Pure Bliss

Chapter Three

Noah turned his truck to the west and wondered for the four hundredth time that day just what he was planning to say to his brother. Days on the road and he still hadn’t figured it out. His stomach turned as he realized that the Circle G wasn’t more than forty minutes away. Forty minutes and then he would have to stand in front of his brother. Noah turned to his companion, his best friend in the world.

“Hey, so the marriage thing didn’t work out. You were right. She was a bitch after my money, and when she’d gone through my trust fund, she dumped me for a lawyer named Phil. Oh, but there were numerous men before that. I don’t even know their names. We hadn’t had sex in a couple of years, and I spent all my time vaccinating overprivileged Pomeranians. Can I come home now?”

The dog beside him whined slightly, as though deeply moved by his words.

He doubted James would have the same sympathy for him. “You think that’s going to work, Butch? I don’t know. I think I’ve dug a deep hole.”

Butch was some weird cross of Great Dane and Rottweiler. He was an ugly, big son of a bitch, but he was as harmless as a damn fly. He’d also been the closest thing to a friend he’d found in the last several years. He’d known his marriage to Ally was utterly over when she’d told him to choose between the dog and her.

Noah shook his head. His marriage hadn’t been over when she’d cheated or spent every dime he had. It hadn’t been over when she’d walked out for three months and crawled home because her lover had kicked her out. It hadn’t been over when she’d tried to stop him from attending his second father’s funeral. It had ended over a dog. He’d told her to get out, and she’d walked straight to Phil’s arms.

He’d given up his home, his honor, his family over a woman who had taken everything and given nothing in return. He was crawling home with his goddamn tail between his legs.

At least he knew he had a job waiting for him. Stef Talbot had kept in regular contact. Even when he hadn’t talked to his own brother, Noah had talked to Stef. Stef kept tabs on everything. When Noah had called to see if there was still an opening for a vet in Bliss, Stef had told him to get his ass home.

But he wasn’t sure about how James was going to take it.

“Maybe he’ll be satisfied that he’s the rich rancher, and I’m the dipshit brother whose wife ran through ten million dollars in five years. You think so?”

The sad-sack look on Butch’s face didn’t hold a lot of hope.

“We might be living in a tent. Or the caves. Mel used to have a bunch of caves Jamie and I played in when we were kids. Don’t drink the moonshine, though. It can make you blind.” Actually, a little of Mel’s “tonic” might be just what the doctor ordered. Or he could get his ass abducted by aliens, and then everything would be a moot point.

At least he would get to work with large animals again. He’d missed working with horses and cattle. If he had to deal with one more hamster, he might scream. Those goddamn rodents bit him every time.

God, how had he fucked up so badly?

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He’d spent the night before in a cheap-ass motel. He was seriously considering finding another one. Anything to put off the inevitable moment when he had to tell James what had happened with Ally.

A little resentment bubbled up. James had everything he really wanted. He’d always loved that ranch. The Circle G was James’s personal kingdom. Noah wondered briefly if there was any way his brother had gotten married and settled down. Maybe some gorgeous thing had come into town, and James had taken one look and tied her up. He liked to tie up women. God, Noah liked to tie up women, too. Maybe Noah would walk onto the ranch and see James had been the really smart one who had waited for the perfect woman. The thought was a little depressing, and his reaction to it made guilt boil in his gut. He was the one who had left James, not the other way around. He had left everyone in Bliss behind for a gold digger who couldn’t even love a dog.

He forced himself to focus on the road. He didn’t need a GPS to show him the way home. He knew it by heart, but some things had changed in the last five years. And some things never changed. Inevitably, some poor sap’s car broke down on the emptiest part of 160. Sure enough, there was a compact car on the side of the road. A single figure stood by the vehicle, her brunette head in her hands.

She was crying. He could see it from here. He should drive right on by. Crying women got him in trouble. Ally had been able to cry so beautifully. Her lip would tremble, and she would manage a single, crystal tear that never wrecked her artfully applied makeup. It was all fake, of course.

The woman looked up, and it was easy to see that she wasn’t pretending. Tears coursed down her red face. No one could fake that. This woman was upset. Her face turned down as though she didn’t want to watch him pass her by.

He was an idiot. Even as he told himself this wasn’t his problem, he was pulling over. Butch stuck his big head out the window as Noah rolled it down. “You need help?”

