"Jenna said you went to MIT."
"That's correct." She cast him a playful glance. "What else did she say?"
"Just that she was very fond of you."
"She's so adorable. I just wish she'd get over this desire to be totally independent, you know? Mom and Dad really miss her. She was the only one of us who stuck around near home for college and vet school, so they miss her a lot now that she's insisted on moving away."
"I suppose she felt she had as much right as the rest of you to get out there in the world." Blue took a swig of beer. "I can relate to that."
"Did you go out of California for college, then?"
"I didn't go to college. I went into the Marines."
"At eighteen?" She turned to face him, her gaze full of surprise. "But didn't you find lacking a degree hindered the advancement of your career?"
"I never wanted to advance. I just wanted to do my job, survive, and get paid. I did get to see the world, but not the places most people would want to visit."
"I don't wish to sound rude, but you're obviously smart if you have a brother like Chase, so-"
"I'm not like Chase. He's a genius. I'm a grunt. I'm okay with that."
She wrinkled her brow. "But education is the secret to everything. That's why I'm so concerned with Jenna wasting her talents out here. She should be living in LA and back in school specializing in some aspect of her profession. Mom and Dad even offered to fund her, but she refused." She sighed. "I'm worried about her."
"Worried about my what?"
Blue almost jumped as Jenna sat beside him, her gaze fixed on her sister. He'd never seen her look so tense before.
"I was just telling Blue that Mom and Dad wanted to fund your doctorate and that you refused their help."
"I'm kind of over school."
There was a flat note to Jenna's voice that made Blue want to give her a reassuring hug.
"But if you want to be successful, you need to get that next qualification."
"It's hard for me. I wasn't enjoying it anymore."
"Sometimes you just have to keep pushing through. You know what Dad always said, if it's worth having it's not usually easy."
"And I don't want to do it anymore. I'm not academic like you."
Lily patted Jenna's clenched fist. "Everyone needs a break sometimes. That's why Dad thought a year up here would be a good idea."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"That you'd soon realize what hard and boring work this was and want to come home." Lily chuckled. "Come on, Jenna. This is hardly worth your talents, is it? You graduated first in your class."
"And I love it out here."
Lily glanced uncertainly at Blue and then back at Jenna. "It's okay, I'm sure Blue won't mind if you tell the truth."
"I am. I have no intention of leaving general practice and going back to school."
Blue set his beer down on the table. "She's a really good vet, Lily, and we are proud to have her working with us on the ranch."
"I'm sure you are." Lily's smile was warm. "I know exactly how awesome she is-she's my sister."
"In fact, Chase is about to offer her a permanent job here on staff."
"Here?" Lily turned to Jenna. "You don't want to stay out in the middle of nowhere, do you, love? We want so much more for you."
"Lily-"
"There she is!"
The drunken shout behind him had Blue instantly on his feet facing the danger. People sitting at the nearby tables were all staring at Mark Lymond, who was weaving through the guests, his finger pointed straight at Jenna.
"She killed my mare and foal!"
Behind him Blue sensed Jenna stand up. He put his arm out to keep her exactly where he could see her.
"Go home, Mark. You're drunk," Blue said as quietly as he could.
Mark took another couple of stumbling steps forward. "She's incompetent. She doesn't know what she's doing, and she killed my stock!"
Jenna raised her chin and spoke out clearly. "I did everything I could to save your mare, Mr. Lymond. I swear it."
Around them the guests were beginning to murmur and point. Dave suddenly appeared at Jenna's other shoulder.
"The mare died because you didn't call us in soon enough, Mark. Don't blame Jenna."
"That's right," Mark sneered. "Stick up for the pretty little girl who shouldn't ever be allowed near a horse because she's incompetent." He rocked back and forth on his heels. "Or is it because you're afraid I'll sue your family? I bet you'd change your tune if you thought she was going to ruin you and admit she doesn't know what she's doing."
"That's enough, Mark." Blue closed the gap between them. "I'm going to take you home, now."
"You're not going to do-"
With a useful trick he'd learned in the Marines, Blue unobtrusively knocked Mark out and let the man slump into his arms. Ruth came up to him, her expression concerned.
"I'll take him back home and make sure he sobers up." Blue slung Mark over his shoulder. "Make sure Jenna's okay, will you?"
* * *
Jenna sat down, her knees trembling, and took several big deep breaths.
"You okay?" Dave touched her shoulder. "He was talking shit, you do know that, right?"
"Right." Jenna nodded, still looking down.
"Dad and I are right behind you on this one."
"Good to know."
"Cool." Dave wandered off toward the food.
"Jenna . . ."
That was Lily's voice. How typical that her sister had witnessed her humiliation. She could never get a break.
"Why on earth would you want to stick around here and put up with being treated like that? You are worth so much more."
"He's the only person I've had a problem with. Everyone else is great."
"Are you sure about that?" Lily hesitated. "Does your reluctance to return home and strive for excellence go back to you thinking you're not good enough? I thought we'd talked that out in family therapy."
"We did, and I know I'm good enough to do this job. I love it."
Lily sighed. "It is a beautiful place. I can see why Chase Morgan decided to work his magic on it and make it profitable."
"It's his home. That's why he loves it."
"Well, yes, but if that was true he would've just left it how it was and not invested all this money in upgrading it."
Jenna met her sister's eyes. "You don't get it, do you? He invested in this place so that he could continue a way of life and a tradition that had existed in his family since 1850. He did it for love, not for profit."
Lily bit her lip. "I'm not going to argue with you, Jenna. I just want you to be happy."
A familiar sense of hopelessness crawled over Jenna. Lily was super smart, and yet in some ways she seemed so out of touch with the realities of life. But she did love Jenna, and that made it even harder to say how she felt without hurting her sister's feelings.
After a short silence, Lily picked up her water bottle and took a dainty sip.
"Blue seems nice."
"I like him." Jenna realized she was getting tense again. "He's transitioning out of the Marines and into the role of manager for the new guest ranch. We've been working together selecting the horses."
"He seems to suit this place."
"It's his home. He grew up here."
Lily took Jenna's hand. "Is Blue the real reason you want to stick around?"
"He has nothing to do with it."
"Because you can't let a man hold you back, love. You know that."
"He is not holding me back. I am perfectly capable of managing my career and my love life without input from him, you, or our parents." Jenna sighed. Somehow Lily could always reduce her to her muddled confused twelve-year-old self. "Can you please just drop this? I'm really glad you came because it's great to see you, but can we talk about you for a while?"
Lily laughed. "But you're so much more interesting. I'm still working twenty hours a day in my lab and loving every minute of it."
Jenna found a smile somewhere. "Maybe you should get out more. Are you really going out with Daj? He's not exactly being very attentive to you."
"Daj knows my priorities. I asked him to talk business with Matt and Jake while I spent time with you. It was the best division of labor."
"Well, feel free to join him. I've got to go and help Ruth in a bit."
Lily looked around. "Why didn't they hire more staff? That poor lady must be worn out."
"Try telling her that. We all try and pitch in around here. It's called being part of a community."
Lily stuck out her tongue. "Funny. But you don't work for the Morgans, do you?"
"I might as well. I spend almost all my time up here dealing with their horses, cattle, and Roy's pigs."
"You aren't going to take that job, though, are you?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because this wasn't supposed to be anything more than a brief helping out Uncle Ron kind of gig." Lily hesitated. "You do know Faith is coming back and she's going to want her job back?"