Missy's Moment (The West Series Book 4) (2 page)

“I can’t believe how much the town has grown.”

Alex laughed. “Really?” She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess since I have never left, I can’t see it, other than all the fixes after the tornado.”

“It must have been hard when it hit.”

Alex nodded. “We had some scary times, but everything turned out alright.”

“Haley was hurt, wasn’t she?” Haley and Melissa had been friends as kids and had spent the night at one another’s houses at least once a month.

“Yeah, she broke her leg. She was banged up pretty good.”

“I haven’t gone out to see their new place yet.” Melissa frowned and looked at her hands. “I guess I’ve been focusing on myself since getting into town.”

“Don’t worry about it. She has her hands full with those twins of theirs.”

Melissa smiled, thinking of Haley and Wes’s two boys. She’d bumped into Haley at the Grocery Stop and had cooed over the chubby boys. “They are so cute. I’ll have to swing by their place and smother them with kisses again.”

Alex laughed. “I can’t believe she’s the one that had twins. They run in the family, you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, our grandfather was a twin, and we have twin cousins.” She glanced over at her. “I think you met one of them at our wedding. Reece?”

“Hmm, I don’t remember.”

“He’s tall, dark hair, green eyes, and had a sour look on his face the entire time.” Alex smiled. “He’s the younger one. Both boys had it hard growing up.” She shook her head. “My aunt died young and their father was an ass. No one has heard from his brother, Ryan, in years.” She shook her head and frowned.

“It must have been hard on them, losing their mother so young. I know Haley always talked about losing your mother. Then your dad died when we were fourteen and her grief started all over.” She remembered that day. Haley had stopped spending the night at her house after that, and she had pulled away from their friendship. She’d always thought it was something she’d done or said to ruin the friendship. In the end, she’d become closer to her friend Holly, who now owned the local bookstore.

“Yeah, it hit her the hardest.” Alex shook her head. “She was a daddy’s girl. She was the only one of us that couldn’t really remember our mother.”

They drove through the gates of Grant and Alex’s place, and Melissa looked at their lovely home. It sat down in a little valley. The large stone house sat off to the left and there was a big gray barn to the right. Her brother had so many animals, she had a hard time keeping up.

“What?” Alex asked when Melissa laughed.

“It’s just that my brother has so many animals.” She giggled again.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“We never had any growing up. He knew how to ride, we both did, but now he owns horses, cows, chickens, and…” She giggled again. “Goats. I mean, he spoils those goats more than he does anything else.”

“Tell me about it.” Alex rolled her eyes and smiled. “They can do no wrong. Do you know that he’s thinking of building a new barn, just for the goats?”

She nodded. “He told me over breakfast.”

Alex grunted. “That man has a soft spot for those damn goats.” She stopped the truck and turned to her with a smile on her face. “But, then again, so do I. Buttercup saved my life once, you know.”

Melissa laughed. She’d heard the story of how the little goat had helped when Alex had been knocked out by Mrs. Nolan, the ex-mayor’s wife.

“And Junior saved your brother.” She nodded towards the large dog that hobbled across the yard to greet them.

The dog’s thick dark fur hid the scars that everyone knew were there. Most of his left hind leg was so badly damaged, he spent most of his time lying down. Alex and Grant doted on the dog more than any other animal on their small farm.

“For that, we all owe him everything.” Melissa knelt and rubbed the dog’s thick fur as his tail thumped in the dirt. She got teary every time she thought about the scare they’d had after Mrs. Nolan had shot her brother point-blank. She’d spent almost a month at her parents’ place until her brother had gotten back on his feet. The little dog had gotten the worst of it, though. And Mrs. Nolan was rotting away at some state-run loony bin in Rusk, Texas.

When she looked up, she saw her brother standing on the porch holding little Laura, as she liked to call her. They had named their daughter after Alex’s mother, who had died in a tornado that hit Fairplay when the girls were very young.

She watched as Alex walked up and hugged and kissed her family. Something inside Melissa shifted and for the first time in her adult life, she wished for a moment just like that.

Lauren had given Reece the largest ranch house on the property. It had been sitting empty since they’d put in a few trailers closer to the barns. They had over a dozen men working for them now and, by the looks of it, they needed another dozen.

He’d spent the first day there helping with the cattle and had noticed a beautiful palomino running wild in one of the corrals. When he’d approached it, the beast’s ears had perked up. Chase told him that the horse was still untrained and in dire need of breaking.

Chase hadn’t had enough time to start working on the horse, and Reece had quickly requested the job.

“You can start on him first thing in the morning,” Chase said, patting his back. “Just don’t come running to me when the beast kills you. He’s an ornery son of a gun.”

He’d spent the rest of the day helping the hands brand the cattle and getting the little ones up to date on shots. It had been a sweaty job, but he’d loved every minute.

When he got back to his place, he realized that the kitchen cupboards were completely empty, and he grabbed his truck keys to head down to the grocery store.

As he drove through the small town, he realized how much he felt at home here. They had visited often when they were kids. Up until their early teens, they had spent a few weeks here every summer to help out. He and his brother had made their best childhood memories here.