She sniffled, and he could see warm brown eyes behind a pair of dainty glasses. She was cute. Hot-librarian cute. She had a light sweater wrapped around her waist, as though it had gotten too hot for her to keep it on. She was down to a dowdy skirt and a tank top that was just a little too big for her frame. It wasn’t so big that it hid her incredibly nice rack.

“I think I do. Uhm, my car isn’t working.” Her voice was raspy, a little tortured. She bit her bottom lip—a nice, plump bottom lip. She had gorgeous lips to go with that nice rack.

He’d been way too long without sex. Actually, this was the first time in a long time he’d even thought about getting down with a woman. It was kind of nice to know he could still think about sex. Maybe she would be so ridiculously grateful that he helped her that she would take pity on him and invite him back to her cabin, and he could put off the whole “prodigal brother returns” scene for another couple of days. “I’ll take a look at it.”

He put the truck in park. Butch seemed to like the girl just fine. Of course, he wasn’t exactly discriminating. Butch pretty much begged anyone human and in the vicinity for a pet. He opened his mouth to command Butch to leave the poor woman alone, but she smiled at the big mutt and put out a hand. She didn’t move away when Butch leaned forward and gave her a big, nasty kiss.

“Sorry,” he muttered, sliding out of the truck. Yeah, that probably wrecked his shot at getting invited back to her place. Not that things like that ever happened to him.

He really liked the way she smiled. Though her eyes were red rimmed and her skin mottled from her tears, she was kind of adorable in a soft, feminine way. “It’s okay. He’s a sweetie.”

“He probably needs a bath. We’ve been on the road for days.” Noah walked around to her car. It had to be ten years old. He would be surprised if it didn’t have over a hundred thousand miles on it. The car looked tired, weary. The car looked a little like Noah felt. “Can I pop the hood?”

Butch had escaped the cab, and his tail thumped against the ground as the woman knelt and petted the enormous animal. Sometimes Noah was sure Butch’s tail thumps registered on the Richter scale, but Brunette Hot Librarian didn’t seem to mind.

“Of course. I’m afraid I don’t know how to do that. I’m really bad with cars.” She leaned down and touched her cheek to the dog’s head as though she was desperately in need of affection. He checked out her left hand. No wedding ring.

What the hell was he thinking? He reached into the car, releasing the hood. There was a little click, and the hood popped open. Smoke billowed out, but he couldn’t see fire. That was a plus. He wasn’t going to get blown up on the side of the road. “I’m Noah, by the way.”

“Where’s the other dog?” There was an odd little smile on her lips. He liked it. It was slightly mysterious, with the sweetest hint of snark.

“I don’t have another one.” Butch had been too big for the tiny condo in Manhattan that had cost him half a million a year.

She shook her head, soft brown hair escaping from her ponytail. “Sorry. It was a dumb joke. You said your name was Noah. I immediately went to the ark and all the animals going in two by two.”

He snorted. Yeah, he could do one better. “I’m a vet.”

Now she laughed out loud, the sound washing over him like warm caramel. That was what she reminded him of. Soft, rich caramel. Sweet, but with a little hint of tang. “That is nice. I like it. It’s nice to meet you, Noah, the vet. My name is Hope, and you’re the best thing that’s happened to me all week. I thought I was going to have to walk into Del Norte.”

And she was local. “I like your name, Hope. It’s pretty.”

“I don’t know how applicable it is. I seem to be a little hopeless lately, hence the dead car and other various tragedies.” She sighed and allowed her arm to hug Butch. Butch, the lucky bastard, rested his head on that truly fine rack. She was at least a C, maybe a D. He bet her ass was round and curvy, too. Fuck, he was getting a hard-on just looking at her.

He looked down at her engine, trying to force his eyes anywhere but on the too-tempting dish in front of him. Why was he reacting this way to her? She wasn’t polished or beautiful. She wasn’t even wearing makeup anymore. She’d cried it all off. She looked a little lonely, a little needy. She probably looked a little like him.

He wasn’t just looking for a lay, he realized. He was starving for someone, anyone who might be able to like him. Pathetic, yes, but it was the truth. She’d said she was on her way to Del Norte. Bliss was fairly isolated. There was a good chance she’d never heard of him or his infamous flameout. He went over all her fluids, checking each carefully as he thought about the situation. Maybe he could ask her to dinner. He could use someone to talk to. He hadn’t had that in years. Well, he hadn’t had anyone who didn’t bark or growl or whine back at him.

