After latching the stable door, he followed his brother down to the driveway.
“Where’s Levi anyway?” Lucas asked. “He could get his lazy ass out here and work on some of the fences for Dad.”
“Think he finally went to bed.” After Jessa had left the Tumble Inn last night, Lance hadn’t seen much of a point in hanging out, so he’d brought Luis and Lucas home. Levi, of course, had wanted to stay. Hadn’t come home until dawn, when they were getting breakfast on. Always the life of the party. Some things never changed. Lucas knew that as well as he did. When it came to the ranch, they wouldn’t be able to count on Levi for much other than scoring them free booze.
“Things okay with Jessa?” Lucas asked as they neared Lance’s place.
Other than the fact that he had no fucking clue what he was doing? “Think so. I’m taking her out on Wednesday.” That was a real shocker, even to him. When he’d seen her loading up her bag in her truck, desperation had washed over him. He’d felt like he was losing her. Which was insane considering he’d never had her in the first place. At least not officially.
“You’re taking her on a date?” his brother repeated with a low whistle. “Wow. So it’s serious then.”
The mocking tone hoisted Lance’s defenses. “It’s a date. Not a marriage proposal.”
Lucas stopped walking and faced him. “Have you ever met a woman you wanted to take on a date?”
Sure. Of course he had. He scrolled through recent history. Okay. So it’d been a while. “Haven’t had much time to date,” he pointed out. He’d been too busy building a career.
“You don’t have much time now,” his brother countered. “But you’re making time for this date.”
Damn Lucas’s insightful, philosophical nature. He never could be just another ordinary guy who stuck to safe topics like sports and rodeo gossip. He had a point, though. Lance had never bothered much with real dates. “Jessa’s different.” Than any other women he’d ever met. Or slept with. She didn’t try too hard. Didn’t fake it. She was genuine and empathetic. Honest. Real… Damn, he was whipped.
“Seems to me like she’s worth a date,” Lucas said, grinning as though he’d read all of Lance’s thoughts. “Dad already loves her, you can tell that much. She’s like the daughter he never had.”
“She loves him, too.” Took care of him exactly the way a daughter would…
“She worries about him,” his brother said pointedly.
That knot of tension pulled in his neck. “And I keep telling her he’s fine.” If there was something to worry about, Luis would tell him.
Lucas rubbed at his forehead. Something he used to do when he was nervous.
“What?” Lance asked.
His brother gazed past him, out to the mountains. “He has tremors. I noticed during breakfast. His hands shake. Sometimes his head, too.”
“He’s gotten old.” Not to be a dick, but his brother hadn’t been around. He didn’t know. “His arthritis flares up sometimes. That’s all it is.” He’d seen the tremors, too. Asked his dad about them, even. “He’s almost seventy.”
“You sure it’s not more than that?”
Before he could answer, Naomi’s car bounced up the driveway and parked in front of her house across the way.
The door opened and Gracie jumped out. “Uncle Lance! Uncle Lance!” She sprinted over and launched herself into his arms.
He swung her up into the air and twirled her around before setting her feet back on the ground. “Hey there, Gracie. Where’ve you been?”
“I was at my art class!” She held out a paper in her hands. “Look! I drew a picture of you riding Wild Willy.”
Lance bent to study the paper, gawking at the fatheaded stick figure as though it were a work of art. “Wow.” As he stood, he happened to catch a glimpse of Lucas.
His brother stared at Naomi as she walked toward them.
“Who are you?” Gracie asked, pointing a finger at Lucas.
Naomi approached looking downright spooked, so Lance answered for her. “This is my brother. Lucas.”
The girl sized him up with a long glare, her lips puckered as though deep in thought. “So you’re sort of like my uncle, too?”
That brought a smile to Lucas’s face. He knelt in front of her. “Sure. I’d be happy to be your uncle.” He stuck out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Gracie. Your mom is an old friend of mine.”
The girl’s eyes went wide. “Did you know my dad, too?”
