"Yeah, but-"
"And then there's all your millions . . ."
Chase stopped moving. "January doesn't care about money."
"Exactly." Blue swung around and stared right into his brother's eyes. "So don't stress, okay?"
"Okay. But can you just text Jenna and make sure she's on schedule? She hasn't been replying to my one-minute alerts."
Blue rolled his eyes. "Really?"
Chase turned away, and Ry joined Blue on the dais where Ruth had started to light the candles.
"He's not like I remembered."
"Who, Chase?"
"Yeah."
"In what way?"
"He's a lot more . . . human, you know?"
"Thank January for that."
"She's cool."
"Yeah."
"So's Jenna."
"She's taken."
"Dude. Like I didn't notice." Ry winked at him and sauntered away, hands in his pockets, golden eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.
Blue heard another familiar engine and looked across to see January's old truck coming through the open gate. Roy and the hands had moved the cattle and horses farther down the pasture so there was no danger of any runaways joining the party. Escaping behind Ruth's back, he walked down to meet the truck.
Jenna wore her green dress. She'd pinned her hair up in some kind of soft style on the top of her head, which immediately made him want to slide his fingers in there and mess it all up.
January looked . . .
"Wow." Blue grinned at her. "Look at you, beautiful lady. Chase is a lucky man."
Her smile was so hopeful it literally made him choke up. He immediately cleared his throat and offered both of them an arm.
"Can I escort you both to the party?"
"Now who's being all fancy?" January poked him in the ribs. "Is Chase okay? Jenna was threatening to shut off her cell if he didn't stop checking in on her."
"He was just being his usual overanxious self."
"I suppose I should be glad he didn't send a security team to escort me from my bedroom to the creek."
Blue chuckled as he spotted his older brother talking to Ruth.
"Hey, TC! Someone's here for you."
Chase's expression when he turned around and saw January was another of those moments that Blue would always remember. How his brother had overcome his fear of intimacy and let himself be loved was a lesson Blue was beginning to want to learn.
January walked toward Chase. He met her halfway and kissed the living daylights out of her.
Beside Blue Jenna sighed.
"That's so nice."
"Nice?" He looked down at her. "It's epic. I'm practically blubbing like a baby here."
"You are not." She searched his face. "You're a big bad Marine."
"And he's my big bro, and it's way cooler than I thought it would be to see him being happy for the first time in his life."
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him firmly on the mouth. "Blue Morgan a romantic. Who would've thought it?"
He kissed her back. "You?"
"Yeah, but that's our little secret."
"True."
A sharp poke in the back had him turning to see Ruth.
"When you've finished canoodling, can you talk to the band? They've just arrived and need help setting up."
"Canoodling?"
"You know what I mean." She gave him her best death glare.
"I can do that." Ry wandered over in the direction of the second raised dais.
Ruth pointed at Blue. "Then you can start setting out the water bottles and plastic cups."
"Yes, ma'am." Blue tipped his hat to his grandma and sighed. "Will you help me, Jenna?"
"Sure."
"She's going to help me finish sorting out the food." Jenna was led firmly away by Ruth in the other direction. She looked helplessly back over her shoulder and Blue winked at her. If he wasn't careful, he and Jenna would spend the entire night apart. But he was a Marine. Tactics were his forte, and he had no intention of allowing that to happen.
He checked his watch as a procession of trucks and SUVs bounced their way down the dusty track toward the party area. Behind him the band was tuning up, and Ruth was in her element. It was going to be a great evening, and he was going to spend it with Jenna, Maria, and the rest of his ever-increasing family.
Life was good.
Chapter Fifteen
"Jenna?"
Blue snagged hold of Jenna's hand as she went by him and drew her close against the noise of the band and the chatter of the happy guests. Maria was being whirled around the dance floor by Billy, and the pair of them were laughing at each other. January was slow dancing with Chase, and they might as well have been the only people there. The party was a blast, and Chase and January were rocking it.
"What's wrong?"
