She needed to get out of Dodge, finally enough.

Off the ranch, out of this town.

To figure out who the hell she was untangled from it all, and she could’ve done it years ago. But...

They’d needed her.

That was the other thing that stuck out in her mind as she pictured the scene she had just left.

She wandered over to the stall where her horse Lilac was, reached out and smiled as the horse pressed her soft, pink nose to Jamie’s knuckles.

They didn’t need her anymore.

Her father had married Freda, and moved away to New Mexico.

Wyatt had Lindy. Bennett had Kaylee, and his son Dallas.

Grant had McKenna.

And Jamie...

Jamie had herself.

Fundamentally, that was what she’d always had.

It was what she could count on. That her own shoulders were broad enough to carry whatever got sat down on them. That her own legs were solid enough to support her.

And it would be true when she left.

When she went out on the road with the rodeo, and figured out if she could get her own kind of glory barrel racing, away from Wyatt’s influence and reputation.

One thing she knew for certain was that she didn’t want to be poor, motherless Jamie Dodge.

And if she had to leave to figure that out... Well, then she would.

CHAPTER FOUR

“HOW IS YOUR new hire working out?”

Gabe looked across the table and at his brother Caleb. They were sitting smack in the middle of a very crowded Gold Valley Saloon. It was midweek, but the local crowd didn’t much mind what day of the week it was.

Around here, the nine-to-fivers were rare. There were shopkeepers who worked weekends, mill workers who worked all hours, ranchers who never took a day off.

It didn’t need to be a Friday night to hit the bar. The beer just needed to be cold.

“She’s fine,” he responded. “A little on the mean side.”

Mean. Spirited. Compelling.

And the heat between them could start a damned campfire.

At least on his end.

He wouldn’t be surprised if all Jamie felt for him was annoyance.

Caleb chuckled. “She’s a Dodge. What did you expect?”

Yeah, he supposed Caleb had a good point. Not that the Dodges were mean so much, but they had stubborn streaks, and they were pretty notorious for it.

“Glad you could make it out,” Gabe said.

Caleb stretched in his chair. “Yeah, I think we’re getting sent out to Montana in the next couple of weeks. The wildfires over there are picking up already.”

“Where’s Jacob?” he asked.

His brother had been noncommittal about coming out when they’d talked earlier, but he’d figured Caleb might have some success dragging his ass out.

Jacob and Caleb had always been close. They were Irish twins, both younger than Gabe and hell on two legs from the time they could walk.

His brothers had gotten into fighting wildfires after their short careers in the rodeo, and as great as he thought it was for them, it didn’t hold the same appeal for Gabe.