Page 81 of The Brothers at Horseshoe Ranch

“I’m not forcing anything,” Amelia sounded annoyed. “I knew they were perfect for you each other, and I was right. I can’t wait to welcome Lucy to the family officially.”

I walked back to my room without a drink. I felt so guilty because I wasn’t into Beau at all. He was a nice guy, but there was no chemistry there, no real attraction. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew it was going to kill me having to break Amelia’s heart when she realized that Beau and I would never be getting married.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I felt full and happy as I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. It had been an amazing evening. We’d had barbecue rings and flank steak with potato salad and coleslaw, garlic bread, apple pie, ice cream, and there had been laughter and joy filling the yard. Amelia and Ranger had been the perfect hosts, and Beau, Austin, and Wyatt had kept us all entertained. Sadie, Olivia, and I had laughed and sung and danced the night away, and I’d really felt like I was part of a family.

It was weird thinking that I hadn’t known any of these people, aside from Olivia, just a couple of weeks ago. They felt like they’d always been a part of my life. They were the part that had been missing, and yet, as I put my toothbrush down, I felt sad because my mom would never get to meet them in person and I knew my mom would have loved the family. She would have been the first one dancing along, doing the two-step in the backyard, laughing, drinking, and being merry. I felt sad, but then I took a deep breath.

I could feel my mom’s presence and spirit around me. She wanted me to be happy. She wanted me to live my life. A part of me had been worried about leaving New York. A part of me had thought that I wouldn’t remember her if I wasn’t in the city that we’d always lived in together, but I’d been wrong to worry because I felt more alive and happy in Montana than I’d ever felt anywhere else in my life.

I love the city. I loved going shopping. I love putting on makeup. I love doing my hair, but it didn’t matter here. I still liked to look good, but I didn’t have to wear the latest fashions and buy the coolest handbags and shoes. I didn’t have to keep up with people who had far more money than me. People who would judge me if I didn’t have the right reservations for the right restaurants. It didn’t matter here. There was one bar in town, and everyone went there and no one cared if you were rich or poor. There were hard-working people, and that was what life was all about. It was about enjoying being with the ones that you loved.

I walked over to the bed and sat down. All of a sudden, an urge to say a prayer came to me. I hadn’t said a prayer in years. Not since I was a child when my mother and I would kneel by the side of my bed and thank God for keeping us both happy and healthy. It wasn’t that I no longer believed in God. It was just that I’d fallen out of the habit of saying prayers. I’ve fallen out of the habit of being thankful, but I was thankful.

I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I didn’t know where my life was going. I didn’t even know how long I’d get to stay in Montana, but I did know that I was going to enjoy every second of it, and when I had to leave, if I had to leave, I would just be grateful to have met this loving family. I loved Amelia and Ranger as if they were my own parents, and Austin, well, he took my breath away. Beau was funny and charming, and Wyatt was a hoot, and Sadie, even though she and Wyatt weren’t together yet, I knew she’d make the perfect sister-in-law.

I was about to get on my knees and say the Lord’s prayer when I heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Olivia, I got up and opened it with a wide smile on my face. “Hey, I was just about to—” I stopped.

It wasn’t Olivia there, but shirtless Austin. I swallowed hard.

“Can I come in?” His voice was husky.

“Okay.” I nodded opened the door wider and he walked in. He looked me over in my short shorts and t-shirt and grinned.

“You look cute.”

“You too.” I tried not to stare at his Batman boxer shorts as they were going to make me laugh. Instead, I kept my gaze pinned to his muscular chest. He had a six-pack and I just wanted to run my hands down it. He was ripped. I guess that’s what came from working on the farm.

“So, did you miss me?” he asked.

“What do you mean, did I miss you?”

“When I was gone? Did you miss me?”

“You weren’t even gone for very long,” I said, “Why would I miss you?”

“You didn’t think about me?”

“I did wonder why you left without telling me. I mean, one night you were in my room, and we were talking, and the next morning, I wake up and you’re gone. You didn’t even tell me.”

“Did that upset you?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get from me, Austin.”

“I’m trying to figure out if you like me,” he said, a goofy expression on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m trying to figure out if you like me as much as I like you.”

“You like me?”

“What do you think, Lucy? You’re driving me crazy. Of course I like you. Would I be kissing you and sneaking into your room if I didn’t like you?”

“I don’t know. I thought you were just testing me or just doing something weird.”

“You thought I was testing you by sneaking into your room and kissing you?”

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