Amy awoke the next morning feeling light-headed. For the second night in a row, she’d gotten very little sleep and it was starting to take its toll on her. She rolled out of bed, had a quick breakfast with her parents, Diego and Jose, and then asked to borrow Diego’s keys.
“What, you aren’t going to stick around here and have quality time with your brothers?” Jose demanded.
“I’m helping Jack practice roping to stay in shape until he finds a new partner,” she told him.
Jose seemed about to say something, but Diego put a hand on his twin’s shoulder and Jose quieted down. Amy thought, not for the first time, that Jose really shouldn’t be allowed out in the world without Diego nearby to balance him out. “You never let me have any fun, you know,” she heard Jose whisper to Diego, who took no notice of his brother.
“I’ll be back in a few hours, and we can do quality time then,” Amy said, ignoring their interaction. Jose shook his head dramatically. “Too little too late, sister. And I was going to tell you where Ma hides the soda pop.”
Diego rolled his eyes. “It’s in the fridge. Have a good time, Ames.”
Amy waved goodbye to him over her shoulder as she walked out.
Her morning at the Stuarts was much the same as before, except for two things: one, she could hardly lift her right arm to shoulder height and had to practice without an actual rope in her hand, and two, the mood of each person in the Stuart household had changed, though they all seemed to be taking pains to hide it. Tom was certainly happier, more relaxed, and Jack couldn’t completely conceal how at a loss he felt.
Amy’s heart ached for Jack. He’d always held tightly to his dream, had been so sure as a young man that he would be able to reach his goals. Now he was faced with giving them up completely, and Amy could tell it hurt him badly.
Amy also had a selfish reason for not wanting Stuart Ranch to sell. If Jack left Spring Valley for good, would that destroy even the tiny chance that they might be able to make something work between them? As it was, his time on the rodeo circuit and her travels, let alone the baggage and other difficulties that lay between them, made a relationship seemed laughably impossible. Take away Spring Valley, the one connection they really had, and it seemed there was no hope at all.
She tried hard not to think about it, but it was clear she and Jack were both preoccupied, and she almost felt relief when they finally called an end to the practice session.
As Amy and Jack brushed down the horses, Jack brought up a topic she hadn’t even thought of since his news the previous night. “So, have you thought about how you’re going to get to Austin on Wednesday?”
It took Amy a moment to remember why she was going to Austin, and then a burst of some combination of emotions too complex to name flowed through her. She was going to be meeting her half sister in just a few days. “I—I guess I’ll just borrow Pop’s truck for the day,” she said, not really liking the answer.
If she borrowed the truck, she’d feel obligated to explain why, and Amy just didn’t know if she was ready to talk about it with her adopted family yet.
“How about I drive you instead?” Jack asked.
Amy looked up at him in surprise, but before she could protest, he added, “I should go in anyway to get the property listed with some Realtors. And you never know, you might need someone around.”
She was still about to insist she could handle it on her own when he looked into her eyes and made her arguments for her. “I know you’ve thought a lot about this, and I know you can take care of yourself whatever happens, but you shouldn’t have to.”
Amy closed her mouth, took a moment to let this thought settle in her mind. She was so used to relying on only herself in every situation that it seemed odd to need someone else, but it also gave her a sense of comfort. Finally, she agreed. “That would be nice. Thanks.”
She grasped his hand and felt the familiar rush of electricity through her veins. She couldn’t know where this would go, but she knew that for the moment she was happy.
When Amy arrived home a short while later, Jose and Diego were sitting in the living room arguing over something. They stopped when she arrived, but she could feel the tension between them. “What’s going on?” she asked as she sunk into the old couch.
Jose rolled his eyes. “Diego has no vision and wants to keep us living at the poverty line instead of believing in me,” he said.
Amy looked over to Diego, who seemed just as irritated, though without the sarcastic edge Jose employed. “Our business is just getting off the ground, and I’m sorry if I don’t think now’s the time to start putting what little money we’ve made into other ventures, even if some guy you know told you it was a ‘sure thing,’” Diego retorted.