“I think your radiator is shot, but I also think you’re leaking oil. And maybe brake fluid.”

“Is that expensive?” Her eyes were round under her glasses.

He wanted to tell her no. But the truth would hit her soon enough. “Just about everything on a car is expensive, and this one is old. They might have a hard time finding parts. I think you’re going to need a tow. I don’t have a cable.”

Why didn’t he have a cable? His dads would have had his hide if they knew how little emergency equipment he had in his truck. He could hear Daddy Fred telling him that ranching required a man to always be prepared.

“Oh, uhm, it’s okay. If you don’t mind giving me a lift into town, I can take care of it from there.”

This was all ending way too soon. “I could just take you home. Do you have a shop you like to use?”

She started biting that bottom lip again. It was her tell, proclaiming loudly to Noah that she wasn’t being truthful. “Oh, yes, I have a shop. I’ll just get into town, and they can come pick it up and fix it, no problem.”

Crap. He hated it when someone lied. And Hope didn’t even do it very well. She was hiding something. He should shrug and move on, but he felt his eyes narrowing. “What’s the name of the shop, sweetheart?”

Her bottom lip disappeared, sucked into her mouth. Yeah, she was a terrible liar. “Uhm, it’s just a shop. I can call them when I get to Del Norte.”

Curiouser and curiouser. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but he didn’t like little Hope lying to him. “There’s only one shop in Del Norte. I happen to know the owner. I’ll come in with you.”

She shook her head, her face flushing again. She got to her feet. Butch danced around her. “It’s okay, really.”

Noah let the hood drop. “No, it’s not all right. I’d like to know what’s going on. You’re lying about calling a shop. Why?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

Brat. He’d missed brats. He’d spent five years with a woman who was perfect on the outside and rotten on the inside. He liked the fact that this woman had no idea how to handle him. “As I’m the one standing here on the side of the road with you, I think it is.”

Her chin came up. “You don’t have to stand here. I thank you very much for stopping. I’ll be fine.”

Stubborn little thing. She ruined her stand by sniffling as her bottom lip quivered.

“You want me to go?” He had no intention of going.

“I want you to take me into town and not ask a lot of questions.”

Yes, that would be the easiest thing to do. He could satisfy his conscience and move on. Except he really didn’t want to. Standing here and talking to Hope was the first time in a long time that he felt like he could help, maybe make something better.

“Are you going to call your husband? Your boyfriend?”

She took a quick step back. “Are you some kind of weird serial killer? Someone knows where I am.”

Another lie. “So let me get this straight. You don’t have a husband or a boyfriend, and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going. And from all the stuff in the backseat of this car, it looks like you’re living out of it.”

Tears filled her eyes. “It’s none of your business.”

So many things fell into place. She was in trouble. She was trouble. Big trouble. And he was a masochist. It wasn’t the role he usually liked to play. “You don’t have enough money to fix this car, do you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“You don’t even have enough for a tow.”

“It’s none…”

He didn’t let her get any further. It was stupid, but he had to reach out to her. Tears coursed down her face. “I’m making it my business.”

She shook her head, but didn’t fight him at all as he pulled her into his arms. So sweet and naïve. Damn, she needed a keeper. She shuddered a little, and her head sank to his shoulder.

“You should let me go.” Her words came out in little gasps.

“Shhh.” It felt so damn good to be the one in charge. “It’s going to be all right, Hope.”

He held her, holding his hips as far away as he could from hers so he didn’t scare the crap out of her. She would probably notice his massive hard-on if he got too close. In the distance, he could see a truck pulling up. Drive by. Drive by.

But the truck pulled over, its big wheels driving up dirt and crunching gravel. Hope pulled away, wiping at her eyes. Their little moment was over, and Noah was the slightest bit pissed at the man who had broken it up. He stepped back from Hope, Butch’s tail thumping at his feet.

“You folks need help?”

Noah took a look at the newcomer—and did a major double take. He recognized the ridiculously handsome face. Trevor McNamara—the former king of pro football’s bad boys. He’d been a tabloid favorite before he’d gone into rehab and dropped off the face of the earth. What the hell was he doing in Colorado on the side of the road helping out a broken-down motorist?

