Even if I was slowly disappearing.
I pressed my head back against the couch and closed my eyes.
“You can do this,” I whispered to the darkness.
But I wasn’t sure I believed it.
Chapter 5
LEIGH
The text came Monday morning while I was still in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about the disaster at the bar.
Booker: Hey Leigh. You free this afternoon? We want to show you something at the ranch.
I stared at my phone. The ranch. Second Chance Ranch, where Booker and Reece lived and worked. Where they rehabilitated horses and people. It sounded like something you only read about and it still blew my mind that I was related to people who went to such lengths to do good in the world.
Leigh: What time?
Booker: Two? We’ll all be there.
All. Meaning all four brothers. My stomach flipped, but not with the dread I’d expected. Yesterday at the farm had been overwhelming, but it had also been... good. They’d been kind. Welcoming. Like they actually wanted me there.
Leigh: I’ll be there. Can you send me the address?
Booker: Already sent it to your mom. See you then.
I set the phone down and dragged myself out of bed. Mom was in the kitchen making coffee when I came downstairs, and she looked up with that careful expression she’d been wearing since we arrived.
“Morning. Sleep okay?”
“Fine.” I poured myself coffee. “Booker texted. They want me to come to the ranch this afternoon.”
Her face brightened. “That’s wonderful! All of them?”
“That’s what he said.” I took a sip, the warmth spreading through me. “I don’t know what they want to show me, though.”
“Does it matter?” She smiled. “They’re making an effort. That’s what counts.”
She was right. I just wished my stomach would stop twisting itself into knots.
#
The drive to Second Chance Ranch took about twenty minutes from Jasper’s house. The property was massive, with white fencing stretching in every direction, paddocks with horses grazing, and several large barns dotting the landscape. I could see the beginnings of a house being built in the distance and what I assumed were the cottages they’d had built for the people coming here for help.
“This is beautiful,” Mom said as we pulled up the long drive.
It really was. Open and peaceful, with mountains visible in the distance. The kind of place that made you want to breathe deeper, slow down.
Four trucks were parked outside the main barn. My brothers’ trucks, I assumed, since I’d seen them at the farm yesterday.
My hands were sweating. Ridiculous. These were just four guys who happened to share DNA with me. Nothing to be nervous about.
Except they weren’t just four guys. They were my brothers. And I wanted them to like me so desperately it hurt, and I wasn’t even sure why that was.
“You want me to come in?” Mom asked.
“No. I think...” I took a breath. “I think this is something I need to do alone.”
