“I’m not sure what you mean by that, but my best guess is the answer is no.”
“Heard you spent some time with Bree recently. How’d that go? You get her to loosen up and have some fun?”
“If you know I was with her, I’m surprised you don’t know all the details. I would have expected you to get the inside story, Lyric. What happened? You gettin’ soft on the investigative side of journalism?”
“Nah, I just wanted to hear what you’d say. I already talked to Bree.” She studied him for a minute. “When’s the last time you talked to her?”
“Bree?”
“Of course Bree. I know you ain’t talkin’ to Blythe.”
“God, I forgot how you are. I mean, I remember how you are, but I forgot that you don’t beat around the bush for even a minute.”
“One, I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about. And two, who has time for beatin’ around any bushes? Gotta keep movin’ forward to shine bright, boy.”
“I haven’t talked to Bree for a couple of days. Cell coverage is iffy where she is, but you already know that. You probably also know exactly how long it’s been since we talked, so I don’t know why you’re even askin’ me.”
“She misses you.”
“I miss her too. More than she knows.”
“They got anything to eat in this place?”
When Jace told her the only thing he’d found was beer, she told him there was a new place in town she wanted to try. They hadn’t been open long, but she heard the food was good.
Jace couldn’t believe he’d let Lyric talk him into going to a winery.
“Thought you said you heard the food was good.”
“I did. What’s your problem? You think a winery can’t have good food?”
“More like do they have any food?”
“Come on inside, cowboy, and see for yourself. I think you’ll be surprised.”
Jace was indeed surprised when he walked in, but it had nothing to do with the food.
“Welcome,” said the pretty woman with the long red hair. “Is this your first visit to our winery?”
Jace turned and looked at her, tried to smile, but was too stunned to be polite. He walked over to a painting hanging nearby, on one of the walls. He didn’t need to look at the tag next to it or the signature; he’d recognize Tucker’s work anywhere.
“This is Jace Rice,” he heard Lyric say.
Tucker’s work filled all the walls of the main room of the winery. He wandered from painting to painting, taking it all in. It was new work, and it was good.
The disparity in the images his brother painted startled him. He recognized the Black Forest area in both the paintings he’d done before and after the fire that had consumed fourteen thousand acres and burned over five hundred homes and other structures to the ground.
“There’s more in the other room,” the woman said to him. “I take it you haven’t seen your brother’s new work.”
“No, ma’am,” he murmured. He hoped she didn’t think he was being rude, but he was dumbfounded. He could barely breathe, let alone talk.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” Lyric followed behind him but let him set the pace.
“It’s incredible.”
As he rounded the corner into the other room, there was a painting on the far wall that made him stop in his tracks. The image depicted on the canvas was of two men fishing. The view was of their backs, but even so, Jace could tell the men were relaxed, companionable. Between them, a baby boy played in the sand.
“It’s you,” Lyric whispered.
Without her saying so, Jace would’ve known it. Regardless of not being able to see their faces, it was clear to him that the men in the painting were him and his brother.
“And that is most definitely Cochran in the middle.”
Jace’s eyes filled with tears. Cochran. He could have guessed, but he wouldn’t have known. He still hadn’t seen the boy in person.
“What do you think it means?” Lyric asked.
Jace didn’t answer. The question was rhetorical. It meant Tucker missed him. It meant that, in his mind’s eye, Tucker could see the three of them—him, his brother, and his son—fishing together.
Jace slowly made his way around the second room, taking in each of the images. Tuck had done a series of horses, and Jace recognized the land in the background. It was Billy’s ranch.
“There’s one more you should see. It’s in the cellar, which is a private room,” said the lady.
She took them through a hallway and down a stairwell made of stone.
“This was once the Monument jail,” she told him. “Although I don’t think the accommodations were as nice then as they are now.”
The walls of the room, like the stairwell, were stone. There was an indentation in the southern wall, and bars on what, once, might have been a window.
On the back wall, Jace saw the piece she’d brought him here to see. It was of a rider on the back of a bronc.
“I recognized you from this painting,” the woman said. She was right; it was him. There was enough detail for him to know the setting. It was Cheyenne, Wyoming, last July. He’d ridden well there, placed first in fact.
“He was there,” Lyric whispered.
“How do you know?”
“I was with him.”
He looked into her eyes. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“He made me promise not to tell you then.”
“I could’ve sold this painting ten times or more, but he refuses to let it go,” murmured the woman. “I need to get back upstairs, but take your time.”
Lyric pulled out one of the ten chairs that surrounded the big farm-style table in the center of the small room.
“Has Bree seen it?”
“No, she hasn’t seen any of Tucker’s recent paintings. The ones of the fire…”
“Are too much for her?”
“I don’t think Bree realized there were ones like this, or the series of horses in the meadow.”
“He won’t sell it.”
“That’s what she said.”
Jace looked back at Lyric. “Do they even have food?”
“Yes,” she laughed. “They have great food. I didn’t lie about that part. And I’m starving. Do you mind if I go upstairs and order?”
