Missy's Moment (The West Series Book 4) Read Free Page B

done differently? Should he have nudged instead of poked? Should he have waited a few more days to try to mount the horse? So many questions popped into his head after he landed.
    He hated it when he questioned himself. He was damn good at what he did, and he had the medals to prove it.
    In the last five years, since he’d finally gotten free of his old man, he’d traveled the world and had collected as many medals as he could. Bronc busting had been his dream for as long as he could remember. But shortly after Reece had graduated, his old man had gotten sick. His no-good twin had gone and left him alone. They had always planned to leave together; at least that’s what Reece had always thought.
    Ryan had taken off, and Reece had made his own plans to leave. But then his dad had the stroke, and he’d been left caring for the old man until he finally passed away two years later. He’d also been left paying off all the old man’s debts. He’d done everything he could to pay them off. He sold the cattle, the horses, then the land, and the house. Until he’d been left with only an old truck and a bag full of memories.
    Then he’d given up his last hundred dollars to enter in the bronc busting competition at the rodeo, which, luckily, he’d won. He’d headed out to the next rodeo and won that one as well. He kept winning and eventually he was approached by a company just outside of New Orleans who wanted to sponsor him.
    It had taken him almost a year to pay off his father’s final debts, but by then he was so engrossed in bronc busting, he hadn’t stopped.
    It took the nasty fall in Montana to finally slow him down. Laid up in the hospital bed with a broken leg, three busted ribs, and a headache to rival all others, he’d finally thought about what he wanted to do with himself. He’d been injured before—he had pins in his right wrist, his left ankle, and had more stitches than he could count—but no other injury had affected him like this one had.
    It took almost two months for him to finally make his way back to Texas. It hadn’t been easy for him to drive up to Saddleback and ask his cousin for help.
    Lauren had always been his favorite. She’d been more like a mother to Ryan and him than a cousin. She was only five years older than him but in so many ways, she was more mature. She’d been running Saddleback, the family ranch, since she was eighteen.
    When he’d driven up a few days ago, she’d rushed from the large front porch and hugged him so tight, he’d thought she’d cracked a few more of his ribs.
    “What the hell have you done to yourself?” she’d asked as she pulled him into the house.
    He’d laughed. “Fell off a damned horse.”
    She’d glared at him. “This is more than just falling off; this is getting stepped on a dozen times.
    He’d smiled and nodded. “I guess that’s about right.”
    “Reece Loyal West, what in the world am I going to do with you?”
    “You could give me a place to stay until I’m back on my feet.” She’d smiled and nodded.
    “As long as you promise to stick around longer.”
    “I guess I can do that.”
    The next day, he’d moved into a large ranch-hand house they had along the back of their property.
    He’d been at Alex’s and Haley’s weddings a few years back and had gotten to meet all of their husbands, but there were a few new editions that he’d yet to see.
    He’d met Lauren and Chase’s son, Rickie, but now they had an almost-one-year-old daughter, Emma, who was the spitting image of her mama.
    That first night at dinner, Alex and Haley had brought their families over, and he’d met Alex’s daughter, Laura, and Haley’s twin boys, Conner and Caden. He couldn’t help but stare down at the matching boys’ faces and think about his own twin. Where was Ryan? There was still a large hole in his life that his brother used to fill.
    He’d gotten along great with Grant and Wes. He’d met all of them, including Lauren’s husband, Chase,