Every Stevens knew the way from the airport to the ranch blindfolded. It was home.
Beth was driving the rental car through the hills covered in blue as she had Wyatt headed toward the ranch. The lawsuit against her father for the rights to his books was in full swing, and Wyatt was holding personal meetings with every family member to make sure that there would be no surprises as the case moved forward.
The only person he hadn't spoken to was Fiona. Wyatt felt a meeting of such a personal nature was better held in person. You couldn't expect a person to tell all of their secrets to a stranger over the phone. It was one of the reasons Beth loved him so much. He took it all very seriously.
They had planned to come down a few weeks earlier for their annual family get-together and surprise everyone with a wedding, but the lawsuit had squashed that plan. However, Beth hadn't let it keep her from marrying Wyatt, and she was still eager to show him Texas.
She rubbed the ring on her finger with her thumb, smiling as she felt it, but her smile quickly turned to a frown as she thought of her family, who was still oblivious to the fact of her marriage
"All this blue!" Wyatt exclaimed as he looked at the passing scenery.
"It's almost a beautiful as your hanging moss," Beth said with another smile. "This is where our property starts."
They had turned down a long dirt road that was unmarked and drove for a few minutes in silence as Wyatt continued to take in the hills and cattle. It was a different world than the gentle southern one he came from.
Beth drove up to the house, which never changed, noting how deserted it looked. Every time she came to visit was teaming with Stevens, but now it was eerily quiet.
"Where is everyone?" Wyatt asked as he closed the car door and looked across at Beth.
"Probably around back, working," Beth assured him, leading them away from the car and around the side of the house.
Sure enough, there was all kinds of action in the corral. Beth could see Fiona surrounded by men, one of them being Henry. She and Wyatt watched in silence as Fiona grabbed the calf that had just been roped and dropped it while Henry leaned in close to her with the hot branding iron and another man leaned in with a shot of antibiotic. The whole thing went off flawlessly and only took a minute.
"That's Fiona?" Wyatt asked as his eyes grew wide.
Beth nodded as she looked at her cousin enviously. She was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans and a tank top. Even though she was wearing a cowboy hat low on her head, the beautiful blond of her hair was noticeable in the long braid which fell over her shoulder, and all the strands that had escaped looked intentional. Her gloved hands were at the end of very muscular brown and sweaty arms flexing with her movements.
If anyone could make cowboying look sexy, it would be Fiona. Beth was glad her sister, Mave, wasn't with them. Mave had always been a little jealous of Fiona's beauty.
"Is that Henry next to her?" Wyatt asked.
Henry did indeed look different from the last time they saw him. He had a beard, and his cowboy hat was pulled as low as Fiona's. He was dressed in the same manner with all his impressive muscles on display as well.
Beth and Wyatt watched as they went through the same motions with another calf. Fiona and Henry worked seamlessly together, their bodies moving together and around each other in a synchronized dance that very few people knew how to do.
As they let the calf loose, Henry said something to Fiona, who turned her head to look at them.
Then with a whistle, she halted the work. "That's lunch! Back here in an hour!"
"Can you do all that?" Wyatt asked Beth.
"Some of it. I can rope and brand, but I can't handle the calves or give shots." All the Stevens were good at different things, which was why they all worked so well together. "I prefer to round up the cattle and bring them in for branding."
Beth waved to Fiona and drew Wyatt forward as Fiona walked toward the fence where her shirt was hanging. Roger, the ranch's foreman, said something to her in passing, and she nodded before turning her attention back to Beth and Wyatt.
Beth looked past Fiona at Henry and waved, and Henry grinned and waved back before nodding at Wyatt.
"Beth, what are you doing here? I thought the lawsuit was keeping everyone busy?" Fiona said in her honey tones as she joined them. Even though she was talking to Beth, she was looking at Wyatt.
Wyatt paused as he took in her beauty. The cowboy hat had hidden her face, and he wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't what he saw. Beth was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, but Fiona was classically stunning. Her large blue eyes stared him down as she waited for an introduction, and it was intimidating as hell. It was as if she was seeing into his soul.
Wyatt looked over at Henry, who was winding a rope. The poor guy didn't stand a chance.
"Fiona, this is Wyatt Ramsey. He is Mom and Dad's lawyer. He needed to talk with you. Wyatt, this is my cousin, Fiona Stevens. She's Uncle Quinn and Aunt Dana's daughter."
Beth was rambling, and Wyatt shot her a loving glance. It appeared that Fiona even made her family nervous.
