A Real Cowboy Never Walks Away (Wyoming Rebels Book 4) by Stephanie Rowe Page A

tired. Lissa had been tired since the day Bridgette had been born eight years ago. "Chase insisted on bringing him to the fair this afternoon, even though he's so little he won't even notice it!" She wrinkled her nose. "He wants to indoctrinate him with the cowboy way from the start."
    "Cowboys have fantastic moral codes, and they're complete badasses," Chase announced as he walked in, carrying three more trays. "I'm doing him a favor by making sure he starts off right."
    Mira smiled at Chase, and Lissa's chest tightened at the adoring look Chase gave her. He kissed J.J.'s little head as he walked by, clearly as in love with his son as he was with his wife. For a split second, Lissa caught herself wondering what it would have been like for Bridgette to have a dad who looked at her the way Chase looked at his son. Her throat tightened, and guilt hit her hard and unexpectedly, the guilt that her daughter had been raised with only a mom for family. No dad, no cousins, no grandparents...just her. She did her best, but how much was Bridgette missing by having no one else?
    No.
    No.
    No.
    She couldn't go there. Bridgette was happy, smart, loved, and full of laughter. Her life was better with just a mom than with a family who would try to destroy her, right? So, it was okay.
    Chase set the last batch of pies on the counter. "Let me know if you need more tomorrow," he said. "It's a great excuse to bake."
    "I'm sure this will last me a few days." Lissa couldn't hide the relief in her voice. "You guys are amazing."
    "No problem." Chase swept J.J. from Mira's arms and nuzzled the little boy, who was too sleepy to care that daddy was bugging him. "We're off. My brother's in town, and we're going to try to find him at the fair. He's too damn busy to stay at the ranch, so I need to harass him about that."
    "Your brother?" she echoed, her stomach doing a little flip.
    "Yep. Travis." Chase frowned. "He was supposed to get into town last night, but I haven't heard from him. He's not returning my calls, and the hotel said he hadn't checked in. We're going to track him down." There was the faint edge to his voice, as if he was actually a little worried about him, but didn't want to admit it.
    "He was...in here last night," she blurted out.
    Chase's eyebrows shot up. "He was?"
    "Yes. He...helped me out when my waitress didn't show up. I'm guessing that's why he didn't get back to you. I kept him kind of busy on the grill." She tried to sound casual, shrugging as she turned away and began sorting through the pies.
    Chase stared at her. "He cooked for your café?"
    "Uh huh. He's pretty good at it." She glanced over at Mira and Chase, who were both watching her with undecipherable expressions on their faces. Almost like...shock? "I don't suppose you know anyone who can help me out this week? My waitress eloped, and I'm shorthanded."
    Mira shook her head. "I can ask around, though, while we're at the fair."
    "Thanks." She shifted, uncomfortably aware of how intently Mira and Chase were watching her. "What?"
    "It's just that..." Chase frowned. "I can't see Travis in here cooking. He didn't even have time to visit the ranch. His schedule is booked every second he's here. Or he said it was."
    "Booked?" Lissa echoed. "Booked with what?"
    "Shows. Interviews. Whatever else he has to do." Little J.J. began to fuss, and Chase turned away, cooing to the baby. "I'm going to hunt him down for sure now," he said as he walked out. "Blowing me off to flip burgers. What kind of brotherly love is that?" he asked the baby, as they disappeared out the door.
    Mira hung behind. "Sorry about that. It's just that Chase has been trying for so long to bring the brothers together. He was super frustrated that Travis couldn't make time to come by the ranch, even though he's in town for a week." She eyed Lissa. "What did you think of him?"
    Lissa felt her cheeks heat up. "He's nice."
    "Nice?" Mira eyed her speculatively. "The expression on your face says he was more than