A Texan For Christmas

Three

“You’re going to get your pretty new boots scuffed.”

Beau turned toward the open end of the stable. His older brother Hayes stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his tattoos peeking from beneath the hems of the sleeves on his biceps.

“I need to break them in,” Beau replied, instinctively glancing down to the shiny steel across the point on the toe.

If anyone knew about coming home, it was Hayes. Beau’s ex-soldier brother had been overseas fighting in Afghanistan and had seen some serious action that had turned Hayes into an entirely different man than the one Beau remembered.

Whatever had happened to his brother had hardened him, but he was back at the ranch with the love of his life and raising a little boy that he’d taken in as his own. He’d found a happy ending. Beau wasn’t so sure that would ever happen for him—or even if he wanted it to.

“So, what? You’re going to try to get back into the ranching life?” Hayes asked as he moved to grab a pitchfork hanging on the inside of the tack room. “Or are we just a stepping stone?”

Beau didn’t know what the hell he was going to do. He knew in less than three weeks he had a movie debut he had to attend, but beyond that, he’d been dodging his new agent’s calls because there was no way Beau was ready to look at another script just yet. His focus was needed elsewhere.

Like on his daughter.

On his future.

“Right now I’m just trying to figure out where the hell to go.” Beau gripped his own pitchfork and glanced to the stall with Doc inside. “Nolan ever come and help?”

Hayes headed toward the other end of the row. “When he can. He stays busy at the hospital, but he’s cut his hours since marrying and having a kid of his own. His priorities have shifted.”

Not just Nolan’s priorities, but also Colt’s and Hayes’s. All three of his brothers had fallen in love and were enjoying their ready-made families.

Beau had been shocked when he’d pulled into the drive and seen his brothers standing on Colt’s sprawling front porch with three ladies he didn’t know and four children. The ranch had apparently exploded into the next generation while he’d been gone.

Beau worked around Nolan’s stallion and put fresh straw in the stall before moving to the next one. For the next hour he and Hayes worked together just like when they’d been kids. Teamwork on the ranch had been important to their father. He’d instilled a set of ethics in his boys that no formal education could match.

Of course they had ranch hands, but there was something about getting back to your roots, Beau knew, that did some sort of reset to your mental health. At this point he needed to try anything to help him figure out what his next move should be.

He actually enjoyed manual labor. Even as a kid and a teen, he’d liked working alongside his father and brothers. But over time, Beau had gotten the urge to see the world, to find out if there was more to life than ranching, and learning how to turn one of the toughest professions into a billion-dollar lifestyle. The idea of being in charge of Pebblebrook once his father retired held no shred of interest to Beau. He knew Colt had always wanted that position so why would Beau even attempt to share it?

“So you all live here on the estate?” Beau asked when he and Hayes had completed their stalls and met in the middle of the barn.

Hayes rested his hand on the top of the pitchfork handle and swiped his other forearm across his damp forehead. “Yeah. I renovated Granddad’s old house back by the fork in the river and the creek. I’ve always loved that place and it just seemed logical when I came back.”

The original farmhouse for Pebblebrook would be the perfect home for Hayes and his family, providing privacy, but still remaining on Elliott land.

When they’d all been boys they’d ventured to the back of the property on their horses or ATVs and used it as a giant getaway or a man cave. They’d had the ultimate fort and pretended to be soldiers or cowboys in the Old West.

Once upon a time the Elliott brothers were all close, inseparable. But now...

Beau was virtually starting over with his own family. That deathbed promise to his former agent was so much more difficult to execute than he’d originally thought. But Hector had made Beau vow he’d go home and mend fences. At the time Beau had agreed, but now he knew saying the words had been the easy part.

He leaned back against Doc’s stall and stared blankly.

“Hey.” Hayes studied Beau before slapping a large hand over his shoulder. “It’s going to take some time. Nolan is hurt, but he’s not pissed. Me? I’m just glad you’re here, though I wonder if you’ll stay. So I guess that makes me cautious. But Colt, well, he’s pissed and hurt, so that’s the one you need to be careful with.”

Beau snorted and shook his head. “Yeah, we’ve already had words.”

Like when Colt swung by earlier to talk, but ended up going off because of the new nanny. Colt claimed Beau was still a wild child and a player, hiring a nanny looking like that. Beau had prayed Scarlett hadn’t heard Colt’s accusations. She was a professional and he didn’t want her disrespected or made to feel unwelcome. Not that his brother was disrespecting Scarlett. No, he was aiming that all at Beau.

Even if the choice had been his, Beau sure as hell wouldn’t have chosen a woman who looked like Scarlett to spend twenty-four hours a day with inside that small cabin. Even he wasn’t that much of a masochist.

Beau had no idea what had originally brought Colt over to see him, but he had a feeling their morning talk wasn’t the last of their heated debates.

“You’d think my twin would be the most understanding,” Beau muttered.

“Not when he’s the one who held this place together once Dad couldn’t,” Hayes retorted. “I was overseas, Nolan was married to his surgery schedule and you were gone. Colt’s always wanted this life. Ranching was it for him, so I guess the fact you wanted nothing to do with it only made the hurt worse. Especially when you rarely called or came back to visit.”

