A Town Called Valentine(95)

Monica took her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Stop that! It’s not true. I’ve admired your determination from the first. You came to a strange town with very little money. You had a little help with your renovations, but you’ve done the majority of the work. Some people might crawl into a hole instead of look for a dad who’s a stranger to them—not you.”

Emily was surprised to feel tears slide down her cheeks.

“And as for Nate—he’s been your friend. Friends help each other. He helps everyone. Trust me, he doesn’t need to do that for sex.”

Emily found herself choking on a laugh. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I don’t know, but it made you laugh.”

And then Monica hugged her, and Emily hugged her back, her eyes still dripping tears.

Early Sunday afternoon, Nate went to the ranch office and sat down at the computer. There was still so much left to do before the rodeo. First, he went into the spreadsheet showing the livestock he’d ordered from the stock contractor—and found nothing.

He gaped at the computer. You couldn’t hold a rodeo without bulls and broncs to ride. Could he really have forgotten something so important? He never forgot anything!

He should go talk to his father, but he went to look for his brother instead, the brother he always confided in. Maybe between them they could fix this if it wasn’t too late. Nate stormed out of the office, checked in the house for Josh, then out in the barn. The door of the converted tack room was ajar, and he walked by Brooke in her horse’s stall without saying a word. Scout slunk in with her instead of following him. Then he spotted Josh bent over his workbench, using a tiny knife on a long strip of leather.

“I need to talk to you,” Nate said urgently.

Josh slowly straightened, eyes concerned. “About what?”

“I just went to look at the status of the rodeo stock—Josh, I forgot to order it.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “I don’t know what happened.”

Brooke stepped into the doorway and looked between them uncertainly. “Nate?”

He grimaced at her. “Brooke—”

“Calm down,” Josh interrupted, setting down his knife. “Everything’s okay.”

Nate groaned and said to Brooke, “It’s not okay. The rodeo might not go on because I forgot to order—”

“I ordered it,” Josh said simply.

Nate gaped at him. “The stock? For the rodeo?”

“Is ordered. I was curious, looking through all the prep that you do for this event, and I noticed your usually meticulous spreadsheet wasn’t filled out. So I called and took care of it. I got it all in a notebook, and just didn’t log it into the computer yet. Sorry to scare you.”

Nate leaned back against the worktable and closed his eyes. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You saved my ass.”

Josh grinned. “Someone had to.”

Nate popped him in the shoulder, and Josh did the same back.

Brooke rolled her eyes. “How old are you two?”

Nate felt positively elated with relief. “Obviously, I’m not old enough. I can’t believe I made such a mistake.”

“You’re human,” Josh said simply.

“And now you’ll probably say I told you so, that I’m spreading myself too thin,” Nate said in a glum voice.

“Nope, you draw your own conclusions, big brother. But I’ve always got your back.”

Josh bent over his etching, Brooke whistled and returned to her horse, and Nate stood there, wondering if he’d overextended himself by getting involved with Emily—too involved.

That night at dinner, with Nate’s whole family gathered around, including Grandma Thalberg and Aunt Marilyn, Emily seemed like a pretty, bubbling flower in their midst, smiling and laughing, and looking so at ease.

Nate felt anything but. It was as if he didn’t know himself anymore, his feelings for Emily, his confusion over what Josh had been saying. He wasn’t used to feeling confused about anything.

And then she smiled at him, and he saw her in her pretty sleeveless top and flowered skirt, looking beautiful and happy, her hair a mass of red-gold curls, as if she took special care just for him and his family. He had to tell her the truth, that he was getting too close, that he’d hurt her. He’d already almost hurt the ranch. He had to break up with her, just as he’d done with so many other women over the years. But this time, this time, he felt the hurt, too.