Prologue
As he drove toward the property, Rory Bellamy knew he should have told Jace and Tyson outright he wasn’t interested. Nothing about the look of the massive cement compound, rising in the darkness of night before him, could make him feel this was his place, not even temporarily.
It wasn’t the most welcoming sight he’d ever seen. Nothing like the family ranch.
But was that important at this stage of his life? Besides, it wasn’t like he wanted a ranch for himself. So that whole scenario—while great to step back into his roots a bit to help out—wasn’t his future.
Hell yeah, like the other men in his unit, he’d been lost this last year. Maybe more lost than they’d been. Michael had his own place where he’d holed up, and Jace had come to the ranch to help Rory’s family for a few months. Rory greatly appreciated it, considering he had kept the family ranch afloat while his brother recovered from a bad tractor accident.
Rory would have gone to the ranch sooner if he’d known he was needed. But, damn it, how was he supposed to know if no one said anything? He didn’t live in Texas anymore. He’d stuck to California, even after leaving the military. Mostly because he didn’t know where else to go. Having a reason to come home made it seem less like an excuse and more like a purpose.
How could he tell his father and brother how lost he’d been? That he wanted—no—needed to return to his roots? That line of conversation would bring up a mess of questions he had no intention of answering.
Thankfully his father had called and told him what happened. Rory had flown home immediately to help until Dennis was back on his feet. Rory had intended to be there for only a few months but had ended up staying almost nine. He’d enjoyed those months, and then it was time to go.
His brother was strong enough to take over again. The ranch had the boss back, and Rory was an unpaid ranch hand, getting in the way and struggling to let go of the reins and to return control to Dennis.
After one particular argument, he realized the problem was him. This wasn’t his place. He was always welcome to visit, but it wasn’t his home.
He didn’t have one.
The sense of being lost returned in a vicious wave.
He turned off the engine and stepped from his battered pickup truck. He tilted his beat-up cowboy hat off his forehead and looked at the imposing structure. The longer he looked at it, the better he felt. It was massive, ugly and cold-looking, but it had timelessness to it. It was solid. It had been built to withstand the world, the elements, time and anything Mother Nature could throw at it. It no longer looked ugly as much as it looked immovable. A certain comfort existed in that.
But he had to remember it wasn’t his home either. Michael might have bought the property bordering it, but that was Michael. Not Rory. Michael had put down roots.
Rory was afraid he didn’t have any to put down.
A nearby door opened suddenly, and he could see shadows as several people walked out. A security lamp turned on, highlighting the men standing in front of him.
Jace, Tyson, Michael. Easy men to identify. So many more stood beside them. And women …
Suddenly shy, he tipped his hat and in a husky drawl said, “Good evening.”
“About time you got here,” Jace said, stepping forward to slap him on the shoulder. “I was hoping you’d make it. How’s Dennis doing?”
“He’s back on top, so I figured maybe you guys could use a hand.” Rory stepped forward, only now seeing Ice and Levi.
Ice’s face lit up. “Rory?” She raced toward him and threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy to see you. Levi told me that he’d offered you a job, but he didn’t say you’d accepted.”
“I didn’t. I just arrived,” he apologized and dropped his arms from Ice, smiling at her. Ice had adopted him into her friend group a long time ago. He studied her face. “This suits you.”
She beamed. “It does indeed.” Her gaze was intense, searching, and she wouldn’t let him evade her focus. Ever since she’d heloed in and picked him up, badly injured from a mission gone wrong, she’d kept an eye on him. She’d dragged him out for a few beers with her friends time and time again.
Levi stepped forward and shook Rory’s hand with a grin on his face. “About time you got here.”
Some of Rory’s initial uneasiness dropped away.
Ice turned to look at Levi. “You didn’t tell me he was coming.”
“I didn’t know when he’d get here. I just told him the door was always open. I figured he’d find his way eventually.”
Ice’s smile was so damn beautiful as she stared at Levi that Rory suddenly wished someone was in his life who looked at him the same way. But he needed to get his own shit together first.
Levi swung his arm toward the doorway. “You’ve got a lot of friends here. Welcome home.”
The wording stopped Rory for a long moment. How did Levi realize exactly what Rory was missing? A sense of home and someone in it to share his life with.
Then a series of odd yips filled the air. He glanced down to see a fat puppy barely walking with several siblings behind it, all waddling toward the group.
“Sorry,” a tall brunette woman said. “They’ve had their bottle, and now they need to go to the bathroom, so I brought them outside. I didn’t realize you were all out here.”
“No problem. Louise, come meet Rory, the newest member of the team,” Ice said.
Rory squatted down as one of the puppies struggled to make it to him, its nose quickly pushing into Rory’s hand. He chuckled and scooped up the pudge. “What’s this guy’s name?”
“We’re trying to come up with some,” Levi said. “These guys are from Anna and Flynn’s place. The mother has no milk, and Anna needed help feeding them, so we’re fostering them until Anna can find homes.”
Louise laughed. “Good luck with that.” She smiled at Rory and reached out to shake his hand. “I’m a vet. I came to check out these little guys.” She walked to her car as she said, “I can see they are all well looked after. I’ll come back in a few days.”
Rory, his arms full of adorableness, watched her drive away. When he turned to the others, he found a speculative look on Ice’s face. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter?”
Jace snorted and said, “Don’t worry about it. Give in now. It’ll happen no matter what you do, so surrender to it from the start. It’s easier that way.”
Rory stared at him in confusion.
Levi grinned. “Come on inside. Looks like you’ll fit right in.”