Amy felt a sort of guilty happiness that the twins were so caught up in their own lives that they would hopefully avoid asking about her own. Between her lunch with her half sister, guilt about Jack losing his ranch, and the confusing nature of her relationship with Jack, everything felt like a land mine she wasn’t prepared to discuss. Better to talk about the two of them and their issues rather than hers. And maybe she could even help them somehow.
“What is this ‘sure thing’?” she asked Jose.
“It shouldn’t really matter,” he answered, “at least not to a brother who’s supposed to trust me.”
With that, Jose stood and walked out of the room. Diego sighed and dropped back against the couch. “Sometimes he can be such a pain in the ass,” he told Amy.
Amy shrugged. “Yeah, but I don’t think that’ll be changing anytime soon.”
Diego nodded. “And, as usual, he’s going to get his way. He knows I’ll let him take the money if he pushes hard enough.”
Amy agreed. They all knew Diego and Jose well enough by now to know how they worked. “How’s your rodeo stock business going?” she asked, trying to understand the situation a little better.
He sighed again, making it clear that it wasn’t exactly pleasant territory, either. “We’re making enough to survive,” he said.
That sounded like a big red flag to Amy. “Are you enjoying it?”
Diego didn’t answer. Before Amy could ask another question, Jose was back with a cup of soda, his grin settled into its normal position on his face. “Sorry about that,” he told both of his siblings. “This is something we can figure out later, Diego. I’m only here through tonight, and I don’t want to spend it arguing when I can pry into my sister’s life instead.”
Before Amy could process what he’d said, Jose set his glass down on the coffee table, flopped onto the couch and put an arm around her. “So, Ames, how are things with you and Jack? Starting up the old flame? Is it love?”
Amy wasn’t sure if Jose was teasing her, genuinely curious, or just trying to irritate Diego, but now she was stuck, and she knew Jose would refuse to take “no comment” as an answer. She shuddered to think of the mayhem Jose might cause if she didn’t satisfy his curiosity at least a little bit.
“Jack and I,” she began, choosing her words with care, “are trying to find out who we are after all these years.”
Jose looked unimpressed. “That’s it? No declarations of love and lifelong happiness? At least tell me one of you has proposed a secret elopement in one of those weird foreign countries you love so much.”
An image of her and Jack walking along a beach, her long white wedding dress trailing in the sand, made her heart jump before she quashed the thought.
If she let herself dream like that and it didn’t come true, Amy wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to recover. After all, she knew better than anyone that a good start to a relationship didn’t mean things would end well at all. It was just best not to dream at all.
“Nope,” Amy said, to both herself and Jose. “We’re just dating. Kind of. Casually,” she emphasized, even though she knew there was nothing casual about the way Jack looked at her.
Or about the way she looked at Jack, for that matter.
Amy wanted desperately to change the topic, but the only other thing in her mind was meeting her half sister, and—
And why couldn’t she talk about that with Jose and Diego, her brothers who were also adopted?
They always felt like such close siblings to her, she often forgot they were adopted, too, despite their differences. Brock was technically adopted as well, but Ma and Pop were his biological aunt and uncle. He’d lived with his real parents until they died when he was eight. If anyone in the family would understand her situation, it would be the twins.
Suddenly, she was bursting to talk to them about what only minutes before she’d been carefully keeping to herself. She took a deep breath and went for it. “Hey, have you guys ever thought about your family?”
“If you’re accusing us of not coming home enough,” Jose answered, crossing his arms, “that’s a lot of talk from a woman who only comes home—”
“No, Jose,” Amy said, cutting him off. “Your family. Your biological family.”
“Oh, that,” Jose said, settling back into the couch and putting his feet up. “Nope. Who needs ’em?”
Amy felt a rush of disappointment. Was she the only one who was curious about her real parents, her other siblings?
