After cruising through a few blocks of the charming downtown area, I reached the town limits and pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned dairy where I was supposed to meet my foster brother, Henry. When I’d called him looking for a way to get involved with the bluebonnet festival, he’d been more than happy to hand over responsibility for the petting zoo. We’d been raised around enough animals on Mama Mae’s ranch that he knew I’d be able to handle things for the long weekend.
“Thorne! Long time no see, brother.” Henry got out of the truck and pulled me into a huge bear hug. I clapped him on the back and peered inside to see if I was finally going to get to meet the missus. Henry shook his head. “Devyn’s back at the farm taking care of a malnourished moose we just took in.”
“A moose? In Texas?”
“Yeah, some fucknugget from up north thought it would be fun to bring a baby moose along with him when he moved south. When he got tired of the heat, he moved back, but the moose was too big to fit in a trailer to take with him. He left it in an outdoor pen to fend for itself.”
My chest tightened. Hearing stories like that made me wonder about the future of humanity. “Please tell me you don’t have anything inside that trailer anywhere near the size of a moose.”
Henry laughed. “Not even close. The only one who might give you a little trouble is Shirley. She’s been a little extra lately.”
“The infamous Shirley. I guess if I can’t meet the woman who married you, Shirley’s the next best thing.” Henry had kept me up to date on Shirley’s story. The one-legged emu even had her own social media accounts and more followers than the governor of Texas.
“I’ll ride over with you to help get you set up. After that, you’ll be on your own.”
On my own was exactly how I preferred things. “Sounds good. Let’s get moving.”
He tossed me the keys so I could be the one behind the wheel when we pulled in. Posing as the petting zoo attendant would keep Destiny from suspecting I was really there to keep an eye on her and fulfill my promise to her brother.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled off the two-lane road and navigated down a shady drive.
“Those pecan trees look like they’ve been there for a long time,” Henry commented.
“They probably have. This land’s been in Mike’s family for hundreds of years.” I eased the truck to a stop next to a metal outbuilding. “If things go the way they’re supposed to, it’ll stay that way.”
“You’re doing a good thing, Thorne.” He held my gaze for a long beat before he opened the passenger door. He’d been fully informed of my plan to keep an eye on Destiny during the bluebonnet festival. “I’m going to open up the trailer to give the animals some air while you figure out where we’re supposed to go from here.”
“Sounds good. I’ll go find Destiny and see where she wants us to set up.” I climbed down from the truck and surveyed the surroundings. The main house sat a few hundred yards up the drive. Stakes stuck up out of the ground with rope strung between them to block off parking areas. A huge banner hung over the open doorway of the pole building, welcoming everyone to the bluebonnet festival. Figuring that would be the best place to start, I headed in that direction.
A woman stood at the other end of the building. She had her back to me and was bending over something on the table in front of her. Worn work boots stretched halfway up her calves and she had on a pair of cutoff jean shorts that left way too little to the imagination.
I cleared my throat. “Hi. I’m looking for Destiny.”
“Well, you found her.” She stood and faced me, an expectant grin on her full, pink lips. “What can I do for you?”
This was Mike’s little sister? The family picture he carried around with him didn’t do this woman justice. She was taller than I expected, with the kind of curves that might make a man drop to his knees and thank god for sending him an angel. Amber eyes peered up at me from under the brim of a faded Rangers baseball cap.
Staring at her, I almost forgot why I’d come. Then she tilted her head like she wondered if I was capable of speaking or if I planned to just stand there and stare at her in silence for the rest of the day.
“Hey, I’m Thorne. I’m here to set up the petting zoo for the festival.” I held out my hand as I introduced myself.
She slid her palm against mine, her slim fingers wrapping around my hand in a surprisingly firm grip. “Nice to meet you. Thanks so much for taking part this year. I’m pulling out all the stops and hoping we make it the most successful festival yet.”
Reluctantly, I released her hand. I wasn’t a guy who easily got rattled. Working in demolitions had taught me how to keep my cool in even the most nerve-wracking situations. But smiling back at Destiny, I could already tell I was in trouble.
2
DESTINY
Icould feel Thorne’s eyes on my ass as he followed me over to the barn where I planned to house the animals for the petting zoo. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that I didn’t mind. I might have even added a little extra wiggle to my step. It wasn’t every day I received a visitor as hot as the ripped tall drink of water behind me. Who was I kidding? I’d never seen a man like Thorne anywhere near Hartsville, not that I’d been looking.
Putting together this year’s bluebonnet festival was like working multiple full-time jobs. For the past six months, I hadn’t had time for anything unrelated to the festival. The sleepless nights and hours of planning would be worth it, though. They had to be. Losing the land that had been in my family for hundreds of years to a sleazy developer wasn’t an option.
“How many stalls do you think you’ll need?” I stopped at the entrance to the barn and waited for him to catch up.
“Um, I’m not sure.” His dark brows knit together like I’d asked him to do some complicated mathematical equation.
“Well, how many animals did you bring with you?” I cocked a hip while I studied him. With his close-cropped hair and clean-shaven cheeks, he looked more like one of my brother’s military pals than someone who managed an animal refuge. After a quick glance at his stiff jeans and barely broken-in cowboy boots, I wasn’t even sure he’d ever even been inside a barn.
