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This girl died for our ranch. Charlie will never get over it.
And I will never forget it.
Ruby grabs on tight to my arm when I release her. “I’ve never seen it like this, Davis.” Her wide-eyed gaze takes in the place. “The lodge. It’s so empty.”
I chuckle, leaning back and bracing my hands on the bar. “You’re back right in time. Get the ranch in shape before summer.”
Ruby flexes her fingers. “I’m ready to do my social media darndest.”
Ford wiggles his brows. “Fairy Tale gonna save the day again?”
“Don’t need to,” I say pointedly. “Business is good.”
According to our projections, the lodge is booked for the next two years. And we only have Ruby to thank. After a social media scandal rocked the ranch last year, it was dumb luck that Charlie met Ruby, a social media influencer, and enlisted her help. WithRuby’s connections, the ranch took off like a rocket and never looked back.
But it almost didn’t happen.
When Declan Valiante, a ruthless developer turned politician, set fire to our barn in an attempt to take down our ranch, Ruby was hurt.
She almost didn’t make it.
And it would have ended our brother.
I’ll never forget the sound he made when Ruby wouldn’t wake up. That primal, keening wail haunts my memories.
“Left hand still getting used to that ring?” Ford asks Charlie, dipping behind the bar to pull out a bottle of Irish Whiskey.
Charlie lifts his hand, flashing silver, and a big grin. “Day I put it on.”
“You want breakfast?” Wyatt asks, shoving a donut in front of my face.
I knock his hand away. “Donuts aren’t breakfast.” Reckless, loud and smart mouthed, Wyatt’s sole purpose in life is to try my damn sanity.
“Same ole protein shake every day of the week, Davis, ain’t no way to live.”
“My way,” I grunt. Dependable. Healthy.
I sit down on a barstool, content to take in my brothers.
“How was Georgia? You survive Mama Belle?” I ask Ruby, temporarily forgetting about the itch to move, to get to the gym.
“I survived,” she says, giving her husband a look. She giggles. “I’m not sure Charlie did.”
My brother groans and drags a hand down his beard. “Dealin’ with Mama is a damn exercise in patience.”
Ruby laughs and shoves at his arm as Charlie pulls her in close. “It wasn’t so bad.” She smiles at the room. “But I’m glad to be back where we belong.”
I glance at Charlie and study the dopey grin on his face. Watch the way he follows around the delicate girl who stole his heart last summer.
Fuck, but I’m glad for him. He deserves it.
He’s finally back. Whole. Sober. Alive.
A memory of Wyatt calling me at the Marine bunkhouse pops into my mind. “Charlie ain’t gonna make it, D,” he had said tearfully. “He’s putting whiskey on his goddamn corn flakes.”
Real fear had hit me then. My brother was going to fall drunk off a roof before he got over Maggie. Because I wasn’t fucking there. I was overseas, recuperating after a special-ops mission with my team had gone to shit. Emergency leave was non-negotiable. I was stuck.
So, I took a bullet on purpose.
