Walker stared into her face as they separated enough for polite company. “You’re back,” he said stupidly.

“I’m back,” Ivy agreed, peeking over his shoulder to the stage. “Are you okay with this?”

He wasn’t sure what he felt at the moment other than sheer relief he didn’t have to deal with Tansy. “Of course.”

Ivy nodded firmly then glanced at the people watching them with interest as Malachi opened the bidding on the next man. “I think you’re supposed to go back and cheer on your fellow bachelors so they don’t feel awkward.”

God. Heading back on stage was the last thing Walker wanted, but she was right. “I remember. You got a number for me to call? To set up our date?”

She handed over a business card then backed away, answering her sisters’ calls from the side of the room. “I’ll talk to you later, then.”

“Later.”

Ivy sashayed smoothly down the open aisle. Her hips swayed from side to side, and it was impossible to tear his gaze away or to refrain from imagining her naked, her long limbs…

He shook himself, checking to see if anyone had caught him leering. No one close by—their attention had turned toward the stage. Unfortunately, when he glanced toward the pie table, Tansy and Rose were grinning at him like fools.

He shook a finger at them.

Rose stuck out her tongue. Tansy batted her lashes then turned to face the stage where Dustin was being hauled forward to be auctioned off.

The good-natured teasing continued as Walker rejoined his crew at the front.

Even his brother Caleb wore a satisfied expression when they bumped into each other on the way out of the hall.

“I don’t understand why they’ve got the auction happening in the middle of the damn afternoon,” Walker muttered quietly as Caleb smacked a hand on his shoulder, pushing him aside to let his wife and girls walk ahead of them to the truck. “Doesn’t seem right, letting kids see guys get sold off like they’re breeding stock.”

“Oh, worried about your reputation? That’s why you and—Ivy is it?—were in a killer lip-lock in the middle of a G-rated gathering?” his sister-in-law Tamara deadpanned.

Walker didn’t think he blushed, but…

He glanced at Tamara. “It was all in good fun.”

“Exactly. That’s why the auction is part of the family event, so it doesn’t get dragged off into territory the town council wants to avoid.” Tamara opened the crew-cab door then helped her youngest daughter, Emma, climb onto the running board and into the back seat.

Tamara examined Walker with great curiosity while Emma got settled. “Still, I have lots and lots of questions for you.”

“Ivy and Walker were sweethearts in high school.” This matter-of-fact bit of data came from his second niece who had crawled in from the other side of the truck and was doing up her seatbelt. Sasha leaned forward and smartly informed Tamara, “Kelli says high school sweeties who stick together forever are movie fodder and not real.”

“When do you find all this time to talk to Kelli?” Tamara asked, obviously puzzled. “She works in the barns, and you’re at school all day.”

“Not anymore,” Sasha pointed out, ignoring the question. “Summer holidays started. Kelli says—”

“We’ll just wait on what Kelli says until we’re on the way home, okay, pumpkin?” Caleb offered Tamara a head shake before turning to Walker. “Come for supper.”

“Can’t. Things to do.”

Caleb raised a brow, and Walker gave in. He’d only gotten back to the ranch a day earlier, and he hadn’t spent much time with anyone. “Fine. I’ll wash up then join you.”

“I’ll invite Dustin,” Tamara offered. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Who you asking, me or Walker?” Caleb gave Tamara a pointed look. “Because it seems Dustin is at our table more often than not these days.”

She raised a brow back. “I’m not about to tell him to go away, Caleb. He’s family.”

Walker wondered what the hell was up, but before he could ask for details, they were on the road and headed back to Silver Stone.

He followed his brother’s truck at a distance, his gaze lingering on the familiar rolling hills that slowly opened up to reveal the long, low ranch house perched between the barns and the shining surface of Big Sky Lake.

Home. He’d been born here and had grown up roaming these hills, working chores after school then full-time once he’d graduated. This was where he’d learned to ride and rope.

Where he’d stolen his first kiss—from Ivy Fields, no less. The Snow Princess she’d been back then, and memories swirled around him, hard and fast.

He shoved them away and focused on the here and now, turning into the ranch and parking by the bunkhouse.

He changed out of his dress-up stuff into clean work clothes then made his way to the ranch house, letting himself in the back door. Tasty scents filled the air, and as he hung his hat on one of the hooks in the mudroom, it was clear the place was the same, yet subtly changed since he’d left earlier that year.

