Page 2 of Unbroken (Poplar Springs #2)

TWO

FIONA

“ L et’s talk about it,” Shannon said, clutching her coffee cup and staring at me across the table.

It was the morning after my arrival, and my siblings and I were already falling back into our old roles.

Shannon doing double duty as bossy big sister and substitute mother?

Check. “You’ve been so quiet about what happened in Denver.

I want to know the details. Will you tell me? ”

I stared at her, marveling at the fact that it was barely sunup and Shannon looked like she’d been awake for hours.

My sister had an open, easy beauty that had always made me jealous when we were younger.

We both had the wide-set hazel eyes flecked with green, and thick auburn hair, but Shannon had an angular face with actual cheekbones.

People always swore we looked similar enough to pass for twins despite the years between us, but I considered Shannon to be the true beauty of the family—inside and out.

“Well?”

What could I say? I certainly wasn’t eager to spill my guts just because my sister asked. At least not while the story still stung. I shoved more cereal in my mouth and stared at her, chewing loudly .

“I take it that’s a ‘no,’” Shannon said with a laugh. “Fine, maybe someday you’ll talk about it.”

“Talk about what, getting canned?” Josh asked, breezing into the kitchen and grabbing a banana.

I turned to glare at my brother. “Wow, thanks.”

He froze, a perplexed look on his face. “What? It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

I stared into the remaining milk in my bowl. “Yeah … it is.”

Josh joined us, munching on the banana. “So, spill. Tell us what went wrong.”

“You know what?” I said, drawing myself up straighter. “I’d rather focus on my role at the ranch instead. How have things been going with the riding school since Zoe made all of those website improvements?”

Josh smiled reflexively at the mention of his fiancée. “Really great. We’re back to booking full classes for all the different age groups, and we currently have a waitlist. And the trail riding program she suggested we reactivate has taken off in a big way.”

“Fantastic,” I exclaimed. “That means I’ll be busy teaching.”

I hadn’t worked at Lost Valley Ranch since before our parents died, but the lifestyle was a part of my DNA.

It didn’t matter that I’d left my cowboy boots in the back of my closet before moving to Denver.

It wasn’t as if I’d left because I didn’t love my home.

On the contrary, I’d moved because of school—and then later, it hurt too much to be here without Mom and Dad at the helm.

Not that my brother hadn’t worked his ass off to keep their legacy going, but that was his way of dealing with his grief.

Not mine. Staying away from the ranch had been what I’d needed after losing our parents in that horrible plane crash when I was twenty-three, because deep down I knew if I surrendered to the grief I felt, I’d likely drown in it .

It was entirely intentional that there was nothing about my life in Denver that reminded me of the ranch …

or my parents. But now it was that Denver life that I wanted to leave completely in the rearview mirror so I could try to forget the mess I’d left behind.

The thought of filling my days with happy young students eager to learn how to ride made me feel better about being back.

Temporarily , I reminded myself. This was a brief but necessary pause in my career plans.

And if I stayed busy, I wouldn’t have a chance to dwell on everything that happened at my old job in the city.

“Now, hold on a second. We need to talk about this,” Josh said, morphing into the boss man before my eyes.

“You’re not going to be giving lessons, Fi.

I need you working on the trail riding program.

It’s brand new and that’s where we need to focus our energies in order to grow it.

I’ve got too much on my plate to be fully hands-on with running it myself. ”

My eyes went wide with surprise. Thanks to our recent sisterly intervention when he’d nearly let his focus on the ranch cost him the best relationship of his life, Josh was now working hard on delegating some of the ranch responsibilities.

I was glad to see that he really was committed to no longer shouldering the responsibility for Lost Valley alone, but I never imagined he’d tap me to take over his new baby.

“Wow, Josh! I’m honored. I’d love to head it up.”

Shannon sputtered a laugh into her coffee.

“What?” I asked, my gaze bouncing between my brother and sister.

“I wouldn’t say that you’ll be heading it …” Shannon said with a smirk.

“If I’m not, then who is?” I demanded as worry clawed away inside me, telling me that I already knew the answer.

