Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Rebel

“Fuck off, Jesse,” Joel ordered.

The slam of another bale smacking into the bed of the pickup truck below rang like a warning klaxon in the silence that followed. Jesse glanced over one final time, then deliberately turned his back and returned to dropping bales.

Joel led her to the ladder and went down first. Vicki glanced over her shoulder to see Jesse staring after her, anger in his eyes, frustration and…a touch of sadness?

She swallowed hard and faced the wall. It wasn’t her place to make him happy. In fact, she couldn’t understand how the two brothers had turned out to be so different from each other. Guilt poked her even as she admitted she wanted nothing further to do with Jesse.

If she weren’t in the picture, would they be able to patch things up?

Falling in love wasn’t supposed to hurt this hard.

Twenty-one candles crowded the surface of the cake. Vicki stared, not so much in shock at the number of them, but at the entire celebration raging around her.

The Colemans had insisted on hosting her a birthday party.

“You need help?” Robbie leaned harder against her leg. He’d basically jumped her the moment she and Joel had walked into the big ranch house. Joel raised a brow, but said nothing when Robbie determinedly separated their linked fingers so he could take control and tug Vicki off.

And now, after the meal was over, she still had a cling-on by her side.

“I can help, if you’d like. I’m a good candle blower-outer.”

Beth laid a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Let Vicki have some of the fun, okay?”

“I don’t mind.” Vicki smiled at the little guy. She stopped herself before sharing she’d never blown out candles before, deciding last second her lack of experience wasn’t worth bringing up. She was getting the chance now, no matter that the occasion was bittersweet.

She’d done it, Joel and her. She still didn’t love the beasties, but she was comfortable enough around horses to survive the summer.

She left in just over two weeks.

Little fingers poked her arm. “You making a wish or somethin’?”

Vicki nodded. “I am. You ready to help me?”

Beth caught Robbie as he shoved himself too far forward. “Whoa there, mister, you don’t need to be kissing the cake to do your job.”

Laughter curled around the clan, and in spite of not having made a wish, Vicki leaned forward and blew.

Besides, there was only one wish in her heart these days.

The enthusiastic helper at her side probably took out most of the skinny candles, but she did see a couple flames waver and extinguish after she aimed their direction. All except one, which flickered then roared back to full potency.

She drew a breath to try again then paused, surprised by the chorus of whistles and catcalls that broke out. Lots of grinning faces greeted her, Joel being jabbed in the ribs good-naturedly by Blake.

What the heck?

One quick tug and she had Robbie’s full attention. “Why are they laughing?”

He pointed his finger at the still-burning candle. “You missed one. That means you got a boyfriend.”

Her gaze shot to meet Joel’s, and he smiled, sweet and sexy at the same time. Her heart broke a tiny bit further even as she soaked in the experience.

“Well,” she said to the group at large. “I guess I do.”

Cake and ice cream consumed, the crowd sauntered outside to take in the fresh spring air.

“Thankfully the winter was short.” Hope leaned her elbows on the railing and watched the nephews kick a soccer ball around the yard. Nearby, Blake and Jaxi’s nearly two-year-old twins were pretending to be horses, whinnying and pawing the ground with their feet. “Damn, those kids are cute. There should be a law against it.”

“Makes you want some of your own?” Vicki wasn’t ready for kids, no matter how cute they were.

Hope shrugged. “I think I’m immune for a few years. There’s still a lot of things Matt and I want to do before we start a family, especially with the shop finally making some money instead of sucking my savings dry.”

“Kids are fun, but yeah, not something to rush into.” Jaxi stroked the soft curls of the baby held against her chest in a cotton hammock contraption.

Vicki glanced over her shoulder at the truck pulling into the yard. “More company?”

“Karen.”

Once again guilt hit. Joel knew her time was limited, but they hadn’t shared that with the rest of the family yet. He had told her to wait. He’d obviously been in on the plans for the birthday party and probably didn’t want to blow the surprise with announcements she would shortly disappear.

A group split apart to greet Karen. The woman expertly backed the horse trailer into position at the gate one paddock over from where the kids played. She jumped from the truck cab and waved, pulling on a pair of gloves as she walked to the trailer door.

Hope wandered off toward the guys while Jaxi shifted position as well, moving closer to where her girls continued to laugh and play, ignoring the grown-up action.

Vicki caught herself smiling at their antics as she turned back to focus on Joel. “New horses?”

Joel lingered at her side, his hand resting on her lower back as he propped himself against the railing. “One. Dad bought a stud at auction last week, and Karen offered to pick him up when she grabbed the couple the Whiskey Creek clan purchased.”

Vicki leaned into his touch, watching as the trailer was opened. Movement showed through the open windows as the horse shuffled position. The sound of his discontent in being enclosed escaped, stomping hooves and other more vocal complaints.

It was incredible to think she could be here, experiencing this. Because of the things Joel had done, the things he’d taught her. The way all of the family had taken her in.

Except one.

She looked around the yard, not wanting to bring up the sore spot, but curious if Jesse had cut and run for the day or if he would show up at some point to make his obvious displeasure clear.

“He’s gone.”

Vicki glanced up.

Joel’s arm was around Vicki but his focus remained on the action by the horse trailer. “If you’re looking for my sad-assed twin, he left a message he had something really important to do this weekend, and he’ll be back when he gets back.”

Guilt. Strong and powerful. “I’m so sorry—”

“Stop it.” She had all his attention now. Joel cupped her cheeks and kissed her hard before capturing her gaze, the blue in his eyes reflecting the spring sky. “Remember? We’ve had this conversation. His actions are his responsibility. You’ve done nothing wrong, so ignore him. His loss, anyway, he missed some awesome cake and ice cream.”

She forced a smile because he was right. This was—

A terrible metallic screech sounded, jerking their attention to the trailer. Karen’s truck rolled forward, shuddering to a stop a few feet from where it had begun. The ramp Karen was guiding the horse down bounced unsteadily, and she threw out her hands to catch her balance.

The horse spooked, lurching upright on the lead rope she held and lifting her feet off the ground.

“Shit.” Joel took off at a dead run, little puffs of dust rising from under his boots.

Blake and Mike moved into position to help when a loud gun-like blast rang out, and the horse freaked further. He lowered his head and stormed forward, pivoting as soon as he’d cleared the roof of the trailer. Karen clung to the rope, but she was holding a wild beast.

With a space open between the ramp and the gate, the animal was set on escape. He spun, and this time Karen flew free, arms spread, legs wide. She landed with a sickening crash half-on, half-off the ramp, her cry of pain sharp and bitter.