When she came back, she’d run out of excuses. She’d put it off long enough. She had to do it. She had to tell Jace she decided they shouldn’t see each other again.
9
It wasn’t that simple. She knew she’d have to see him. As he said last year, they’d always be a part of each other’s lives. Her sister, his brother, their baby. There wasn’t any way around it.
At least for the time being, it would be easy. She’d be here for another year, and then she’d leave Colorado. It was a decision she made before she left Idaho, before she said goodbye to Red and promised to come back as soon as she could. That was step one, at least for now. After her year at the academy was up, she planned to return to Idaho and make a life for herself there.
She and Jace might see each other occasionally. Maybe holidays, if he could get away from the ranch in Montana. Otherwise, she’d make herself scarce if she knew he was in town.
They’d both done what they needed to do. She mourned Zack. It wasn’t as though grieving ended, she understood that. But she’d made progress. She was no longer in denial; that was the main hurdle she’d overcome.
And Jace? He’d reconciled with his brother, and they were in Crested Butte together, arranging to make a deal to partner with their cousins in rough stock contracting on the Flying R Ranch.
Blythe told her about the plan. She and Jace hadn’t talked yet. They’d left messages for each other, but hadn’t connected.
The contracting deal had been an easy one to make. Billy had laid the groundwork before they arrived. The initial idea behind the partnership changed, though. Rather than Ben Rice and his brothers going into business with Billy, Jace and his parents, Tucker was added as a partner in the new venture too.
There were barns and a practice pen already in place at the ranch. They’d need to add fencing strong enough to manage the bulls, front and back chutes, and a few other things, but it wouldn’t take them long to get the Crested Butte operation running at full capacity.
“Lotta babies around here,” Jace said to Billy during dinner at Ben and Liv’s.
“Another one comin’.”
“Oh, yeah? You and Irene been breedin’?”
“That’s a damn crass way to put it, Rice, but yeah, we’re havin’ a baby ’bout eight months from now. And you know, everybody but you calls her Renie. Hearin’ you call her Irene…”
Jace understood without the words needing to be said. Whenever he called her something other than Renie, it was a reminder of when Jace had believed he was in love with her. It probably reminded Billy of the same thing. “Congratulations,” he said. “This is big news, ’specially for somebody as old as you are.”
Billy scowled at him, then shook his head, and his scowl turned into a grin. “Gotta give Willow a little brother or sister before she gets too big to wanna play with ’em.”
Willow was Billy’s daughter with another woman who had passed away. Jace heard that Renie adopted the little girl soon after she and Billy were married.
Jace looked over to where Renie played with Willow. Ben and Liv’s baby girl, Caden, and Cochran were playing too. Willow was a little older than the other two, but they were close enough in age that they would grow up as playmates and friends.
Jace wondered if he’d ever have kids of his own. He hoped so. Maybe even one day soon. He wasn’t getting any younger himself—in just a few months, he and Tucker would turn thirty.
He walked out to the front porch and hit redial on his phone. He and Bree had been playing phone tag, and he needed to talk to her.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he said when she answered.
“Jace, how are you?”
“Better now that I hear your voice. It’s been too long since I have.”
“Where are you?”
“At Ben and Liv’s. They hosted dinner for the crew. Did Blythe pass on the news ’bout the deal we got goin’ down here?”
“She did, and congratulations. Not just about that. I’m so happy you and Tucker have worked things out.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I can’t believe I haven’t talked to you about it. I sure have wanted to.”
When she didn’t answer, Jace wondered if their call had dropped.
“Bree? You still there?”
“I’m here, but I’m awfully tired, Jace. Can we talk more tomorrow?”