Page 10 of Broncos and Ballads (Healing Springs Ranch #2)

“I like Brock McQuaid,” Mom called from her spot on the paddock fence.

Venus slid her hand over the mane of her quarter horse, a stunning gold-champagne color and aptly named Goldie. The afternoon light not only made the mare shine but glistened off the lush greenery of the manicured shrubs and gardens all around the paddock and barn.

Nestled against the Santa Monica range, the sprawling ranch was known for its winery and also had a wedding venue on part of the property.

Mom paid people to take care of everything for her, including the horses, the barns, and the house a short distance from the barns, which was constructed of smooth stucco with a red terra-cotta roof and arched doorways and windows.

What kind of answer could she give to Mom when everything with Brock McQuaid was entirely fabricated? She didn’t want to lie, but Mom still had too many friends in important places and had never been good about keeping secrets.

“I always thought you’d end up with Reed.” Mom swung her workworn cowboy boots, her tight jeans outlining her nearly perfect body. With a cute baseball cap and long blond braids, Mom looked like she could be Venus’s sister, even though she was double Venus’s twenty-four years.

Mom was still as beautiful today as she’d been as a model. She’d never risen to the stardom and popularity that Venus had, but she’d always been a knockout and still was—of course with a little help from Botox.

“Reed really does love Lexi.” Venus had been thinking about the engagement party since sneaking away last night, and she’d come to the same conclusion that she had at the party. Reed cared about Lexi, and Lexi loved him in return.

Mom gave a whistle as she looked at her phone screen—probably still scrolling through pictures of Venus and Brock at the engagement party, more pictures that Lexi had posted to her social media. “Well, I’d take Brock McQuaid as a replacement, that’s for sure.”

Last night, after she’d walked away from Brock, Venus had gone directly to her room, packed her bags, and driven the couple of hours to her mom’s ranch near Malibu.

She’d needed the time with her mom and her horses and had decided to spend the extra days off at the ranch before flying back to Europe.

Thankfully, Mom was between boyfriends and had been home when Venus had arrived after midnight. They’d stayed up late talking mostly about Reed, had slept in, and now Venus was enjoying some time with her horses—or trying to.

She was still irritated at Reed for the way he’d sprung the engagement on her and how he’d also put her on the spot to be his best woman.

She was also irritated that he’d compared her love life to her mom’s.

It had been callous and inconsiderate, especially because he knew how different she wanted to be.

Just because she’d gone out with lots of men and hadn’t had a steady boyfriend or dated anyone seriously didn’t mean she was turning into her mom.

She’d just been waiting for Reed, and now that he’d obviously rejected her, she would show him that she could be in a relationship.

Even more than that, she’d show him that he was wrong about her being afraid of commitment.

She would stay committed to her fake relationship for as long as it took to prove to Reed she wasn’t pathetic.

Except the whole plan to fake date Brock was the epitome of pathetic, wasn’t it?

She released a tight breath. “It’s not serious with Brock.”

“It doesn’t have to be, honey.” Mom finally tucked her phone into her pocket. “Sometimes I think you need to lighten up a little.”

Like you? The words pressed for release, but Venus bit them back. She hadn’t come to the ranch to argue with her mom. She’d come to get away from Reed, and yes, maybe nurse her broken heart a little.

“I can’t see Brock getting too serious either,” Mom offered. “Not after his track record of moving on from one woman to the next.”

Kind of like Mom’s record of moving on from one boyfriend to the next.

But again, Venus forced herself to stay silent.

It had never done any good to point out her mom’s failures with men.

It never changed anything because her mom always found someone new, always went all in with the guy to the point of being obsessed.

But those relationships never lasted more than a year, most a lot less.

Venus had her theories about why, mainly that Mom was still in love with Marco, her first love and Venus’s father.

Mom had met him when she’d been in Italy on a photo shoot.

Marco was from a wealthy family who had a fortune in banking and jewelry.

To Marco, Mom had been just a fling, a beautiful American model he could see whenever she was in the country. But Mom had made him her whole world.