“Not at all. I’ll be up shortly, if that’s okay with you.”
“Take your time,” she smiled.
Jace sat in the chair Lyric had been seated in, and stared at the painting. His brother had been in Cheyenne last summer, but hadn’t wanted him to know he was there. He’d painted not only this one, but the one of the three of them fishing. Maybe his mama was right. Maybe they were both being stubborn.
The morning Tucker had realized that Jace was the man he’d seen in the dark that night, with the woman Tucker believed he loved, he’d come after Jace. He’d broken his nose and maybe would’ve done worse if Jace had fought back. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Maybe that was why Tucker had stopped and walked away.
Jace hadn’t tried to see him after that. He hadn’t explained, or asked forgiveness, or even tried to talk to Tucker about it. He just left. Ever since, he’d been waiting for his brother to contact him. Maybe he was waiting for Jace to make the first move.
Twenty minutes later, he climbed the stairs. Lyric was sitting at a table laden with enough food to feed ten people. And a bottle of red wine.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I ordered everything.”
“Everything on the menu?”
“Yeah, it isn’t a very big menu.”
When they opened their second bottle of wine, Lyric started to talk about her family.
“You know I got a twin too, right?”
Jace knew she had a twin brother. He had a weird name, one Jace knew he should recall, but didn’t.
“Yep, how is your brother?”
“Bullet’s as much of a hot mess as he’s always been. Or more. I been tryin’ to get him the hell
outta Oklahoma, but haven’t had any luck yet.”
“Why not?”
Lyric spent the next hour telling Jace her brother’s story. When she finished, Jace was thankful his life wasn’t as much of a mess as this kid’s was, although in some ways it was close.
At twenty-five years old, Lyric’s brother had two kids, with two different women. The first, he never married, but supported anyway. The second, he married, but Lyric never knew, from day to day, whether they still were. From what she said, they hadn’t been married much over a year, and had spent as many nights apart as they had together.
“What’s he wanna do?” Jace asked.
“Ride bulls.”
“Yeah?”
“You gonna partner up with Billy? You’ve got bulls up in Montana, right? Is he gonna raise broncs in Crested Butte, or both?”
“Not sure yet, but how the hell do you know so much about it already? Billy and I have barely talked about it ourselves.”
“I got my sources well placed.”
“You know enough to have an opinion. What is it?”
“It’s ambitious, but it’s been done.”
“Fair enough. Back to your brother. Does he know how to work with rough stock?”
“I’m sure he could handle it.”
“What’s he doin’ now?”
“Drivin’ a truck.”
“And you’re thinkin’ he should move to Colorado, maybe to Crested Butte, and work with me, Billy, and Ben.”
“Damn, Jace, you catch on quick.”
“Gotta get him over here if you want us to hire him.”
“I’m workin’ on it. Easier said than done.”
They talked for most of the afternoon, out on the winery’s patio, with a view of Front Range mountains.
“Can you drive?” he asked.
“Yeah, I stopped drinking a couple hours ago.”
Jace looked at the bottle and realized it was still half full. He’d slowed down quite a bit himself.
“Since there isn’t much food at Billy’s, you wanna come back to the house in the glen with me? I could make us some dinner.”
“I’d like that. If you don’t mind.” He’d missed Palmer Lake and the glen, where Lyric lived, in a house she shared with Bree.
He held his breath when he walked in the front door of the craftsman-style bungalow, and then breathed in deeply. Bree. He could smell her perfume, so faint that maybe he only imagined it. God, he missed her.
He looked over at the sofa and thought about the night they’d fallen asleep there, back when they couldn’t stand each other. It was the same night he’d picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. And the same night she’d reached out to him and begged him not to leave.
He and Lyric talked late into the night. Jace had forgotten how much he liked her. He regretted that it had been so long since he saw her.
“You wanna stay? You could sleep in Bree’s bed. Not like it’ll be the first time or nothin’,” she poked him.
“Sounds good to me. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t offer things if I don’t want to.”
He laughed. He did know that about her.
If he was lucky, Bree’s sheets would still smell like her, the way the rest of the house did. It would make his dreams that much better.
He woke with a start right around sunrise. Tucker. It had been a long time since he’d felt his twin, but he recognized it for what it was. His brother was anxious, conflicted, and confused. Much as he was.
Today was the day. Jace could feel it. One way or another, he was going to see Tucker, and maybe even meet his nephew.
When he looked at his phone, there were two missed calls, one from his dad and one from Bree. Neither had left a message.
It was early, and he might wake her, but he didn’t care. He loved hearing the sleepiness in Bree’s voice. If he closed his eyes, he could remember how it felt to wake up next to her and hear that voice in person.
“Good morning,” she answered, sounding as sleepy as he thought she would.
“Hey, there, sweet girl. I’m sorry I didn’t see you called last night.”
“It’s okay. Were you out with Lyric?”
How did women know these things?
