Chapter Two

      Matt had no trouble spotting the ranch truck as he stood in the cool night air outside the Sheridan airport waiting for his ride. Cade drove up in a tan, four-door long bed with the Thunder Mountain Academy logo on the door. Lexi wasn’t with him, after all, so Matt climbed into the front seat and grasped Cade’s outstretched hand.

      “Hey, Matt.” A straw cowboy hat shadowed Cade’s face, but his subdued greeting telegraphed his concern. “No luggage?”

      “Nope.” Matt closed the door and fastened his seat belt.

      “At least you stayed ahead of the peasants with the pitchforks.” Cade put the truck in gear and pulled out.

      “Barely. Nice truck.”

      “Mom likes me to drive it whenever I come to town. She thinks it’s good for the academy’s image.”

      Matt leaned back against the seat. “Yeah, until some derelict gets in.”

      “Now that you mention it, you do look a little rough around the edges, bro. Is the scruff for your next role?”

      “The scruff is for lack of a razor, although I figured it also might keep people from recognizing me.”

      “Oh.”

      “So, where’s Lexi?”

      “She thought we might need some brotherhood moments so she’s waiting at the ranch with Mom and Dad.”

      “Wow.” Lexi’s understanding touched him. “That’s...really nice of her.”

      “That’s my lady. She has it all going on.”

      “You’re a lucky guy.”

      “Yes, yes, I am.” Cade stopped at a red light and took a deep breath. “And since she’s given us the chance to talk, let me say this whole thing bites. I mean, one damn kiss. It’s not like you were boinking that woman in the middle of Sunset Boulevard. And wouldn’t you know some jackass would be there with a camera.”

      “Of course he was.” In spite of his exhaustion, Matt’s anger flared to life. “She hired him to be there.”

      “What?”

      “She set me up.” Matt’s stomach clenched as he said it out loud for the first time. “I can’t prove it yet, but the long layover in Denver allowed me to think through all that’s happened and I’ve put the pieces together. I realize everything started on the last day of shooting when she propositioned me.”

      “Aw, hell. Seriously?”

      “Afraid so. I’ve never told anyone about it, though, so keep it to yourself.”

      “Goes without saying.”

      “Anyway, she was a little drunk, but not that drunk. She said Cliff wasn’t man enough for her anymore.”

      “Anymore? They’ve been married for like three years, tops!”

      Matt shrugged. “Who knows what their relationship is like? She promised we’d be discreet and no one would ever have to know. I turned her down as nicely as I could, but—”

      “Now she hates you with the heat of a thousand branding irons.”

      “Sure looks that way. She invited me to lunch yesterday, supposedly to apologize for her inappropriate behavior. Instead, she kissed me in front of witnesses and then told the media I was the aggressor.”

      “Holy shit on a swizzle stick.”

      “Yeah.” He glanced over at Cade. “But now that I’m out of paparazzi range it should die down. Without me to harass they’ll focus on some other poor slob. At least, that’s my plan. And I’d like to forget Briana Danvers while I’m here, so let’s talk about something else. You still have that gray tabby cat?”

      “You remember Ringo?”

      “Absolutely. He was one of the highlights from that quick visit last year.”

      Cade chuckled. “Ringo’s living the life. Ever since Lexi moved into my cabin he prefers staying there with us instead of patrolling the barn looking for mice. He’s turned into a feline couch potato.”

      “Smart cat.”

      “Smarter than we are, that’s for sure. Listen, you may want to forget about Briana, but I’m just getting started thinking about her and I want justice.” Cade smacked the steering wheel. “Here’s an idea! We’ll call a press conference so you can tell your side. We can’t let her get away with this crap.”

      His brother had his back. The heaviness lifted from Matt’s shoulders and he smiled for the first time in twenty-four hours. A press conference in Sheridan, Wyoming. That would be a first, especially if they could get any members of the press to show up, which wasn’t likely.

      “I don’t know how to organize a press conference,” Cade continued, “but I’ll bet you do. Or you know people who know people. We can make it happen.”

      “Look, it’s a good impulse and I appreciate the moral support, but a press conference won’t work for a lot of reasons.”

      “What she’s done is wrong, damn it! It’s character assassination and you need to defend yourself.”

      “I doubt I can. She’s a very good actress who knows her camera angles. She orchestrated that kiss so I’d look guilty as charged. Even if I try to tell my side, hardly anyone will believe me.”

      “They might if you tell them about the proposition.”

      “Not doing that.”

      Cade groaned. “I should have known you wouldn’t. You’re too noble for your own good, buddy. She doesn’t deserve your overdeveloped sense of chivalry.”

      “It’s not her I’m thinking about. It’s Cliff Wallace. I respect the hell out of the guy. He has lousy instincts when it comes to women, but like I said, Briana’s a very good actress. He may eventually find out the truth about her, but not because of me.”

      “You had some love scenes with her, right?”

      “Oh, yeah.”

      “Hot?”

      “Yep.”

      Cade was silent for a while. Then he cleared his throat. “Let me just say I respect the hell out of you, cowboy. A lot of guys would have taken her up on that offer.”

      “Not if they were members of the Thunder Mountain Brotherhood.” Matt took great pride in being a part of the group Cade had started years ago with Damon Harrison and Finn O’Roarke, the first three foster boys. Now every guy who’d lived at the ranch was included.

      “True.”

      “And not if they’d been raised by Herb and Rosie.”

      Cade