Chapter 3

My sister lets out a high-pitched scream when she sees me. She rushes over, launching herself at me. "What are you doing here?"

I give her a tight hug. A pang of guilt tugs at me. I should come home more often. There is almost ten years between June and me.

"Got some things I need to handle." I release my hold on her. She bounces on her heels, full of energy, making her cowboy boots click on the wood floor.

"So it's not because you missed me." June gives her best innocent expression.

"I've missed you, brat." I ruffle her hair. She bats my hand away.

"I just did my hair. I'm going out tonight."

"A date?" My big brother instincts immediately kick in. No one told me she was dating. I know everyone in this town. Since I've been gone, newbies have moved to Cottonwood Creek, but I still keep up on the people coming and going. My family lives here.

"Not a date." She rolls her eyes at me while finger-combing her hair. "I'm twenty-one now, and it's dollar shots at the Backwoods Brew." It's probably a good thing I don't visit more, because June wouldn't have much of a social life if I did.

"Jackson, is that you?" I hear my mom call before she rounds the corner with flour on her cheeks and apron. She is always in the kitchen.

"Thought I'd swing by and see everyone." Mom wraps her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. She might be tiny, but the woman could squeeze you to death with a hug if she wanted.

"Come on. You must be hungry." She ushers me into the kitchen.

"You know she's going to bars and taking shots." I nod over to my sister, who is licking a giant spoon with icing covering it. She sticks her frosted tongue out at me.

"It's dollar shot night."

"You too?" I grunt.

"Mom did dollar shots with me on my birthday, but you wouldn't know "cause you weren"t here." That jab stings a bit.

"I sent a gift." It was a whole damn truck.

"You can't buy me off." She tries to give me a hard glare.

"All right, I'll keep that in mind." I do a silent countdown in my head, knowing at any second she's going to take those words back.

"Wait! I mean you can buy me things, but you also need to come around. You're the only brother I have," June quickly corrects, making Mom shake her head.

"She's not wrong, though. We miss you."

Shit. They're tag-teaming me now. I can't even argue with them because it's not undeserved.

"I know." I sigh, feeling like an asshole. I did throw money around to try to make up for my absence. My family has always done okay raising horses, but once money started rolling in like tidal waves, I wanted to make their lives better. Allow them to retire if they wanted. "Where's Dad?" I change the subject.

"He should be in soon." Mom pulls a pie out of the oven. "We had beef stew and rolls for dinner tonight. That good with you?"

"You know I'll eat anything you make, Mom." She gives me a warm smile before heating up the stew.

"How are you getting to this bar if you're doing dollar shots?"

"I was gonna have a friend pick me up or Dad would drop me off."

"So Dad's okay with this too?" He's always been overly protective of June, but she's always had him wrapped around her finger. She's a daddy's girl through and through.

"Jackson," my mom cuts in. "We know everyone in this town. She'll be fine."

June does know everyone. Not only that, she also always knows everything when it comes to Cottonwood. That means she'll know all about my little runaway. There's no way she would have missed a new person. She would actually go out of her way to get to know them.

"Anything new happening around town?" I ask June. Mom puts a bowl of stew in front of me. It smells like home. I really do need to get back here more often.

"Same shit, different day." June picks up a knife, heading for the pie.

"Let it cool." Mom smacks her hand away.

"See how she treats me?" June holds her hand like she's actually hurt. Mom rolls her eyes at her.

"Nothing new at all?"

"Well—" She gets a little smirk. "There is a new vet in town. He's going to be taking over for Mr. Bucks. All the girls are falling all over him. Can your ego handle that?"

"What?" No clue what the hell she is talking about.

"I mean, all the girls have been in love with you for so many years but now they have vet Baxter."

"I think I'll manage." I'm relieved that they have somewhere else to focus their attention.

I never dated in this damn town. I'm not sure how people do it. Everyone dated everyone. That never sat well with me. I'm starting to think because I might be the possessive type. Which I would have never believed before. Not until a dark-haired beauty's picture hit my desk.

"Are you into this new vet?" I need to look him up. He must have moved here fairly recently. I don't remember seeing anything in my monthly report about him.

"No." June shakes her head adamantly. "He's too pretty."

"That's it? Nothing else new going on around here?" I try again. June gives me a suspicious look.

"Why?" She scrunches her face. She's on to me. She knows I could give a shit about what's happening with people around here unless it affects my family somehow. I was never one for gossip.

"Just trying to catch up." I take a bite of my stew.

"What about Paisley?" Thank fuck for Mom. "She's a new friend of June's."

"I'm trying. She's more skittish than a wild mare."

"That shouldn"t be a problem for you then." June has always had a way with horses.

"I think she's finally starting to come around." She rubs her hands together. "It's hard when you can't get anything out of her. I mean, we all know something is up. She whirls into town out of nowhere looking for a job and staying at the motel."

I clench my jaw. Staying at a fucking motel? I don't like that one fucking bit. Paisley is too na?ve for that. Cottonwood is a safe town, but she's a pretty thing, and the bar is right across from there. We get randoms coming and going.

"How long has she been living out of it?" I shove another bite of stew into my mouth.

"Couple weeks." She shrugs. "I mean, it works for her, I guess. With not having a car it's convenient for her cause she's working at the Backwoods."

"What!" I bark louder than I mean to.

"Jackson!" my mom hisses at me, picking up the spatula she dropped when I shouted.

"Sorry, Mom."

"What's your deal?"

"A young girl shouldn't be working at a bar and living out of a motel."

"How do you know she's young?"

I give a half-shoulder shrug. "Figured if you"re trying to get close to a new friend, she'd be about your age." It's not a lie. I would have speculated that, but the truth is I already know a whole damn lot about Paisley Woods.

And I plan to learn a whole lot fucking more.