Dinner the second night home was a quieter affair than the previous one. Each family chose to eat together in their own homes, however, the younger generation had made plans to meet at nightfall for a bonfire.

“Ready,” Doug said, just before dusk, handing him a bottle of Jack.

James nodded.

He and all of his cousins, his sister, Ivy and Austin’s girl, Hayden, and a few ranch hands, headed for the fire pit, armed with booze.

They relaxed for a while, sipping on beer or sharing a bottle of whiskey as they talked quietly. The Compass Girls were the first to call it a night, Sienna rubbing her sore back, thanks to the ever-growing baby inside her and the rest claiming tomorrow would be hard enough without a hangover. None of them was ready to say goodbye to Jake.

James figured it was sound advice, but he still gave them shit for skipping out early, especially Sienna and Jade.

“Jake always liked a good bonfire,” Doug said after they’d left, his ankles crossed as he looked into the fire.

“Not as much as he liked his whiskey,” Austin said with a grin. “Bastard could drink any of us under the table.”

“Remember that time in high school when we thought we could build our own still?” Bryant asked the other guys.

“Like a moonshine still?” Ivy asked.

James nodded, even as he chuckled. “Bryant was always into science, and I think that year he was taking chemistry. There was some show on TV about moonshiners and we got the bright idea to build our own still. Our folks had learned to lock up the liquor cabinets after my dad and Jake found my sister, Hope, Jade and Sterling wasted in the hayloft one night in high school. Kinda meant we were forced to find our own way.”

“Did the still work?” Hayden leaned forward, clearly entertained by their exploits.

Bryant shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it did, but Jake caught us before we could sample the goods. Read us the riot act for doing something so stupid. Made some comment about us going blind from drinking poison like that. Sent us back to our houses, muttering about getting an ax.”

“If you never tasted it, how do you know it worked?” Ivy asked Bryant.

“Because around three in the morning, I heard loud singing and laughing near the cabins where the ranch hands live. Snuck out and found Jake and a bunch of the guys passing a jug around this very fire pit, drunker than skunks. He stole our moonshine!”

Ivy giggled. “Oh my God. That’s so mean. And funny.”

“Would have liked at least one sip,” Bryant grumbled. “Put a hell of a lot of work into that.”

Doug punched Bryant on the arm. “You know, I have this theory that Jake knew we were building the still all along. And he waited until it was finished before catching us.”

A light appeared to go on in Bryant’s head. “Son of a bitch! I think you’re right. Damn, man. Now I’m really pissed.” The grin on his face belied the words, and they all laughed, lifting their cups to toast Jake’s cleverness.

The night passed quickly, and a lot of the heavy feelings of the past couple of days started to ease. There was something about being back home, surrounded by these guys—his best friends as well as family—that grounded him.

It was the same sort of brotherhood he felt with the other smokejumpers on the squad. However, for the first time ever, James’s view of his future changed. In the past, he’d always taken things one year at a time. Another season in Yellowstone, broken up by time at home.

Suddenly, what he’d always considered his future felt more like year after year of sowing his wild oats until it was time to grow up and settle down. At least that’s what Jake always said. Said that one day he would open his eyes and start seeing a few things he’d always missed.

James had thought it was just Jake being Jake whenever he said that, and he’d dismissed the comment. Tonight, it was starting to stick as he looked across the fire at his cousins, Austin and Bryant.

Bryant was brooding, probably because of Vaughn’s brief appearance at the bonfire earlier. James was starting to think his younger cousin was in the same boat as him. Always looking around without seeing much.

Austin, on the other hand, was seeing just fine. James liked Hayden, the battered woman who had stowed away on his cousin’s rig to escape her asshole boyfriend. She was a sweet little thing, and it was obvious Austin was completely besotted.

James glanced at Ivy and chuckled to himself. Takes one to know one, he thought.

“I love all these stories.” Ivy looked happier than he’d ever seen her. “You guys have some great memories of Jake.”