She raised her face to his, her expression troubled. "My sister's here."
"Were you expecting her?"
"As of about two hours ago. January knows, and she said it was okay."
"Which sister?"
"Lily."
"The older one, right?"
"Correct. She's just arrived. I'm going down to find her."
He took her hand.
"You don't have to come with me."
"I'd like to." Blue raised an eyebrow. "Unless you don't want her to know about me?"
"I'm fine about that, I just thought you might have better things to do with your time, like talk to Ry."
Blue glanced over to the tables where he could just about see his brother surrounded by a crowd of females. "I think he's busy."
"He's certainly popular."
She was walking easily with him now, her hand relaxed in his, their arms swinging in unison.
"She'll probably be near the exit if she just turned up. What's she driving?"
"I don't know."
He spotted an unfamiliar white Range Rover Sport. "I bet that's her."
"Yeah." Her fingers tightened within his. "I think it is."
A tall blonde dressed in a short white minidress and sky-high heels was standing by the car looking down at her phone and chatting to a guy who looked like he'd just stepped out of a magazine cover shoot. The pair of them looked completely out of place against the rural backdrop.
"Lily!" Jenna waved. "Over here."
The blonde smiled and picked her way through the uneven soil toward Jenna. "Jen! Darling!"
Blue stepped back as Jenna was enveloped in a hug and both of them were surrounded in a cloud of expensive scent and beauty products.
"Thanks so much for letting us come over. Daj offered me a lift back to LA in his private jet, so I was able to find some time to come out and see you."
Jenna gestured at Blue. "This is Blue Morgan. He's part owner of the ranch."
Blue tipped his hat, "Ma'am," and then held out his hand to Daj. "Welcome to Morgan Ranch. We're celebrating my brother's engagement tonight. You're more than welcome to join us."
"How sweet." Lily smiled at him. "I don't think I've ever been to a party at a ranch before." She slipped effortlessly between Blue and Jenna. "What exactly do you do here when you're not throwing parties?"
"Mainly cattle ranching, but we're expanding into the historical dude ranch business."
"How fascinating."
Jenna fell behind to talk to Daj, and Blue continued back up the slope with Lily chatting away at his side. At one point she stumbled, and he offered her his hand to help her over the more rocky terrain. Just as they reached the tables, Blue spotted Chase and beckoned him over.
"Chase, this is Jenna's sister, Lily, and her friend Daj."
"Nice to meet you guys, and thanks for coming to my party."
Lily looked up at his brother. "Oh my God, Chase Morgan? Cofounder of Give Me a Leg Up?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"I work for Heyer Biometrics! I met you a few years ago." She turned to Daj. "These guys were one of our initial backers."
"You seem to be doing pretty well now." Chase smiled. "I heard you were looking for round three funding."
"That's right, we-" She stopped. "I had no idea I'd meet you here in the back of beyond, but I have no intention of spoiling your engagement party talking business."
"Matt and Jake are around here somewhere, so feel free to go and reintroduce yourself to them. I bet they'd be delighted to hear your news."
"That's really sweet of you, but I did come to see my baby sister, so I'll try not to monopolize anyone's time."
"You go ahead," Jenna murmured. "Fine by me."
"Don't be silly, darling." Lily wrapped an arm around Jenna's waist. "I want to talk to you. Mom's very concerned about you, you know."
"You should come and say hi to Uncle Ron and Aunt Amy and meet Dave," Jenna said, which Blue recognized as a diversionary tactic.
"I'd love to. Come along, Daj."
* * *
Later, Blue was sitting at a table with Lily to his right. Jenna had gone off to help Ruth with something, and Daj was locked in conversation with Matt and Jake, the only people he had deigned to talk to the whole night.
Lily was tapping her foot to the music and drinking bottled water, a smile playing around her beautiful mouth. Close up her skin was flawless. She looked nothing like Jenna, but that wasn't a surprise seeing as they weren't actually related. Blue exerted himself to be polite.