“Oh no, honey. He didn’t.” Naomi lied. Mark had been Lucas’s best friend in high school. Naomi’s face flushed and Lance had never seen her look so flustered. “Why don’t you go and get your backpack out of the car. Okay?” She sent the girl off with a light pat. “I’ll be over in a minute and we can have a snack.”
“Okay!” Gracie shot away from them, bounding over the ground like a happy golden retriever.
Naomi faced them, but she wouldn’t look at either one of them. “Sorry about that. She’s never met a stranger.”
Lance stayed quiet. She definitely wasn’t apologizing to him.
His brother stepped closer to her, still looking at her like she was some sort of goddess. Lance almost shook his head. And Lucas thought he was pathetic with Jessa.
“It’s okay,” Lucas said. “I’m glad I got to meet her. She’s beautiful. She looks so much like you.”
The compliment was met with a cold shoulder. Naomi turned. “I should get going. Gracie is always starving in the afternoon.” She started to walk away, but Lance couldn’t let her.
“Wait.” He hooked a hand onto her shoulder and steered her back to them. “I was thinking maybe you could sit down with Lucas and show him the books.”
Her normally rosy face looked colorless. “Oh.”
“He’ll be consulting on our stock contracting operation,” he went on before she could say no. “Might be good for him to get an idea of how our budget is allocated.”
“Sure.” It came out in a nervous whoosh of air. “Uh.” She stared at the ground. “Yeah. Maybe this afternoon. Just…just stop by whenever.” She turned and hurried away.
She hadn’t even made it to her door when Lucas punched him in the arm. “Why the hell did you do that?”
Seemed Lucas didn’t like people interfering in his love life, either. “It won’t kill you two to spend a little time together.”
Lucas glanced over at Naomi’s house. “Spending time with me might kill her, from the looks of things.”
Naomi had definitely been rattled. But not because she hated Lucas. “And why do you think that is?” Lance asked in the same mocking tone Lucas had used on him earlier.
“Same reason no one else wants me around here,” his brother muttered. The moron.
Lucas turned and started for Lance’s house.
Lance followed him up the porch steps. His brother had lost everything because of a decision they’d made when they were kids. He’d lived through the hell of prison time. Of being blackballed by his hometown. If anyone deserved something good, it was Lucas. “She might be worth coming back for.”
His brother’s back went stiff the way it used to before they’d start throwing punches. “I can’t live here under a label. I’m not like you. I don’t want to put myself out there for the judgment. Down at the McGowens’ place, I have my freedom. I am who I am. Not the kid who screwed up.” A small smile reminded Lance of Luis. “And I’m not one of the Cortez brothers. Not the son of Luis Cortez. No offense.”
“None taken.” Lance got that. Not wanting the labels. Hell, he’d been labeled his whole career. First as a superstar who was following in his great father’s footsteps, now as a has-been.
It sounded good, having that freedom. Setting your own expectations instead of trying to live up to everyone else’s. For years, the risk of failure had stalked him, driving him to become what the world needed him to be.
And now, it almost felt like it was too late to become anything else.
Chapter Nineteen
So…she was going on a date. Lance was taking her on a date. With Ilsa trailing behind her, Jessa pushed through the door of the shelter in a starry-eyed sort of wonder that made everything seem lovely and clean. She hardly noticed the dingy floors or the peeling drywall. The smell of dog food and animals.
She was going on a date!
“Wow, someone’s chipper for a Monday morning.” Xavier, her night shift guy, was hunched at the computer with his hand plastered to the mouse like he’d been in that exact position all night. Probably playing Dungeons & Dragons or something. Not that she cared. As long as someone was here to answer phones and take care of any animals that came in, he could do whatever he wanted.
Jessa floated over to the desk gracefully—probably looking like Grace Kelly in High Society. Well…minus the glamorous dresses, makeup, and heels. But those things weren’t practical for taking care of animals and cleaning out kennels. Giving up the fantasy, she plopped down in the chair next to Xavier and pulled Ilsa into her lap. “Can I help it if it’s a beautiful morning?” She swept an arm toward the streaked, grimy window. “I mean look at it. The sun is shining. The sky is so blue and perfect.” That was how the world had looked ever since Lance had officially asked her out earlier this morning.
