Rebel Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #5) - Scarlett Grove Page 0,2

from her, and nothing would change what she had learned.

But as her brother hefted her suitcases into the bed of his beat-up old pickup truck, Cassidy felt her stomach sink at the thought that she would never escape this life or return to the city that she'd grown to love.

She climbed into the cab of her brother's truck, and the engine roared to life. The stereo blared country music, and he sang along rather badly. Cassidy smirked at her brother and shook her head before looking out the window into the darkness. They drove along the narrow streets of Fate Rock, stopped at the last stoplight, then turned down the narrow road toward their ranch.

By the time they turned onto the gravel driveway and drove the three miles to the farm, Cassidy was a bundle of nerves, mostly because she didn't want to face her mother.

She was the only one in the family who had supported Cassidy's dream. But all that time, she'd wanted Cassidy to return home to visit for holidays so she could see her only daughter. But Cassidy had refused, making excuses about travel time and work and school and money, anything to avoid coming home.

She'd also avoided her sweet mother, who she had never wanted to hurt in her life, but she'd managed to do so anyway. And all of her avoidance of Fate Rock hadn't helped in the end, because there she was, returning with no job, no apartment, and no prospects back in the city.

Her brother grabbed her bags and carried them inside as she trudged up the front steps of the hundred-year-old farmhouse where she had been born along with her brothers, her father, and his father before him.

Inside, she smelled the familiar scent of her mother's baking—sugar, lemons, vanilla and spice. It sent a wave of memories through her and touched the very core of her being. A light smile crossed her lips.

Her father folded the newspaper he was reading in the living room and looked up at her. “Cassidy.” He climbed to his feet. He wore a red flannel shirt and Wrangler jeans and a pair of steel-toed boots. His beard was full and thick, and he had a dusting of white on his chin. He gripped her shoulder without moving in to give her a hug. He nodded sternly. “It's good to have you home, daughter.”

Someone gasped from the kitchen door, and Cassidy turned to see her mother. She'd grown rounder in her old age, but she still had the same sweet smile. Her hair had faded from black to gray, but her eyes still sparkled with the same love and kindness that had always been there throughout Cassidy's childhood. She rushed to Cassidy, wiping her hands on her apron, and enveloped her daughter in her arms.

“Oh, Cassidy,” she said, sniffling. “It's so good to have you home.”

Cassidy squeezed her mother tight and closed her eyes, trying to keep back the tears. She felt so guilty for not visiting. The truth was that she'd missed her mother fiercely and had only avoided returning to the ranch because she knew what her father thought about her career.

“Come into the kitchen, dear. I baked your favorite lemon bars.”

Cassidy followed her mom toward the kitchen, leaving her brother and father in the living room. She walked down the hall full of family photographs going back several generations. There were pictures of her and her brothers swimming in the lake in the summer, all smiling and young. It brought back good memories with her family, and as she walked into the kitchen, she thought that maybe things could be better. Maybe coming back wouldn't be so bad.

She sat down at the kitchen counter while her mom poured her iced tea and served her lemon bars. Her mother's lemon bars were a dream come true, and she took her first bite, groaning at the sweet and tangy flavor and the crumbly cookie crust.

“I've missed your baking so much, Mom.”

“Well, it looks like you could use another helping. You've gotten so skinny in the city. Don't they have food in New York?”

Cassidy accepted another lemon bar. She'd thought about weight less than the girls at her fashion school. She hadn't exactly meant to lose any. It had just been a byproduct of living in that environment. And it came as something of a relief to have her mother dishing up multiple lemon bars and telling her to eat.

She thoroughly enjoyed the snack and the chat with