Chapter 1

Chapter One

Roth put the ATV in park, then pushed his hat upwards with the tip of his finger, releasing a sigh. Looking toward the front stairs of the ranch house, he exhaled before climbing out of the vehicle. Once he did, it was hard to miss the helicopter on the pad a short distance away from the house.

"What happened?" His already deep voice was gruff as he approached his oldest brother, Ryker.

"Why does something have to happen for me to come see my little brother?"

Roth grunted. He was only two years younger, but Ryker insisted on calling him and Rhinehart his little brothers. Sure, he was the tallest by a whole inch, but there was nothing little about the Stephens boys, as they'd been called as long as he could remember. Ryker stood at six-foot-six inches while Roth and Rhine topped out at six-foot-five inches. All three had wide shoulders, barrel chests, and thick bodies. So, being called little wasn't something Roth associated with either of them.

Stepping closer to where his brother stood on the top stair, leaning against one column, Roth arched a single eyebrow.

"You didn't take a copter ride just to come sit on my porch and shoot the breeze. You call for that."

Stopping once he was abreast of his eldest sibling, Roth stared at him. "So... What happened?"

"I'm getting married."

"That's old news, brother. You've been engaged for more than a year now."

Shooting him an irritated glance, Ryker flipped him off before stalking over to one of the custom rockers and plopping into it. Lifting his hands, Roth raised both eyebrows.

"What? Am I wrong? Didn't you and Ensley get engaged more than a year ago?"

"Fuck you." Ryker looked off before returning his stare to Roth. "And yes, it's been more than a year. That being said, we've set a date."

Lowering himself into the chair closet to the one Ryker occupied, Roth nodded.

"Good for you. What's the date?" Removing his hat, Roth hung it on his knee before leaning back into the seat.

"October twenty-fifth."

With another bob of his head, Roth acknowledged Ryker's statement.

"I'll put it on my calendar. What do you need me to do?"

Roth had been in a couple of weddings over the years with his army buddies, but Ryker was the first of his siblings to tie the knot.

"I'll have my assistant send you the information. We're having it in Las Vegas. Ensley doesn't know many people in Houston and she doesn't want to have it in her home town. Nothing there is large enough to accommodate us anyway."

"How big of a wedding are you two having?" Roth was genuinely curious. Ryker had a small circle of friends, but a plethora of associates. Ensley appeared to be equally selective in her friend group from what Roth could tell when they'd met and during the times Ryker spoke of her.

As far as family went, he knew Ryker wouldn't blink about flying people out to attend. Although most wouldn't ask, they'd simply be happy to be invited. Many of them were starting to believe Roth and his brothers would never settle down and start families. So, they'd all want to be front row for the occasion.

Gently setting his chair to rocking, Ryker looked over at Roth and shrugged.

"You know if it was up to me, there would be enough people to witness and everyone else would read about it in the paper. But Mama..."

Ryker trailed off. He didn't have to fill in the rest of the sentence. Roth already knew. Their mother was hell bent on getting them married to get her grandbabies. Hell, he knew for a fact she'd been encouraging Ryker and Ensley to get to the baby-making, even if they hadn't tied the knot. And for his Sunday School Teacher mother, that told of her desperation.

"Yeah...Mama is gonna want everybody to see and hear about it. Especially those old biddies who've been throwing their legion of rug rats in her face all these years."

The slow rock of Ryker's chair came to an abrupt halt. Roth glanced over to see the stricken expression on his brother's face.

"What? Why do you look like we asked you to give a speech in your skivvies?"

"You don't think she plans to invite all of her judgmental so-called friends do you? I like less than half of them, and it's touch and go with the other half."

Roth shook his head. Tapping his fingertips against the brim of his hat he lifted a shoulder.

"You never know with her. You know how she is. The first of her sons getting married is a major event. I'm surprised she didn't strong arm you into having it in Lone Star Ridge, if you didn't want to do Houston."

"If we aren't having it in the little one stoplight town Ensley's from, why would I have it here? Lone Star Ridge isn't much bigger than Piney Bend, Mississippi."

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Roth tilted his head toward Ryker.

"Don't get testy with me. I'm just making an observation. It's your wedding. You can have it wherever you want. I'm good with it not being in Lone Star. Hell, Mama would probably try to get me to pitch fancy tents and all kinds of shit to have it here on the ranch. No thank you to having more than half the town and a shit-ton of strangers trapsing around all over my land. It makes the cows nervous."

Ryker's posture relaxed halfway through Roth's speech, and he began nodding in agreement. There was no way in hell Roth was having any type of event on his ranch. He intentionally didn't do crowds. He was never too fond of them, but after his last deployment before leaving the Army, things got pretty bad.

