The Forbidden Brother

by Joanne Rock

  He nodded, understanding. And he was grateful to have moved the conversation away from his past. “Whenever I go to Denver or Dallas—any of the bigger cities where we have business—I think about that. How there are too many people and not enough of this.”

  They shared a moment of common ground, soaking in the serenity of the ranch. This was why he was determined not to unleash a film crew on this quiet land. Not to trample the beauty.

  Beside him, Jillian let go of the roll bar and lowered herself back into the seat. Hammer jumped down from the cargo bed to sniff around in the weeds.

  “I took this job to travel. To see things like this.” Her hazel eyes, more green than gold in the sunlight, remained fixed on the horizon. “I realized last year that travel is really important to me.”

  The sense of kinship with her faded as Cody realized she wasn’t taken by this land so much as seeing new places. Jillian Ross wouldn’t be sticking around Cheyenne, no matter how beautiful she might think it was.

  “Because of your illness?” he asked, remembering what she’d said about the radiation and chemo. He’d been curious Friday night, but it hadn’t been the right time to ask.

  Was now the right time? He wasn’t sure where any of this would lead with her, but if there was any chance she carried his child, he would need to get to know her much better. And even if she didn’t, he at least wanted to stay in touch with her for the next few weeks—until she knew for sure one way or another. He couldn’t afford to alienate her.

  She nodded once. A quick affirmative. “I made a list of life adventures.” He recognized the defensive stance as she folded her arms around herself. He’d seen it that night in his office when she’d admitted she couldn’t have children. “It seemed like a productive thing to think about during my treatments. A way to focus on something positive.”

  He couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for her. And she had no siblings. Had her parents been with her? A partner? If she’d had one then, he obviously hadn’t stuck around long afterward. A surge of defensiveness on her behalf moved him to place a hand on her shoulder, offering whatever comfort he could for a memory that must be painful.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He wasn’t sure how much to ask about it. “Have you been in remission long?”

  A sad smile pulled at her lips while she watched Hammer take a half-hearted nip at a butterfly. She shook her head. “I won’t be considered in remission for three more years, so I’ve got a long road ahead of me yet.”

  “Ah, hell.” He squeezed her shoulder through the thin blouse. It didn’t compute that this vibrant woman could be so vulnerable. “I didn’t realize...”

  “Of course not.” Her smile, though still sad, was more genuine this time. Her hand landed on his knee. “You couldn’t possibly know. It’s awkward for people to talk about, but I appreciate you acknowledging my journey. Breast cancer—any cancer—is scary.”

  No wonder she hadn’t been worried about pregnancy. Her body had been through hell, and not all that long ago. He regretted raising a topic that had to be difficult for her. For a moment, the only sound was a plane far overhead and the snuffle of the dog as he searched the grass.

  “So you fought back by plotting your life’s adventures.” Cody’s fingers stroked the nape of her neck, the skin barely covered by her red curls. New hair, he guessed. Regrowth after her treatments.

  All of her seemed suddenly more fragile, even though he guessed she would hate that description. Her eyes mesmerized him. Her lips parted for a moment when he caressed the side of her throat, trailing a knuckle behind one ear. The touch that began as comfort had become something else entirely.

  “It started out as me daydreaming about things I wanted to do. I’d gone to school for accounting and I’m good at it. But I did it because it was reliable—good job security and a decent living.” Her fingers curled on his knee, squeezing lightly through the denim. “Once I got cancer, though, I asked myself if that was enough reason to do something I didn’t really enjoy for one third of the hours in my day.”

  “And you decided it wasn’t.” A gust of wind slanted the grass in the pasture. Hammer sniffed the air before returning to nosing the ground.

  “Not at first. It took weeks of me thinking about all the other things I wanted to do with my life if I had the chance to do it over again.” She stared down at her hand where it rested on his knee. “Then, one day when I was sick out of my mind and miserable—my personal cancer rock bottom—I decided I owed myself that do-over. If it was in my power to make it happen, I would.”