He eyed her travel mug suspiciously. “What’d you put in your coffee this morning?”
“Oh, Xavier.” She sighed happily. “I don’t need anything in my coffee. I’m just reveling in the beauty of the day.” It wouldn’t hurt him to get out and enjoy the sunshine. That long black hair of his made his skin look so pale…
“I’m headed out.” He shut down the computer and shoved some books into his camo messenger bag. “No calls last night.”
“Okay,” she sang, scratching behind Ilsa’s ears. “Enjoy the day! Maybe you should go for a hike or something. Get a little exercise.”
He looked at her like she was suggesting he jump naked into a frigid mountain lake. “Why would anyone want to hike?” he asked in his bored monotone. “The only way I would ever hike is if the zombie apocalypse happened and I had to escape.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” she said, humming the sweet melody that seemed to radiate from her heart.
With a pronounced roll of the eyes, he grunted a wretched goodbye and trudged out the door, ducking his head as though anticipating the sunlight with horror.
Poor man. All he needed was a lovely goth-leaning Dungeons & Dragons princess to brighten up his world. Maybe she should start an online dating profile for him…
Instead, she logged on to the computer and checked her email, then updated the shelter’s Facebook page with an adorable picture she’d snapped of Ilsa. Which gave her an idea…
Now that she’d left Luis’s house, she couldn’t possibly take Lance’s money if he happened to win the competition. Even if she did, that wouldn’t help her build a long-term donor base. It would only offer a quick, temporary fix, which was all her father could ever seem to find. But…if she could launch some type of brilliant social media campaign, maybe she could reach out to donors all over the country. She could have her old MBA study group help her out. Back in school, they’d worked on that kind of thing all the time together. Marketing had been her weakest area, but maybe the rest of the group would offer some pro bono work to beef up their own PR.
Her fingers tapped the keyboard excitedly as she typed out an email. Maybe they’d even know a developer who could build her an online donation page…
The door swung open, sending in a lovely autumn-scented breeze. Jessa pressed send and inhaled deeply, waving at Evie Starlington, who should have been a glamorous actress with that name, but she wasn’t. She was a stained-glass artist. A recent transplant from Denver. Jessa had gone to her art show at Darla’s place a couple of months ago and she’d hit it off with the woman right away. She was in her mid-sixties, but as hip as a teenager with her pink-streaked hair and bohemian clothing. Today, she wore a gauzy skirt and a peasant blouse with rainbow-colored tassels.
“Good morning,” Jessa called, rising from the desk. She set Ilsa on the floor and the pig scurried quickly underneath the desk to hide. She was still working on socializing her.
“It is a good morning, isn’t it?” Evie replied, snuggling a ball of fur tightly against her chest. “It got even better when I found this little charmer hanging out on my couch this morning.” She held out a familiar cat. The very cat Jessa had rescued from a tree the other day.
“Oh, Butch.” She took the cat out of the woman’s hands.
“I have no idea how he got into my house,” Evie said. “I did leave a window open last night…”
“Well, for being an inside cat, Butch here likes to go on adventures. Don’t you, boy?” She held up the cat and he licked her nose as though he remembered her as his savior. “I know the owner. Hank Green. I can call him and have him pick him up.” And in the process of returning the cat, shoot down every pass he made at her…
“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be appreciated.” The woman reached over to scratch behind the cat’s ears. “Though I have to say, I did enjoy my short time with him. It was nice sharing coffee with someone. Even if it was someone else’s cat.”
A pang of sympathy dimmed her own happiness. Poor Evie. She seemed lonely. Her husband had passed away last year. That’s why she’d moved away from Denver. She needed a new start, she’d said.
“Here.” Jessa held out the cat. “Why don’t you hold him while I call Hank?” And actually, the woman could stick around and meet him. He definitely wasn’t Jessa’s cup of tea, but he wasn’t much older than Evie and they were both single.