"You could have just called," Fiona insisted as she walked a little down on the fence line to a gate.
"What I have to talk to you about is private and best done in person," Wyatt said as Fiona closed the gate behind her.
Fiona eyed him once more. "Can it be done in an hour?" she asked bluntly. "We have a lot more calves to brand."
"That's up to you," Wyatt said in his serious lawyer voice.
"I'll make a quick lunch while you two talk." Beth walked over to the edge of the fence near Henry. "Henry, please say you'll join us," she called out to him.
"That's up to Fiona," Henry called back, obviously having heard the entire conversation.
Henry and Fiona exchanged looks, and she nodded while Wyatt and Beth watched the exchange eagerly.
*******
Fiona realized they were being watched by more than just Beth and Wyatt as she nodded.
Henry vaulted the fence, not bothering with the gate as he joined them.
"What's for lunch?" He grinned down at Beth. "I'd hug you, but I stink!"
Beth grinned. "We'll figure something out while these two talk," she insisted as she motioned between Wyatt and Fiona, and Fiona didn't miss the rings on her left finger. It made her pause, but only for a moment.
"We do work well together in the kitchen, don't we? Remember the casserole we made on the fly with leftovers?" Henry reminded Beth, who started giggling at the memory.
Fiona watched their easy interaction, wishing she could share in it. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed Henry's tension caused by the earlier comment that Fiona and Wyatt would have a private conversation.
"Just make sure you're in charge of lunch, Beth. If I remember correctly, the last time you two were together, Beth had trouble putting one foot in front of the other."
"And you assume that was my doing?" Henry asked, all innocence.
"Besides, it wasn't the last time we were together. It was the last time you saw us together." Beth argued. "Henry and I have had some excellent meals that didn't involve a drop of alcohol."
"No alcohol this time. We have a long afternoon of work left." Fiona said before she turned to the house, her stomach knotting.
What on earth did Wyatt Ramsey need to talk to her about? Whatever it was, it must be important for him and Beth to fly all the way from New York.
Thankfully, it didn't take Fiona long to find out. As soon as they entered the house, Fiona led Wyatt to the office off the kitchen and shut the door.
"What's this about?" Fiona asked as she sat as gracefully as she could on the chair behind the desk. Every muscle in the body hurt, and getting up in a few minutes would be hard.
"Clayton Jennings?" Wyatt said, watching her reaction.
Fiona did her best to keep her face neutral as she watched him watching her. It was a name from the past that she had done her best to forget.
"What about Clayton?" Fiona asked in a steady voice.
"What's your history with him?" Wyatt came directly to the point.
"We dated in college," Fiona felt confident he knew that since he was bringing him up. "What does this have to do with my aunt and uncle's lawsuit?"
"I am looking at every potential problem that could be brought to light and potentially hurt the case," Wyatt explained.
"Again, what does my college boyfriend have to do with it?" Fiona asked.
"Possibly nothing, but his father in a U.S. Senator, and that could mean something. Your family is famous, and that means more scrutiny for them than it would another family. The plaintiff will try to discredit all of you, if possible." Wyatt sat in the chair across from her. "I've spoken with everyone else in the family. You're the only remaining one."
Fiona regarded him silently, and he met her stare head-on, not backing down.
"Does the ring on my cousin's finger have anything to do with you?" Fiona asked, point-blank.
"It does. She's my wife," Wyatt responded, recognizing a delaying tactic when he saw it.
"How did the family react to that?" Fiona knew he knew she was stalling. Clayton Jennings was not a moment in her life that she wished to recall.
"As far as I know, they don't know. Beth didn't want to tell them." Wyatt looked uncomfortable as he said it.
"But you're both wearing rings. How have they not noticed?" Fiona was confused.
Wyatt shrugged in response. "It's not a secret."
"You don't think that being married to your client's daughter poses more of a threat to the case than my college boyfriend?" Fiona asked incredulously.
"Depends on you and Jennings' history. I promise what you tell me will not leave this room unless the plaintiff brings it up." Wyatt's direct gaze inspired trust.
Fiona took a minute to admire the man. He was handsome. His green eyes were vibrant, and he was tall and lean. Beth had chosen well. His slight southern accent didn't hurt the overall package either.
"So, you are to be the keeper of our secrets?" Fiona arched an eyebrow.
"Yes, but not because I want to be," Wyatt assured her.
If the rest of the family had spilled their guts to him, she guessed she would have too as well.