“Eli Carter,” Josh said matter-of-factly .

I shook my head vigorously. “Nope. Not happening. We will not work well together.” No way was I reporting to panty melting Eli with the dreamy dark looks and swagger to match. Nor was I thinking about him in that way.

“What are you talking about?” Josh asked, genuine confusion on his face. “You guys were good friends in high school, right?”

“Wow, you really were oblivious back then,” Shannon said, shaking her head at our brother’s cluelessness. “I’d say it was more of a love-hate thing, emphasis on the ‘love’ part, whether they’d admit it or not.”

I smacked the table with both hands. “Shannon, stop ! There was no love involved for either of us. It was one hundred percent competition all the time. I told you about how he used to throw wadded up pieces of paper at the back of my head during tests to try to get me in trouble for turning around. And how he put up all of those fake posters around the school saying I was running for student body president.”

“Uh-huh.” Shannon nodded. “And I also remember that you convinced Mrs. Becker in the main office to change his locker without telling him. And you published a poem in the school paper under his name that was a glowing tribute to the school librarian.”

“No,” I corrected her glumly. “It was a poem about the lunch ladies. I rhymed ‘bologna’ with ‘own ya.’ It was a masterpiece.”

Josh laughed. “That’s right, I remember hearing about that. Everyone thought he had a crush on the lunch ladies. See? You guys had fun together. You’ll be a great team.”

“It wasn’t fun,” I pouted. “It was high-stakes drama. A battle of the sexes.”

“With a side of flirting,” Shannon said with a wink.

“I was not flirting with Eli Carter!” I sputtered .

As if on cue, the screen door opened and in walked Eli himself, looking every bit as gorgeous as the day before when he’d picked me up on the side of the road.

He’d been good-looking in high school, even through the awkward years, but now he was all man.

So much time spent in the sun gave his dark hair natural highlights that most women would spend a small fortune trying to achieve in a salon.

And I absolutely refused to check out, again, how good he looked in those jeans.

My cheeks went hot as I tried to calculate if he heard what we were talking about while trying to stuff down my wayward thoughts pushing their way to the surface.

“Did someone say my name?”

I reflexively smoothed my hair and Shannon cackled as she got up from the kitchen table to bring the breakfast dishes to the sink.

I frowned, wanting to press my fingers against the blush burning my cheeks.

“We were talking about your shared history with Fiona. How much fun you two had back in the day.”

I flicked a glance at Eli and our eyes met for a moment.

Something passed between us, something heavy with things still left unsaid, until Eli looked away.

Our shared history wasn’t only about sparring.

There was also that one glaring misstep I’d made all of those years ago when, after teasing and provoking him into inviting me to the prom, I’d stood him up.

No excuse, no explanation. I was a no-show, leaving him looking like he’d been duped.

I’d played plenty of pranks on him over the years, but that wasn’t supposed to be one.

I’d wanted to go to the dance with him, had been excited for it.

A little too excited. When I’d realized how much it meant to me that we were going together, I’d gotten spooked, unsure what to do with those new feelings for my longtime rival.

So I skipped the prom without telling him anything.

I knew full well that it had been cowardly, maybe even cruel.

Afterward, I waited for him to retaliate, or at least read me the riot act.

But he never did. He just … st epped away, ending our rivalry for good.

After that, he pretended as if I didn’t exist. And that had been our new normal—right up until yesterday.

“You’re right on time for our meeting, Eli,” Josh said, polishing off the rest of the banana. “Fiona, you ready too?”

“What meeting?” I sputtered. “You didn’t tell me anything about a meeting.”

“I said meet me in the kitchen at eight. You’re here, Eli’s here, this is now officially a meeting.”

“And I’m out,” Shannon said, saluting us. “Good luck and have fun.”

She winked at me as she bumped backward into the swinging door. I glared back at her.

“Coffee, Eli?” Josh asked him.

“I’m good, thanks. Grabbed some at my mom’s when I dropped Patrick off.”

The mention of Eli’s son jolted me back to the present. “Yeah, how’s the little flying monkey feeling today?”

“Better, thanks.”