While Evie sat in a chair gushing over Butch, Jessa hurried to the phone.
“Y-ello,” Hank answered.
“Hey, it’s Jessa. Butch is here at the shelter.”
“What?” The word hurled through a dramatic gasp. “Why, I didn’t even know he was gone!”
Uh-huh. Sure. He’d probably sent Butch out again and was getting ready to call her. Despite that, she smiled. Hank was lonely, too. And she knew how that felt. “Miss Starlington brought him in. Do you know her?”
“No. I can’t say that I do.”
“She’s a wonderful woman. New to town.” She battled the urge to start listing off all her best qualities. Shouldn’t work too hard to sell her. “Somehow Butch managed to climb in her window.”
Movement scratched on the other side of the line. “Well, thank her for bringing him in, will you?” he said dismissively. “I’ll be right over. Then maybe we can grab a cup of coffee together…”
“Actually, you can thank Miss Starlington yourself,” Jessa said before he could finish asking her out. “I’ll ask her to stay until you get here.”
“But—”
“See you soon!” With an extra flourish, she clicked the off button, then tossed the phone on her desk. “Hank will be over in a few minutes,” she called to Evie. “Can I get you a cup of—?”
The door swung open again. Wow, busy morning. Jessa turned, expecting an animal situation, but instead Luis ambled in.
She popped up from her desk. “Hey, Luis. I wasn’t expecting you today. Not with Lucas and Levi home.”
His eyes didn’t meet hers. In fact, his head stayed low enough that she could hardly get a look at his face. “I need to talk to you,” he said quietly, too seriously.
The happiness that had been floating inside her all morning turned to stone. “Oh. Sure. Of course,” she sputtered. She picked up Ilsa’s leash and started walking toward the back room, but then noticed Evie watching them. She paused. “Have you met Evie?” she asked him. “She’s new around here. An artist from Denver.”
“Pleased to meet you,” he said in his gentlemanly way. He crossed the room and held out his hand. The two of them shook.
Jessa tried to smile past the panic bells clanging in her heart. “Luis Cortez is…”
“I know who he is,” Evie said with quite the blush. “I
followed your career for a long time. It’s so wonderful to meet you in person.” The warm smile the woman offered him was rewarded with a humble grin.
“My career ended years ago,” he said, his tone brushing away all of those famous belt buckles he’d earned.
“Maybe so, but you’ll always be a legend,” Evie said kindly, and suddenly Jessa regretted inviting Hank Green over.
Luis was still smiling when he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode toward the employee lounge.
Jessa followed, tugging Ilsa along behind. Whatever he wanted to say, he didn’t want to wait. “Evie, Luis and I are going to have a chat in the back. Can you wait for Hank to come and pick up Butch?”
“Of course.” She settled back into the chair. “I’m happy to.”
They’d hardly cleared the door before Jessa turned to Luis. “Is everything okay?”
He faced her directly, steeling his hunched shoulders. “Truth is, something’s not right. It hasn’t been for months.” His old hands folded in on themselves, fingers weaving together.
“Wh-what?” Her legs trembled, forcing her to sink to the beat-up leather couch. She swept Ilsa into her arms, holding her close for comfort. The pig nuzzled her snout into Jessa’s neck.
Luis sat in the chair across from her, his expression resolute. “I get dizzy sometimes. Lose my balance. Other times I’m confused…”
The bottom dropped out of her lovely happy morning. “Oh, Luis…” No. Please. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t face the thought of losing him, too.
He shifted, but his gaze still held hers like he was forcing himself not to look away. “When I dropped the ladder in Green’s yard…I got disoriented. Couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing. Don’t even know how I ended up down on Main Street.”
Don’t cry. No crying. She touched a finger to the corner of each eye to catch the tears before they fell. “Have you been to the doctor?” she asked, holding her voice together with a thread of denial. Maybe he wasn’t sick. Maybe he really had just been dehydrated that day…
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