Page 1 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

juniper

Singing always came easy to me.

When I was a little girl, I would walk around the house, always humming some tune or another that I would hear on the radio. Before my parents died, my mother used to call me her songbird, and I’d smile like it was the highest of compliments.

Now, I am trying to take my hobby to the next level, trying to take that compliment, that passion for singing, and turn it into something real.

The bar is crowded tonight, as it is on most Fridays when I or a local artist comes in to perform, and it feels as if my usual family lineup is missing.

My sister, Thea, is home with her son, who is just about to turn a year old. Her cousin, who acts as my own now, Dani, is also home with her own daughter, and Felicity, who is an international superstar turned good friend, is also home with her own son.

It’s like they all made a pact to get knocked up, and now the only ones here to support me are my sister, Annmarie, and Thea’s brother-in-law, Mitch.

Oh, and my boyfriend.

Can’t forget him.

David is a city boy who is here for a project with his company. I don’t really get what Acton, or even our neighboring city, Fall Springs, would have to offer his company, but he is pleased to be here, and I can’t deny that I’m happy too.

We met on his first night in town three months ago, and from what I can tell, his business took place mostly on his laptop and phone. The town is wary of him, but I try to keep reassuring them he isn’t here to hurt anyone’s business.

Mitch hates him.

He won’t come right out and say it, though he rarely comes right out and says anything. But I can tell he doesn’t like David whenever we show up to family events or whenever David comes and sees me at the bar.

Taking a deep breath and refocusing my thoughts on my tasks, I keep my face down now, arranging the stage just how I like it as an old Alan Jackson tune plays over the speakers. It keeps the dance floor moving while I get set up.

Over the last two years, I’ve been singing here most nights and have steadily grown a little bit of a local fan base.

When I came up with the idea to put a little stage in and start hosting local talent, I hadn’t really meant myself, but after one act no-showed, I had gotten up on stage and shared my talent with the town.

Then when Felicity—who is well-known around the world for her incredible voice—came home and started joining me, the viral videos started online.

Last year after her tour, she invited me into her studio again and surprised me by helping me record a few of my own songs and releasing them to the public. It was a dream come true, but one that was hard to admit to myself.

“Hey, girl.” I turn and see Shelly, my sister’s newish girlfriend, grinning at me. She was new to town. Only six months ago she’d turned up looking for work, and we’d hired her to work here. It wasn’t long after that Annmarie found interest and started dating her.

Annmarie hid her sexuality for years, afraid of how everyone would take it. That hurt my heart for her, but I was thrilled she was not only living the life she was meant to but happily doing so with Shelly.

“Hey,” I say, getting my mics set up. Shelly is a huge help here. She used to work at a church in the city and helped with the music every week, so she knew her way around the equipment.

“Your boy is watching you.” Shelly smirks, looking behind me. Her long, black hair up in a high ponytail swishes with her movement.

I turn, and my eyes latch onto Mitch’s, who is standing against a wall, watching the stage.

Blinking, I turn back to the task at hand. “He’s not my guy.”

Shelly laughs and shakes her head. “I wasn’t talking about that one, but interesting that you looked at him first.”

A blush takes over my skin, and I look up at her, then try to find David in the crowd. He grins when he sees me and gives a wave. I wave back, embarrassed that Shelly caught me.

“I just assumed you—” I stop, unsure what I was going to say. I don’t really have a good excuse.

That man standing against the wall has been stuck somewhere in the back of my mind since the moment he walked into the bar asking for a job.

When he first came in, I’d thought he was Logan, his brother and my brother-in-law. Logan and Thea had been going through a rough time, and I was excited to see them patch things up. But it was Mitch, and ever since that moment I saw him there’s been something there, a pull of sorts.

One he wants to ignore.

Which is fine. I am fine.

I don’t really need the extra hassle of someone who can’t sort out their feelings. Or deal with their demons. I’m not interested in someone who has no interest in me.

We are…friends.

Okay, maybe not friends. He is never really friendly with me, more like protective.

“Okay. I’m sorry, Juniper,” Shelly says, coming to give me a side hug. “I wasn’t trying to make fun of you.”

I shrug, embarrassed, but know Shelly wasn’t trying to hurt my feelings. “It’s fine. Just—It’s fine.”

“Complicated.”

I look at her, seeing her brow lifted in a question. “Not really, honestly. If I would just take the signs he was giving me, then no. It’s not complicated at all.”

Shelly gives me a pat and moves off the stage, letting me get the final tweaks in before the set starts.

I used to get really nervous about this, especially when I first started coming up here.

My hands would shake, my palms would get sweaty, and I would have to take a few minutes to get my breathing under control.

But now that it is becoming a normal thing for me, the only time I ever get stage fright is when he is not here.

Probably not the way it was supposed to go, but I feel that way, anyway.

Some nights, Mitch would have to take off and go do whatever it was he does with his motorcycle club.

I hate those nights. Not because I hate that he’s in a club. I’ve actually found his club brothers to be really nice. They come in all the time, ordering drinks, and frankly, they keep more order in here than most security would be able to.

Mostly because no one wants to mess with any of those guys.

But I hate the days that he’s gone, knowing that he is probably—most definitely—off doing something incredibly dangerous.

I hear the rumors all the time about how dangerous the club is, how they are mixed up in drugs and gun running. Not that there is any evidence of it. And it seems that most people around here don’t care as much so long as they keep to their own and keep the dangerous stuff to themselves.

Of course, I don’t visit the other side of the tiny, infinitesimal border between our town of Acton and the town the club resides in, Fall Springs, much. I’m sure I would have heard if there are seriously nefarious things going on.

“Hey, baby.” I turn, smiling at the sight of David. He is ridiculously handsome in his suit, sans tie. He always takes it off when he comes to visit me at the bar. His short blonde hair is styled expertly with mousse, and his brilliant white smile is aimed right at me.

His grin stretches broader as I step toward him off the stage and wrap my arms around his shoulders. His hands catch me around my waist, and I let our lips fall together, keeping my mind focused on him and only him.

But I can feel it.

I can feel the burn of his eyes drilling into the back of my head. I can feel the way his anger burns at seeing me with David, and when I look back over at him, despite telling myself not to worry about his feelings, I can feel his hurt when he won’t look me in the eye.