New curtains hung at the windows, and he noticed new shelves in the mudroom. Tamara’s touch, no doubt. Over the shelves were hand-drawn name tags for Emma and Sasha, pink and purple with glitter. Tamara’s feminine touch and his nieces’ presence were noticeable everywhere around the house, more so than ever before.

Laughter rang from the main room, and Walker stepped toward it eagerly. This was why he’d come back. A touch of home—maybe it would cure what was ailing him.

Sasha spotted him, jumping up and down. “Uncle Walker sits by me,” she shouted.

But Emma had snuck up to his side and slid her hand into his, tugging lightly to get his attention. “I saved you a seat,” she told him softly.

His throat thickened. His littlest niece had never been a big talker, so it was good to have her sharing so much more smoothly than he remembered. “How about I sit between you two? Or will you steal things from my plate? I hope not, ’cause I’m hungry.”

“Mama cooked lots,” Emma assured him, tugging him to the table, the words so much more important because they came easily to her lips.

Tamara certainly had cooked enough, and the food went down just fine. Dustin had showed up as well, ruffling Sasha’s hair before hurrying to help carry a platter to the table. Then he’d taken his dose of teasing over the woman who’d bought him at the bachelor auction.

“I’m taking her out next Friday,” he said, a flush on his cheeks, but he was happy.

“It’s not the same one as last year, is it?” Walker asked. “Because didn’t she get a little stalkerish on you?”

“Dustin’s previous admirer was not around for this year’s auction,” Tamara informed him as she helped Emma deal with her plate.

Dustin grinned. “I don’t know how you managed that, but thank you.”

“No problem. I’m sure she’s having a good time purchasing stock in Calgary this weekend.” Tamara looked thoughtful, glancing up at Walker. “Calgary Stampede starts this weekend. I thought you’d qualified.”

He’d qualified, but competing was out of the question. “I’m taking a little time off,” he told her. “I need to do some training before I go back in the arena.”

Thankfully, no one asked any more questions, so he sat back and enjoyed the family time and the food.

Dinner finished, Dustin and the girls headed to the sink to do clean up. Emma snuck back and turned on the Wizard of Oz, music and singing filling the room.

Dustin groaned in mock pain. “Emma, no. We’ve heard this a million times over the past month.”

“The girls are in a play at the end of the summer. Get used to it, Uncle Dustin, because if you hang around, you’ll hear a lot more of it.” Tamara patted him on the shoulder then moved to put away the leftovers.

Caleb tipped his head toward the door, and Walker nodded, stopping to grab his coat.

“We’ll be back,” Caleb told Tamara.

“You’ll be back,” Walker said. “I’ll be turning in after chores. Thanks again for supper,” he offered to his sister-in-law.

“Anytime,” she returned. “Stop by for coffee some morning if you’d like. You know where to find me. Only, use the porch, Dynamite. We need to get the roof re-shingled before anyone goes stomping around up there.”

He grinned. “Rooftop approach reserved for Santa. Got it.”

Marching across the well-worn path toward the barns, Caleb at his side, was a feeling as familiar as breathing to Walker, yet…strange. Something felt different. Caleb seemed more centered. More whole.

And he…

He was different, but damn if Walker could figure out what was bugging him, other than his feet were restless and his roots felt disturbed. He felt like a tumbleweed that was wishing it was time to dig in deep, but the winds weren’t finished with it yet.

They worked in silence for a while, Walker because he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to say and Caleb because the man had the patience of a rock. Walker wasn’t sure it was possible to outlast his brother.

When it came to waiting it out, Caleb always had been the best of them.

But apparently, Tamara’s presence had brought about another change, because before Walker could find a way to introduce the topic, Caleb did.

“Tamara touched on it, but I guess I should straight-up tell you that we didn’t expect you to show up. Not until after the Stampede.”

Walker stroked a hand over Hannibal’s nose. “Needed a break.”

“Not a problem on our end.” Caleb looked thoughtful before adding, “Problems on your end?”

Caleb had to have seen or heard about Walker’s near-disastrous final run. “I didn’t get hurt, if that’s what you’re asking. Shook me up a bit, though. I guess I need some time to figure out if this is really what I want to do for a while longer or if it’s time to get out of the chute.”

His brother stopped working, turning his full attention on Walker. Yeah, the near admission he was close to quitting rodeo had to be a bit of a shocker.

Yet if he couldn’t find a way to deal with his problem that was exactly what was going to have to happen. And if he found a way to deal with this problem, there was the whole other possibility he hadn’t even yet mentioned to his family.

