“Bring it,” April said as she dumped the wings into an oversize basket. Her hands free, she turned and hugged Sara. “I’ll take down your mother and the broom she rode in on.”
“You’re a Buddhist.”
“I’ll make an exception for her. And you. Go out there for a few minutes. Have fun tonight, Sara. You deserve it.”
“What would I do without you?” Sara gave her friend one last squeeze and walked into the family room.
Josh and his four friends sat on the sofas and chairs surrounding the coffee table, filling the large room with their presence. Three of the men looked around Josh’s age. The last one was so young he seemed barely out of puberty, despite having the broadest build in the group. Two were clearly brothers, both blond, tall and lanky. The third had a thick head of midnight-black hair and deep brown skin. The young one reached for another handful of chips, a shock of red hair falling over one eye. As a whole, they were tough, rangy and utterly male. Something Sara was unused to in Hollywood.
“It’s enough testosterone to choke you,” a voice said close to her ear.
Sara turned to see a young woman standing at her side who was as “farm fresh” as April had described. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a plastic clip and cascaded in healthy, unprocessed waves to the middle of her back. She wore little makeup other than a hint of lip gloss, and her soft denim shirt was tucked into a pair of high-waisted jeans. Actual Wranglers, if Sara guessed right.
“You must be Brandy,” she said and held out her hand. “I’m—”
“Serena Wellens,” the woman finished, her eyes widening.
“I go by Sara now. Sara Wells is my real name.”
Brandy pumped Sara’s hand at fever pace. “I loved Just the Two of Us. My sister and I lived for Tuesday nights.”
“Thanks,” Sara said weakly, her stomach beginning to churn. She braced herself for the questions about her career, her fall from stardom, her stint in rehab. She waited for criticism to cloud Brandy’s gaze.
Her eyes clear, Brandy glanced around the room. “Josh said this house belonged to your grandmother.”
That was it? Where was the third degree she was so used to from people she met in L.A.? She answered, “I didn’t know her well, but she left it to me when she passed.”
“It’s a great setup and really nice of you to help Josh make it work this summer. Having a place of his own for Claire means the world to him.”
Her mother’s refrain from her childhood filled Sara’s mind: “the world doesn’t revolve around you.” Based on life in Crimson, that might really be the case. Maybe outside the dysfunctional Hollywood bubble, people didn’t care about her past. She wanted to keep the conversation away from her personal life so she asked, “Do you know Josh well?”
“Those four are like brothers.” Brandy nodded. “Manny and Josh started the circuit at the same time. Noah and Dan are the only ones related by blood, ten months apart. Irish twins, if you know what I mean? Noah doesn’t actually ride. He does search and rescue up here in the mountains, but he’s an honorary member of this crew. I’ve been dating Dave, the older one, for about five years.”
“You don’t look old enough for that.”
“We met when I was sixteen at a county fair in Indiana. My dad’s a big-time doctor so it about killed him that I had it bad for a bull rider. He’d expected me to follow in his med school footsteps. But I graduated high school and got a job at a preschool so I could have summers off to be with Dave.”
“How’d your dad take that?”
“He was on fire for a while, but in his heart he wants me to be happy. He learned to live with it. You know how it goes.”
Sara only wished that were true.
“We’re getting married this fall.” Brandy held out her left hand where a small diamond ring glittered on her finger.
“Congratulations. I hope you have a great life together. What about the baby-faced redhead?”
Brandy smiled. “That’s Bryson. He’s new this year and the guys have taken him under their wing. He was dying to meet Josh so came with us to the ranch. I’m sorry if getting here early made extra work for you.”
“It’s no biggie.” Sara watched Josh throw back his head and laugh at something Manny said. “He seems happy tonight.”
“He seems happy here,” Brandy corrected. “We weren’t sure whether he’d recover from the accident.”
Sara turned her attention more fully to the other woman. “I didn’t realize his injuries were life threatening.”
“The physical part was bad, but the worst part was losing his career and the life he’d known. He took it hard. If it wasn’t for having to get things together for Claire, I’m not sure he would have made it.”
Sara had assumed Josh’s leg and the surgeries he’d endured to fix it had been the worst of his struggles. She knew a thing or two about losing a career and the emotional damage it could inflict. She hadn’t considered she and Josh might have that in common.
“I’ll introduce you.” Brandy walked forward into the room, clearly expecting Sara to follow.
“You all need a chance to catch up,” Sara said, suddenly feeling out of place in her low-slung jeans, tight T-shirt and heavily made-up face. Even the streaks in her hair made her feel like an outsider. It was one thing to wear her carefully crafted mask in California, but these people were real. She felt like a huge phony.
“Come on.” Brandy’s smile was open and friendly. “They know me too well to be on their best behavior. Without backup, I’ll be stuck judging burping contests, or worse.”
Sara couldn’t help but return Brandy’s smile. “For a few minutes, I guess.”
“Hey, y’all,” Brandy announced over the music. “This is Sara. She’s keeping Josh’s tight buns out of trouble this summer. And she’s taking care of all you yahoos while we’re here. Try not to make her regret the hospitality.”
Sara felt a blush rise to her cheeks as the attention turned to her. That and the mention of Josh’s buns. Good gravy.
All four men jumped to attention. “Nice to meetcha,” Dave said, coming around the coffee table to shake Sara’s hand before draping a long arm across Brandy’s shoulders. “Thanks for taking us in early.”
“No wonder you look so dang happy,” Noah told Josh as he came to stand in front of Sara. “You are the prettiest thing I’ve seen in ages,” he said to her, making her color deepen. She put out her hand but he swatted it away, instead grabbing her up in a bear hug and twirling her in a fast circle.
“Put her down,” Josh ordered.
“Oh, darlin’, you smell so good. Sweet as my mama’s apple pie.” He nuzzled his face into Sara’s neck. She heard Josh growl behind him.
“I mean it, Noah. Enough.”
Manny stepped in front of Josh. “Señorita,” he crooned, pulling Sara away from Noah’s tight embrace. “You make us crazy hombres act even more loco.” He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, brushed his lips across her knuckles.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Josh grumbled.
“Wow,” Sara whispered. She hadn’t experienced anything like this in years. To be the center of attention for these men was strange and exhilarating, like the first time she’d flipped through channels and watched herself on TV. She felt strangely exposed, but not in a bad way like she had so many times in L.A.—still safe, although not quite herself. It gave her a dizzy sort of feeling.
“You guys