Beau knew coming back would rip his heart open, but he’d had no clue his brother would just continually pour salt into the wound. But he had nobody to blame but himself. He was man enough to take it, though. He would push through the hard times and reconnect with his family. If losing Hector had taught him anything, it was that time was fleeting.

“I can’t make up for the past,” Beau started. “And I can’t guarantee I’ll stay forever. I just needed somewhere to bring Madelyn, and home seemed like the most logical place. I don’t care how I’m treated, just as long as she’s loved. I can work on Colt and hopefully mend that relationship.”

“Maybe you should start with seeing Dad if you want to try to make amends with anyone.”

The heavy dose of guilt he’d been carrying around for some time grew weightier at Hayes’s statement. His older brother was absolutely right, yet fear had kept Beau from reaching out to his father since he’d been home.

“Will he even know me?” Beau asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Hayes shrugged. “Maybe not, but what matters is that you’re there.”

Beau swallowed the lump of emotions. Everything he’d heard over the past year was that their father barely knew anything anymore. The Alzheimer’s had trapped him inside his mind. He and Beau may have had major differences in the past, but Grant Elliott was still his father and Beau respected the hell out of that man...though he hadn’t done a great job of showing it over the years.

His father had been a second-generation rancher and took pride in his work. He’d wanted his sons to follow in that same path of devotion. Beau, though, had been a rebellious teen with wandering feet and a chip on his shoulder. Pebblebrook hadn’t been enough to contain him and he’d moved away. On his own for the first time, he’d wanted to experience everything that had been denied him back home, and ended up in trouble. Then he was discovered and dubbed “a natural” after a ridiculous commercial he wanted to forget.

Beau threw himself into the acting scene hard. His career had seemed to skyrocket overnight.

At first he’d been on a path to destruction, then a path to stardom. And through it all, he hadn’t even thought of coming home. He’d been too wrapped up in himself. No excuses.

Then one day he’d realized how much time had passed. He had come home but the cold welcome he’d received had sent him straight back to LA.

But this time was different. This time he was going to stay, at least through the holidays, no matter how difficult it might be.

“I’ll go see him,” Beau promised, finally meeting Hayes’s eyes. “I’m just not ready.”

“Always making excuses.”

Beau and Hayes turned to the sound of Colt’s angry voice. Just what he needed, another round with his pissed brother.

* * *

Colt glanced to the pitchfork in Beau’s hand. “Are you practicing for a part or actually attempting to help?”

“Colt—”

“No.” Beau held out his hand, cutting Hayes off. “It’s not your fight.”

Hayes nodded and took Beau’s pitchfork and his own back to the tack room, giving Beau and Colt some privacy.

“I came home because I needed somewhere safe to bring my daughter,” Beau stated, that chip on his shoulder more evident than ever. “I came home because it was time and I’d hoped we could put aside our differences for Christmas.”

Did he think he could just waltz back onto the ranch and sing carols around the Christmas tree and all would be well? Had he been gone so long that he could just ignore the tension and the hurt that resided here?

“You won’t find a red-carpet welcome here,” Colt grunted. “We’ve gotten along just fine without you for years. So if you’re just going to turn around and leave again, don’t bother with all this show now. Christmas is a busy time for Annabelle at the B and B. I don’t have time to figure out what the hell you’re doing or not doing.”

Seeing his twin back here where they’d shared so many memories...

Every part of Colt wished this was a warm family reunion, but the reality was quite different.

Beau had chosen to stay away, to make a new family, a new life amidst all the Hollywood hoopla, the parties, the women, the money and jet-setting.

Bitterness had settled into Colt long ago and showed no sign of leaving.

“What did you want when you came by this morning?” Beau asked. “Other than to berate me.”

Hayes carried a blanket and saddle down the stable and passed them, obviously trying to get the hell out of here and not intervene.

Colt hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “I was going to give you a chance to explain. Annabelle told me I should hear your side, but then I saw your replacement nanny and realized nothing about you has changed.”

Of course Beau would have a stunning woman living under his roof with the guise of being a nanny. Was his brother ever going to mature and just own up to his responsibilities?

“Replacement nanny?” Hayes chimed up.

Beau’s eyes narrowed—apparently Colt had hit a nerve. But they both ignored Hayes’s question.

The resentment and turmoil that had been bubbling and brewing over the years was best left between him and his twin. Colt didn’t want to drag anybody else into this mix.

Though his wife had already wedged herself into the drama. He knew she meant well, he knew she wanted one big happy family, especially considering she lost her only sibling too early in life. But still, there was so much pain in the past that had only grown like a tumor over the years. Some things simply couldn’t be fixed.

Beau kept his gaze straight ahead to Colt. “Who I have helping with Madelyn is none of your concern and I didn’t decide who the agency sent to replace Maggie. Her husband fell and broke his hip so she had to go care for him for a few weeks until their daughter can come help. If you have a problem, maybe you’d like to apply for the job.”