  He couldn’t possibly know how hard that battle had been for her. But he admired her strength and conviction.

  She straightened in her seat, her hand sliding away from his knee, the moment of connection broken. Or maybe she simply didn’t want to share any more with him. They’d had a sizzling encounter together, but they sure didn’t know each other well.

  Against his better judgment, however, Cody found himself wanting to know more about Jillian Ross. He couldn’t seem to force himself to pull his fingers from her neck. His hand lingered the same way his thoughts did—on her.

  “And here you are.” He watched the way the sunlight played on her pale skin. “Living your adventure on a ranch in Cheyenne.”

  “It’s a long way from Reseda, the Los Angeles neighborhood I grew up in.” She pointed toward a pronghorn buck emerging from a thicket at the edge of a field. “I need a photo of that.”

  Digging in her leather handbag, she came up with her phone. Cody forced himself to slide his hand away from her while she lined up the image she wanted on the view screen. After she snapped a few pictures, she tucked the phone away and they watched the buck stalk across the field. Cody saw all kinds of deer and elk around the ranch frequently enough, but it had been a long time since he’d simply sat and watched something like that. Her breathless appreciation made him see the common sight with new eyes.

  He whistled for Hammer, putting the utility vehicle in motion again after the dog hopped in back.

  “Can I ask what other adventures are on that list of yours?” Cody asked as they headed back toward the main house. He hadn’t gotten to all of his concerns about the dangers of ranch life during this tour, but now wasn’t the right time.

  His sister’s concerns that he’d shut down the film crew without consulting anyone else had resonated. He wanted to at least be able to tell Scarlett that he’d taken the time to show Jillian around without scaring her off completely.

  That didn’t mean he’d changed his mind about hosting a movie production at the ranch. Still, even if she was sure that pregnancy wasn’t a possibility for her, he planned to keep her close for the next few days. Just until he could convince her to get a blood test and rule out the chance of a baby.

  Besides, he couldn’t deny an interest in the film scout. Spending more time with her wasn’t going to be a hardship.

  “Mostly travel, but there are some other experiences I’ve never had that are on the list.” She began counting things off on her fingers. “Hear a world-renowned symphony orchestra in concert. Take a ballet class. Study Italian. Bungee jump. See a rodeo—”

  “A rodeo?”

  “I’ve never been to one.” She shrugged. “It sounds fun.”

  “You know Wyoming is the called the Cowboy State for a reason.” He pushed the gas pedal harder as they got back onto well-traveled roads closer to the house. Hammer stuck his nose between them for a better view ahead.

  “I’ve seen a wealth of Stetsons since I stepped off the plane.” She reached over to stroke the dog’s head.

  “And they’re converging on Cheyenne for Frontier Days. The bull-riding finals are in town this week, the biggest rodeo of all.”

  “Really?” She peeked at him around Hammer’s head. “I saw some signs about that, but guess I didn’t look too carefully at when
it took place.”

  “Maybe you should stick around town a little longer so you can cross another adventure off that list.” He drew to a stop in front of the equipment shed not far from her car. The shepherd jumped down from the cargo bed, leaving the two of them alone.

  Jillian’s eyes veered to his, her windblown curls teasing her cheeks as she seemed to weigh the idea. “That sounds fun. And I was thinking about checking out your sister’s guest ranch, anyhow.”

  So she’d been planning to stick around. Of course she had. She wasn’t giving up so easily on her plan to talk him into hosting the film crew. Although she would go home disappointed on that score, maybe they could make a few other pleasurable memories. The attraction between them sure hadn’t dimmed.

  “Tuesday night, then.” He skimmed a touch over her cheek, just enough to brush away a curl. He liked seeing the way her pupils dilated and her lips parted slightly. “It’s a date.”

