Chapter 1
Megan
My brother Blaze is getting married today. He’s the first to get married, though Sage and Colt are getting married in two months. I can’t prove it, but I’m sure Mom and Dad adopted Colt just so Sage didn’t lose him. I could tell from a young age, there was always something there, but now I’ve never seen them so happy.
I’m at the reception in the event barn on the ranch, watching Blaze and his new bride Riley on the dance floor, and they look so in love. I want that, but I can’t let it get in the way of my dreams. I’ve been working at the beauty salon and once I finish school this semester, I finally get the last of the business signed over to me.
I’ve been working on it with Betsy the owner. She knows I want to own the shop, and she has no one to leave it to, so she has had me working there since I was sixteen, learning all aspects of the business. I started with cleaning and moved up to making appointments. Once I graduated high school, she has helped me get my license to do nails, then my makeup license, and finally the hair license.
After that, she has had me working a chair for a bit then has taught me the bookkeeping. She has made me an assistant manager of the shop and instead of a pay raise, she gave me 25% of the shop. She then started taking a few days off a week or coming in late, so she could help watch her grandkids.
The condition to get 25% more was to get my associate’s degree in business management. I got another 25% when I took over the shop, and she retired to be with her family in Arizona. She’ll give me the last 25% when I finish my bachelor's in business management. I have this last semester, and then it’s all mine.
I can’t let anything stand in my way of this. It’s so close I can feel it. My family understands. Blaze and Riley are heading to the lake house for their honeymoon. We go as a family twice a year for a vacation. They invited us all out a week later to give Riley the full lake house family experience, but I declined. I need to finish this paper and some reading. So, a house to myself for a week is heaven.
I glance around the dance floor, trying to find Hunter. He’s become my best friend, and one of my biggest supporters. He fits in great with my family and after that first dinner, he was always around. He’s doing great in vet school and working with his dad at the clinic. He has been over helping with our cattle many times, so we give him a lot of hands-on experience. I can’t believe after this semester, he only has one more year of school and he’s a full-on veterinarian. I’m so proud of him.
Today, he’s one of Blaze’s groomsmen, and I’m one of Riley’s bridesmaids, so we get to spend a lot of time together. I love spending time with him. I see him on the dance floor with Abby, Sage’s friend who has been staying at the ranch. Her parents just died and having no other family, she’s staying with us until she gets back on her feet.
Seeing Hunter with his arms around Abby, laughing on the dance floor, does something inside me. It can’t be jealousy, right? Hunter is my best friend, but that’s it. We’re just friends. You don’t get jealous of your friends. You want them to be happy. This is the first time I’ve seen Hunter with another girl; that must be it.
Still seeing him with Abby has me unsettled. It’s not that I don’t like Abby. I do like her; she’s such a sweet girl, and honestly, she’d be perfect for Hunter. So, why does that thought make me want to punch someone? I’m not a violent person, but I feel like I could be right now.
When the song ends, I walk over to Hunter and put on my best fake smile for Abby.
“Can I have the next dance?”
“Oh, of course. You two have fun,” Abby says and walks over to Sage and Colt.
“You two seem to be having fun.”
“Abby’s a nice girl.”
I look into his eyes and can’t make out what the look in them is.
“Maybe you should ask her out,” I say, even though it kills me to do so.
For a second, I think I see hurt flash across his face before it’s gone, and I can’t be sure.
“Abby’s nice, but I’m not interested in her.”
“You’re interested in someone?” I ask, shocked I didn’t know this.
I see a ghost of a smile cross his face. “Yeah, this girl has had my attention for a while now. Won’t give me the time of day though,” he says and shrugs his shoulder.
“Who is it? Want me to talk to her?”
I get a full smile this time. “No, it’s okay. Timing isn’t good right now anyway.”
We dance in silence for a bit, and I let it go. I don’t think I want to know who has caught Hunter's interest. I’ve never seen him go on a date since we’ve been friends or even heard him talking about dating. We hang out all the time and until now, I’ve never given it a second thought.
I enjoy my dance with Hunter and try to ignore how it feels to have his hands on me. How my body tingles when his eyes are on me. How special I feel when I have his attention like nothing else around us matters.
He’s always been there for me. When Riley’s crazy ex-boyfriend showed up and the guys were worried about him breaking into the house, which he eventually did, Hunter let me stay at his place. He was my date to prom and every other dance at school after we met. Now, every time there’s a business event in town or one for the ranch, we go together. I’ve gotten so used to it, and it’s comfortable.
“You still not going to the lake house?” he asks.
“No, I need to finish this paper and get caught up on some reading.”
“Care for some company? I told Sage I’d stay at the ranch while they were gone and watch the animals, but I can stay in a cabin if you don’t.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Good. Plan at least one movie night; we haven’t had one in a while.”
I smile. I love our movie nights. They include popcorn, junk food, and Hunter makes some amazing milkshakes. We’ll crash on the couch or the bed in my room and watch movies until we pass out.
“Deal.”