Pulling in front of the Grocery Stop, the only grocery store in town, he wondered how long he would stick around. He walked through the aisles, tossing items into his cart and thinking about breaking horses for a living. He’d always dreamed of being able to do that.

Maybe Fairplay was the place to do it. Why not? He knew a lot of people in town and, more important, they knew him. That was key for running a business like this. If they trusted him to do the job, he’d get more work. And there was bound to be a lot of work in these parts. They were less than an hour from Tyler, and there were plenty of smaller towns around that he could drum up business in.

“Well, well,” he heard someone purr from behind him. “If it isn’t one of the West boys.”

He turned to see a busty blonde swaying down the aisle towards him. The tight shorts she wore barely covered her curves, and she was almost busting out of the shirt buttons. It took a few moments for his eyes to wander higher to see the well-groomed face that matched the perfect body.

He’d known Savannah Douglas most of her life. She’d been one of Lauren’s best friends when they were younger, but after middle school, he’d seen less and less of her around the farm. She’d grown up in the lap of luxury ever since her folks had hit it big with oil money.

Now she wore the best clothes, drove the most expensive car in town, and was always after something she couldn’t get.

He knew that Savannah was the cause of a lot of problems with his cousins over the last few years, but as she walked towards him, everything but the throbbing in his pants left his mind.

“Well, hello. This can’t be little Savannah?” he said as she stopped right next to him.

“Which one are you?” She ran a manicured finger up his arm playfully.

“Reece.” He smiled down at her.

“Oh, I could never tell you and your brother apart.” She leaned closer to him. “I didn’t know you were in town. How long are you here for?”

He could smell her perfume and the feel of her breasts pushed up against his chest was sending all his blood away from his head.

“Not sure. I’m thinking of staying on.”

“For good?” She gasped a little. He could tell it was all an act, and if his mind had been working, he would have realized he shouldn’t be leading her on. But it had been a while since he’d gotten any attention from someone so attractive.

“Maybe.”

“Well, I’ll simply have to bake you one of my famous pies and bring it over to you. Where are you staying?”

“At the ranch house at the end of the road at Lauren’s place.”

“Oh.” She frowned a little.

“Problem?”

“No.” Her smile came back. “Well, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again,” she said, taking a step back when a young mother and her kids tried to get by them in the aisle. Savannah stared after the woman and kids. “I simply must be going.” She leaned closer and whispered, “I’m looking forward to seeing you.” Her eyes traveled up and down him and then rested on his crotch. If he were a teenager, he would have blushed bright red.

He watched her hips as she swayed back down the aisle and out the front door without buying anything.

“That girl is trouble,” someone said from behind him.

When he turned around, he saw a very petite redheaded woman standing next to his cart, a full basket of groceries in her hands.

“Holly Bridles. We met at Alex and Grant’s wedding and again at Haley and Wes’.” She shifted her basket and held out a hand.

He smiled and took it. “I remember. You own a shop…” He tried to remember.

“Bookstore. It’s just across the street.”

“Right,” he nodded, remembering.

“Savannah will toy with you. Besides, she’s not allowed on Saddleback Ranch property anymore.”

“Oh?” He must have looked surprised because Holly laughed.

“Long story. Ask your cousin one day if you have a few hours to listen to it. So did I hear you right? You’re back to stay?”

“Maybe.” He took her basket and set it inside his cart. The thing looked heavier than she did, and he could see she was struggling with it. “Why didn’t you get a cart?”

“Oh, well, you know how it is. You run inside for one thing and…” She shrugged her shoulders. “You walk out with a cart full.” She smiled.

They walked up to the checkout, and he put her basket up for her. They chatted for a while with the checker and when she had her two full bags in her arms, she turned back around to him. “Remember what I said about staying away from Savannah.”

He nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see you around.”

She nodded and then turned and walked out.

“She’s right, you know,” the woman behind the counter said as she began scanning his items. “Everyone in town knows to steer clear of that girl.”

He chuckled. “I think I’m getting the hint,” he said, handing over his credit card. Until he could get the full story, Savannah Douglas was on his do-not-touch list.

R
eece flew through the air. Most people would be thinking about the pain they were about to feel when they hit the ground, but not him. His mind was completely and wonderfully blank. Of course, when he hit the ground hard, his mind started working again. What could he have done differently? Should he have nudged instead of poked? Should he have waited a few more days to try to mount the horse? So many questions popped into his head after he landed.

He hated it when he questioned himself. He was damn good at what he did, and he had the medals to prove it.

In the last five years, since he’d finally gotten free of his old man, he’d traveled the world and had collected as many medals as he could. Bronc busting had been his dream for as long as he could remember. But shortly after Reece had graduated, his old man had gotten sick. His no-good twin had gone and left him alone. They had always planned to leave together; at least that’s what Reece had always thought.

Ryan had taken off, and Reece had made his own plans to leave. But then his dad had the stroke, and he’d been left caring for the old man until he finally passed away two years later. He’d also been left paying off all the old man’s debts. He’d done everything he could to pay them off. He sold the cattle, the horses, then the land, and the house. Until he’d been left with only an old truck and a bag full of memories.