Page 19 of Broncos and Ballads (Healing Springs Ranch #2)

“Brock McQuaid is finally in love!” Kade shouted as he stepped into the house.

“Hush up.” Brock took a playful swing at his youngest brother and punched him in the shoulder. “Thought I told you to be quiet about it.”

Kade grinned as he set Brock’s bag on the back entryway floor. “You might have told me to be quiet, but I never agreed to it.”

At twenty-three, Kade was the baby of the five McQuaid siblings.

Brock could admit he was probably the best-looking of their bunch.

As the head wrangler for Healing Springs Ranch, he spent most of his time working with horses and cattle.

In his spare time, he was a bull rider. He’d gotten good enough to ride the rodeo circuit last year but had opted out of the upcoming circuit because of their dad’s pancreatic cancer battle.

Kade shared the same dark hair and eyes as Brock and a brawny body that was all muscle.

But he was slightly taller than the rest of the McQuaid men.

His face was narrower and his features more boyish—less rugged—with even more charm than Brock’s.

He attracted women everywhere he went and had a new girlfriend, a young local woman, but according to Kade, it wasn’t anything serious.

Brock had chatted with Kade during the helicopter ride from the airport in Colorado Springs up to Healing Springs Ranch, which was a short distance from the tourist town of Healing Springs.

The ranch had actually been in existence in the high-country valley well before the town.

It had been built by the original Wyatt McQuaid, who’d claimed land under the Homestead Act way back in 1862.

He’d come West to mine for gold but didn’t have any luck and so decided to invest in cattle instead.

One of his brothers had driven the cattle West, and together the two of them had created an enormous cattle industry that had lasted for decades.

In addition to ranching, the McQuaid family had ventured into the tourist industry almost from the start.

Wyatt’s wife had been business savvy and had run an inn near the hot springs on their land.

The inn had catered to the wealthy and had started the ranch’s reputation as a destination for the elite.

That had continued through the generations of McQuaids along with the discovery of oil, which had helped them be able to buy up more land in the area.

Nowadays, the ranch was one of the most sought-after vacation spots in the country.

The luxury homes and cabins set among the beautiful foothills and adjacent to the original hot springs drew some of the wealthiest people and celebrities.

Not only were the food and activities that the ranch offered some of the best available, but the natural setting in the peaceful, mountainous area was top-notch as well.

Of course, people still loved the hot spring that had been developed and expanded.

Brock loved his family and his home. The Colorado high country and the hard work had shaped him into the man he’d become. Even so, he couldn’t escape the tension that mounted inside him every time he came back.

“Brock’s home!” His mom rushed into the back entryway and threw her arms around him.

Her wavy red hair was pulled up into a big clip similar to the one Venus had used, and she was wearing a long, flowy sundress that showed the freckles on her arms and shoulders.

As usual, she was full of energy and hugged him tightly, the scent of sunshine and sage enveloping him.

As she pulled away, her pretty brown eyes and bright smile greeted him with a love that had never wavered, even though he knew he’d disappointed both her and his dad over the years with some of his choices and the wild lifestyle he’d led.

They’d raised their kids to be God-honoring and upright with good morals and values. They’d hoped for each of their children to grow up and be the same kind of people they were—people who loved God, loved each other, and loved the land.

Even though no one said Brock was the black sheep of the family, he knew that’s what they thought about him. He hadn’t always kept a God-honoring and upright life. He hadn’t always lived by the good morals and values they’d taught him. And he’d wandered far from home and their land.

“You look good,” his mom said as she brushed her hand over the stubble on his cheek.

“So do you.”

And she did. For a woman turning fifty-six, she looked younger than her years. Her birthday was tomorrow, and Emberly was planning a party to celebrate. His sister was good at planning parties, which made her role as the event coordinator at the ranch a perfect fit.

In fact, the last time Brock had been home was a month ago, when Emberly had planned Dad’s birthday party. It hadn’t been a big party, since Dad had just finished his first round of chemotherapy and had been in a rest week. But the whole family had been able to be there.

