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Austin didn’t doubt it. In fact, he was looking forward to it.
* * *
Austin had leftbefore the Tías did so he still didn’t know why Sofi felt online dating was the answer. Between him and the Tías, he knew she could have dates lined up for weeks. But maybe that was part of her motivation. She’d seemed excited to date outside of the pool she’d been in.
Maybe that’s what Austin needed as well. He had to admit his dating pool was feeling a little stale as of late.
But he would have to hold that though for now because Land, one of Austin’s younger brothers, appeared with a mare in their ranch’s training ring, so Austin turned his attention to them. This horse was beauty and power . . . and as stubborn as Austin had ever seen. But Land had a touch and Austin had the will. The mare would be trained one day.
Watching as she bucked against the bridle Land had put on her, Austin had to admit it would probably be a day far into the future.
“She still giving Land a hard time?” Logan, Austin’s oldest brother, asked as he came up beside Austin and leaned against the wooden post of the corral.
Austin looked ahead, knowing he didn’t have to give Logan an answer. The mare was speaking for herself.
“Did you give her a name yet?” Logan asked Austin as they watched the horse show off her raw strength, Land’s muscles distended as he strained to keep the horse under control.
“They’re waiting until she shows a personality trait beyond stubborn pain in the—” Memphis began as Logan shot their brother a warning look. Logan had begun to be much more strict about swearing on the ranch since his young and precocious soon-to-be stepdaughters started running around the place. They all knew if a bad word was said, surely one of those adorable youngsters would overhear and then probably teach it to all of their friends.
“The girls have surely heard the word—” Memphis tried again, but this time Logan reached out to shove him, causing their little brother to stumble backwards.
Both Austin and Memphis laughed at Logan’s hands-on style now that those little girls were involved with ranch life. They’d brought out a protectiveness in Logan that his brothers hadn’t ever seen. Even Holland, their baby sister, didn’t engender that kind of overbearing watchfulness. But Austin guessed that was what happened when one had daughters. Just one more reason he wouldn’t be having a wife or any kind of offspring for the foreseeable future—maybe ever. Yes, his brothers Logan and Jackson claimed falling in love was the best thing to ever happen to them, but all Austin saw was a bunch of responsibility as well as being tied to just one woman for the rest of his life. Hard pass, at least for now.
“Memphis, keep your giant yap shut,” Logan called after the man as he walked away from Austin and Logan, still chuckling. Despite the laughter, Austin knew Memphis would do just as their big brother asked. They all respected him too much not to do so, and honestly, those girls had all of the brothers watching out for them the way they would have Holland or their new cousin Madison, but it was still fun to give Logan a hard time.
“What they don’t hear can’t hurt ‘em,” Memphis called back as he walked backwards toward the barn.
“If I hear those girls using another word for butt, you’d better believe, Memphis . . . ” Logan let his words trail off. Probably unsure of how he would threaten that particular brother. Memphis seemed to care about so little these days. Austin would have been more worried if he didn’t kind of feel the same way. And he was fine. So surely Memphis was as well.
Logan and Austin’s attention went back to Land, who held the mare close, whispering to her, part of his process. The man was a genius with horses so none of the brothers ever questioned him, even when they didn’t quite understand what or why he did things the way that he did them.
“So you really didn’t name that mare?” Logan asked.
Austin shook his head. Their father had had a unique way of naming horses. He liked to observe some of their personality traits and then choose something that fit them. With so many horses on the ranch, that didn’t always happen—they had a Chestnut and a Praline like every other stable this side of the Mississippi—but for a horse as special as this mare, it seemed right to honor their father and do what he would have done.
“He’s still in every part of this place,” Logan said softly as he gazed around the land. His eyes swept the fields that belonged to the Ashfords, extending beyond the horizon, then moved to the barn to their left and the stable to their right before he turned to look at the house behind them.
Logan didn’t have to say whohewas. Austin focused on the mare and Land, unwilling to let his thoughts dwell on the man who should have still been there. Their father had been a force of nature with the kind of will that brought lesser men to their knees, yet he was gone. And the void he’d left behind still gaped, even after all this time.
Austin swallowed as he tried to get a grip on his emotions.
“He’d want us to remember him,” Logan added carefully, knowing he was going into territory where Austin didn’t want to join him.
“I know,” Austin said, his voice gruff. “And I do.”
Logan nodded, understanding that was all Austin could give him for now.
The brothers then stood in silence as Land rubbed the mare along her neck and then she bucked away so quickly and suddenly that Land nearly lost her reins.
Austin chuckled. He hadn’t seen a horse—or woman, for that matter—give Land this hard a time in years. It was kind of nice to see that his brother with a magic touch was still human.
“So Lake and I have been wedding planning.” Logan shared the news that wasn’t news to anyone. The wedding plans had been underway for months and although Lake was about as sweet and unassuming a bride as could be, their mother, Holland, Madison, Ruby, and anyone else helping to prepare for the big day never let the brothers forget that it was coming up. Right around the corner, as their mother liked to say while she roped her sons into lending their muscles to the preparations.
“You don’t say,” Austin replied, unable to let this perfect opportunity at sarcasm go.
Logan looked at Austin from under his furrowed brow of annoyance and Austin smothered a grin.
“We loved the musical number Jackson and the others put on at our engagement party, and . . . ” Logan’s voice trailed off because Austin was already shaking his head emphatically.