The secrets were building, fast and thick.

Caleb’s gaze grew as solid and firm as his response. “Find your feet. We’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

Even as relief rushed over him, Walker felt as if he were all of the companions on Emma’s Yellow Brick Road. He wasn’t smart enough to figure this out. He’d had a heart once, but it had been taken from him. His courage was in the shitter. And coming home was the only thing he had—yet something felt off.

But he’d spend more time pondering it when he wasn’t tying up his brother’s night. “I know you’ve got my back, and I’m glad. Thanks.” He eyed Caleb with suspicion. “What’s up with Dustin?”

A huge sigh escaped Caleb. “Other than he seems obsessed with my wife?”

Walker attempted to hold back a laugh and failed miserably. “Oh my God, are you jealous our kid brother is getting attention from Tamara?”

“Not jealous, not really. It’s just…it’s not right.” Caleb looked as grumpy and gloomy as he had a year ago, before Tamara had come into his life. “She’s…I mean, there’s nothing wrong. And she would never…and Dustin would never. But…she’s mine, dammit.”

Oh brother. In the category of things Walker had never expected to have to deal with…

He schooled his expression to stay as straight and serious as possible. “I didn’t see anything wrong with what the kid was doing tonight during dinner, so unless he’s been stepping over the line at other times…?”

Caleb looked sheepish. “No. I’m just grumpy, I guess.”

“You said it, not me,” Walker teased softly. “It looks as if Dustin is admiring your taste in choosing a lifetime partner this go-round. Tamara can handle some hero-worship without it going to her head.”

“Of course she can. And the kid isn’t doing anything wrong—you’re right about that. He’s always underfoot, though. I swear Dustin moved back in when I wasn’t looking.”

“It’s not just Tamara, bro. He wants to be around you. That’s not a bad thing. You’ve been a dad to him for longer than our father was in his life.”

Caleb stilled. “You’re right. God, I hadn’t even thought of it that way.”

And most of the time Walker wouldn’t have either, but the truth was the years since his parents’ accident had been weighing heavily on his mind.

Seeing Ivy had brought back more than just the good memories from their high school days.

One snowy February day, the lives of the Stone family had been irrevocably changed. The stabbing pain of guilt crashed against him, and Walker had to turn away in case it showed on his face.

Luckily, Caleb had moved on to problem-solving. “Maybe it’s time I do like Dad did to me when I was first starting out. Get Dustin put on a few more long-range cattle drives. Give him some more responsibility.”

“Things that send him away from home a little more?”

“Still with Ashton or some of the hands he knows best.” Caleb nodded slowly. “That could work.”

“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.” Walker leaned back against the nearest support post. “If there’s any new stock that needs to be picked up in Montana or the Dakotas, he’s old enough to do the drive.”

“We’re not doing any buying for a while, Walker. Budget has been tightened down and watched closely.” Caleb’s body posture stiffened with the admission.

The confession had all the signs of a big problem. “How much trouble is Silver Stone in?”

Caleb’s hesitation was too clear. “Not sure yet. The floods a couple years back did more damage than we realized. And I didn’t want to bother you when you’d just left, but we ended up having to cull part of the herd in late February. Even though supply demands were down, we had to buy feed—I should let you talk to Tamara because she’s been doing the books, but, yeah. It’s not good. We’ve got that oil exploration thing started, but so far there’s little progress. We have to buckle down for now.”

It wasn’t at all what Walker had expected to hear. Silver Stone Ranch had done well. Maybe not outrageously successful over the years, but they’d always earned more than enough to get by. Or at least that’s what he’d thought, although it had been Caleb and Luke making the decisions.

“Well, I’m sure you can turn it around,” Walker assured his brother.

“We’ll do our damnedest.”

They worked together until it was time for Caleb to head back to the house where his family was waiting for him—to his little girls and the woman who’d joined them and filled the place with love.

Where their little brother was probably hanging out, being both a pain in Caleb’s ass and a reminder of everything he’d accomplished and worked toward after being tossed into a position of responsibility so many years ago.

Walker turned, feeling very alone and useless.

It seemed inevitable he’d end up on the hillside where his parents’ graves were, overlooking the two lakes. He slid off Hannibal’s back and let the reins fall to the ground as he stepped toward the simple stone markers.

A lingering gust of wind swept in, icy cold from passing over still-snowclad mountains to the west. That’s all it was, but what it felt like was death brushing past, carrying a memory of the hurt and the pain of those early days. The sorrow and the guilt.

