I exhale sharply, chest tight. “I don’t care what it was like. I care what itlookslike. You risked everything we’ve worked for. Everything we need. And it’s not only about us. It’s about those kids in there. Those kids need a woman to help them grow.”
The three of us stand there, locked in heavy silence, the cold wind slicing between us like a warning. If they’re not remembering our momma right now and all the things she did for us, then I haven’t gotten my point across.
Levi looks away first, jaw grinding as he kicks at the dirt. Jaxon never does.
The sound of boots crunching gravel breaks the tension. Cody approaches from opposite ends of the barn. Lennon and Brody aren’t far behind, trailing off the pasture path with puzzled glances.
Cody takes one look at the set of my jaw, then glances between Jaxon and Levi, and instantly reads the room. His easy smile fades. “What the hell happened?”
I tip my head in the direction of Jaxon, who says nothing.Levi crosses his arms and tilts his chin, defiant.
“He was seen leaving Grace’s room early this morning,” I say flatly. “She was still in bed.”
There’s a sharp inhale from Cody. Brody’s expression darkens instantly. Lennon freezes mid-step and mutters under his breath, “Shit.”
Cody whistles low. “Jaxon. Jesus.”
Jaxon holds up both hands. “I didn’t do anything she didn’t want.” His voice softens. “She asked me to stay.”
“Not the point,” I growl. “We’ve spent years trying to agree on how to make this place work, and we have to be taken seriously. You both handed every gossip rag in the country the story they want.”
The group falls into a heavy, loaded silence.
Brody speaks first, voice rough. “Maybe this was a mistake. All of it. Putting out that damn ad. Dragging a city girl like her into this. Now we’re going to lose everything we’re working towards.”
Cody shakes his head. “Or maybe we don’t need the ad at all.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Cody shrugs, slow and deliberate. “Maybe the right woman already walked onto this ranch. Maybe we don’t have toconvinceher with an ad or a contract or show her how best to advertise us to the rest of the women in this great country. Maybe we have to give her a reason to want to stay.”
Levi, still tense, lets out a slow breath. “He’s not wrong.”
Jaxon speaks for the first time, his voice low but clear. “I don’t want anyone else walking through that door. We asked the world to send us someone… and it already did. She needs us as much as we need her.”
He proceeds to share some of Grace’s story, leaving the group stunned and my stomach tight. This is dangerous. Hope masquerading as logic.
Lennon crosses his arms, frowning.
Brody’s voice cuts through the quiet. Harsh. “You’retalking about throwing the plan out the window? On what? Feelings? A couple of days of flirting? Some furtive sex? A woman’s sob story that you don’t even know to be true. We built this home as a team. Don’t tell me one woman changes everything we planned.”
The group fractures into low arguments, overlapping voices, and frustration simmering under the surface. I let it wash over me, as my gaze locks on the empty horizon outside the barn doors. They’re divided, and for the first time in a long while, I don’t have the answer to unite them.
Their voices grow louder, and the calm we pride ourselves on is gone.
Levi rounds on Brody, jaw clenched. “You think I don’t know I screwed up? You think I wanted to risk this?” He swipes a hand through his hair, pacing. “I’ve spent my whole goddamn life being good for nothing except my pretty face and my quick hands. I didn’t mean to make things messy.”
Cody steps forward, voice low but sharp. “Thenfix it, Levi. Start acting like a man who deserves her, not a boy chasing a thrill.”
Levi flinches but nods. “I will.”
I watch the exchange, my jaw grinding tight. The worst part is… Levi looks genuine. Contrite. Maybe for the first time.
Cody rests a heavy hand on Jaxon’s shoulder. “And you?”
Jaxon doesn’t flinch. “I won’t apologize for wanting her. Or for her wanting me. I won’t. You weren’t in that bedroom with us last night. You don’t know what it felt like… what was between us.”
The horses shift restlessly in the stalls, and Cody steps in, breaking the stand-off with his usual ease. “We might want her…” He glances at Brody. “Well, some of us, but this isn’t only about whatwewant. It’s about what she wants.”
