The Bull Rider's Secret

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YouTube. That was how he’d figured out the dance? The man had to be kidding. Except he wasn’t.

A crease had split his forehead. “You’re irritated that I handled tonight well, aren’t you? Still don’t want me here, do you?”

“Nope.” The truth had just skipped right out.

“You could take a minute. Think about your answer. Give the illusion of grace.”

“Nope.” Mackenzie had wanted nothing more than to flee, but then Jace had wrenched the conversation up another level, while his voice had dipped low and meaningful.

“You ever going to forgive me for leaving the way I did?”

She hadn’t spoken. There’d been no need to repeat the word that still fitted a third time.

Jace’s fist had clenched, and his lips had pressed tight. And then he’d turned back to the guests, to the staff, to what was supposed to be her world. He’d left her standing there, wrestling a supersize hissy fit into submission.

Composure was usually her thing. Nothing ruffled Mackenzie unless she let it.

But Jace Hawke broke all of her rules.

Mackenzie finished the rest of the zip-line course quickly. The temptation to fly through it a third time was herculean strong, but she couldn’t.

She should really get back to the ranch and make sure everything was going smoothly with the turnover for the guests that would arrive tomorrow. Mackenzie had fitted in a hike before zip-lining, so she’d already been gone for hours.

She probably shouldn’t have left in the first place, but Luc had been right—she’d needed it. Time away from the ranch—from Jace—had been good for her. She already felt lighter, better.

The drive back went way too fast.

When she turned down the ranch drive, agitation rose up and choked her. Mackenzie loved this place. Always had. But Jace was ruining that for her, too.

Was she crazy to be this upset with him for sticking around? With the way he’d left... How much he’d hurt her... Nope. She had a right to be mad. But holding on to that anger was draining her.

Mackenzie parked at the lodge, planning to head inside, check on how things were going. But before she could even open the door of her little pickup truck, Jace stood next to it.

She ignored him and took her time switching from her tennis shoes over to flip-flops, then tossed the hiking shoes to the passenger floor of her truck.

Jace must have swallowed one of her impatient pills, because he hauled open her driver’s door.

“What do you want, Hawke?” Why did he have to be the first person she saw when she returned? Hadn’t God heard her prayers this week? She’d been requesting less Jace, not more, but the opposite kept happening.

Concern radiated from him, tightening his features. “You have your phone with you today?”

“Yes, but it’s on Silent.” Otherwise it would have been going off the whole time. Mackenzie had known Luc would handle things, so she’d gone off the radar. “I forgot to check it when I got back into my truck.” She winced. That hadn’t been smart of her. “Why? Is something wrong with the turnover?”

“No.” Jace rubbed a hand over the slight stubble on his cheeks and chin. His eyes—they stayed tender. Sympathetic. Something was wrong.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“It’s Cate. She went into early labor. She and Luc are in Denver.”

“Wait, what? But isn’t it too early? Are they trying to stop the labor?”

“She was too far along to stop it. Luc just talked to Emma. Cate had the babies.”

“Already?” How was that possible? Mackenzie had only been gone for a handful of hours.

“The girls are tiny but getting good care. But Cate...”

Dread wrapped talons around her windpipe. “But Cate what?”

“She’s having complications. She’s losing blood. Luc didn’t tell Emma much. He had to go. He just said to pray.”

Oh, God. I take it all back. How could I complain about such trivial matters like Jace being back in my life? I promise I’ll be better. I’ll be more mature. Please don’t let anything happen to Cate or the babies. Luc would never recover. None of us would.

Mackenzie stared out the front windshield of her truck. “This can’t be happening. Everything was fine when I left this morning.” How could the world just tip upside down like that?

“Since the staff knows about Cate, Emma took Ruby over to Gage’s to prevent her from hearing anyone talk about...any of it. No need to scare the girl. Then she’ll take Ruby to see Cate and the girls if...when Luc gives the okay.”