“I doubt that’ll be a factor.”

  She stared at him. “What do you mean? They’re best friends. It’ll be a factor.”

  “My mom would never allow her accident to stand in the way of whatever Aunt Jo needs to do. And vice versa. All they want for each other is happiness.”

  “Well, that’s…that’s great.” So maybe her plans wouldn’t be delayed, after all. “Do you still think my mom will be miserable in New York?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. It’s a tough call. I probably have no business saying one way or the other. I’ve seen how much Mom misses Ryker. We all do. It’s no fun being far away from someone you care about.”

  “It’s hell.”

  “Yeah, it is.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. Then he held it the rest of the short trip to his place.

  That simple gesture meant so much. He’d demonstrated compassion and understanding with that connection and she was sorry when the ride was over. The sex was great, fantastic, even, but she cherished his friendship more.

  * * *

  Ryker wouldn’t be happy. Zane hadn’t insisted that Aunt Jo needed to stay in Eagles Nest, which is what Ryker would have done. Instead he’d told Mandy that it was a tough call and now he was holding her hand instead of arguing against her plan.

  But Ryker didn’t have all the facts. He didn’t know about Mandy’s crummy excuse for a father, for one thing. And he hadn’t heard the loneliness in Mandy’s voice when she talked about eating PB and J sandwiches because she didn’t want to bother cooking for one person.

  She was hurting and Zane hated that for her. He had some ideas regarding her situation, though. What if by running away, she’d avoided dealing with any of her issues? If so, then taking her mother to New York wouldn’t help.

  On the other hand, Aunt Jo had stayed to battle her demons with the help of her friends. She’d moved on without leaving town. At least that was how he saw it.

  But he wasn’t qualified to say such things to Mandy. A couple of years ago he might have been that arrogant. Hell, a few weeks ago he might have said it.

  Hearing about her dad’s behavior had changed his perspective. She’d been wounded in ways he couldn’t imagine, and he wanted her to have whatever she needed to heal from that. If taking her mom back to New York was that special thing, then he wouldn’t try to stop her.

  He reluctantly let go of her hand as the house and the barn came into view. The vehicles parked near the house were the same, but a shiny truck in midnight blue with silver pin-striping sat down by the barn. Cody was home.

  Mandy sat up straighter. “Whose truck is that?”

  “That fancy rig belongs to Cody. Guess he got free of that obligation, after all, which is great.”

  “It’s wonderful. I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to Aunt Kendra.”

  “Sure will. Since the barn’s open he must be feeding the horses.” He parked the truck and glanced at Mandy. “Looks like you made the big effort for nothing.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll pop in and say hi to Cody, then go check on what’s happening at the house.”

  “Excellent. He’ll be glad to see you.” He reached for the door handle.

  “Or maybe I shouldn’t. If we show up together looking like we just crawled out of bed…”

  “I’m okay with that. Are you?”

  “I am, but I’m not the one he’ll tease unmercifully later.”

  He grinned and tugged on the brim of his hat. “I can take it.”

  She gave him a look that would be seared into his brain forever. He would bet his last dime that in that moment, she fell for him. Somehow his cocky response had gotten to her.

  It might mean nothing in the long run. She could talk herself out of being in love and fly back East on Tuesday without ever telling him. But for now, as they walked together into the barn, he felt ten feet tall.

  Cody had made it about halfway down the barn aisle by the time they interrupted his work. Zane was relieved to see that his little brother had fed Licorice. That horse sorely needed a transfer to another barn, no matter what Mandy thought. She wouldn’t be here to train Licorice and he didn’t feel like rounding up another candidate. The mare was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

  “Hey, there, bro!” Zane called out as Cody returned to the wheelbarrow for another flake of hay. “Your relief is here.”

  Cody paused and shoved back his hat. “Wondered when you’d decide to show up.” He flashed his signature smile, the one that had been winning hearts since he’d first employed it when he’d been barely six months old. “Mandy Fielding, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Come give a guy a hug!” He held out both arms. “How long’s it been?”

