The Heart of a Cowboy

And now he was gone.

The sadness of his loss joined with the terrible weight of his confession, and she suddenly and desperately needed a breath of fresh air that didn’t smell like death and regret. She stood and walked slowly from the room, only dimly aware of her mother and sisters speaking to her as she headed for the front door.

As soon as she stepped outside and the clean air enveloped her, she stumbled, reminding her yet again of the colt’s shaky legs. The universe had a strange way of ensuring balance, constantly bringing a new life into the world at the same time it took another out.

As she looked up at the sky, she realized the clouds had given way to a blanket of stars. She gripped one of the porch supports as she thought about how the Brodys could be looking up at those same stars totally unaware that she’d just promised to bring them an answer they might no longer want.

Chapter Two (#u40f6a817-cc1d-5613-9691-0f7aea5d8477)

Garrett Brody still thought there was a high likelihood he would wake up any minute and realize he’d been dreaming. After all, the fact that he was at his younger brother’s wedding didn’t compute. Owen was not the getting-hitched-and-settling-down type. At least he hadn’t been until Linnea Holland had arrived at their family’s ranch with a heart broken in the worst possible way when she discovered her fiancé was already married. Somehow, his baby brother had helped Linnea heal, and her presence had convinced Owen that settling down with one woman was what he’d been searching for all along.

As Garrett watched the newlyweds dance with huge smiles on their faces, he had to admit he’d never seen his brother look so genuinely happy.

“Pretty sure hell has finally frozen over.”

Garrett glanced over to where Greg Bozeman, the ace mechanic of Blue Falls, was standing with a cup of punch. “No, that’s reserved for when you tie the knot.”

“Bite your tongue, man.”

Garrett chuckled as he watched Greg scan the room full of wedding guests, no doubt scoping out the single ladies. Speaking of, Garrett spotted Jenna Marks looking his direction. Before she got it in her head to walk his way, he nudged Greg and indicated he should go ask Jenna to dance.

“Sure you don’t want to reserve her for yourself?”

“Yep.” And to add a little extra buffer, he headed toward where his sister and her husband, Wyatt, were spinning around the dance floor to a Luke Bryan song.

He tapped Wyatt’s shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”

“Be my guest. Let your sister step on your toes for a bit.”

Chloe huffed and swatted her husband’s arm. “It was only once and I was trying to avoid bumping into Verona.”

“Sure,” Wyatt said before planting a quick kiss on his wife’s cheek.

She playfully pushed him away. “Don’t be surprised when I make you sleep on the porch.”

Wyatt just grinned as he took a step back, well aware that Chloe’s threat was empty. Those two were every bit as in love as Owen and Linnea.

A sense of being the odd man out settled on Garrett. Blue Falls residents of the betting persuasion would have likely given him the best odds of settling down and starting a family first among his siblings, but things just hadn’t worked out that way. He went out now and then, but he’d never met a woman with whom he felt he could be happy spending the rest of his life.

“So, what brings you to the dance floor, big brother?”

“I need a reason to dance with my sister at our brother’s wedding?”

She lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he led her into a dance as a new song began. They moved past their youngest sibling just as Owen dipped Linnea backward, causing the blushing bride to laugh and cling to Owen’s arms as if he might drop her on the floor. Garrett knew better. Owen wouldn’t do anything to hurt Linnea. In fact, he’d take a bullet for her without a moment’s hesitation. Garrett wondered what that was like, to be that in love with another person.

“You okay?”

He shifted his attention back to Chloe. “Yeah.”

She didn’t appear to believe him, and for a moment the look in her eyes reminded him of their mother. Even though he’d spent more of his life without his mom than with, he could still remember the way she’d look at him if she suspected he wasn’t telling the truth. It was as if she could actually see the lie forming in his mind.

Chloe glanced over at Owen and Linnea, now firmly locked in a close embrace despite the fast-paced song. “You know you’re next.”

Garrett snorted. “That’s unlikely when all the eligible possibilities keep getting snapped up.”

“There are plenty of available women around, and you know it. Take Jenna Marks, for example.”

It wasn’t any secret that the nurse at the clinic where his sister worked as a doctor was interested in him. But the feeling wasn’t mutual. Jenna was nice enough, and pretty, but he felt no real attraction to her. He’d even wondered if something was fried in his brain, but he couldn’t force an affection that wasn’t there.

“Small problem,” he said when he noticed Chloe was still waiting for some type of response. “We already tried going on a date, and the two of us had about as much connection as a cow and a chicken.”

Chloe sighed. “If Jenna isn’t the type of woman you’re looking for, then who is?”

“Who said I’m looking?”

“No one, but I’m just that smart.”

“Cocky, too.”

Chloe grinned wide, as if she was pleased with herself.

“Have you joined the Verona Charles matchmaking bandwagon?” Verona was the aunt of their friend Elissa and had taken it upon herself to pair up any unattached person who crossed her path. And with each successful pairing, including his two siblings, she grew even more ambitious. It didn’t matter if she was a big part of two people getting together or simply contributed a gentle nudge, she seemed to take great pleasure in seeing Blue Falls fill up with happily-ever-afters. He imagined a room of her house filled with a big dry-erase board akin to a basketball playoff bracket filled with the names of all the local singles.

“Not officially,” Chloe said. “But I want to see you happy.”

“I wasn’t aware I appear unhappy.”

“It’s not that you seem sad, but there’s something missing.”

He didn’t want to acknowledge that she’d hit the nail on the head, partially because he’d nearly convinced himself that he was okay with his life as it was. Honestly, how many people grew up to live their lives exactly as they imagined them when they were younger?

As the eldest of the Brody children, he’d always assumed he’d follow in his father’s footsteps running the cattle ranch, getting married and having children of his own. As the years passed and none of his dates led to anything even approaching what his father had with his mom before her death, Garrett had gradually accepted that perhaps the ranching aspect was the only part of his imagined future that would come to fruition. After all, the dating pool wasn’t endless in a town the size of Blue Falls.

And he sure as hell wasn’t going to resort to some online dating site. They worked fine for some people, but he damn near broke out in hives just thinking about it.

“You worry too much,” he finally said. “If it’s meant to happen, it will.”

And if it wasn’t, he’d keep his focus on ranching, making sure that the Brody spread stayed out of the red. Ranching was a tough way of life, but he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. And that didn’t always appeal to women. Part of him could understand. Unless ranching ran in your blood, who would want to volunteer for a life where a drought or an illness in the herd could wipe you out?

They’d very nearly lost the ranch once in those dark days after his mother’s death, when his father had been consumed by grief and they’d been slammed with a severe drought nearly at the same time. The stress of losing the love of his life and then almost losing his means of supporting his children had been palpable. Garrett was determined that his father would never be that close to the mental or financial breaking point ever again. Not to mention, if Garrett ever did marry, he wanted the ranch to be a successful enterprise he could hand down to his children as well as any nieces and nephews who might come along.

“You’ll find someone,” Chloe said as he guided her around Liam and India Parrish, yet another couple Verona had been instrumental in pairing up. “I have faith.”

She might but Garrett wasn’t so sure. Considering he was already thirty-two, that possibility didn’t look too good.

As the party started winding down a few minutes later, he leaned over to give his sister a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m going to head out. Have fun on your trip.” Since Chloe and Wyatt had yet to go on their own honeymoon, they were going on the same Caribbean cruise as Owen and Linnea.