Walker stared down at the two gravestones, side by side. “I hate that we never had time to change things, Dad,” he admitted. “Of all the shitty days for me to pick a fight.”

Although, it had been less about Walker being an ass and more about his father pointing the fact out to him…

---

Walker had known he was going to be late for chores again, but this time it wasn’t deliberate. He’d been fooling around at Heart Falls, tossing rocks against the frozen surface and daydreaming about Ivy when his horse had up and taken off on him.

He’d been halfway home on foot when his dad rode up and held out a hand.

Walker took it, swinging up behind his father. They’d rode in silence for the time it took to get back to the barns.

He’d tried to bolt the minute they got within range, but his dad called him back. “Your horse is in his stall. Give him a brush down before you get to your chores.”

“Yes, sir.”

Walter Stone looked him over. “That’s all you got to say?”

“I tethered him, I don’t know why he decided to take off on me. It’s not my fault.”

His dad raised a brow. “Accidents happen, but maybe you shouldn’t have gone out for a ride when you knew chores were due to start.”

“I would’ve only been a little bit late, even if I had to walk the whole way,” Walker had grumbled. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Come on. I might’ve accepted that when you were fourteen, but you’ve got a month to go before you’re considered an adult by most of the world. Eighteen is old enough to be able to tell time and get your ass in here to do your job.”

“I’ll work late,” Walker snapped.

“Some of the time that works, but not when you’re supposed to go out with the crew. And I don’t know why I’m having to explain this to you, because this isn’t the first time. You need to buck up and do your part. You’re not a kid. You can’t expect your older brothers to pick up the slack for you anymore. They’ve got enough on their shoulders. They don’t need to be responsible for you as well.”

Walter Stone had folded his arms over his chest, disappointment written all over his face, and damn if that wasn’t the worst possible thing.

Walker had hated that his dad was upset. Worse, he’d known that he was in the wrong, but spitting the words out seemed impossible.

Which had only pushed him to be even more stupid, because that’s what seventeen-year-olds did. “If I’m so damn terrible, fire me. I’ll find myself another place and get out of your sight and off your land as soon as I can.”

“Now you’re just being stupid to try and rile me up. You know we don’t want you to leave. This is your home—”

“Doesn’t have to be,” Walker muttered.

His dad had shut up then, the two of them eyeing each other as a kind of power surged through the air around them. Finally, his dad had straightened, folded his arms and nodded once. “Make up your mind what’s important to you. Your mom and I are going with the Hayes family to Calgary this weekend. You want to laze around on your ass, so be it, but remember it’s Caleb and Luke you’re letting down. It’s the rest of the people relying on you, and in the end, it’s yourself. We’ll talk more when I get back.”

---

He’d never come back.

Not the caring man who’d tried to teach Walker about responsibility; just his body, cut from the car along with Walker’s mom, and their family friends.

Walter and Deb Stone had been laid to rest overlooking the ranch they’d built with their own hands. Built with sweat and hard labour, and now Caleb was saying it was possible the ranch might be lost.

Walker had a lot of experience with the sensation of feeling out of control, but it never got any easier to face.

He lowered himself to the cold bench beside the graves, the wooden slats worn from the harsh winters and rough with age.

It finally struck him—this was why he felt so strange, so rootless and lost. Because up until now he’d been coasting along and not doing anything worthwhile. He had nothing of value to offer anyone.

It was time to change that. While he still wasn’t sure he was capable, at least now he knew what he needed to strive for.

“You were right, Dad. Caleb and Luke have more than enough responsibilities, and it’s my turn to do my part and step up to the plate. I’m sorry it’s taken me eleven years to really learn the lesson, but I think I’ve got it now.”

He’d come home because home was where a person came when everything else fell apart. What he needed to do was deal with his fears so he could help.

The ranch needed money? Well, he couldn’t do much being a ranch hand other than day-to-day tasks. Out there on the rodeo, though, there was real money to be made. And the other possibility, the one he hardly dared think about because it seemed so outrageous—there was money to be made there too. Lots of it.

Talk about singing for your supper.

But he couldn’t make money riding bulls, and he couldn’t make money from singing if he was going to be shut down and catatonic with fear when he least expected it. He needed to find a way to deal with these damn panic attacks, and maybe that was something he could do here at home.

But as soon as he got a handle on them—as soon as he found some way to cope—he’d have to leave. If it was his turn to make a sacrifice, so be it.

There was the irony. In order to save his home, he had to leave it.