Lyle shot him a look. Because he’d just be thinking very similar thoughts and he felt testy. “Don’t you have a dude ranch to run?”
Mike shrugged, walking into the barn and throwing an arm around Lyle’s shoulders. “Sure, but watching you squirm is way more interesting.”
Lyle sighed, brushing Mike off playfully. “Go burn some chili why don’t you?”
“Careful,” Mike teased, heading toward the back of the barn where the dude ranch’s overflow food pantry was located. “I’ve got my eye on you, little brother. Just remember—when Heather Prescott sets a barn on fire around here, it won’t be from training dogs.”
Lyle chuckled, shaking his head as Mike disappeared, but the humor faded quickly as he glanced back to where Heather had been just moments ago. Mike wasn’t wrong—there was something dangerous about the spark she lit inside of him. But he had enough chaos to handle with Charlotte, and the last thing he needed was to get tangled up in something he couldn’t control.
Still, as he walked back to check on Charlotte and finish closing up the barn for the evening, one thing had become crystal clear. Heather Prescott was no longer his best friend’s off-limits little sister.
And despite himself, he was interested.
Later that evening, a faint electronic hum filled the Watkins’ kitchen as Joe sat at the table, laptop glowing and meticulous spreadsheets magnified on the screen. Mike was polishing the counters, the lingering aroma of chili still in the air.
“I noticed you high-tailed it out to the barn when Heather showed up. Keeping tabs on Lyle?” Mike asked over his shoulder, watching Joe’s steady hands move over the keyboard.
Joe didn’t look up, his voice calm and measured as always. “Maybe. Noticed you moseyed on out there too.”
Mike smirked. “You’re not the only one who can act on curiosity. Heather’s a hell of a good-looking woman.”
Again, Joe didn’t bother to look up. “Lyle’s always had a soft spot for her. And now she’s all grown up.”
Mike’s grin widened. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Joe finally sat back. “For Lyle? No. But if Heather gets her heart wrapped up in him and he decides to bolt again, we’ll have more than hurt feelings to clean up. Mark my words—there’s more fire between them than either of them realizes yet.”
Mike leaned on the counter, amused. “Oh, so you are meddling.”
Joe shrugged one shoulder. “No more than you. You know he’s only home because he made a promise to Jeff and Sherry.”
Mike sobered and he nodded. “He’ll settle. And speaking of home, we need to find time this week to go over the quarterly expansions. The dude ranch’s guest list is growing. We’re going to need to think about hiring more help soon. Branching out.”
Joe gave a quiet nod. “Tomorrow morning. After sunrise.” He turned his laptop off, placed the spreadsheets he’d printed into a folder, and stood, his tone dropping into something more thoughtful as he glanced toward the hallway where Charlotte’s room was. “For now let’s make sure our little family doesn’t fall apart.”
Mike let the gravity sit between them for a moment before clapping Joe once on the shoulder. “We’ll hold it together, brother. We’ve always been better together than apart.”
2
The late afternoon sun slipped low in the sky, slanting golden light across the Watkins ranch and painting long shadows over the rolling fields. Lyle pulled his worn Stetson off his head and wiped at the line of sweat under his hairline. The barn cat darted past his boots, a streak of gray fur, as Charlotte ran along behind it, giggling loudly enough to make Lyle’s heart ease a little.
It wasn’t much, but her laugh was a piece of the puzzle he’d been trying to solve every day since that shattered night he got the phone call. He didn’t know whether it was normal grief for a little girl her age or something deeper, but each time her laughter echoed across the ranch, it felt like he’d done something right, even if he didn’t know what that something was.
Joe came sauntering out of the main house, a mason jar of lemonade in hand. His brother had that easy, calculated energy that made everyone around him look like they were running sprints while he played a chess game ten moves ahead.
“Admit it, you’ve turned into a full-out Texan again,” Joe said, leaning back against the fence with a grin.
“Don’t know that I left Texas so much as Texas left me alone for a bit,” Lyle replied, his voice carrying a trace of amusement. His easy-going tone didn’t betray the weight pressing down on his shoulders—the ranch, Charlotte, his veterinary work, and the strange, persistent pull whenever Heather’s green-eyed gaze flashed through his mind. Blame it on the way she’d burst into the barn two days ago or the fact that her chaotic energy had lit up the otherwise business-as-usual afternoon, but he hadn’t stopped thinking about that moment.
Joe narrowed his eyes. “You’ll settle back in, little brother. Always do. And speaking of settling back in… you’re gonna want to tread careful with that Heather Prescott situation.”
Lyle shot him a look, half-annoyed, half-incredulous. “First of all, there isn’t a ‘Heather Prescott situation.’”
“Mmm-hmm,” Joe said, his grin widening as he took a long pull from the lemonade. “That why you were leaning on every word out of her mouth when you were oh-so-carefully treating her dog?”
“Joe, I swear, you’ve got more fanciful ideas about people than old man Clyde has about rain patterns,” Lyle said, though his irritation wasn’t enough to keep a small smile from breaking through.
“Imagined or not,” Joe said, lowering his voice slightly, as though what he was about to say might sneak up on someone other than just Lyle, “just don’t get in too deep unless you’re planning on staying this time.”
