The Boss, the Bride & the Baby. Judy Duarte

pantry.”

      Jason rarely talked about his past, but for some crazy reason, he found himself saying, “You’re lucky. I lost my mom when I was just a kid.”

      “How old were you?”

      “Ten.”

      “I’m sorry. At least you were old enough to have some memories of her.”

      Not too many good ones. The years he’d spent living only with his mom hadn’t been all that happy. She’d been emotionally broken and damaged by his father’s cheating.

      When he’d eventually gotten a stepmom and was able to move in with her and his dad, Carly’s mother had been too busy with her singing career to stay home with her own baby, let alone with a boy who wasn’t hers. So Jason had been sent off to an elite boarding school.

      But that was okay. It had been good for him. Everyone had said so. Everyone except Granny, anyway. He’d once overheard her tell his father what a mistake he was making. But when that summer was over, he was sent right back to Thorndike Prep as always.

      Still, he did have those vacations...

      Thankfully, Juliana didn’t ask a lot of questions, and Jason was glad. He’d never been comfortable with anyone expressing their touchy-feely emotions or expecting him to talk about his own, especially when it came to his mother.

      Granny had tried to step in and take on a maternal role, but it wasn’t the same. Hell, his mother hadn’t even been a real mom. He supposed he was one of those kids who’d pretty much grown up on his own in a lot of ways. He just hadn’t been without any of the essentials or all the shiny extras—houses all over the place, private school, fancy cars...

      But he didn’t want to think about any of those lonely days and crappy memories, not when he had a beautiful woman at his side. So he said, “I have a bottle of merlot in the pantry. How about a glass of wine?”

      “I’d rather have a glass of juice, if you don’t mind. And under the circumstances, let’s call it a debriefing. We can also create a game plan for tomorrow—or set up a calendar for trading off meal duties. But to tell you the truth, I don’t mind cooking. I’m not fond of cleaning up, though.”

      If he was being honest with himself, as well as with her, he’d rather create a game plan for tonight, complete with romantic music, maybe a slow dance under the stars. But Juliana had put a stop to that by setting them both back on track. And he ought to thank his lucky stars that she had. Sexual harassment training was a priority for everyone in upper management at Rayburn Energy, and he’d best keep that in mind.

      He offered her a platonic smile—his best attempt at one, anyway. “You’re right. That’s what I meant. Grab two goblets, then make yourself comfortable on one of those chairs on the porch. I’ll get the wine and juice.”

      Moments later, he took the uncorked bottle of wine and a quart of orange juice outside. After filling their glasses, he took a seat, joining her under the soft yellow glow of the porch light.

      He took a sip of his merlot and glanced at the barn door with the chipped paint and broken hinge that dusk couldn’t hide. He’d have to ask Ian McAllister, the foreman, to fix that next. Then they’d have to paint it, along with the corral nearest the house.

      Juliana glanced out onto the ranch, which still needed so much work to be the kind of place Granny had called home, a ranch she’d be proud of if she were still alive.

      He tried to look at the family homestead through Juliana’s eyes. He was going to have to hire more hands than Ian to help out around here. It was going to take an army to get it back into shape, even though they had only a handful of cattle left in the south forty.

      So why hadn’t he recruited those extra men yet? Why was he dragging his feet?

      “What are you going to do with the Leaning R?” Juliana asked.

      “Granny wanted me, Braden and Carly to run it as three equal partners, but I can’t see how we can do that.” Jason reached for the bottle of juice and replenished her glass. “Unlike most siblings, Braden, Carly and I never agree on anything—the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the books we read.”

      Even their memories of childhood and Daddy Dearest were as different as the three women who’d given birth to them.

      Since Jason was the only one who didn’t have a mother, he’d been closer to their father. Not that he and his dad had done any of the usual father-son activities, like playing catch or going camping. His father had been way too busy with his corporate obligations.

      Interestingly enough, they both attended charity functions benefiting the Boys Club and other youth programs, to which Charles and Jason both contributed financially. It was, he supposed, the closest they came to having a typical relationship. But Jason wouldn’t complain. He shared more with his dad than either Carly or Braden did. And while he hadn’t cried when he’d gotten word that his father had died in a car accident in Mexico a few months back, he’d still grieved.

      Jason and Juliana sat quietly for a while, lost in the night sounds on a ranch that had seemed like a ghost town when Jason had arrived last week.

      When he’d driven up that first day, there hadn’t been any cattle grazing in the pastures along the road, no Australian heeler named Mick to greet him. The barn, once painted a bright red, had weathered over the years and was in such disrepair that instead of asking Ian to take care of it, he’d thought he probably ought to hire a carpenter or two.

      But it wasn’t until he’d noted the boarded-up windows on the house, unlocked the front door and entered the living room that the old adage struck him and he had to agree.

      You really couldn’t go home again.

      Whenever he’d visited the Leaning R before, he’d always expected to catch the aroma of fried chicken or roast beef or maybe apple spice cake—whatever Granny had been cooking or baking that day. But this time he’d been accosted by the musty smell of dust and neglect.

      The first thing he’d done was to pry the boards off the first-floor windows and let in the morning sun. Then he’d called a cleaning service out of Wexler to put the place back to rights—or at least, as close to it as possible.

      Jason had only spent school breaks and summer vacations on the Leaning R, but it had been his one constant. And the one place that held his warmest childhood memories.

      Still, his plan was to put it on the market before summer was out—if he could get both Carly and Braden to sign the listing agreement. He hadn’t expected an argument from Carly, but he’d gotten one. And he expected one from Braden—whenever the erstwhile rancher finally showed up. Then again, he’d never been sure about anything when it came to his half brother. The two of them were only three years apart, but they’d kept each other at arm’s length for as long as Jason could remember.

      Granny had tried to encourage a friendship whenever Braden came to visit, which was usually on Christmas or holidays. But Braden had a mother and family of his own. Maybe that was why Jason sometimes resented him coming around.

      Either way, Granny couldn’t create a closeness between the brothers that wasn’t meant to be.

      But why stress about any of that when he had pretty Juliana seated beside him?

      He took another sip of merlot, savoring the taste.

      “So what’re your plans after this?” he asked. “What’s next for you?”

      “I’m going to get a job in the city—Houston, maybe.”

      “Not Wexler?”

      “No.” The word came out crisp, cool. Decisive.

      Hmm. Bad memories?

      She’d been laid off, Carly had said, and was only back in Brighton Valley temporarily.

      Financial problems? Bad investments? Taken advantage of by a con man? Or maybe a lover?

      It