“Hi,” Hope said, waving a little. “I think I mentioned I might not make it home.”

McNamara’s face split into a high-wattage smile. “You did, indeed, Hope. And I offered a little help.” He held out a hand. “Trev McNamara.”

Noah nodded and took the proffered hand. McNamara had been a hell of a quarterback. And he’d walked away from it all. “I know who you are. Noah Bennett. You and Hope know each other?”

“We just met today.” Hope sniffled a bit, but she moved closer to Noah.

He could feel himself stand a little straighter. Fuck, what was she doing to him? “Her car is trashed. Do you happen to have a tow cable?”

Trev smiled. “I certainly do. We can get her out of here. No problem. Where am I going?”

Noah could see the hesitation on her face. He took over. “Uhm, I think we need to get to Del Norte.”

She shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I should probably go to Bliss. It’s a little town between Del Norte and Creede. I have some friends there.”

She was from Bliss. His heart constricted a little.

Trev’s smile was practically a mile wide. “You’re from Bliss? My ranch is just outside of Bliss.”

Noah felt his eyes widen. What the fuck was that? There was only one ranch anywhere close to Bliss. The Circle G. The Circle G was pretty damn big. There wasn’t any room for another spread. “Really? I thought the Circle G was outside of Bliss.”

“You’ve heard of it?”

Noah’s stomach rolled. “James Glen owns the Circle G.”

Trev settled his cowboy hat on his head with a satisfied air. “He’s owns half of it. I own the other half.”

“He sold our fucking land?” He hadn’t meant to yell, but he was pretty sure his voice echoed through the valley.

Trev’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit. Are you Noah? James’s brother?”

“Yes,” he spat out. “I’m Jamie’s brother, and I really want to figure out why he would sell our land.”

He would have gone on, but Hope stopped him. She didn’t say a thing, merely turned stark white and then started to fall, her every muscle seeming to lose control. She started toward the ground.

He closed the distance between them as quickly as he could, his arms coming up to catch her as she fell. “Hope?”

Trev shook his head. “She’s out.” He sighed. “We’ll have to call the doc once we get her out to the ranch.”

Noah checked her pulse. It was strong and steady. “I’m a doctor.”

“No way. You’re a vet. If I don’t call the people doc, he’ll have my head. I haven’t been in Bliss for long, but I’ve heard what Doc Burke does to the men who piss him off. He’s very thorough with the prostate exam. She’s probably dehydrated. I’ve seen it plenty of times. Get her into my truck. I’ve got air conditioning.”

“I do, too. I’ll take care of her.” Noah held her, lifting her up. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Don’t tell James.” She went limp again.

Fuck. She knew his brother. They all knew his brother.

And his brother had a lot to answer for.

James looked out over the front porch. It looked to be a damn busy day at the Circle G. First they find out Beth is pregnant, and now they had visitors. He could see cars from a mile away. And there was a long line of them. What the hell was going on?

The first SUV pulled into the circular drive, and Caleb Burke hopped out.

“Hello, Doc.” James was a bit surprised to see him. Apparently Bo was more worried about Beth than he’d said. Doc wasn’t known for his love of socializing, so this had to be business. Caleb Burke was known as being a bit taciturn, though that had changed slightly in the days since Alexei Markov had come back to Bliss and forced Doc to acknowledge his feelings for Holly Lang. The lovely redhead got out of the truck following Alexei, who handed her down.

“James. Is my patient here?” Doc was all business. He was focused on some task at hand.

“I think Beth is in the guesthouse.” He pointed toward the back.

“Not Beth. Wait. What’s wrong with Beth?”

“She’s pregnant.”

Caleb slapped his hand against his forehead. “Goddamn it.”

“Doc doesn’t like pregnant women?” James asked, looking at Holly.

Holly grinned while Alexei patted his partner’s shoulder in what seemed like a sign of solidarity. “Doc is horrible at reading sonograms. I made him promise to take a continuing education class. I can see him now with a bunch of bright-eyed tech students.”

Caleb sighed. “I’m going to start preaching birth control. So, none of this tells me where my patient is.”

“Uh, if you’re talking about the calves I have coming, I don’t think you’re going to be much help. Unless you’re going to be more than the people doc.” James had had to deal with his own calving for a couple of years now since the vet had retired and they had no one to take his place.