  “Ten years, and look at you! All grown up.” Laughing, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. “And driving around like a celebrity in your duded-up truck.”

  “I know, right?” He stood back and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “I bought it off a friend who couldn’t keep up the payments, but people see me in that truck and make assumptions. They ask if I’m famous.”

  “What do you say?”

  “That I’m just a hard-working cowhand. They refuse to believe it, so I give ‘em my autograph and they’re thrilled.”

  “Glad you could take time from your adoring fans to pay us a visit.” Zane clapped him on the shoulder. “When did you get in?”

  “Around three-thirty this morning. Everybody was zonked out in the living room, so I made a bedroll on the floor next to Mom. She seemed real happy when she woke up and saw me.”

  “Good job. Could you get a bead on how she’s doing?”

  “She was hurting and a little disoriented. You know how it is. When something bad happens, you wake up and hope you dreamed it. Then you find out you didn’t.”

  Zane sighed. “Wish I could trade places with her.”

  “Me, too. Deidre gave her a painkiller and she was better after it kicked in. When I left, Aunt Jo was organizing breakfast and Deidre and Christine were planning to give Mom a bath. Judy’s doing laundry.”

  Mandy put a hand on Zane’s arm. “I should get up there and see what I can do to help.”

  He nodded. “We’ll be along soon.”

  “What about your birds?”

  “We’ll stop by the cabin before we come in for breakfast.”

  “Then I’ll see you in a little bit.” She gave his arm a squeeze and walked back down the barn aisle.

  Cody didn’t say anything until she’d gone through the door. Even then he kept his voice low. “I thought you were mad at her. At least that’s what it sounded like when we talked on the phone yesterday.”

  “Well, I was, but…”

  “Hey, I get it. You can’t stay mad at somebody when you’re in love with them.”

  He gazed at Cody. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Hell, it’s not like this is anything new. You’ve always been in love with her.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Yes, you have. Only now you’ve taken it to the next level. Unfortunately, I don’t see it working out.”

  Zane massaged the back of his neck. “Nope. Not for anyone – Mandy, Aunt Jo, or any of us McGavins. I thought I could talk her out of taking Aunt Jo to New York. That’s what Ryker expected me to do. But it’s not that easy.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up because you’re not doing what Ryker expects. If he wanted to direct traffic he should’ve stayed home instead of enlisting.”

  That made Zane smile. “Look, you need to let it go.”

  “I don’t want to. I’d rather be mad at him than scared shitless that he’s gonna die.”

  “He won’t. And if he’d never gone he’d always regret it.”

  “But he made Mom cry.”

  “Well, she’ll be crying happy tears when he comes home in August.”

  Cody scowled. “He’d better come home in one piece.”

  “He will.” Zane told himself that every day. Any other outcome was unthinkable.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mandy pitched in to help her mom make breakfast while Deidre and a tall blonde named Christine helped Aunt Kendra take a bath. Judy, a petite brunette who was the fifth member of the Whine and Cheese Club, had tidied up the living room and was currently setting the table in the dining room.

  Shrieks of laughter came from Aunt Kendra’s bathroom. Mandy’s mom shook her head and grinned. “She hates taking baths. She’s strictly a shower girl.”

  “Don’t make me come in there!” Judy called out.

  “We want you to!” Deidre yelled back. “Bring your phone! We have blackmail material galore. Hey, quit splashing me, Kendra Renee!”

  “No pictures,” Aunt Kendra wailed.

  “I didn’t know her middle name was Renee.” Mandy stirred the country fries while her mom put together a fruit plate. They’d also made a ginormous egg and ham casserole that was baking in the oven.

  “Neither did I until I met these women. They’ve known each other their whole lives, so they have all the dirt, as they say. I’ve learned a lot about Kendra. About all of them, for that matter.”

