Page 56 of Home to the Cowboy

“By Monday, I promise.”

When Barry ended the call, she texted Abby, asking her to please come earlier, she needed her help.

Abby arrived an hour early. June was dressed and ready for their night out and had her laptop out to show Abby the illustrations.

Abby gave her one look and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t decide what illustrator to pick, come and have a look.”

Abby grabbed her arm. “That’s not what I’m talking about. You look … wan.”

“I’ve put on blusher and …”

“… covered your freckles, I know, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I know you, June, something’s up. How was the rest of your communication with Dylan?”

June shrugged as she walked toward the table where she’d left her laptop. “I now know what kind of movies he likes and what music he listens to. We are complete opposites. Come and have a look at the illustrations.”

“Well, isn’t opposites attract a favorite trope romance authors use in their stories?”

“Exactly. In their stories. It’s not something that happens in the real world. Come on, help me decide.”

Fortunately, the illustrations fascinated Abby and within minutes she was scrolling through the artwork.

Rubbing her temple where a headache had been lingering since early this morning, June exhaled slowly. She didn’t want to talk about Dylan. If she did, she was going to cry, and heaven knew she’d cried enough over the man.

Chapter Eighteen

The moment Dylan stepped into Arlene’s house on Sunday for lunch, he sensed something was different. Everyone was there, the food was great, but the conversation around the table was strangely hushed.

“You know what’s going on?” Carson asked under his breath. He’d obviously also picked up on the strange atmosphere.

Dylan shook his head. “No idea.”

After lunch, Luke asked to be excused, he had a book to read. As he and the dogs left, Willow leaned forward. “Mom, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Folding her hands, Arlene looked at all of them. “I texted all of you about today, because I wanted to make sure you’d all be here. I should’ve told you much earlier about the fight your dad had with his brother. Looking back now, it sounds so ridiculous that two grown men, two brothers, allowed anything to come between them. It’s heartbreaking that they were so upset they divided the family ranch and never spoke to one another again instead of finding a way to move forward as family. I always thought it was best to leave the past in the past, to try and forget what happened. What I didn’t know, Dylan and Carson, was how the past affected your family all these years. For that I’m truly sorry.” Her voice wobbled.

“Mom,” Hayden said frowning. “If you don’t feel like talking …”

“No, Hayden, I should’ve said something a long time ago.”

Everyone fell quiet.

“We were all at school together. Everyone knew about the Weston boys, and most of the girls in school were in love with either Jackson or Grayson or with both of them. They were local football stars, way out of my league, I thought. Grayson asked me to a dance. After that we had a few dates before he took me to the ranch.”

“Where you met Dad,” Willow said.

Arlene nodded. “It was just one of those things. The moment I saw Jackson, I knew he was the one for me. Anyway, we all went our separate ways after school and it was only when both Jackson and Grayson were back on the ranch and I returned to Marietta after my studies and worked for the local chartered accountant, that Jackson and I started dating. I didn’t even know Grayson had a problem with it.

“At first, I didn’t know the details of what happened between them,” Arlene continued, “your dad just told me they were splitting up the ranch and he never wanted to talk about Grayson again. There were, of course, rumors. If anything, the gossip mills were even livelier back then. Apparently, they had a fight in the Wolf Den …”

“The Wolf Den!” Becket exclaimed, clearly surprised. “So that’s why we were never permitted to even enter the place.”

Dylan leaned back in his chair. The Wolf Den had always been a seedy joint, not a place he’d have thought his dad had ever visited.

Arlene nodded. “What exactly happened, I only discovered much later. Jackson refused to talk about it, and I stopped asking questions. When Grayson met your mother, Dylan and Carson, I tried again to talk to Jackson, hoping the brothers would forget their fight and make up. But that never happened. And then a few years after your parents were married, your mother heard certain things about the fight and confronted me.” Sighing, she rubbed her neck.

Hayden touched his mother’s hand. “Mom, you really don’t have to do this.”