Doug, the clueless wonder, piped up. “Sounds like you’ve got some great ones of your brother too.”

James would have punched his baby brother if he could have reached him when Ivy’s smile faded a bit. But before he could figure out how to do damage control, she spoke.

“I do actually. There was this one time my dad was out on a fire call. This was before Jem had joined the squad. He was twenty to my thirteen, and Dad had foolishly left him in charge of me.”

“Where was your mom?” James asked, desperate to keep the story going. This was the first time—aside from the shared dirty joke at dinner last night—that Ivy had opened up about her brother. James was curious about the man.

“She was in North Carolina. My aunt had just had a baby and Mom flew out to help her with my two older cousins, who are total hellions.”

“Sounds like you’re kin to the Comptons,” Austin said.

They laughed, and then Ivy continued the story. “Jem was in a bit of a badass stage at twenty. Still living at home, but champing at the bit to get out. Kept telling Dad he was an adult, and they were butting heads all the time.”

“Oh my God,” Doug interrupted. “You just described James and our dad. Epic battles. Epic.”

Ivy smiled at him. “I didn’t really put it together until this minute, but you do remind me of my brother in some ways.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” James said jokingly.

Ivy tilted her head. “It’s actually a great thing. Jem was funny, the life of every party, and wild as an unbroken stallion.”

Doug laughed at the description, but James soaked it in, deciding it was the best compliment he’d ever received.

“What did your brother do?” Bryant asked, clearly getting into the story as well.

“Jem was savvy to judging the fires and how long Dad would be away. This blaze was a nasty one, nearly three hundred miles away. We both knew Dad would be gone four or five days minimum, and Mom was only one week into her two-week trip to Aunt Helen’s. So, he did what any twenty-year-old boy would do.”

“He threw a party,” all four of the Compass Boys said in unison.

Ivy and Hayden started laughing and then struggled to stop.

Finally, Ivy was able to continue her story. “He made oobie doobie, a whole trash can full of it.”

“Oobie doobie?” Hayden asked.

“Fruit punch and grain alcohol with fruit slices floating in it.”

“Oh, I always called that jungle juice.”

Ivy nodded. “I’ve heard that name too. Anyway, Jem tried to tell me that I had to stay in my room during the party, which failed, of course. I wasn’t about to take orders from my brother, and at that point, I had a crazy crush on one of his friends.”

“Unrequited, I hope,” James said, realizing he sounded like an overprotective, jealous boyfriend.

Ivy looked scandalized. “Of course. It would have been seriously illegal. Not to mention the fact I was thirteen with a really awkward haircut and braces. Totally one-sided, even though I was wholly devoted.”

Doug, ever the flirt, said, “Bet you were hot even with the metal mouth.”

James gave his brother a warning look, while Ivy preened at the compliment. He’d never felt jealousy over a woman before, and certainly not over his brother’s innocent comments, but damn if a spark of it didn’t flare now.

Ivy continued her story. “I told Jem the only way to buy my silence about the party was to let me be there. He agreed, but said he’d hurt me if he caught me drinking. In truth, I didn’t really want to drink. I’d smelled the grain alcohol when he poured it in, and it wasn’t anything I wanted to try.”

James shook his head. “Something tells me that changed.”

“It didn’t really. A few of Jem’s female friends started dragging me through the party with them. I think they thought their kindness to the kid sister might catch Jem’s attention. My brother was a total hottie.”

James loved seeing the way Ivy’s face lit up as she talked about Jem. He hoped to God Sienna told stories about him and Doug this way. This sisterly adoration was probably one of the best things he’d ever seen.

“I told them Jem said I couldn’t drink when they offered me sips of their punch, then one of the girls said, ‘Hey, no problem. Just eat the fruit.’”

There was a collective groan from around the bonfire.