Doc’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “I’m talking about Hope.”

James felt his heart clench a little. Hope was in trouble. Damn it. She was in trouble, and she wouldn’t talk to him. Now she needed a damn doctor. “What? What’s wrong with Hope?”

Doc shrugged. “No idea until I see her. Your partner called me. He said she passed out. He’s bringing her back here because it’s closer than my office.”

James was surprised at the little thrill of panic that went through him. “What happened to Hope? What made her pass out? Why the hell was she with Trev?”

As far as James knew, Hope hadn’t even met Trev. Trev, Bo, and Beth had kept to the ranch in the weeks since they’d gotten here. There had been an enormous amount of work to be done. With Wolf’s help, the men had completely reposted the fence along the east pasture. They had worked their butts off because Wolf was leaving.

Doc merely shook his head. “No idea. And I won’t know until I see her. Where can I set up?”

Holly came up behind him. “Don’t mind Caleb, James. He’s got the worst bedside manner ever. I’ll show him to the guest room. We’ll set up in there. Don’t worry. I’m sure she’s fine. Trev told Caleb that her heart rate is steady, and she didn’t hit her head when she fell.”

She’d fallen. Why had she fallen? Caleb’s voice cut through James’s thoughts.

“Hey, you didn’t mind my bedside manner last night.” It was said without a hint of leering playfulness.

Alexei patted his partner on the back. “He’s also got no good manners when it come to being discreet.” He leaned in toward Caleb. “I don’t think we should be talking about how many times we make her scream last night. We must to be discreet about how good we become with the double penetration.”

Holly’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, Alexei’s the one to teach Caleb how to be discreet. Both of you take a left at the first hallway. Second door on the left. Set up there.” Holly’s men walked in the house. Her face suddenly turned serious. “Trev called about ten minutes ago. I think that was his truck about a quarter mile behind us. There’s something else he told me, Jamie.”

Oh, god, how much worse could it be? In the distance, he could see another truck coming up the drive. Trev’s. There was a second truck behind the first. It was Grand Central Station at the Circle G. He started down the steps. He wanted to see Hope. He was surprised at how much he wanted to make sure she was okay. He wanted to put a hand on her and make sure she was fine. After all, he’d promised Logan he would take care of her.

No. He’d promised Logan he’d figure out what was wrong with her. That didn’t mean he had to care for her. But what if this was his chance? What if this was his way in? He wanted her. He wasn’t getting any younger. Maybe it really was time to think about settling down.

Trev got out of his truck—alone. A dark Chevy pulled up behind him.

“Trev, where’s Hope?” James asked. He wanted to carry her to Doc Burke and to let her know it was going to be okay. It had to be okay.

Holly followed behind. “Jamie, I need to talk to you.”

But he could already see what she wanted to talk about.

Noah.

Five years older, looking a little worse for the wear. His little brother had obviously decided that working out was a good hobby. All of the boy in Noah seemed to have burned away, leaving nothing but a hardened man in his place. He easily lifted Hope into his arms as he pulled her out of the cab.

“I can walk,” Hope protested.

“And risk you taking another header? No way, sweetheart. You’re going to be a good, obedient girl and let the doctor look at you.” Was that rough command really coming out of his brother’s voice? Noah had always been the soft one.

James had to take a deep breath. What the hell was his brother doing here? And why was he holding Hope like he had the right to do it?

“I don’t need a doctor.” Hope looked pale and somewhat frail in Noah’s arms. James didn’t like the tight feeling in his gut.

He stepped up. “I’ll take her. Doc’s already here.”

Noah’s arms tightened around her. “I have her.”

James wasn’t going away. His brother couldn’t waltz in here and think he was just going to take charge. Hope had been left in James’s care. Logan was the closest man to Hope. He’d asked James to watch out for her. In his caveman brain, that made her his. “I know her. Give her to me.”

But then it looked like Noah had gotten to know his inner caveman, too. “And I saved her. Let me through.”

Holly got in between them. “Hey, you two are fighting over her like two dogs over a bone.”

A huge mutt thumped his tail. It was a monstrous thing. Holly looked down at the dog. “Actually the dog here is better behaved than the two of you. Trev, would you mind carrying Hope in so Caleb can do his overly thorough exam? Sorry, sweetie, he’s planning on taking blood and everything. If he could haul you to an MRI, he would. He really likes to run tests.”