  Mandy used the spatula to turn the fries. “I’ll bet they’ve learned a lot about you, too.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Her mom said it with a chuckle. “When the wine’s flowing, we all let down our hair. Metaphorically speaking in my case. I treasure their friendship, especially since I’ve lost touch with everyone from my high school days.”

  “Me, too. Except Zane, obviously.”

  “A couple of your girlfriends still live in Eagles Nest if you want to call them while you’re here.”

  She was grateful that her mom had introduced the subject of her former girlfriends instead of making a comment about Zane. “I probably won’t call them. It would be almost like starting over, and what’s the point? I live so far away.”

  The oven timer dinged and her mom turned off the heat. “True. Might as well concentrate on your friends in New York.”

  “Exactly. And I have some great ones. But I don’t…” She paused as more shrieks came from the bathroom.

  “Put that phone away!” Aunt Kendra was laughing so she must not be too upset that Judy had gone in to take pictures.

  “I can’t imagine any of them coming to my apartment if I broke my leg,” Mandy said. “Let alone helping me take a bath.”

  “It takes time to build that kind of trust. You’ll get there.”

  She wasn’t so sure. Although she had a good relationship with her friends in New York, would they be a lifeline during a crisis? She wouldn’t swear to it.

  The people she could count on were her mom, Aunt Kendra and the McGavin brothers. Even when she’d distanced herself from her long-time neighbors, she would have come to their aid if they’d needed her and they’d do the same for her.

  That left her with a dilemma. Asking her mother to leave Eagles Nest at a critical time for the McGavins wasn’t helpful or neighborly. Aunt Kendra would be okay – she had her three high school buddies – but they didn’t live a five-minute drive away.

  Those nightly rides her mom and Aunt Kendra had enjoyed wouldn’t be happening for several months, but they could still share an evening meal whenever they wanted. She turned toward her mother. “I don’t think you can leave yet.”

  “Of course not. We haven’t had breakfast.”

  “No, I mean for New York. I’d love for you to spend the summer there, but fall has a lot of things going for it, too, and Christmas – oh, you’ll love Christmas. We’ll skate at Rockefeller Center!”

  Her mom smiled. “I haven’t skated in years.”

  “It’ll come right back to you.”

  “Do you go there all the time?”

  “If you can believe it, I haven’t been there yet. I was supposed to go skating with my friends this past winter but we ended up at a movie, instead. I don’t know anybody who’s into it. You used to skate with me a lot when I was a kid.”

  Her mom gazed at her with a tender light in her eyes. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

  “I loved it. I remember the time –”

  “Something smells amazing!” Cody walked into the kitchen followed by Zane. “Aunt Jo, take pity on a starving man. Tell me we’re almost ready to eat.”

  “We’re just waiting for everybody to show up. Your mom is –”

  “Here! Ta-da!” Kendra balanced on her crutches just beyond the kitchen doorway. Her friends hung in the background looking pleased with themselves.

  Mandy’s mom nodded with approval. “Great outfit, you guys. Well done.”

  “And I wear it with such flair.” Aunt Kendra had on purple sweats and a matching sweatshirt that said MY GLASS IS HALF FULL. BRING THE BOTTLE. With her hair in a ponytail and no makeup, she looked like a college kid who’d busted her leg skiing during spring break.

  Zane and Cody moved toward her in unison, as if they intended to carry her wherever she wanted to go.

  “Back off, boys.” She pointed a crutch at them. “I have to learn to do for myself. But if one of you would fetch the ottoman, I’m supposed to prop up my leg every chance I get.”

  “I’ll organize that.” Zane moved carefully past her.

  “We’ll put her at the head of the table.” Cody followed him but flashed his mom a smile as he edged by. “Looking good.”

  While Zane and Cody situated their mother at the table with the ottoman underneath, everybody else brought in food and coffee. The table was immense, although it didn’t look as large now as it had when Mandy had been a little girl. Back then she’d believed Ryker’s story that it had come from a castle in Scotland.