“Jose,” Diego said, his voice quietly disapproving, “This is Amy. We can tell her.”
Jose waved a hand in the air, as if to say Diego could do whatever he liked, but he wasn’t going to participate. Amy turned to Diego and waited.
“When we turned eighteen,” he told her, his voice hushed, as if he was afraid someone was going to overhear, “we dug into our adoption papers and found our parents’ names. We found them and tried to contact them.”
Amy was nearly breathless, waiting to hear what they’d found. And amazed she didn’t know about this. Where had she been?
But she knew the answer to that. She’d been away at college, hiding from Jack and dealing with the loss of her picture-perfect future. So focused on herself that she hadn’t been around as her brothers grappled with growing up and finding out who they were, where they were from.
“Anyway, it didn’t go well,” Diego finished quickly, leaning back on the couch himself to show his story was complete.
Amy waited another few seconds, sure he wouldn’t just leave it at that. “That’s all you’re going to tell me?” she asked.
“What else is there to say?” Jose countered, standing up. “They didn’t want us when we were born and they didn’t want us as adults, except maybe as a way to get money, somehow.” With that, he stalked out of the room for the second time in ten minutes.
Amy watched him go, not sure what to say. “He was the one who really wanted to find them,” Diego explained to her once Jose was gone. “It hit him hard that they weren’t interested in us.”
Amy’s heart broke for her little brother who always seemed so happy and carefree. Diego had warned her that he had difficulties of his own, but this was her first real glimpse at one. What other burdens was he carrying under that smile?
“Why did you want to know?” Diego asked, taking her attention from the empty doorway. “Have you been doing some searching of your own?”
“A woman from California emailed me,” she confessed. “She’s my half sister, apparently. I’m meeting her Wednesday for lunch.”
Diego nodded encouragingly. “That sounds like a better start than we had. I’m sure it’ll go well, and we’re here for you if you need us, you know.”
Amy hugged her brother tight. Then he stood. “I better go find Jose and tell him he can have the money for his ‘sure thing’ scheme. That’ll put him in a better mood.”
Before he made it to the door, though, Amy had one more question for him: “Did you talk to Ma and Pop about looking for your parents?”
Diego shook his head. “I think they would’ve been supportive, but we didn’t want to do that to them, you know?”
Amy nodded. She knew. Diego walked out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Amy spent the rest of the evening, and the better part of the following day, only able to half focus on the people and places around her. The only time she was able to truly be in the moment were the few hours she spent on a horse roping with Jack.
Now that her meeting with her half sister felt real and was looming so near, it engulfed her. What if she had more family out there, a whole tribe of people she’d never met? What if she came away from all this as disappointed as Jose was? Or what if she found another family who was loving, who wanted her to be a part of their lives?
And she also had so many questions about Maryanne and the information she held. How were they similar, and what traits did Amy have that she got from her mother, their common parent? Did Maryanne know their mother, or was she adopted, too?
Amy suddenly wished she’d spent more time emailing this woman before agreeing to meet. She was going into this with so many questions.
Wednesday morning, as she buckled herself into Jack’s truck, Amy had a quick moment of panic and started to think it might be best if she called the whole thing off. Before she could say anything to that effect, though, Jack leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to all be fine, I know it,” he said, his voice quiet and soothing.
She looked at him and her heart calmed a little. So long as he was nearby, it would be.
* * *
JACK DROVE THE two hours to Austin keeping up a continual stream of conversation, trying to keep Amy’s nerves from getting the better of her. As relaxed as he sounded, he had his own knot of anxiety in his stomach. He could hardly imagine what a big deal this was for her, and his sympathy made him feel itchy with the need to make it better. But for the moment, there was nothing he could do but be there in the truck with her.
At last, they entered the city, and Jack thought with relief that it would all be over soon, for better or worse. He heard Amy’s phone ding and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She stared at her phone for a long while, and it didn’t take long for him to see that something was wrong. Jack pulled into a parking lot, cut the engine, and turned to Amy.
