Jackson’s Destiny(4)

“You guys take it,” I said while keeping my eyes closed.

“We’ll help, but you need to lead the way, brother. This show is yours now.” Ryan was not going to let me back out.

The reminder that my father was no longer here hit me deep in the gut. I could run this ranch with my eyes closed. I had been doing it right alongside Dad since I was in junior high. But running the place wasn’t the problem; it was the knowledge I no longer had my father at my side. We’d always started our days out the same, with a cup of coffee on the back deck while discussing the daily chores that would need to be completed.

I swallowed past the burn in my throat. “I can’t,” I confessed. “Not yet.” The emotions filling my chest were threatening to spill over.

“Jack.” Ryan’s voice was hesitant. Of all people he knew where my head was right now. After his wife, Claire, died, he checked out for months, then years. He pushed everyone away, pretending he was okay when on the inside he was falling apart.

I felt the couch dip at my side but refused to look up. “Life will always be different now, feel different,” he said. “It feels like the actions and tasks of everyday life are pointless now. Believe me, I know. We all lost Dad, and it hurts.”

I looked up at him then, and he stopped me before I could respond.

“But you feel it the most out of us three.” His eyes filled with unshed tears, and damn it if my own vision didn’t get cloudy. “You started every day with him. You ended every night together too. You don’t think Noah and I know how close the two of you were? Sometimes it seemed like you two were the same person. Hell, you’d only have to look at each other to know what the other one was thinking. But we have to keep this place going, for Dad.”

He sniffed and took in a calming breath. “This ranch meant the world to him. We have to hold it together. We have to take care of Momma, and we have to take of each other. This is us taking care of you. We won’t walk away and let you fall, Jack.”

As Noah sat down on the other side of me, the first tear spilled over and ran down my cheek. “You can cuss us out, you can fight us, but we’re not letting you do this alone. We stick together.”

I nodded because my throat was burning and I knew words at that moment were impossible.

I let go and for the first time in my life, I cried in front of my brothers. Placing my face in my hands, I let go of the emotions I had hidden over the last few days. I shook with heavy sobs as my brothers sat at my sides, offering the support I didn’t want but knew I had no choice but to accept.





Chapter Three





Bailey



Amber and Olivia ended up spending the night with me, and we gorged ourselves on a ton of baked goods and cried over a few sappy movies. We hid out in my room because Amber’s mom was still lingering around, and I had to keep my distance from her. She had somehow weaseled her way into our lives and was now staying in town. She even kept hinting about taking the spare bedroom upstairs. I knew if she and I were left alone for even five minutes, I might kill her.

Carla and I had a lot of unfinished business, but there was a time and a place for it, and it wasn’t now. With the death of Bill still so fresh on everyone’s mind, a knock-down, drag-out fight between me and Queen Homewrecker wasn’t something anyone needed.

I woke up early this morning as I always do and started the coffee for the bakery. Once Amber stumbled down the stairs, we worked together to get the trays stocked with the items Amber had baked last night.

A few minutes later, we unlocked the doors, and customers wandered in. Most offered their condolences to Amber, and I was thankful Olivia was still sleeping. She didn’t need the constant reminder of her loss, even though I knew it was still very much on her mind.

It was just after ten when I heard Carla’s laughter coming from the back entrance of the bakery. She pushed through the door, and Olivia followed closely behind, a smile gracing her lips.

“Oh, sweetheart, you need to show a little more leg,” Carla babbled. “You are young and adorable, and I would kill to have your legs.”

I was in a sour mood, and even though it may not have been my place to speak up, I did it anyway.

“Olivia, don’t listen to Carla. She has no idea what it means to be a true lady.” The smile fell from Carla’s lips, and her nostrils flared. “No fashion advice, or anything for that matter, means much coming from a tramp like her.”

Thank God our last customer of the morning had already left. Olivia looked between me and Carla as if she had no clue what to do or say. Instead of speaking, she slowly slipped past Carla and walked toward Amber, who stood near the cash register.