drinking beer out of cans. As guys do, we’d squash the cans when we emptied them and pile them on the table.” He cleared his throat. “In my intoxicated state, I started studying the cans, the shapes of them after they’d been deformed. I chose three that seemed interesting and worked on sketches, playing with their relationships to each other. When I sobered up, I figured out how to make forms using rusted oil drums and a hammer, filled them with concrete and then ripped parts of the drums off.”
Jess was grinning. “And Mark loved it.”
“Oh, yeah. I did, too—it was great to work on a larger scale, to physically manipulate such harsh materials. I felt like I’d opened a door and found a wild new world.”
“Did Mark learn the source of your inspiration?”
“After that sculpture won a blue ribbon, I confessed. He just said, ‘Whatever works, son. Whatever works for you.’”
She gave another of those rich, deep laughs of hers. “And an art prodigy is born.”
“There you go.” He glanced at the window and saw with surprise how long the shadows from the trees had grown. “We’re going to miss dinner if we don’t head for the house.”
“Dinner sounds terrific.” She brought her hands out of her pockets, relaxing the pose that distracted him. “Something about all this fresh air makes me hungrier than usual.”
“Wyoming affects people that way.” He opened the door for her to walk through. “But afterward,” he warned her as they walked up the hill, “it will be your turn to bare your soul.”
* * *
WHEN SHE AND DYLAN entered the house, Jess saw all the Marshall brothers in the same room for the first time. Four handsome cowboys, cleaned up and smiling at her, was enough to set her heart to pounding.
She fanned her hot face with her hand. “Taken together, you guys are a little overwhelming.” Dylan looked especially fine, something she’d been trying to ignore ever since he’d surprised her in the studio.
Cheeks flushed, every one of the brothers hooked his thumbs in his front pockets and gazed down at the floor. Jess chuckled. “There’s definitely a family resemblance.”
An expression of horror crossed Dylan’s face. “Say it ain’t so!”
Garrett snorted. “You should be so lucky.”
“Caroline’s supervising cleanup in the bunkhouse,” Ford said, ignoring his brothers. “She’ll be over when the kids are done.”
A voice spoke up behind Jess. “Dinner’s ready. You all should come sit down.”
Hearing the unexpected voice, she pivoted to find a blonde woman standing in the doorway to the dining room. A curly-headed little girl peeked around her hip.
“Susannah and Amber Bradley are staying with us for a while,” Dylan explained as they moved toward their seats. “And Susannah’s making sure we’re all going to have to buy a larger size in jeans.”
Jess couldn’t believe the table full of food, all for an ordinary evening meal. A steaming bowl of stew occupied the center of the feast, surrounded by dishes of mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans and a tossed salad. “I can see why. I’m sure it’s all delicious.”
Before she could pull out her chair, Dylan had done it for her. Garrett did the same for Susannah, after she’d gotten the little girl settled in a booster seat. Opening doors, pulling out chairs—compared with everyday manners in New York, all this chivalry would take some getting used to.
A sense of unreality stayed with Jess as she ate. When had she last sat at a family table? For Thanksgiving or Christmas, maybe, at the last foster home she’d lived in. Not in the middle of the week, though. And that foster mother hadn’t been very skilled in the kitchen.
“I was right. This food is amazing,” she said, taking another helping of stew. “It’s a lucky thing I’ll only be here a few days.” She met Susannah’s gaze across the table. “You’re a wonderful cook. Or maybe I should say chef.”
Susannah laughed. “Cook, definitely.” Her crisp accent hinted at an East Coast upbringing. She wore her fair hair in a knot at the crown of her head, with wisps escaping to frame her face—a beautiful woman in a household of handsome single men. The possibilities for romance were certainly plentiful, but she must already be married.
“Does your husband work on the Circle M?” Jess asked, following that train of thought.
Susannah winced. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, till Dylan stirred in his chair. “Susannah’s husband is...trouble. She and her kids are here to stay safe.”
She felt her cheeks heat up. “I’m so sorry. Being nosy is a job qualification. But I didn’t mean to touch on a sore subject.”
“Of course not.” The other woman had recovered her control. “You couldn’t possibly have known. Don’t worry about it.” She glanced around the table. “Can I get anyone more to drink? Do we need more food?”
Groans answered her and for a few minutes they all concentrated on their meals, which Jess figured was a polite way to allow her to save face. She was quite sure she’d never met a family so mannerly.
But then, the families she’d grown up with weren’t always the most respectable members of society. Some of them had tried. Some...had not.
“Jess, you’re from New York, is that right?” Garrett sat directly across from her. “You’ll find it a lot less crowded out here.”
She nodded. “Wyoming has the smallest population per square mile of any state, doesn’t it? I’m not used to walking around without dodging other people.”
“When the teenagers congregate, you can find yourself doing some dodging.” Ford winked at her. His dark gold hair glinted under the light of the chandelier. “They take up a lot more room than you might expect. Especially now that they’re more comfortable with the place.”
“How long has your program been operating?” Surely that would be a safe topic, after the disaster she’d created with Susannah.
“This is the first year,” he said. “And we’re in week three. The first days were pretty rough—”
“Try ‘impossible,’” Dylan said in a low voice.
Garrett glared at him. “We got through them. And things get better every day.”
“Till the next disaster,” Dylan nodded, as if he agreed. “You can bet there will be one.”
Garrett started to respond, but Wyatt spoke first. “What about this cattle drive you’re planning to take the kids on?” His deep voice broke up the tension. “Where do you intend to go?”
Jess couldn’t follow the references to different fields and pastures and fence lines and gates, but the brothers evidently reached a consensus about the route they’d be following with kids and cows. Susannah and Amber would be driving to meet them on the way with lunch.
“Wyatt can ride with you to give you directions,” Ford said. “Think