“She can’t make our lunch,” Amy said, still not taking her eyes from her phone. “Work stuff came up at the conference and she won’t be able to get away. And she’s leaving for California this afternoon, so we can’t reschedule.”
Amy looked up then, and the disappointment in her eyes cut him to the quick. “She says she’s really, really sorry,” Amy finished quietly.
Jack unbuckled his seat belt and pulled Amy tight against him. “She should be sorry,” he said, angry on her behalf.
After a minute of silence, Amy pulled away and sat back in her seat. She wasn’t crying, but she still seemed upset. “Things happen, I guess. I hope you don’t mind me hanging around while you meet with Realtors,” she said.
Jack shook his head as he started the truck’s engine. “No, we’re heading back to Spring Valley. I can do all that online.”
For a second, he thought she would argue, or maybe if he was lucky she would say something sarcastic. Instead she just agreed, lay back against the headrest and closed her eyes.
The ride home was quiet, and even when Jack asked Amy if she’d like to stop for lunch, she did no more than shake her head.
As they got close to Spring Valley, Amy became more animated. “I’m feeling much better. Sorry about that back there. I was just startled and needed a little while to process the change. But really, I’m fine now.”
Jack wasn’t sure he believed her, but he nodded. “How about I take you home for a little while, and then we go out to dinner? I could use another lava cake, and I sure would like to see that blue dress again. Or something else. Or nothing at all, if you like,” he said, hoping for a laugh or an eye roll.
Amy pinched her lips together, the only hint he got that she was at all amused. “Lava cake sounds good,” she said, but she didn’t sound very excited.
When they were parked in front of the McNeal house once again, Jack turned to her. “Would you like me to come inside with you?”
Amy gave him a small smile and shook her head. “I’m going to take a nap. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I think a little rest is the thing I need most right now.”
Jack watched her walk into the house, but didn’t start his truck. He could see how disappointed she was, and he knew he needed to do something to help. He was pretty sure there was a way. There was the chance, of course, that it would blow up in his face and make her absolutely furious.
But he’d take that risk if it might give her some comfort.
* * *
AMY AWOKE SLOWLY, feeling a little groggy but better. She was surprised how the loss of the chance to meet her biological sibling hit her so hard, and she told herself for the fiftieth time or so that she had plenty of family, and she could always keep emailing Maryanne to get answers to her questions. It didn’t make the cloud hanging over her dissipate entirely, but she knew it would in time.
It took Amy several seconds to realize she was hearing voices downstairs, and that one of those voices was Jack’s.
What’s Jack doing here? she wondered. Was it already time for their date?
A quick glance at her phone confirmed it was still too early for that, so she got out of bed and went to investigate. Jack was sitting with Ma and Pop at the dining table, drinking coffee. When she walked in, they all looked up at her. She waited for them to explain what was going on, even though she was pretty sure she could guess based on the slightly guilty look on Jack’s face.
It didn’t take long. Ma and Pop both stood and engulfed her in a big hug. “We’re so sorry about what happened today, sweetie,” Ma said as she squeezed Amy so hard she could barely breathe.
Amy looked at Jack for confirmation that he’d told them. He gave her an apologetic shrug, but before she could process his decision to tell her parents without her permission, Pop spoke. “We think you should go to California next weekend and meet your sister. Get your questions answered. We’ll help any way we can.”
Ma nodded. “And I think I should go with you. For moral support and all. Or to break down her door if need be.”
Amy hugged her family tight and, after a minute, threw Jack a look she hoped he’d be able to interpret. It was gratitude. She knew he was trying so hard to give her what she needed, even if it meant she left for days when they already had so little time together.
Fewer than four weeks.
Jack stood, tipped his hat at her and mouthed be back at seven before taking his leave.
Amy allowed herself to be shuttled into a chair and given coffee while Ma and Pop discussed precisely what would need to happen in order for this California trip to be a success.