Ivy laughed. “Yeah. These girls obviously weren’t the brightest, and I’m going to use the ‘I was only thirteen’ excuse. I got shit-faced. Super drunk.”

“What happened?” Doug asked, clearly enthralled.

“It was the ultimate worst-case scenario. Jem found me a half hour after the party ended in Mom and Dad’s bathroom. He said it was like a scene from The Exorcist. Only I wasn’t decorating the place in pea soup. Every surface—even the ceiling—was painted with fruit punch. I swear to God, to this day, I still don’t know how I managed to get sick on the ceiling.”

Everyone was laughing as she continued.

“Anyway, Jem was pretty toasted himself, so he put me in bed with a trash can by my head and he crawled into his bed, thinking we’d just clean it all up in the morning.”

James figured out the ending before she could get there. “Your dad got home before you got up, didn’t he?”

“Of course he did. They were able to contain the fire a lot faster than they thought, thanks to some unexpected storms. He came in while both of us were still asleep—”

“Passed out,” Bryant interjected.

“So passed out,” Ivy agreed. “The house was destroyed. Cups, beer cans, food, trash everywhere. He was pissed enough when he saw that and his bathroom, but when he opened the door to his baby girl’s bedroom door and spotted the trash can…”

“Oh man. How did Jem get out of that?”

Ivy grimaced. “I’d like to say it was only Jem who got in trouble. When Dad found out I was the one who’d blackmailed Jem so I could go to the party, and then redecorated the bathroom, we went down together, hard. Spent the better part of the next day—hungover—cleaning the house from top to bottom. I swear it had never, ever been that clean. My mom raved when she got home, expecting to find the place a wreck.”

“Did your dad tell her about the party?” Hayden asked.

Ivy shook her head once, then stopped. “You know…I don’t know. She never said anything about it, so if he did, she didn’t let on that she knew.”

“Probably figured you’d already suffered your punishment,” Austin said.

“We did. Jeez. That was one of the worst days of my life. Until—”

* * *

Ivy stopped mid-sentence, the sudden pause not lost on any of them. She felt her face flush.

“I think we need more wood for the fire,” James said, trying to save her from the awkward silence. Austin stood up with him and the two walked away, disappearing into the dark night to the woodpile.

Doug came over, claiming the spot next to her.

“Must’ve been tough losing your brother at such a young age.” Doug reached out to pour another beer in Ivy’s cup. “James drives me crazy, but I wouldn’t want to live without him.”

“It’s been a long time,” Ivy said. “Ten years of mourning. I think the way you all do it is better.”

“What do you mean?” Doug asked.

“My family just shut down after we lost Jem. Locked every memory away, every picture, everything.” She looked around the circle slowly. “Tonight is the first time I’ve really talked about him. And…it doesn’t hurt. Telling you that story actually made me feel better.”

“I’m glad you told us.” Doug reached over and placed a comforting hand on her arm. There was something very charming and utterly irresistible about these Compton men. Their mamas had certainly raised them right.

“My brother is crazy about you, you know.”

“He’d probably be annoyed with you for saying that.”

Doug shrugged good-naturedly. “Probably, but he’s kicked my ass before. And I’ve kicked his. I’m not scared.”

“Seriously?”

Doug chuckled. “We’re brothers. Ass kicking is in the Terms of Service thing we signed at birth.”

She laughed. “I didn’t realize.”

“I think you might be crazy about him too. So what gives?”

“Are you always this straightforward?”

“Yup.”

Ivy couldn’t find it in her to be annoyed by Doug’s questions. “He’s a smokejumper.”

“So I’ve heard. About seven million times. From him. When he’s trying to impress the ladies.”

“You know, your flirting measures pretty high on the Richter Scale too.”

“Ooo!” Doug leaned closer. “I like the idea of making the earth shake for a pretty gal. Might have to steal you away from my brother.”

