Chapter One
Cash
“Easy, girl. That’s it.” My voice, calm and controlled, settles the mare quickly. She tips her head toward me, so I can look into her deep brown eyes. There’s a sliver of trust there. I’ll take it. It’s a big improvement from the fear and wariness she’s been watching me with since we brought her to the ranch.
I take a step toward Chestnut, reaching out to her neck. She lets me pat her for a few seconds before jerking away and heading for the opposite side of the corral.
I let her go.
We’ve made huge progress, and I know not to push too hard. Working with a skittish horse is a long game, but I know I’ll get there.
I always do.
I take a moment to lean back against the wood fence and take it all in. It feels good to be back on the ranch after so long. But different, too.
When I left this place fourteen years ago, I took off without a backward glance, happy to put as much distance between myself and the anger and hatred that lived here.
It wasn’t always like that, though. Before Mama died, the ranch was full of life and love. My brothers and I had the perfect childhood. It all changed the day she died. We didn’t just lose a mother that day; we lost a father, too.
Only we lost him to his grief. He’d become bitter and angry overnight. Nothing was ever the same after that. Not even when he remarried and had more children. It only got worse.
Which is why it had been so easy to leave it all behind.
Now that he’s gone, the black cloud has lifted. It’s as if Rock Creek Ranch is starting to come to life again.
I watch while Chestnut joins up with Bayberry, the other mare I brought in. Together, they break into a trot around the corral.
The rhythm of hooves on the packed snow steadies me. This is what I’ve missed. The kind of peace that only comes when it’s just the animals and me.
The city noise had never been enough to drown out the emptiness I felt there.
I’d been gone too long. Working in cities or on movie sets, training the horses for people who cared more about the money they could earn from them, instead of the animals themselves.
It was good to be home.
The crunch of boots on the snow behind me breaks the calm. “Afternoon.” My brother Wyatt joins me, climbing through the rails. “How’s she doing?”
“Good,” I say with a nod, keeping my eyes on the horses. “They both are.”
“Of course they are,” Wyatt says. “You’re the best trainer around, Cash. We’re lucky to have you. It would be a whole hell of a lot harder to rebuild this place without you.”
I turn to him then. “You were doing pretty well before I got here.”
It was true. Wyatt was the first of us to get back to the ranch. Along with Travis, our ranch hand who was almost like a brother himself, they’d been working hard setting things to right around here.
“There’s a big difference between mending a few fences in the corrals and filling them with the animals who are the cornerstone of this place. You have a magic touch with the horses, Cash. I’m glad you’re back.”
I nodded and turned away again. “I’m glad to be back.”
I hadn’t told my brothers much about the scandal I’d been wrapped up in on the last movie set I’d been working on. But they knew enough. They also knew that the accusations of the reporters had been completely fabricated.
But knowing something and proving it were two very different things. I’d had enough of the city, the entertainment business, and the gossip that went with it.
“About that call I got last week...”
I stiffen. I know what Wyatt is going to say. Just like he knows how I’ll respond.
“I told you,” I start, my jaw tensing. “I’m not talking to any reporters. Never again.”
