Winters Thaw - By Mari Carr Page 0,2

and looked down on it, Sienna thought it was beautiful. She knew Hope couldn’t see it as anything but natural and would be open to the same type of relationship.

Sterling’s view of relationships was harder to put a finger on. Sterling wasn’t quite the romantic Sienna and Hope were, nor was her view of relationships quite as jaded as…well, Jade’s. In most things, Sterling marched to the beat of her own drummer, which made her nearly impossible for Sienna to read.

“I think we’re too young to worry about any of this.” Sterling poured another round. “This stuff isn’t so bad. I’m feeling sort of warm and fuzzy inside. Should we try another one?”

Sienna was surprised when Jade and Hope both agreed. Never one to be left out, she accepted the salt and the glass again.

Once again, Jade proposed the toast. “Here’s to the Compass Girls, the craziest cousins west of the Mississippi.”

They laughed as they drank, and this time, no one disagreed.

Chapter One

Six years later…

Sienna stepped out onto the front porch of her family’s house and pulled her jacket more tightly against her. It was damn chilly for mid-October. If the cool autumn was an indicator, she’d guess they were in for a long, frosty winter. Typically she enjoyed the return of cold air, hot chocolate, skiing and snowy mornings, but this year, she wasn’t looking forward to any of it.

Her distaste for the season probably had to do with the fact she’d be spending most of the winter without Josh. The idea of enduring the icy months without him was depressing. For years, it had been their favorite season as they celebrated the holidays together with their families, took weekend ski trips to Snowy Range or just cuddled in front of the fireplace at the ranch.

Unfortunately, she was home alone while Josh was still away at college. To add insult to injury, he’d begun dropping hints in his past few emails that he’d been invited to spend Christmas with his college roommates in Florida. He hadn’t come out and said he was accepting, but she definitely got the sense he was feeling her out and trying to get her consent.

The idea of spending the holidays without Josh wasn’t sitting well with her. As a result, she’d been walking around the past few weeks like a bear with a thorn in her paw, snapping and attacking her family with very little provocation. She was turning into a bitch and hating herself for it.

“What on Earth are you doing standing out here? It’s cold as a tomb today.”

Sienna turned as Vivi tugged a shawl over her shoulders and joined her on the porch. “Dad just called from the road. Said he and the boys were almost home. Apparently, they’ve got a surprise.”

Her dad and younger brothers, Doug and James, had driven to Casper a few days earlier to attend a trade show featuring rodeo equipment. Her brothers—hell, her entire family—were rodeo-mad. Not that she blamed them. Doug and James were extremely talented riders who excelled in nearly every competition. She’d even participated in the sport when she was in high school. For three years running, she’d been the top barrel racer in her division.

“Wonder what they could be bringing.” Vivi’s gaze drifted down the long stretch of road that would lead the guys home from the highway. “You suppose they bought another horse?”

Sienna rolled her eyes. Her father, Seth, had been increasing their stable quite a bit the past few months, taking his interest in horse breeding out of the hobby range and turning it into a full-fledged career. “I wouldn’t consider that very shocking. Seems like lately all they do is come home with new horses. Although I don’t know how they’d get it here from Casper. They didn’t take a trailer with them.”

“Seth always was crazy about horses. Lord knows this ranch is big enough to support this new venture of his. Sam seems to think we’ll turn a pretty fair profit from the fine horseflesh Seth’s hoping to breed.”

Sienna leaned against the railing. “Yeah, but between the horses, the other ranch chores and the time Dad spends working with the boys on their rodeo skills, Mom seems to think he’s wearing himself a bit thin.”

“Jody has said the same thing to me. She’s trying to encourage him to hire more help, but that boy can be stubborn as a mule sometimes.”

Sienna grinned at her grandmother calling her nearly fifty-year-old father a boy. In Vivi’s eyes, her beloved sons