“The first thing that we should do is email this Maryanne to let her know we’ll be there in ten days—you will, won’t you dear?”
It took a second for Amy to realize a response was required of her, and she thought for a moment. Was this what she wanted?
The devastation from a few hours ago made the answer clear. She had to know. “I’ll email her right now,” Amy said decisively.
The excitement that had disappeared in such a flash a few hours before began building again. And it was all because of Jack.
After a couple hours of planning and an enthusiastic response from Maryanne to Amy’s carefully worded email, Amy dressed for dinner and was at the door when Jack arrived, running down to him before he even had a chance to park.
As she climbed into the truck, he glanced at her sheepishly. “Sure you still want to go out with me?”
In response, Amy leaned over and gave him a big kiss full on his mouth. Then she smiled. “Thank you. Because of you, I’ll be meeting my sister after all. What made you decide to talk to them?”
Jack looked relieved. “I was half sure you’d hate me for telling your parents about it, but I thought they could help you in ways I couldn’t. And I was hoping you’d decide that they deserved to know and would forgive me eventually,” he said.
Amy grimaced a little as she heard her own advice being used on her. “I should have told them days ago. I’m just embarrassed I needed you to do it for me. And while I’m not sure I like being saved, it’s rather nice to have a knight in shining armor ready to rescue me.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever needed someone to rescue you. I was just trying to help in the only way I could,” he told her.
Amy felt the tears prick in her eyes. How could he make her feel so loved and cared for in just a few sentences? Best of all, she knew he was being honest, that she could trust him. For the first time in weeks, when Armand’s face popped into her head, she was able to shake him off as easily as a horse’s tail shooing a fly. He had no place in this thing with her and Jack.
Jack cranked the engine, leaning back after it began to purr. “Should we go get some dinner?” he asked.
Amy agreed and settled back into the passenger seat, letting her feelings for this good, kind man wash over her.
* * *
ON SATURDAY MORNING, Jack woke early, his mind immediately on Amy. Something had changed between them since their drive to Austin on Wednesday, and it filled Jack with hope. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but all of Amy’s little hesitancies and moments of worry seemed gone. The way she held his hand as they sat together at dinner that night, along with her tiny acts of affection during their roping sessions over the past couple days, made him think that maybe they could make this thing work. And by God, he wanted it to work.
They had spent so many hours laughing and flirting that for the first time, Jack wondered if Amy would be willing to change her life a bit in order to keep him in it. He wasn’t ready to ask her yet—they still had time, after all—but he couldn’t help but imagine that it was possible.
Jack pulled himself out of those memories and instead thought of the day ahead. He and Tom would spend the next several hours sprucing up the ranch a bit in order to help it sell, and then he was going to Amy’s in the evening.
As he finished dressing and settled his cowboy hat on his head, Jack’s phone started to ring. He looked at the number but didn’t recognize it and couldn’t think who would be calling him at such an early hour. He swiped his phone, wondering who it could be.
“Hello?” he prompted, putting the phone to his ear.
“Is this Jack Stuart?” said a voice he only vaguely recognized.
As soon as he answered in the affirmative, the mystery man exclaimed, “Jack! Sorry to call you so early, but this is important. You haven’t gotten a new roping partner yet, have you?”
Jack’s eyes widened as he realized where he’d heard that voice before. He’d gone to the NFR in Las Vegas as merely a spectator the year before and had met the second-place roping team. “Is this Sam Evans?” he asked, incredulous.
A chuckle came through from the other end of the call. “I was hoping you’d remember me. So, do you still need a teammate?”
Sam’s words slowly worked their way into Jack’s brain. “I sure do,” he answered, trying not to let his excitement run away with him.
“Great! I need someone, and I think you and I could be great together. How about you come out here to Cheyenne next weekend? Unless you want to hold out for a better offer, of course,” he said, sounding almost amused at the idea of a better offer.
“No!” Jack blurted out. “That’ll be fine. I’ll be there.”