That had been right after he’d broken up with Ainsley Rose and before he’d gone to Reed’s engagement party. Had it been almost a month since he’d caught Venus climbing up the trellis and attempting to eavesdrop on Reed and Lexi? Almost a month of fake dating her?

It had been a week since they’d met up at his concert in Berlin, and they were overdue for their next weekly date. They were actually due for their one-week vacation now that he’d finished his last concert in London a couple of days ago.

Harper and Ella Mae had been pressuring him to decide on a place to go. Ella Mae had sent him a number of possibilities that morning, but he hadn’t looked at the list yet. She’d sent him another text a little while ago, saying that since he hadn’t taken action, Harper had made the decision for him.

Brock didn’t care where he went, and if Ella Mae and Harper wanted to figure it out, that was fine with him. They’d probably send him to Aruba or some other tropical island where the paparazzi could get lots of pictures of him with Venus.

While he would normally enjoy a week in a place like Aruba, he couldn’t imagine spending a whole week with Venus anywhere, not after his reaction when he’d been saying goodbye to her at the airport in Berlin.

Even now, just thinking about the strength of his attraction to her that morning and how much he’d wanted to be with her, his stomach clenched with a lingering need he didn’t want to feel.

The photo of him at the airport, watching her walk away, had unfortunately captured so much of his emotion and reaction that he’d been embarrassed to see the picture splashed across the internet with the words Brock McQuaid is finally in love .

And of course, Kade couldn’t stop teasing him about the photo and the words.

Brock had spent the past week trying to forget about the picture and his reaction to Venus.

In fact, he’d been trying to forget about her altogether and put her from his mind.

But that had been impossible, because every time he sat down to work on the new song that had come to him at the Berlin park, all the emotions and thoughts of her flooded him, drowning him in a need that only grew stronger and keener with every passing day.

A strange desperation had plagued him last night—a desperation to be with her, to just hear her voice or see her smile. He’d almost texted her today before leaving Nashville for Colorado Springs, but after starting a text at least half a dozen times, he’d finally deleted it and put away his phone.

Now that he was home, he’d prepared himself for his family’s barrage of questions about Venus and his supposedly falling in love with her.

Because, like Kade, no doubt they’d viewed the photos and headlines claiming he was finally in love.

The photos, especially the one at the airport, did make him look like a lovesick puppy.

At least the naysayers had finally quieted, and the negativity that had been surfacing since his breakup with Ainsley Rose had turned into background noise. It appeared he was no longer a fraud but was proving himself to be authentic about love after all.

While he was grateful fake dating Venus was repairing his tarnished image, the guilt had been growing the longer people believed he was truly in love with Venus.

He rolled his shoulders to ease the tension of living a lie.

A part of him had even considered not flying home for Mom’s birthday and instead lying low at his ranch in Tennessee.

But with his dad’s cancer diagnosis and not knowing how many years they had left with him, Brock didn’t want to have any regrets about not spending time with his family, especially his dad.

“Where’s Brock?” Dad called from the other room, his voice tinged with excitement. And sounding stronger than last month.

“How is he today?” Brock whispered.

During the ride up to Healing Springs, Kade had already filled Brock in on Dad’s recent round of chemotherapy for the pancreatic cancer. Brock also kept in touch regularly with everyone, especially Kinsey, Tyler’s fiancée, who was still Dad’s primary nurse.

But it was one thing to get updates and another to see his dad and how weak he’d become over the past months.

“He’s still pretty tired,” Mom whispered back. “But he’s in good spirits, especially today in knowing you’re coming home.”

“C’mon now!” Dad bellowed. “Let me see Brock.”

Mom gave Brock a final pat.

He braced his shoulders and put on his biggest grin.

Then he stepped into the large kitchen that opened up into the great room, where his dad was resting in a leather recliner.

The chair was facing the wall of windows and sliding glass doors that overlooked the ranch along with the mountains to the west. The view was one of the best things about the house, although the rest of the house was decorated in all western decor and had been featured in magazines because of how unique and well-designed it was.