  Six

  In her bathroom at the White Canyon guest ranch two days later, Jillian brushed her hair carefully, a habit she’d developed in the early stages of regrowth. Cody would arrive to pick her up shortly and she was excited about seeing the rodeo together. Excited to see him—far more than she should have been, given their standoff over his granting permission to film on his lands.

  Jillian forced herself to set down the hairbrush and quit primping. As much as she admired cancer patients who could bare their bald heads in defiance of the disease, she’d developed a tingling sensitivity in her scalp that had persisted for months. She’d felt cold and naked in so many ways during her treatments, and the lack of hair only added to her sense of being exposed. She’d worn head scarves with abandon, taking inspiration from women of other cultures who kept their heads wrapped. Now, even with the wild curls that covered her skull, she sometimes missed the warmth of the scarves.

  Today, however, she would have Cody beside her and that would keep her plenty warm. He wasn’t due to arrive for another ten minutes, but as she slid her phone in her purse, she heard the familiar rumble of his voice downstairs.

  Was he laughing?

  Curious, Jillian slipped from her room and stood beside the heavy wooden railing overlooking the huge foyer below. Madeline McNeill, the proprietor of the White Canyon, sat on the long leather bench in front of the huge windows near the front door. Two other women flanked her; the three of them shared enough physical similarities that they had to be related. They were gathered around an open box full of snowshoes, as the one who seemed the youngest attempted to withdraw her expensive-looking high heel from its snowshoe clamps.

  Cody stood with his back to Jillian, facing the women, his good-natured chuckle surprising her.

  Until she realized it wasn’t Cody at all.

  She saw her chance to speak to Carson McNeill personally and hurried downstairs to join them.

  “Jillian,” Madeline called to her as she entered the foyer. “Do you have a minute? I would like to introduce you to some of the family.”

  “I’d like that.” Her gaze went to Carson first, and it surprised her that a man who looked the same as Cody could be so different.

  This one didn’t have the same physical effect on her. No warmth, no spark. But his smile was the kind that made you want to smile back, and she did.

  “This is my mother,” Madeline began, pointing to the older woman in the corner of the window seat. “Paige McNeill.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Jillian stepped forward, dodging the obstacle course of snowshoes, and squeezed the woman’s hand. She couldn’t be much older than her midforties, slim and beautiful, with medium honey-colored hair and light green eyes.

  “You, too, Jillian.” Her gaze skittered away, though her brief smile seemed genuine.

  Jillian didn’t have long to puzzle over the half-hearted reception before the younger woman sidled up to her. She shared Madeline’s long dark hair and blue eyes, but her bangs and curls gave her more of an ingenue look.

  “I’m Scarlett, Maddy’s sister, and I’m excited to have a movie filmed on McNeill land.” She extended her hand, and Jillian saw that her pink-manicured nails were decorated with palm trees. She wore a blue-and-white-polka-dot scarf around her head, a big bow tied behind her hair with the ribbon’s ends trailing over one shoulder. “I’ve already talked Carson into letting a film crew stay at his ranch if Cody doesn’t come through for you.”

  Jillian thought she noticed Paige McNeill frown before she turned to gaze out the front window. “Cody won’t like that,” the older woman murmured, mostly to herself, while Scarlett slid a hand around Jillian’s elbow and turned her toward Cody’s twin.

  “This is Carson, the most reasonable of my half brothers.”

  Jillian reached to shake his hand, but he was holding the aqua-colored high heel shoe he’d helped Scarlett with earlier. He thrust it at his sister and wiped his palm on his jeans before taking Jillian’s hand and squeezing it.

  “Welcome to Cheyenne, Ms. Jillian. My ranch is all yours whenever you need it.”

  Jillian thought back to the photos she’d seen of Carson McNeill online and realized she would never confuse him for Cody again. There was a charm about him, for sure—in his pleasing voice and warm smile. Yet having gone through a painful journey herself, she recognized a person battling a deeper hurt, and saw that same starkness in Carson’s eyes.