Although Mom had never said so, she’d hoped Marco would come live in America with her on her family’s ranch, especially since her parents were deceased and she was alone. She’d even been willing to sell the ranch and move to Rome to marry Marco.

It had taken a couple of years and the pregnancy with Venus for Mom to realize Marco wasn’t willing to rearrange his life for her. He’d blamed his family, claiming they wanted him to marry a good Italian from among their social circles.

In the end, he’d married someone else, and Mom had been left to raise a baby by herself. Even though Mom didn’t need Marco’s financial support because she had her family’s money, Marco had been decent enough to provide for Venus over the years.

Venus had met him twice in her life, and that was enough for her. Once had been as a young girl when he was visiting Los Angeles. All she remembered from that time was that he was tall and handsome and Mom had been giddy around him.

The other time had been on a photo shoot in Rome, and she’d asked him if he wanted to have dinner. He’d been busy, but he’d made time for drinks. The meeting had been awkward, and Venus had walked away from it satisfied that she hadn’t missed anything by not having her father in her life.

Regardless of the loser that she thought Marco was, her mom had never stopped loving him. He’d been her first love and obviously her last.

“I say just enjoy having a fling with Brock McQuaid,” Mom said with a flash of a smile. “Take all you can of that hotty while he’s around.”

“Sure, Mom.” Venus had long ago learned not to take dating advice from her mom.

In fact, Venus had half a mind to call her agent and let Kristin know she’d changed her mind about being in a relationship with Brock.

It wasn’t too late. His assistant had only just contacted Kristin this morning about coming up with a plan for the fake dating.

Venus had read through Ainsley Rose’s accusations again—her claims that Brock didn’t want to get serious, that he didn’t know how to love, and that he wasn’t ready for a committed relationship.

Venus didn’t know whether to believe her.

But whether the pop star’s accusations were true or not, a part of Venus wanted to help Brock out of his tight spot, especially after how nice he’d been to her last night.

Venus sighed, then urged Goldie into a canter and let the warm Malibu sunshine bathe her face.

Mom hopped from her perch. “On the other hand, it’s important to give each new man a chance to find out where things could lead. You never know if you don’t explore the possibilities.”

Give men a chance? Venus almost scoffed. Her mom gave too many men a chance, and Venus meant what she’d told Reed, that she wanted to be different from her mom.

“It’s not serious, Mom. Brock’s a nice guy, and we like each other’s company. That’s about it.”

A text pinged. One with the special chime she used for Reed’s texts.

Venus didn’t want to feel the tug to see what he had to say, but the need to hear from him had been nagging at her. She’d left without a word, and he’d been silent ever since. Was he angry with her? She didn’t want to cause a rift, but she didn’t know how to smooth things over.

She reined in Goldie and at the same time tugged her phone from her back pocket.

As she touched her screen, Reed’s text came to life:

Reed: I’m sorry for the things I said last night and not trusting you.

She could feel the tension ease from her shoulders. They’d had very few arguments over the years, and she was glad that Reed was always quick to patch things up.

Venus: I’m sorry too.

Reed: You know I just care about you.

Venus: I know.

Reed: I’ll do better to support you in your relationship with Brock.

Venus paused her fingers above the keyboard. Did she want Reed to support her relationship with Brock? Not really. But what could she say now?

She scrambled for a response but couldn’t think of anything coherent. Finally, she typed a lame text:

Venus: Thanks. That means a lot.

Reed: Still friends?

Venus: Of course.

Reed: I’ll always need you.

Always need her? What did that really mean to him?

That wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that. Once upon a time she would have interpreted those words to mean that he wanted to be with her long term, that they had a future together.

But now? His engagement had changed everything.

She blew out an exasperated breath. He didn’t really need her. At least, not the way she’d hoped and believed he would.

Reed: I hope you’ll always need me too.

Venus: I will.

Things would have to change between them. But she was relieved that Reed wanted some things to be the same. She didn’t like that he’d gotten engaged to someone else. But at least she could cling to the hope that he still cared about her too.