Trev hoisted Hope’s body out of Noah’s arms before he could complain. The former pro quarterback didn’t even seem to notice her weight as he hauled her up.

“I really can walk.” Hope let her arms drift up around Trev’s neck.

Trev’s mouth was curved up in that perpetually mysterious smile he had. James always thought Trev seemed like he was amused with everything that went on around him. He handled everything with an odd calm, from untangling a terrified calf from barbed wire to dealing with buyers. Trev was always in control. “I think I should just do what Holly tells me to. I make it my goal to never argue with a pretty lady.”

He strode into the house, the screen door swinging behind him.

Holly looked from him to Noah. Her eyes narrowed. “I know your momma is no longer with us, but I remember her, and we mommas stick together. You two boys behave.”

She stalked off, the screen slamming shut again, but with an irritated sound this time.

He was alone with Noah. And Noah’s enormous dog.

He needed to breathe. He needed to calm down. Something had happened, or Noah wouldn’t be standing here. He would still be in New York with his wife. Ally wasn’t with him. Fuck. What had happened? And why was he driving that piece-of-shit truck? The last time James had talked to him, Noah had talked about his new Benz. Something was up with Noah, and he owed it to him to listen. He was the big brother. He had to be patient.

“You want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doing selling off this ranch?”

Patience blown. “It’s my fucking ranch. You got your goddamn money. You want to tell me how you spent that? And if you have a problem with me, then you should feel damn free to take your ass right back off my land. Get back to New York, city boy.”

He turned and started back in the house, not waiting for Noah or issuing an invitation. His head was spinning. How dare that little shit walk back in here after five long years and start questioning his business decisions?

Noah was hard on his heels. “Hey, I have a right to ask about this. This used to be my home. My father worked here. My parents helped build this ranch.”

Now he remembered his childhood? James turned and stalked into the kitchen. It was one of the biggest rooms in the house. He didn’t remember much about his biological mom. She had died long before he could really know her, but when he thought about his real mom, he saw her in here. She would cook for hours, and he and Noah would sit at barstools hoping for a taste.

He needed to talk to Beth about redecorating.

“And you walked away from it.”

“I got married, Jamie.”

“And left this whole town high and dry. You can’t walk back in and start questioning me. You haven’t been here.”

Trev walked in and went straight for the coffeepot. It was always on these days. Beth or Bo came through every couple of hours and put on a fresh pot. What must that feel like? To have not one but two people who cared enough to check on a coffeepot? All James had was a wayward brother who started harping on him the minute he rolled his ass back into town.

“Well, I have to start questioning you when you make such dumb-ass decisions.” He pointed toward Trev, who was refilling the travel mug he almost always carried with him. “Do you know who he is?”

Trev McNamara had been a tabloid favorite. The bad boy of football. He’d been fired from his pro contract after he’d failed one too many drug tests. “I’m not stupid. I know exactly who he is.”

“Uhm, maybe y’all should leave me out of this.” Trev looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“You sold off part of the ranch to a guy who spends all his time with strippers,” Noah said with an ugly twist of his lips.

Trev shook his head. “I have been stripper free for one thousand eighty-seven days. Certified. Well, professional stripping. Beth has gotten really good. She tends to like hard rock.”

“I’m glad you’re amused, man.” James was actually kind of glad Trev was here. Maybe Noah could see he hadn’t just been sitting around.

Trev sighed. “I’m not really. I’m actually getting a little pissed off at your brother. I don’t like getting pissed off.”

Noah turned to Trev. “Sorry you’re pissed off, but I want to know what exactly you did to get my brother to sell part of the ranch.”

“Half,” Trev said, and the word dropped like a rock. He simply tipped back his mug, but James could tell he was getting riled. His fingers tightened around the mug. Damn it. The last thing in the world he wanted was to cause Trev hell.

“Half?” Noah fairly screamed the word. “You gave away half the ranch our fathers worked to build to some ex-athlete addict? What the hell were you thinking, Jamie?”

“I was thinking I needed the fucking goddamn money. I didn’t give it away. I was thinking if I didn’t find a partner, I would go into bankruptcy. I was thinking I couldn’t hire hands or buy new stock, and damn straight couldn’t pay the vet when my stock got sick. I was thinking I had to save our fathers’ hard work, and I was thinking it all a-fucking-lone.”

