be many women in your lives, but a brother will be a brother forever. Strong words. Their father’s words. As the peacemaker in the family, Quincy would not do anything to cause a rift with his brothers or to dishonor his father’s memory. This was his heartache. His pain. His secret.
Riding into the barn on his paint stud Red Hawk, he felt sure he could continue to hide his feelings. He dismounted and ran a hand around the back of his neck to unstick his sweaty collar from his skin. The sultry August heat had lingered into the first week of September. Before he’d left at the start of the day, he’d opened both double doors of the barn, and a gentle breeze stirred the heat like a slow-moving fan. The scents of dust and alfalfa filled his lungs.
Quincy bred paint horses and had his own barn and corrals away from the main ranch. He’d picked out the spot near the neighboring Walker property because of the huge live oak trees that had grown there for over a hundred years. He’d always loved paint horses, ever since watching reruns of Bonanza with his grandfather. The character Little Joe rode a paint.
One day, Rebel Ranch would be divided into seven parcels and Quincy had already staked the land he wanted. His mother and brothers had agreed. So after long days working on the ranch, he then took care of his horses. He had a registered stud and five mares, but one day he hoped to have a larger operation. For now it was just a hobby.
At the sound of hooves pounding against the dry, hard ground, he swung around to see Jenny ride in bareback on the black-and-white paint horse he’d given her for her birthday. She loved the paints, and helped him all the time. They’d become close friends, but it had turned into much more for him.
Jenny slid off the horse in one easy, fluid movement. With long dark hair and riveting dark eyes, inherited from her mother, who was part Italian, she was every man’s dream of the girl next door: beautiful, smart and funny. And blessed with a friendly disposition that endeared her to everyone, especially Quincy.
“Is it true?” Her eyes sparkled with high energy.
He mentally snapped to attention. “You’ll have to be more specific.” He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he was stalling for time.
“Is Paxton engaged?”
And there it was. Jenny and Paxton, Quincy’s younger brother, had been an item since high school. Their on-and-off relationship had been the talk of Horseshoe for over a decade. Jenny wanted a home and family. Paxton favored the rodeo circuit and any pretty thing he could find. Quincy had never understood why Jenny put up with Paxton’s many affairs. It was none of his business, though. Other than the fact that he’d been in love with her for years.
Quincy just wished she had asked someone else besides him. It wasn’t his place to tell her about the new woman in his brother’s life. But again, he and Jenny had grown close over the years and she considered him a friend, as he did her. His feelings were his own.
His hand tightened on the horse’s reins. “That’s what I hear.” Hawk sidestepped, snorting. Quincy needed to unsaddle his horse.
“When did this happen?”
“I don’t know. Mom just told us Paxton had called and said he was engaged.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know, Jenny. You’ll have to talk to Paxton about that. I’m not the person you should be asking.”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried? I’ve called and texted him and he doesn’t respond. Why would he do this?” The pain in her voice twisted Quincy’s insides. He’d never understood how she could keep clinging to a relationship that was so one-sided.
“Haven’t you been broken up about two months now?” He hated to be blunt, and there was nothing as blunt as the truth.
She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, stretching her blouse taut across her full breasts. He looked away.
“Yes. But he always calls and we get back together.”
“I guess he met someone else.” He stroked Hawk, calming him, and searched for a way to end the conversation.
“A buckle bunny who fawns all over him.” Her pain echoed in her voice.
He had no words to soothe her wounded pride. “I don’t know. All I know is what my mother told us.”
Her glistening eyes stared at him and this time he couldn’t look away. “I heard there’s an engagement party here on Saturday night.”
Nothing in Horseshoe, Texas, stayed a secret for long. This was faster than usual, though. “That’s what I’ve been told.”
She turned toward her horse. “If Paxton doesn’t answer my calls by then, I’ll be coming to the party.”
“It’s by invitation only,” he reminded her.
“Miss Kate won’t care if I come.”
His gut tightened like a cinch on a saddle and his nerves kept applying the pressure. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she left him no choice.
“Mom would rather it be a fun evening. Please don’t embarrass yourself by showing up. It would only cause tension.”
“Embarrass myself?” With a twist of her head, she tossed her long, tangled hair back in anger. “Everyone in Horseshoe is talking and what they’re saying is she waited all these years and he’s marrying someone else. That’s embarrassment, Quincy. And I can take the tension.”
“Don’t do it, Jenny. It will only hurt you.”
“As if I’m not hurt now? He’s going to tell me to my face that he’s fallen in love with someone else.”
“He’s engaged. I think that pretty well says it all.”
She fixed her heated gaze on him. “You think it’s okay what he’s done to me?”
“You broke up with him,” he told her. “You always break up with him because it bothers you that he sees other women while he’s on the circuit.”
“I thought he would change,” she murmured, almost to herself.
“Let it go, Jenny. It’s time for you to move on.”
“How do I do that, Quincy? I spent half my life waiting for him to grow up and want the same things that I do. I guess...”
He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her, because he knew things were only going to get worse. She’d lost Paxton and she didn’t want to face that, but in reality, she’d lost him a long time ago. She just hadn’t realized it until now.
“Hawk is getting restless. I have to unsaddle him,” he said instead.
“When will Paxton be home?”
He shook his head. “Jenny, I honestly don’t know.”
“The party’s tomorrow night so he has to come in sometime soon.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Not on your life.” She vaulted onto the horse. “At the very least, Paxton owes me an explanation.”
He caught the reins of her horse before she could gallop away. “Don’t come to the party, Jenny. If you care anything about the Rebel family, you’ll stay away and not make a scene.”
“I thought you were my friend.”
“I am. That’s why I’m trying to protect you and keep you from getting hurt any further.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He loved many things about Jenny, but her stubbornness wasn’t one of them. “Mom said Paxton and his fiancée are going to stay at the ranch for a while so she can get to know the family. Maybe it would be best if you didn’t come around during that time.”
Her face crumpled. “You’re