Second Chance At The Ranch. Maxine Morrey

people, men and women, to feel intimidated. Juliet rarely wore make-up whilst Hero never opened the door without it. Cosmetics had been banned at their school and so when Hero began her career, it was a novelty. And now it was habit. Protection. All part of the armour.

      Although beautiful, Hero had been a shy child, awkward in company and content to cling to her older sister who was, by nature, at ease in any situation. When Hero’s modelling career began to take off, she felt physically sick before every show at the thought of the huge numbers of people all staring up at her. But once she had been painted and preened, she was behind a mask, a character in a play. Then she could deal with the photographers, the bookers, the editors, the designers – and the world – because they weren’t seeing the real Hero, just a public persona. And she’d always had Juliet to come back to. Until now.

      Juliet glanced back to see her sister gazing out of the window. She was so beautiful, but Juliet wished she had left the make-up off today. To her, Hero’s natural beauty was softer and even more stunning. Her sister turned and caught her.

      ‘What?’

      ‘What?’

      ‘You’re staring.’

      Juliet smiled. ‘I would have thought you’d be used to that by now.’

      Hero shrugged and looked back out of the window. Pete caught the action in the rear-view mirror. He hadn’t yet decided whether he was going to like his new sister-in-law or not. As a true supermodel, she led a completely different lifestyle to them, a lifestyle Pete couldn’t even begin to comprehend. She did indeed have that appearance of serenity that Juliet had mentioned when she’d first told him about her sister’s career, but there was something else, a coolness that was so different to Juliet’s warmth. Pete pondered as to whether it was even an intentional projection. Hero had been a hot property from day one. After years of being told she was fabulous, with only Juliet to occasionally bring her back to earth, perhaps it wasn’t surprising she believed a little of her own press, if that was the reason. Not that it really mattered. With Juliet living out here, and Hero jet-setting all over the world, the chances of them seeing her a lot were low, although Juliet had told him on numerous occasions how close the sisters were, and it was obvious she felt it was her job to protect and worry about her sibling. Pete could understand that. His brother could more than take care of himself, but it didn’t alter the fact that Pete would always look out for him.

      Still, he wanted to like her, for Juliet’s sake. He cast a glance at his fiancée. She felt his gaze and turned, the same smile on her lips as the day he’d met her. The day he knew she was the one.

      Juliet placed her warm, small hand back on his leg and his large tanned one curled gently around it. As the miles passed, he cast his mind back to that day. He’d entered the house with wedding bells already ringing out clear in his head, but his younger brother hadn’t been convinced.

      ***

      ‘I’m telling you, mate. She’s the one,’ Pete said as he washed his hands under the kitchen tap.

      Nick opened his mouth to contradict him and remind him, ‘hadn’t he said that about so-and-so’ when it struck him that, actually, Pete had never said that. Not once.

      The brothers had both inherited their mother’s good looks and their father’s height. They were well built from working on the station and well educated from attending a top school in the city. The whole package made them very popular with women in the district and, between the two of them, they’d dated a good percentage. Those interested in more of a bad boy persona tended to home in on Nick whilst Pete had a more strong, silent type of reputation going on. Neither was accurate, but if it worked, they weren’t complaining.

      Juliet had arrived on a blistering summer’s day with an Outback Discovery tour that sometimes took in the Websters’ Merino sheep station. Jacob, their leading station hand, had the gift of the gab, and was therefore assigned to answer questions on the tour. He was doing his normal good work when Pete returned from mending fences out on the west paddock and caught sight of a blonde trailing at the back of the group. She wore loose cotton trousers with trainers, and her top half was swamped under an over-sized shirt. A ponytail bounced from the back of a peaked cap. Definitely not what Pete would call his usual type but something about her caught his attention.

      Throwing the fencing he’d been about to unload back in the ute, Pete walked up behind the group. The blonde had fallen behind a little more now and was staring out at the vista as up in front Jacob waxed lyrical about wool fineness and weight.

      ‘Hope we’re not boring you.’

      The woman jumped at the sound of Pete’s voice. She turned and tilted her head back in order to meet his eyes.

      ‘Weren’t you ever told that it’s rude to sneak up on people?’ The admonishment came in a well-spoken English accent, accompanied by a wide smile, and teasing laughter in the gentle green eyes.

      ‘Sorry,’ Pete replied, grinning and not looking sorry at all.

      The blonde smiled again and turned back to the view she had been admiring before he had interrupted. Fields stretched away to the horizon. From here, it looked and felt like they were all alone on the planet.

      ‘I can’t get over the size of it all.’

      ‘Yeah, all the girls say that.’

      The blonde looked up again and met his eyes, laughter showing in her own, ‘Yes,’ she said slowly, ‘but I’m surprised at how big everything is.’ She kept her emphasis on the word ‘big’ and raised one eyebrow. With that she turned and walked off to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving Pete standing on his own, a big grin plastered on his face. And already more than a little in love.

      A short time later, Pete watched the group depart, his eyes focused on the mystery blonde. He didn’t even know her name but, no worries, he would. The driver helped the women into the back of the tour company’s four-wheel drive. Another tourist of similar age to the blonde waited to get in. She made a point of declining the driver’s assistance and hopped into her seat. Pete shook his head. He was all for equality but there were people that took it to extremes and just ended up looking plain rude. He watched as the blonde took the proffered hand with a smile of thanks and disappeared into the cool, air-conditioned interior of the tour vehicle.

      ‘We’re going into town tonight,’ Pete announced as he finished washing his hands at the sink.

      Nick shook his head as he chewed a mouthful of beef stew. Pete dished himself out a portion and sat down opposite his younger brother. Nick was still chewing.

      ‘What do you mean, no?’ Pete asked as he forked up some of the stew.

      ‘I’m knackered, mate!’ Nick complained. ‘Jacob was meant to be helping with the new shed until those flippin’ tourists showed up. Joe and I ended up doing it on our own.’ He took a swig from his beer and swallowed forcefully before peering suspiciously down at his stew. ‘Do you know how long Mum’s had this in the freezer?’

      Pete looked up from his plate as he chewed. He shook his head and kept on chewing. He gave his plate a questionable look. Nick leant back and grabbed another beer from the fridge. He flipped the top off and pushed the bottle towards his brother. Pete swallowed with the help of the cool drink, glancing down at his own plate.

      ‘Too long.’

      Gathering the crockery, Nick scraped their contents into the bin, then placed the china in the dishwasher. He made a mental note to remember to turn it on before their parents returned from their weekend viewing prospective retirement properties in the city.

      ‘Anyway, that’s why we’re going to the pub,’ Pete announced.

      ‘What?’

      ‘The tourists. Or rather, one in particular.’

      Nick rolled his eyes. ‘Oh right. The girl you’re going to marry.’

      ‘Yep.’

      Nick let out a sigh as his stomach