  Eight of them fit easily even when they provided extra room at the end for Aunt Kendra and her ottoman. Zane sat on her right and Cody on her left so they could pass food to her. Mandy took the chair next to Zane and her mom sat beside her.

  Deidre, Judy and Christine pretended to fight over who got to be next to Cody. He finally left the table and came back with paper torn from the pad Aunt Kendra used for shopping lists. He ripped it into three uneven strips so they could draw straws. When Deidre won, she left her chair and did a happy dance.

  Aunt Kendra smiled and shook her head. “The Cody McGavin fan club is still going strong, I see.” Then she glanced around the table. “I love this seating arrangement. I feel like the Queen of England.”

  Deidre rolled her eyes. “The royal purple outfit was a mistake. That one’s on me.”

  “Not a mistake. I look fabulous in purple. Now, as your reigning queen, I feel obligated to say a few words.”

  Cody gazed longingly at the steaming casserole in the middle of the table. “How many words?”

  “Just four.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I love you all.”

  Mandy’s vision blurred and she swiped at her damp cheeks.

  “We love you, too, Mom.” Zane’s voice was gruff with emotion.

  Aunt Kendra flapped her hands in front of her face and sniffed. “That’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. Now dive in, everybody.”

  The food smelled delicious but Mandy didn’t have much of an appetite. Instead she was hungry for the love and laughter that flowed around the table. And jealous, oh, so jealous of the McGavins.

  She remembered a time when she hadn’t been jealous. Her family had been smaller than theirs, but she’d had two parents while they’d had only one. She’d even tried to talk her dad into spending more time with those fatherless boys, but he’d claimed that work kept him too busy. Oh, he’d been busy, all right. After years of being proud because she had a father, she’d become ashamed of him.

  She didn’t participate much in the conversation until Cody brought up Zane’s raptor project.

  “If you ladies haven’t been to the aviary recently, you should go before you leave. It’s inspiring.”

  “It certainly is,” Mandy said. “And the pygmy owl is adorable.”

  “I didn’t know you’d rescued a pygmy owl.” Deidre’s expression grew animated. “I’m for heading up there after breakfast if that works for Zane.”

  “You bet.” Zane sounded pleased. “I also have a female golden who’s almost ready to be released, so if you don’t go now, you’ll miss her.”

  “I’m hoping you’ll decide to release her while I’m still here,” Cody said. “I never seem to time it right.”

  “First I need to get Kyle to look at her and make sure she’s a hundred percent. I’ll give him a call today.”

  “Where would you let her go?” Judy sounded interested.

  “Close to where I found her so she doesn’t get disoriented. Her mate’s here to help guide her, but I don’t want her to have a long flight back on her first day. It’s about a half-hour’s ride from here.”

  Christine perked up. “By car?”

  “On horseback.”

  “Oh.” Deidre glanced at her two friends. “That lets us out.”

  “Now see what you’re missing by not taking riding lessons?” Mandy’s mom jumped into the conversation. “Really, you should all do it.”

  Mandy could tell from the women’s laughing responses that they’d heard the pitch many times before and had rejected the idea. Their friend’s accident might be the final nail in the coffin of that possibility. Which meant Aunt Kendra wouldn’t have a girlfriend to go riding with her after Mandy took her mother to New York.

  The meal ended soon after that and Aunt Kendra asked Mandy to walk her back over to the couch while the rest of the group started cleaning up the dishes.

  “By tomorrow I’ll be okay to move around by myself,” she said, “but this first day I wouldn’t mind having someone nearby in case I get into trouble.”

  “I understand.” Mandy kept a close eye on her progress as they made their way into the living room. Her heart ached as she watched her struggle along when she’d been so energetic only a few days ago.

  “Don’t ever break your leg, Mandy.” Her voice was strained as she lowered herself to the cushion.

  “I’ll do my best not to.” She helped lift the cast onto the sofa. Then she glanced at the pitcher of water on the table next to it. “You need more water. I’ll go get it.”

  “Hang on a minute.”