stayed home? Oh, wait. She didn’t have a home anymore. Just a small room at The Boarding House inn.
BEN HAD EXPECTED a few changes in Blackfoot Falls. Like the new filling station near the restored inn where he was staying. A pawn shop had replaced a burger joint. There were probably more surprises...he’d only stopped in town to check in and grab a shower. But damn, he never thought the Sundance would change. The ranch seemed smaller than he remembered. Both barns needed new roofs. And the east barn needed a coat of paint.
Granted, fifteen years was a long while, but in a hick town like Blackfoot Falls, time and people were supposed to stand still.
As Ben drifted through the wedding crowd, he recognized a few faces, but was unable to put names to them. Several old-timers nodded as he passed. Most of the guests just stared. He wondered if they remembered him or thought he was simply another stranger.
Sure, he’d grown up here right alongside the McAllister boys, gone to the same school with Cole and Jesse, played the same sports, shared a love of horses with Trace. But Ben had never been one of them. How could he have been when half the town never let him forget he was the maid’s son. The other half just thought he was trouble.
He slipped off his sunglasses and stopped at a bar, or rather, a folding table set up with booze, a keg and glasses for people to help themselves. So typically Blackfoot Falls and so different from his Hollywood life of excess and decadence.
He poured himself a scotch, neat, thinking about how he’d been a mere kid when he’d left, barely eighteen. Not old enough to drink legally. Of course, a small thing like breaking the law had never stopped him. He tossed back the scotch, feeling the burn all the way down, then left the glass on the tray with the others to be washed. He needed food in his empty belly, not more alcohol.
His mother would be plying him with her homemade tortillas soon enough.
The thought surprised him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing her. He had only started calling her in the past ten years because his sister had nagged the hell out of him. Claudia had never understood how he could stay angry, and he didn’t get how she’d so easily forgiven Hilda for tearing them away from their father.
The man was dead now. And Ben would never know him. All he had left of his dad were the vague memories of a six-year-old. That, and the bitterness over his mother’s betrayal. It still lingered like a hot stone at the edge of a fire. At thirty-three, he was just better at hiding it.
Damn, he wished Claudia was here. She’d always acted as a buffer between him and Hilda. But she was pregnant and couldn’t make the trip, so she’d begged and pleaded for him to come.
He’d finally given in last week, not just for Claudia’s sake, but for Rachel’s, too, and he didn’t want to mess things up as a wedding memento. Where was the little firecracker, anyway? He scanned the crowd. How hard was it to find a redheaded bride?
“Oh, my God, Ben, you made it!” Her voice came from behind him.
He turned to find Rachel’s green eyes filling with tears. The last time he’d seen her, she’d just celebrated her twelfth birthday. She’d grown into a beautiful young woman.
She dabbed at her eyes, then picked up her dress and launched herself at him.
He caught her and stumbled back. “Jesus. How many tons of lace are you wearing?” She laughed and hugged him until he set her at arm’s length. “Man, you’ve grown up.”
“Hey, watch it. She’s taken.”
“Matt Gunderson.” Ben smiled at her new husband and shook his hand. “Good to see you.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.” Matt yanked his tie loose with a relieved sigh.
Rachel smacked his wrist. “Stop it. We haven’t finished taking pictures.”
“Oh, yes, we have.”
“Please.” Rachel leaned into Matt. “When will I ever get you in a tux again?”
“Never.”
“Exactly.”
Matt slumped in defeat. “So this is married life, huh?” he muttered while letting Rachel redo his tie. “Stay single, Ben. Do yourself a favor and just stay single.”
“Way ahead of you on that one, bro.” Ben grinned at Rachel’s eye roll.
He liked women. He liked sex even more. Fortunately, he rarely went without. But give a woman that much power over him? Wouldn’t happen.
“Have you seen your mom yet?” Rachel asked.
Ben shook his head and looked at Matt. Time to change the subject. “I read somewhere you’re going to quit rodeoing.”
“I’m done. I rode in Vegas for the last time.”
“Why? You were earning big.” Ben glanced at Rachel. Would she miss the big prize money, or had she put the screws to him?
Matt shrugged. “I had enough.”
“Matt’s father died last year and left him the ranch,” Rachel said. “So he’s running the Lone Wolf and raising rodeo stock.”
“We’re running the Lone Wolf,” Matt corrected her, slipping an arm around her.
“Not really. I’m not much help yet. The Sundance guests keep me hopping.”
Ben frowned. “Guests?”
“Cole didn’t mention it when he saw you in LA,” Rachel said with a wry smile. “I’m not surprised. My poor brothers...” She sighed. “We’re now part dude ranch.”
Ben couldn’t have been more shocked. He thought again of the patched roofs and warped wood siding on the barn. The McAllisters had been proud, wealthy cattlemen going back several generations. “Since when?”
“About a year and a half now.” She shrugged. “Between the poor economy and drought, all the ranches around here have been suffering. We needed to generate income.”
“A dude ranch,” Ben murmured. No, he didn’t figure Cole would’ve volunteered that information.
“It was Rachel’s idea,” Matt said, his tone defensive. “If not for her, they would’ve had to lay off half the men. Not to mention she had to put her career on hold.”
“It’s okay, Matt,” Rachel said softly. “Ben didn’t mean anything. You were just as shocked when you found out, remember?”
“Hey.” Ben spread his hands. “I’m surprised, that’s all. I’m in the process of buying a ranch myself, out in California. But now you’ve got me nervous.”
Rachel and Matt both frowned. “What, and give up working in Hollywood?” Matt asked. “Dating hot women and walking the red carpet?”
Ben laughed. “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
Matt inclined his head at Rachel. “It’s not my fault. She looks up everybody.”
“I do not.” She lifted her chin, sending Ben back fifteen years. She’d always been an independent kid. “So you’re buying a ranch and giving up stunt work?”
“Eventually. But I’d still be in the business, so to speak. I plan to raise stock that I can supply to films and TV shoots. I’d train the animals, horses in particular, and work with them on the sets. Even commercial ads pay well. In Hollywood, it’s all about who you know, and I’m lucky in that department.”
“Snag a Super Bowl Ad. That’s got to be—” Rachel’s gaze shifted to something behind him. “You’re about to meet my friend Katy.”
“What took her so long?” Matt murmured, then responded to Rachel’s stink