The Cowboy's Valentine. Donna Alward

hard to find fault with Quinn’s.

      She hurriedly glanced down at her monitor as Quinn looked back towards the kitchen. It wouldn’t do to get caught staring. They could hardly agree on anything. Heck, at Christmastime they’d argued about the correct way to mash potatoes, for heaven’s sake. If he had the smallest inkling she found him physically attractive...well, things were already super awkward around here.

      “I’ll be back in later to grab my lunch,” he called, and he was out the door before she could reply.

      Surly, she thought. That was the problem with Quinn Solomon. He was surly. It was hard to like a man who hardly ever smiled.

      She wondered if he’d smiled more before his wife had died, and her heart turned over a little at the thought. Whether she liked him or not, losing his wife and the mother of his daughter had to be terribly sad. He must have loved her a lot...

      She and Carter hadn’t had that sort of love. She’d thought they had, at first. But when put to the test, they didn’t have what it took for a successful marriage.

      She pushed her glasses up her nose and focused on the spacing of her résumé. There was no sense worrying about a past that couldn’t be changed. The only thing she could do was look to the future. There were days when even that was difficult, but she had a clean start now. It was up to her to make the most of it.

      She was in the middle of bookmarking employment sites where she could upload her CV when Duke blustered in. Without knocking. Ah. Big brothers. Funny. When Quinn had knocked, Lacey had felt she was imposing on him. When her brother entered without knocking, his sense of entitlement got on her nerves a little.

      “You made it.” He shrugged off his coat and hung it on the hook.

      “Yesterday, as a matter of fact. Thanks for noticing.” She sent him a cheeky grin, making sure to face him straight on. Duke’s hearing was compromised, and he often watched lips to fill in any gaps of clarity, especially if his head was turned a bit the wrong way.

      “I was going to come over last night, but Carrie and I didn’t finish until late. By the time supper was over, we were tuckered out.” He’d removed his boots and came into the kitchen in his stocking feet. His face got this weird, soft, moony look about it. “Especially Carrie. I keep telling her not to overdo it, but she’s stubborn.”

      Lacey liked Carrie a lot. The former foreman of the cattle operation, Carrie had fallen for Duke hard and fast when he’d come back to Crooked Valley. Now she and Duke were married and she was expecting his baby. Duke was so happy and protective, and Lacey was happy for them. Even so, their happiness and future plans did serve as a painful reminder of the life she would never have. The dream of an adoring husband and a house full of kids was long gone.

      “Is Carrie feeling okay?” Lacey sat back in her chair and took off her glasses, putting them on top of her paper tablet.

      “The odd morning sickness, but nothing major. And she’s tired a lot. Otherwise, she’s great.” He pulled out a chair and sat down, resting his elbows on the table. “I can’t wait for the ultrasound. We’ll get pictures and everything.”

      It was like a knife to the heart, but Lacey never let on. No one except their mother knew that Lacey’d had to undergo surgery—the kind that prevented her from ever having children.

      “I’m glad you’re so happy.” That, at least, was the truth.

      “And you’re here. That makes me happy.” He grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling at her. “I always love having a little sis around to torment.”

      “Don’t get your hopes up. I appreciate the place to stay, but I’m not really interested in becoming a rancher. Gramps was crazy to split this place up the way he did.”

      Duke tapped his fingers on the table. “I used to think that, too.”

      “Well, you’re not me. I’m not a rancher. I belong behind a desk somewhere, working with columns of numbers. Not shoveling manure or whatever it is you guys do outside all day.”

      Duke laughed. “I forgot you’re such a girlie girl.”

      “Yes, well, you haven’t exactly been around much the last few years.” She realized that sounded a bit harsh, so she tempered it a little. “You were deployed, Duke. I don’t blame you in the least. But you must realize that life went on while you were overseas. We all went our own ways.”

      She let him off the hook and smiled. “Anyway, I do really want to say thank-you for letting me crash. Losing my job was a big blow. I was living paycheck to paycheck and really couldn’t see how I could keep up with the rent on the town house.”

      “What about Carter? Doesn’t he pay you any alimony?”

      She nodded. “Yes, but it’s not much. Carter’s alimony is peanuts, really. He’s got his own troubles. I wouldn’t ask him for anything more.”

      “You’d be within your rights. He walked out on you and left you with everything—including all the debt.”

      As Lacey thought about how to answer her brother, she got up and poured him the last cup of coffee from the pot. She put it down in front of him and then put her hand on his shoulder.

      “It was a mutual decision, Duke,” she said softly. “It just wasn’t working. We were both unhappy.” She didn’t feel like mentioning that the debt Duke spoke of was mostly due to her and all her medical tests and treatment that weren’t covered by her insurance. “I just want you to know that I appreciate the chance to stay here while I figure out what’s next.”

      Duke smiled down into his coffee.

      “What?”

      He looked up and his eyes crinkled around the edges. “You sound like me a few months ago.”

      She knew Duke wanted her to take on her third of the ranch. If she did, and if they could convince Rylan to take on his third, the ranch stayed as is. But if they didn’t...well, Duke would either have to find a way to buy them out of their thirds, or the place would be sold. It was an annoying thing, what their grandfather had done in his will. And it would have been much easier to brush off if Duke hadn’t decided to stay on.

      “I’m not taking on my third, Duke. I’ll help you in any way I can, but not that.”

      Duke took a long drink of his cooling coffee. “Well, there’s lots of time to think about it. What are you doing today?”

      His whole dismissal sent out a message of “give me time to change your mind” and she ignored it. “I’m sending out my résumé, seeing if I can find any leads to a new job. It’s not an ideal commute to Great Falls, but spring will be here soon and the bad weather is mostly done. I can do it for a while, until I build up some financial reserves. And who knows? Maybe I’ll find something closer.”

      “Have you seen Quinn yet?”

      She raised an eyebrow. “Of course I did. He was the welcoming committee.” She smiled saucily.

      “Oh, great. You weren’t too hard on him, were you?”

      She gave him a swat. “So much for family loyalty. What about how grouchy he might have been to me?”

      Duke’s frown deepened. “Was he?”

      “Of course not.” No matter her issues with Quinn, she wouldn’t put Duke in the middle of it. He relied on Quinn too much. She wasn’t here to stir up trouble.

      “Hey. If I had one reservation about you staying at the house, it was that you’d be sharing space with Quinn. I know you don’t get along. I don’t know why, but you don’t. I’m hoping you can coexist peacefully.”

      “We’ve laid out some ground rules.” She sat back down at the table.

      “Well, try not to kill each other. This place doesn’t run without him.” Duke raised his cup, drained what was left of his coffee,