This was a chance of a lifetime, the chance to be great. His chance to save the ranch and his dream.
He and Sam quickly planned Jack’s trip to Wyoming, “to see how they fit,” in Sam’s words. “I’m sure we’ll be able to work together just fine, though,” Sam added. “I’ve seen you ride, and you’re damn good.”
The two men said goodbye and Jack hung up, though he kept staring at his phone. He wasn’t totally sure this was more than a fantasy.
With Sam as his partner, Jack might be able to finally make some serious money. His old partner was fine, but Sam was a legend. Sam Evans and Jerry Isaacs were top five in the world last year, easy. Arguably number one.
For the first time, he wondered why Sam was no longer riding with Jerry, but dismissed the question quickly. Guys left the circuit for all sorts of reasons, from injuries to old age to just wanting to spend more time with family. A partnership breaking up, even one as successful as Sam and Jerry’s, wasn’t unusual.
Jack thought again what this could mean for him. A real possibility for his career, a possibility to win, to get to NFR, and maybe even become a champion. With that kind of money, he’d be able to keep the ranch running for the next couple of years, and then he’d be able to retire and start the rodeo school. His heart leaped at the thought.
A chance to fulfill his dream had just dropped into his lap out of nowhere. This could be it, his one opportunity.
He’d need to move to Cheyenne for at least the next couple years, though, and that realization gave him pause. Even though he’d already decided it made sense to move somewhere better suited to the rodeo circuit once the ranch sold, he’d never truly believed he would live anywhere but Spring Valley. And Wyoming was a good long way away.
And of course there was Amy. She would be in California while he was in Wyoming, but what would happen after that? He’d need to talk to her before he found himself so in love with her that he wouldn’t be able to give her up if he had to.
Jack tried not to acknowledge the thought that it might just be too late.
As Jack and Tom replaced loose boards and old shelving in the barn, then did the regular work to keep the ranch running, Jack’s mind bounced between Wyoming and Amy. After about an hour, Tom straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you really okay with all this, Jack?”
It took a few seconds for Jack to realize that Tom was talking about putting the ranch up for sale. He had been so preoccupied with Amy and the possibility that they might not need to sell after all that his mind had been nowhere near that topic. “Actually,” he said, choosing his words with care, “I might have a way to save the ranch if things go right on the circuit this year.”
Tom’s face fell, and Jack knew he was wondering if Jack expected him to stick around and run the place for another year. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen,” Jack added hastily, “And I know that if it does, it’ll be without your help because you’ll be in Boston. I’m just saying that there’s a possibility.”
He couldn’t ask Tom to stick around and run the place. Tom had his own thing to do. Not having anyone to run the ranch made this nearly impossible dream even more difficult, but Jack still couldn’t give up on the thought. Not until he’d explored the option completely.
Tom looked skeptical, so Jack said, “I’m not asking anyone to stay on here, or even to stop trying to sell it. It’s just something I’m looking into.”
This seemed to satisfy Tom, and Jack felt it was time to change the subject. “Tell me about your Boston lady,” he said, putting aside his own thoughts to find out more about his brother.
Tom looked awkward for a minute, as if he wasn’t sure about the topic change, but then he couldn’t suppress a little smile. “We’ve been talking for about six months. She’s a dental hygienist.”
Jack waited patiently, and finally his brother continued. “I can’t wait to meet her. She’s pretty great. We love each other.”
“And you met online?” Jack asked, hoping he only sounded pleasantly curious.
“I know it sounds strange,” Tom responded, “but we hit it off really well and we’ve been calling and texting for months. I know her better than any woman I’ve ever dated.”
Jack slapped his brother on the back. He was happy for Tom. If there was any way Jack could save the ranch, it would definitely need to be done without his brother around, that was for sure. His heart was in Boston.
Jack thought of Amy. His heart was in Spring Valley, but for only a couple more weeks. Where would it go then? Would it be too far away to ever come back to him?