It took him years, and some time working with Andy Harvey on the Silver Creek Ranch, to get to where he could sporadically attend large gatherings. Very sporadically . He preferred the company of the animals on the ranch and the camaraderie with the ranch hands who worked it with him. There were less than twenty of them, and most didn't live on the ranch in the bunkhouses he provided.

His issue with big crowds was likely the reason Ryker felt he needed to come speak to him personally. Roth would have to prep himself for being in Las Vegas—especially the part where he'd have to be enclosed in a room with a bunch of people.

"I'm sure you're really worried about the cows." Ryker leveled him with a look filled with the same sarcasm coating his voice.

"What? They're sensitive beasts." Roth's additional rebuttal died on his lips when the screen door pushed open and his housekeeper stepped out onto the porch.

"Here." Amelia Blake shoved a cellphone in his direction.

"What're you giving me this for?" Accepting the phone, which looked nothing like his, he stared up at her.

"Because you aren't answering yours, Miss Ginny has taken to calling me." Turning on her heel, Amelia went back into the house with the same flourish she'd used to exit.

Before putting the device to his ear, Roth gave Ryker a questioning glance. Shaking his head, his brother answered the silent query.

"Don't ask me. She didn't mention your name when I was there earlier."

Lifting the device, Roth tried to avoid getting his finger tangled up in the strap of the wallet case Amelia had the thing wrapped in.

"Hey, Mama. What's going on?"

"Why does something have to be going on for me to call?"

One corner of Roth's lips tipped up in a knowing smirk, then he responded. "Because, Mama. If you're calling me on Amelia's phone, it means you've been trying to call mine. That kinda determination means something has happened. But, since you're not leading with it, I'm guessing it's nothing life threatening."

"Of course not! If you'd picked up or answered my texts, this wouldn't be necessary."

His mother had the audacity to sound affronted that he'd even suggest she'd overstepped by calling his housekeeper's cellphone in an effort to reach him.

"Okay then, Mama. What can I do for you?"

"Well, you know how I've been a member of the Ladies' Auxiliary for years. I finally talked them into doing something worthwhile, and we're having a fundraiser."

Roth's brow dipped. Something was suspicious, but he went with it.

"That sounds nice, Mama. Let me know your goal, and I'll be sure to make a donation. Do you want me to tell Ryker and Rhine? Ryker's right here."

Ryker shot him a glare before immediately standing from the rocking chair. Roth's hand was already up to block the swipe he knew his brother was going to take at his head when he walked by. In his ear, his mother obliviously replied.

"Oh, no. Don't bother. I know he's gonna donate, because he can't participate. Not with him being engaged and all. Not unless I can somehow get Ensley involved. And I don't think that'll happen in a million years."

Picking up on a few key words, Roth's frown deepened. "Mama, why would Ensley need to be involved for Ryker to participate?"

"Because, silly. It's a charity auction. We're calling it, Hearts for Heroes. Isn't that cute?"

The mention of a charity auction got his full attention. His back stiffened and he sat ramrod straight in his seat. He loved his mama, but there was no way in hell he was parading around in front of a bunch of strangers to raise money. His check would have to be good enough.

"Yeah, Mama. It's cute, but the answer is no. I'm not peacocking for a bunch of strangers. Not even for charity."

"Pardon my grits? I don't recall asking you to do any such thing. For your information, it's dates with eligible women being auctioned—not men. As handsome as all my sons are, I don't think I can get anyone to bid on either one of you ornery so-and-sos. You're too much like your daddy."

"Mama, you married our daddy."

"Did I ask you who I married?"

If her tone of voice was any indicator, Virginia Stephens was getting tired of Roth's commentary. He wisely opted not to respond to her retort.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the women have graciously volunteered to go on dates with the highest bidders. Of course, the terms are clear that nothing more than spending time with said woman should be expected. We're the Ladies' Auxiliary, not madams. We aren't selling s-e-x ."

Not only did his mother spell the word, she whispered when she did it. Roth exercised supreme effort to hold in his laughter. He wouldn't be the one to tell her he knew all about sex, and it wasn't necessary for her to do either thing when talking to him about it.

"Okay. So, if you don't need me to be in it, what do you need? Like I said, I'm happy to donate. I can write you a check first thing."

"I don't want your check, Rothschild. I want to see you there. To bid on a date with a pretty lady. That's how you can show your support, by showing your face at my event."

"Mama..."

"Did I mention that the charity we're supporting is geared toward veterans? I know how important it is to you to help your fellow veterans re-enter society after serving their country."

That was below the belt, but it appeared his mama was prepared to pull out all the stops to get her way.

"Did I mention, Carla said Nick would be home, and he's going to be there too?"

Oh, she was really digging deep by bringing up his best friend of more than thirty years. Nick was still active duty, but he claimed he was going to retire soon. Either way, if he'd managed time off, there was no way Roth was going to get out of at least showing his face. Heaving a disgruntled sigh, Roth slumped back into his seat.

"Okay, Mama. When is this shindig?"