She rolled her eyes at his joke. “Yeah. I can assure you I wouldn’t date a storm chaser any more than I would a smokejumper. Not sure what you guys have against taking safe jobs that increase your chances of growing old and dying in your sleep at a hundred years old.”

“Well, it’s not like either one of us is going to do these jobs forever. It’s a young man’s game, chasing adventures and thrills.”

“Maybe so, but those adventures come with consequences sometimes.”

Doug’s expression sobered, and it was obvious he’d put two and two together. “He’d quit for you.”

“I’d never ask him to. And if he did…” She sighed as she paused.

“You’d feel guilty for making him give up something he loved.”

She nodded.

Doug leaned back and blew out a long breath. “Guess that explains the problem.”

“Yeah,” she whispered sadly. “Why do you do it? Chase tornadoes?”

He shrugged. “It was Jake who suggested it.”

“Seriously?” Ivy was starting to revise her previous fond feelings for the old ranch hand, as she recalled James telling her it was Jake who’d steered him toward smokejumping.

“You’ve been around the family for a bit now. You have to admit the Compton men have an excess of energy.”

Ivy giggled as her cheeks flushed. She’d experienced some of that energy firsthand with James.

Doug snorted. “Wasn’t talking about that kind of energy, but yeah, it’s comes out in the bedroom too. Jake told me once there’s a contradiction in every single Compton he’s ever met. We’re creatures of wanderlust with a serious commitment to—no, I think he said love for home. Said those two things battle each other for a bit, but in the end, Compass Ranch always wins.”

“Always?”

Doug didn’t answer right away, and Ivy got a sense this conversation wasn’t solely about James anymore. “Austin got there quicker than the rest of us. He went away, tried college, and then came back and chiseled out his own path on the ranch. Driving that big rig all over the countryside gives him the freedom he needs, while making sure he’s still a part of this place. I don’t think there’s any question that James is going to come back here one day for good too. He’ll stand next to my dad in those stables day after day, working with the horses, and he’ll feel happy, complete.”

Ivy agreed. She’d seen James with his dad, watched them work. However, she knew that outcome wasn’t going to appear anytime soon. James was young, and she didn’t think his energy was burned out yet. He could continue to smokejump for another decade or more, and when he decided it was enough, he’d have his place here secured, waiting for him. The only problem with that scenario was that she couldn’t wait the same way Compass Ranch would. Even now, the thought of him jumping into another fire left her fighting to suck in a breath of air. She would die a million deaths every single time he took off in that plane.

Which left them at an impasse. In order to be together, one of them had to give up something vital, something important. For James, it would be the job he loved. For her, it would be her peace of mind. Hell, it would more likely be her sanity.

James and Austin returned before she and Doug could say anything more. They loaded the fire up and the stories kept coming as they moved away from Jake stories to exploits of the Compass Boys.

Even Bryant lost most of the mopey edge that had lingered after his tattoo-cowboy-eye-candy had moseyed through their gathering, leveling steamy stares in James’ cousin’s direction. She knew how he felt, frustrated and ultimately lonely, the guy he craved so close but, for some reason she wished she could ask him about, still out of reach. Working together to keep the darkness just outside their ring of light at bay, they all took turns, constantly interrupting each other to embellish, exaggerate and entertain.

Ivy finally put her hand up. “You guys have got to stop. I’ve had too much to drink and my stomach hurts from laughing.”

James and the others rose, saying their good nights after he offered to douse the embers. Ivy stayed behind with him. Once the fire was out, he reached for her hand. “I’ll walk you back to the house.”

She accepted his help, needing it after one too many beers. Neither of them spoke as he walked her back to the house, then upstairs. They turned to look at each other in the hallway outside their rooms.

“Good night,” she whispered.

James bent forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He wanted more. Wanted lots more, but now wasn’t the time or the place. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he murmured, watching as she walked into Sienna’s old bedroom and closed the door.

Then he went to his room and lay down. Sleep eluded him as he thought about Jake and Jem and Ivy and his broken heart.