  “Thank you. The executives at my company are really sold on the Black Creek for our project, but if I can persuade them to use your ranch instead, I will gladly do so.” She’d need to make the decision soon. The shooting location manager and the film’s director would touch down in Cheyenne tomorrow.

  “No luck convincing my brother to let you on his land yet?” Carson asked, while Madeline stacked up the snowshoes and returned them to their box.

  “No.” Jillian felt oddly disloyal talking about Cody with his family when he wasn’t there. “I understand he has concerns about the potential dangers.”

  The room went quiet for an instant. Even Madeline paused briefly in packing up the snowshoes. Jillian thought she saw a flash of anger, or maybe hurt, in Carson’s gaze. And then it was gone.

  “The oldest son is always the responsible one,” he said drily. “Looks like my twin is here now.” He nodded toward the window. Cody’s pickup truck was pulling into the driveway. “Just keep in mind my offer. I know the exposure a film could bring would mean a lot to the rest of the family.”

  He tipped his dark Stetson ever so subtly before stalking toward the kitchen—which was the opposite direction from where his brother was about to enter the room.

  Scarlett picked up the theme of the conversation. “We’re all really excited about it and flattered you like the area. I read online a little about your company’s films. Are you scouting for Winning the West?”

  “I am.” Impressed that Cody’s sister had researched the project, Jillian had new appreciation for how valuable an ally the woman might be.

  From the window seat, Paige leaned toward them, her honey-colored ponytail falling forward over one shoulder. “You know, Scarlett, not everyone wants to be stuck on a movie set in the middle of nowhere. The actors might be happier if the filming took place in Colorado or someplace closer to LA.” She looked to Jillian for support. “I’m sure it must make it easier on the talent to be closer to home. And cheaper.”

  She seemed so hopeful that Jillian would agree with her; it was obvious Paige wasn’t wild about the idea of having a movie crew on her doorstep. Because of the potential dangers Cody had mentioned? Or was there another reason?

  Madeline was currently busy taking a phone call, and Scarlett didn’t seem to notice her mother’s reservations as she scrolled through pages on her phone. “I’m sure they don’t care where it’s filmed, Mom,” she said distractedly. “And it looks like I can get Gramps’s pilot to fly me to LA tomorrow, after all, so I’m going t
o need the day off.” Scarlett shot to her feet, her floral skirt swinging around her knees as she headed toward the door.

  Cody entered the foyer then, tipping his hat to Scarlett and her mother, who was following fast on her daughter’s heels.

  “Isn’t that kind of sudden?” Paige was saying as they walked away. “If you want to shop, I can go to New York with you...”

  The sound of their voices faded as they slipped outside.

  Jillian turned her attention to Cody. His broad shoulders filled out his gray Western-cut shirt, and his dark jeans were an upgrade from the work denim she had seen him in last time. His blue eyes lasered in on her and a familiar warmth made her skin tingle.

  “Are you ready to rodeo?” he asked, holding out his hand.

  The flutter in her belly was an indication of just how ready she was. Now that Carson had offered his ranch for filming, some of the pressure was off. Except the unforgettable views she wanted were still on Cody’s land, not his brother’s.

  And she had the feeling that housing her crew on his twin’s property would seem like a betrayal. Maybe tonight, she could change Cody’s mind.

  “I’m ready.” Taking his hand, she gave herself over to at least one more adventure with the rancher who was filling her dreams lately.

  * * *

  Seeing the worry in her eyes, Cody wrapped an arm around Jillian during the last ride of the night. Taking her to the bull-riding finals was sort of like bringing a first date to a scary movie. She gripped his arm every time the chute opened to release another rider into the arena, her fingers squeezing tight while she cheered for every single one of them.

  “Did he win?” she asked, when the crowd erupted in cheers after the reigning champ held on for all eight seconds.