“I was.” He rolled over in her bed and hugged her pillow close to him. “You know where I am right now?”
“You’re in my bed, aren’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am, and damn—I sure wish you were here with me.”
“Me, too,” she murmured.
“How are you, Bree?”
“I’m okay. Red left for a few days, so I’m spending time on my own. It’s what I wanted. They say to be careful what you wish for.”
Red left? Jesus. If he’d known Red was leaving, he could’ve made arrangements to go back to Idaho before he drove down to Monument.
“Jace? You still there?”
“I’m here. Wishing I was there. I hate that you’re alone.”
“It’s the way it’s supposed to be, remember? It isn’t a bad thing, Jace. It’s a necessary thing. I think he left on purpose.”
“Why would he do that?” Maybe Red wasn’t as good of a guy as Jace initially thought he was.
“He knows this is what I need. I’m making progress. And I feel really good about it.”
“Yeah? That I’m glad to hear.”
“How about you? Are you doing what you need to do?”
“Not yet. But when I woke up, a little while ago, I could feel him.”
“Tucker?”
“Yeah. I know that sounds weird, but I haven’t for so long.”
“It doesn’t sound weird.”
“I decided today is the day. I’m goin’ over there, Bree. He doesn’t have to see me if he doesn’t want to, but I can’t let any more time go by without meeting Cochran.”
“I’m glad, Jace. Really glad. And when you see that sweet baby, would you give him a hug and kiss from his Auntie Bree?”
“You know I will.” He took a deep breath. “I gotta ask you somethin’.”
“Sure.”
“You still feelin’ it?” he said it so softly he wasn’t sure she could hear him.
What could she say? The last several days had been really hard. She started out feeling sorry for herself and mad at Red for leaving her alone. Once she kicked herself out of that funk, she started to see things more clearly. It was a relief to be alone. And instead of spending all her time crying, she went and did things she and Zack had loved to do together.
She fished, but that wasn’t all. She sat on the bank of a stream and read a book that had been one of his favorites. The next day, she drove up to Salmon to see Annie and Dave again. She shed some tears when they asked her if she wanted to sit and tie flies, but soon they were reminiscing about Zack, and laughing.
Her husband had been a good man, who people liked easily. Not long after they’d met, Annie and Dave had invited her and Zack over to their house for dinner. Bree doubted they did that sort of thing with all of their customers.
When they invited her to join them for dinner this time, part of her wanted to turn them down, but she didn’t, and she was glad of it.
She ended up staying over, and the next morning, she and Annie went riding—another thing she and Zack loved to do together.
The more days she spent alone, the better she felt. She still believed there was a reason she was supposed to meet Red—maybe she hadn’t been as ready to be alone as she thought when she first arrived at the ranch. Or maybe Red was a conduit back to the places she and Zack had been, or to the things they’d done together. Would she have been as brave, facing it alone, as she was, doing it with Red by her side?
What about Jace? That was the question he asked. Was she still feeling the same way about him? Even though she’d spent most of her time thinking about Zack, Jace was always there in the back of her mind. She dreamed about him as often as she dreamed of Zack, and when she closed her eyes and imagined someone’s arms arou
nd her, it was almost always Jace’s.
“I do,” she answered, after too much time had passed.
Jace had stopped breathing, waiting for her to answer.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Do you really need to ask?” he laughed.
“Yes, Jace. I do,” she didn’t laugh.
“It’s different for me, Bree. I’m not mourning someone. I guess, I am in a way, but it’s different. I’m estranged from my brother, and I need to fix it. Part of doing so is me coming to terms with who I am. But all of this, I could do with you by my side.”
“You could?”
“You make me want to be a better man, Bree. I can’t explain it, but you do. All my life I’ve worried more about being liked than being a good man. As long as everyone saw the fun, happy side of me, they’d never know the guilt and shame I carried around with me.”
Jace closed his eyes and imagined she was next to him. “You have this way of looking at me, and when you do, I feel as though you can see all the way through me. I can’t hide the guilt or shame from you. More, I don’t want to.”
“I don’t know what to say, Jace. I’m flattered that you feel that way; I love that you feel that way. But—”
“No, don’t say it.”
That made her laugh. “That’s usually what I say to you. But I can assure you, you don’t know what I’m going to say any more than I do with you. You’ve proven that to me over and over again.”
“You’re gonna say I need to do this for myself, not for you.”
“Well, damn, Jace Rice, I guess you did know what I was going to say.”
“I am, Bree. I’m doing this for me, not for you. You just make me want to do it. You understand the difference in what I’m saying, right?”
“I do.”
He told her about Tucker’s paintings, the ones he’d seen yesterday.
“I wish I’d seen them, Jace. I can’t believe how hard I tried not to. I could’ve…”
“It was better that you didn’t. I gotta admit, Lyric threw me for a loop, but it was better the way it happened. I was blindsided, but I think I needed to be.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I haven’t figured it out yet. What do you think I should do?”
Stay with Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 4) Page 8