Noah backed down, his face turning a little gray. “I didn’t know the ranch was in trouble.”

“Yeah, well, you never asked. You weren’t here after Dad died. You weren’t here during the drought or the wildfire that burned five thousand acres or the sickness that took half my herd a few years back. You weren’t here when my bills got so high I seriously considered bankruptcy. You weren’t here. Trev was.”

Noah took a deep breath, visibly swallowing. “How much?”

God, as pissed as he was with his brother, he didn’t have the heart to tell him. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Noah simply turned to Trev. “How much?”

“Ten million,” Trev replied with hard eyes. “Ten million, and we both formed a loose partnership with a man who knows how to make money in this market. The Circle G is still considered small. We’ve gone all grass fed and all organic. We’re selling to specialty markets and upscale restaurants, and it’s going to pay off. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll take my ex-addict ass elsewhere.”

James felt so fucking tired all of a sudden. “Trev.”

Trev shook his dark head. “No, he needed to know. He needs to know what a little prick he’s being if he’s going to stand half a shot at healing the breach between you. And you tell him to keep a civil tongue in his head when he talks to my wife or Bo or we’re going to have some trouble. I’m going to go check on Hope. Doc should know something by now.”

The room went quiet, a weird, eerie silence that seemed to permeate the walls. He turned and looked at his brother who had gone stock-still. “What are you doing here?”

Noah turned his eyes up to him. “I lost everything. I wanted to come home.”

He stared, not knowing what to say.

The front screen squeaked. “Hello to the house!”

James sighed. Nate. That figured. Oh, well, saved by the bell. “We’re in the kitchen.”

Sheriff Nathan Wright walked in, dressed in casual clothes for once. He was in jeans and a T-shirt that looked worse for the wear. James’s eyes went to a large, nasty-looking spot on Nate’s shirt. He waved James off. “Spit-up. Charlie likes to vomit. A lot. It’s his little hobby.”

Charlie Hollister-Wright was one of Nate, Callie, and Zane’s newborn twins. “Can a two-week-old baby have a hobby?”

Nate nodded. “Yep. The twins’ hobbies are spitting up, hanging on their momma’s boobs just before spitting up, and doing this real cute thing with their legs that makes me not care that I’m covered in baby vomit. Now I heard Hope was murdered by a sand-dune monster.”

Despite the previous drama, James bit back a laugh. “It’s gone through Mel, then?”

“Yep. Apparently the aliens have taken to the dune. Now, before it got to Mel, Hope had passed out on the side of the road, been kidnapped in Del Norte, and will be sold for her body parts—someone’s been letting the Farley twins watch horror movies—and, my favorite, she’s pregnant with your secret love child. That’s why she passed out.”

“Oh, god, no.” People were talking about them? Of course people were talking about them. Everyone gossiped in Bliss. It was the town’s pastime. “The first one, Nate. She passed out. Doc is with her now. Uhm, my brother found her.”

Noah looked up. He looked a little like he might be the next human to vomit all over Nate Wright. “Her car broke down. I think she’s fine. Definitely no sand monsters.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” Nate’s eyes moved between them, assessing.

“Ask Callie. She’ll tell you the whole story.”

“Callie?” Noah asked. “Callie’s still in town?”

Noah had a lot of catching up to do. A lot had happened in the years Noah had been gone. James gestured to the sheriff. “You’re looking at her husband. Sheriff Nathan Wright, this is my brother, Noah Bennett. Different last name. Different fathers. Different mothers. Our dads shared our stepmom.”

Nate’s whole face broke open in a smile. “I love that we’re just carrying on Bliss traditions. I’ll have to have Callie tell the whole story to me and Zane. He’ll find it amusing, too. I’m going back to check on Hope.”

Nate walked away, and he was left alone with Noah again.

Noah looked out the big kitchen window into the backyard and out over the seemingly endless spread they had grown up on. “Everything’s changed.”

“Yes. That’s what happens.”

Everything changed. The people of the town had changed. The land had changed. Bliss had moved on without Noah in it. Bliss might not have missed Noah, but James had, even though his anger still burned bright. There was no way to stop the march of time or to really see mistakes coming before he made them. James stood beside his brother. Bliss had changed. James had changed. Noah had changed.

The question was, had they changed for the better?