The Ranch at Havenwood

PROLOGUE

"Marley, they're here!"

I stood from my rolling desk chair at Gavin's call and walked out to the living room. My breathing hitched as it always did after one look at Blaine, even with his brother towering over him as the guys stood side by side in our entryway. Blaine and his grey v-neck shirt and well-fitted Wrangler jeans stacked over a pair of worn-out boots. This feeling of safety had always been there, even in childhood. Secure. A breath of fresh air. I took a few tentative steps towards the three guys as Gavin shook hands with both Blaine and Declan, but I stopped far enough away that Declan's height didn't have too much of an effect on me. Declan smiled in understanding; he'd been around long enough to get it.

Blaine was the first to speak. "Hey Mae."

"Hey," I said softly.

"Alanna's in the car on a call. She'll be in shortly," Declan shared. I felt myself begin to deflate at the mention of his wife, who also happened to be my current psychiatrist.

Therapy talk. Fun. Please, hear the sarcasm.

Blane walked forward, likely catching the shift in moods. "You wanna go for a walk Mae?"

I nodded. "Sure." He grabbed my jacket off the coat hook by the door, holding it for me to slip on over my ratty sweatshirt. "Thanks," I said. He squeezed my shoulder before reassuring Gavin that we weren't going far from the house.

As we crept toward the end of the drive, waving at a smiling Alanna who was still on the phone, Blaine broke the silence. "You looked like you needed an escape," he said.

"You've met Gavin. You grew up with him. I love him but crummy mental health or not, I need some breathing room. Alanna joining you guys was not on the Approved by Marley agenda for the weekend. Her being here stresses me out, and he knows that." I was struggling with the new therapist being a family friend. Or maybe I was just struggling with it because I actually liked Alanna.

"You're his baby sister. He worries," Blaine said, referring to the fact that my big brother was a helicopter parent to the extreme.

"I know that." I kicked a rock with the toe of my worn-out boot. It'd been a while since I'd spent time with Blaine, but everything just felt natural. It was always like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

We walked in the direction of the small park down the road from Gavin's two-bedroom townhouse and found a bench to sit on. It sat under a large oak tree with just enough sunshine on it to keep the cool Tennessee morning air from freezing us. Before Blaine could ask anything, I jumped into a discussion about his horse training. "So, how's colt breaking going this time 'round? Didn't you get a few new ones in right before you came up last time?"

He nodded, "It's goin' well. A lot of spunky ones." His eyes lit up with excitement. "There's this one chestnut colt that has a screw or two loose. We're givin' him a few extra months to mature and make sure it's not a pain thing before we try again, but the rest of this group were easy enough to get goin'." I nodded as I listened. Blaine loved getting a new horse under saddle. There was a time he loved competing even more.

"When are you getting back in the show pen?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I don't have time these days and even if I did, it'd be as a pro. I'm decent, but I can't compete in the money."

"What about show jumping? You were great."

"Don't have a jumper anymore. Old Cas had to retire early, and I sold that mare I had. Haven't had another one come through that was built for it. Now, with all the fillies and colts comin' through, I wouldn't have time for it."