotion she was experiencing.
At least now she knew why she kept making excuses not to move in with him. She didn’t love Jonathan, and he obviously didn’t love her either. Why hadn’t she seen it before? Maybe it wasn’t possible for someone growing up like she had to actually fall in love, how would she know? What she did know, though, was that she didn’t want to be with a man who hopped into bed with someone else when he was still dating her.
In her apartment, she kicked off her shoes, grabbed her laptop, and curled up on her couch. Over the past few months, an idea had been circling around in her mind, one she’d been trying to push away because she might move in with Jonathan and she had a life here in Seattle. Now the thought was back, and this time she could do something about it.
When she’d signed the very talented artist, cartoonist, and writer Becket Weston the previous year as a new client of the publishing house she worked for, she’d wanted to meet him in person. When she’d heard he lived on a ranch outside the small town of Marietta, Montana, she’d flown to Bozeman and then, following the GPS in her rental car, drove the last twenty-five miles to the quaint town.
Settled at the foot of Copper Mountain, Marietta was like no other place she’d seen before. Since then, she hadn’t stopped thinking about the charming Main Street with its classic Western storefronts and the warm, friendly people she’d met while visiting.
Ever since she could remember, she’d lived with the feeling that everything around her was slightly wrong, that she didn’t quite fit in, no matter how hard she tried. During the few days she’d been in Marietta she’d never felt that way.
Her mind racing, she got up and paced her small apartment. She hadn’t taken leave from work in forever. Maybe she could go to Marietta for a month or two? See if what she remembered was actually true.
Marietta was small, life there was unhurried. Her life wouldn’t be as rushed as it was in the city, and maybe she’d finally have time to write the children’s story she’d been brooding about.
Becket had an idea for a new project. While she was in Marietta, there would be more than enough time to discuss it. Perhaps, she could also get in touch with Mitch Miller, one of the locals who was also an author. He and his wife, Riley, were among the many lovely people she’d met while she’d visited Marietta. She could try and convince him to have the publishing house she worked for publish his next book.
That might go a long way to convince her boss Barry that it wouldn’t be a problem if she was away for a month or two. Barry was in his seventies and not a fan of technology. Surely, though, even he knew that these days one could work from anywhere in the world.
Maybe she would have time to learn to knit or crochet. Becket’s wife Ellie owned a yarn shop in Marietta. It would be something to do at night. Oh, and there was also a library in town, if she remembered correctly. Also, wasn’t Ellie part of a book club? Excited, she took out her phone to make notes. She could perhaps buy her way into the club with a few new releases from the publishing house she worked for.
The only person she would miss would be Abby, her best friend. She and Abby Swanson had met and had become friends as little girls in the foster care system. They’d figured out together how to survive, learned to read a room, to size up everyone they met, and to never trust anyone besides each other.
The bond they’d formed under difficult circumstances way back then had only strengthened with the years. Abby, a Marie Kondo fanatic, made her living helping other people declutter and organize their spaces and lives. She worked for herself so maybe she could take a week or two to visit June in Marietta?
Excitement bubbling inside of her, she called Abby first. As usual, Abby listened without interrupting until June ran out of breath. “So, what do you think?”
“Haven’t you forgotten something?” Abby asked.
“What?”
“Jonathan?”
June sobered. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. It’s over.”
“That is good news, but what happened?”
“I found him in bed with another woman.”
It was quiet for a moment. “You seriously deserve so much better than that guy.”
June chuckled. “You never liked him.”
“There’s something out of sync about him. Are you okay?”
“I am. Whatever we had has been over for a while. The main emotion I had as I was leaving his apartment was one of relief.”
“So, when are you leaving for Marietta?”
“As soon as I can convince Barry to let me work from there and as soon as you agree to come and visit me. It’s a beautiful town, Abs, you’ll love it.”
“I’m swamped at the moment, but let’s see how long you’re staying there,” Abby said vaguely. “I assume you’re flying again like the previous time you went?”
“Probably, or … you know what? No, I’m going to make a road trip of this. I’m taking my 1976 red Camero on the road. It will be nice to have a car while I’m there.”
“June! You can’t do that. It’s a beautiful car, of course, but you’ve only ever used it in the city. Will it even be able to take you all the way to Montana?”
“Of course!” The growing plan gave June confidence. “I’ll let you know what Barry says.”
End of Excerpt