“Maybe you could worry more about your daughter and less about your dick—”

* * *

Beau didn’t think before his fist planted in the side of Colt’s jaw. He simply reacted. But before he could land a second shot, a restraining hand stopped him. Hayes stood between the brothers, his hands on each of their chests.

“All right, we’re not doing this,” Hayes told them both.

“Looks like I missed the official work reunion.”

At the sound of the new voice, Beau turned to see Nolan come striding in. No fancy doctor clothes for his oldest brother. Nolan looked like the rest of them with his jeans and Western shirt and boots and black hat.

There was no mistaking they were brothers. Years and lifestyles may have kept them apart, but the Elliott genetics were strong. Just the sight of his three brothers had something shifting in Beau’s chest. Perhaps he was supposed to be here now, for more than Madelyn.

“Throwing punches took longer than I thought,” Nolan growled, closing the distance. “You’ve been here a whole week.”

Beau ignored the comment and glared back at Colt. “You know nothing about me anymore, so don’t presume you know what type of man I am.”

“Whose fault is that?” Colt shouted. “You didn’t let us get to know the man you grew into. We had to watch it on the damn movie screen.”

Guilt...such a bitter pill to swallow.

“Why don’t we just calm down?” Hayes suggested as he stepped back. “Beau is home now and Dad wouldn’t want us going at each other. This is all he ever wanted, us together, working on the ranch.”

“You haven’t even been to see him,” Colt shot at Beau, his dark eyes still judgmental.

“I will.”

Colt shook his head in disgust, but Beau didn’t owe him an explanation. Beau didn’t owe him anything. They may be twins, but the physical appearance was where their similarities ended. They were different men, with different goals. Why should Beau be sorry for the life he’d created for himself?

Nolan reached them then and diverted his attention. “Pepper wanted me to invite you and Madelyn for dinner,” he stated in that calm voice of his. “Are you free this evening?”

Beau blew out the stress he’d been feeling and raked a hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah. I’m free. Madelyn’s been a little cranky. Scarlett thinks she’s cutting teeth, but we should be able to make it.”

“Scarlett?” Nolan asked.

“His new nanny,” Colt interjected. “She’s petite, curvy, stunning. Just Beau’s type.”

Beau wasn’t going to take the bait, not again. Besides, already he knew that Scarlett was so much more than that simple description. She was vibrant and strong and determined...and she’d had his fantasies working overtime.

“You’re married,” he said instead to his twin. “So my nanny is none of your concern.”

“Just stating the facts.” Colt held his hands out and took a step back. “I’m happily married with two babies of my own, so don’t worry about me trying to lay claim. I’m loyal to my wife.”

“Scarlett can come, too, if you want,” Nolan added, clearly ignoring his brother’s argument. “Pepper won’t mind.”

Scarlett joining him? Hell no. That would be too familial and definitely not the approach he wanted to take on day one with his temporary help. Not the approach he’d want to take on any day with her, actually.

Not that long ago he would’ve jumped at the excuse to spend more time with a gorgeous woman, but his hormones were just going to have to take a back seat because he had to face reality. The good times that he was used to were in the past. His good times now consisted of a peaceful night’s sleep and a happy baby.

Damn, he was either getting old or finally acting like an adult.

He’d always tried to keep himself grounded over the years, but now that he was home, he realized just how shallow Hollywood had made him. Shallow and jaded. Yet another reason he needed to keep himself and his daughter away from that lifestyle.

“It will just be Madelyn and me,” he informed his brother. Then he shifted his attention back to Colt. “Do you want my help around here or not?”

“From the prodigal son?” Colt’s jaw clenched, and Beau could see a bruise was already forming there. Colt finally nodded. “I’ve got most of the guys on the west side of the property mending fences. I’ll take your free labor here.”

Well, that was something. Maybe there was hope for them after all. Beau decided since they weren’t yelling or throwing more punches, now would be as good a time as any to pitch his thoughts out there.

“I want in on the dude ranch, too.”

Beau didn’t realize he’d wanted that until they all stood here together. But there was no denying his wishes now. Whether he stayed on the ranch or not, he wanted to be part of his father’s legacy with his brothers.

Colt’s brows shot up, but before he could refuse, Beau went on. “I’m part of this family whether you like it or not and Dad’s wish was to see this through. Now, I know you plan to open in just a few months and a good bit of the hard work is done, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use me.”

Hayes shrugged. “Wouldn’t be a bad idea to have him do some marketing. He’d have some great connections.”

Colt’s gaze darted to Hayes. “Are you serious?”

“Hayes is right,” Nolan added. “I know none of us needs the extra income, but we want Dad’s dream to be a success.”

Colt took off his hat, raked a hand over his hair and settled the hat back in place. “Well, hell. Whatever. We’ll use you until you take off again, because we all know you won’t stick.”

Beau didn’t say a word. What could he say? He knew full well he likely wasn’t staying here long-term. He’d returned because of a deathbed promise and to figure out where to take his daughter. Pebblebrook was likely a stepping stone...nothing more. Just like Hayes had said.

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