Chapter Two

Ethan

Ethan was trying his very best to ignore the fact that Laura was here. He was doing his best to pay attention to the ribbon cutting, but he kept sneaking glances over at the information table.

She looked even better than he remembered. A year ago, she had looked amazing in her party dress, and even better out of it. Yet somehow, here on the ranch, she looked even better than she had that night. It was taking a lot of concentration not to just stare at her.

He shook his head and tried to clear the memories of their night together from his mind. How soft her skin was, the smell of her perfume. The noises she made when he was inside of her...

“Is that you, Ethan?”

Ethan turned, glad to have something to focus on that wasn't a memory of something he couldn't have. He smiled and greeted his friend.

“Jace! It's so good to see you,” Ethan said, holding out a hand.

Jace grinned and shook his hand. “I haven't seen you since the wedding two years ago. I'd hoped we'd get to see you here.” Jace motioned to a lovely woman beside him. “You remember my lovely bride, Ella?”

Ethan shook her hand warmly. “Of course I do. How are you Ella?”

“I'm wonderful,” Ella replied. She let go of his hand just as a fluffy golden retriever puppy tried to bite at the laces of Ethan's shoes.

“Is this your dog?” Ethan asked, looking at the dog. He bent down to pet the puppy, making sure to get his shoes out of reach.

“Sorry, this is Jupiter,” Ella said, tugging gently at the dog's leash to pull him back into sitting at her side. “I'm just starting to train him as a therapy dog, so he comes with me to all my events. His vest that says he's working hasn't arrived yet, but Mia said it was fine. It's good practice for him to be around people and horses.”

“A therapy dog? That's great,” Ethan replied. “How far along is his training?”

“About a month,” Ella admitted. “I could have left him at home, but Mia said he could come. This is just such a great opportunity for him to be around kids and lots of people and activity that isn't home.”

“Is he for your hotel?” Ethan asked. He wanted to pet the dog again, but he knew he shouldn't if the dog was supposed to be working.

“He is,” Ella said with a smile. “He's part of the new image. We're really trying to make it a luxury destination. Therapy dogs are big right now.”

Ethan smiled at the puppy. “I want to visit now, just to see this guy in action.”

“See, it's working already,” Ella replied with a laugh. She pet the dog's head with a smile. “I'm just glad Jace agreed to it.”

“If it makes you happy, I'm happy,” Jace said, taking her hand. Ella's face lit up at his touch and the two of them shared a secret smile.

Ethan looked away and at the dog. He wanted a love like that. Something sweet and easy, something that felt as natural as breathing. He wanted to find his own Ella.

“What about you, Ethan?” Jace asked. “What have you been up to?”

“Just working,” Ethan replied with a shrug. “I've been busy with W Motors stuff. Carter's moving the R&D department to Denver so he can be closer to here.” Ethan motioned to the ranch behind him. “And his kids. That means I'm heading up the California office.”

“California isn't a bad place to be,” Jace said. He looked around and nodded. “Though, this place looks amazing. I saw the before pictures, and Mia has done an amazing job of turning this place into a camp.”

Ethan nodded. “They kept the barn, but they completely redid the house and the garage. Plus, the added a camp counselor house, a pool, and a ropes course. Not to mention all the upgrades to get everything up to camp standards. They've put a ton of work in.”

“And isn't Mia pregnant?” Ella asked.

Ethan nodded. “Yes, she is. She wanted to get everything ready for this summer, so she's been working on it nonstop.”

“What's going to happen when she has the baby?” Ella asked.

“She's got people hired and ready to go. Once everything is in place, the ranch will be set to run without her,” Ethan explained. “It's just getting it there that's she working on.”

“I can't imagine doing all this,” Ella replied. She shook her head as she imagined it. “From what I've read, pregnancy can be really hard. Not that I know. Just, that's what I've read.”

Jace gave his wife's hand a squeeze. She smiled at him with just a hint of sadness. Ethan wondered what it was about, but wasn't going to ask.

“Oh, I see Emma and Jack just got here. I'm going to go say hello,” Ella said, putting on a happy face. She smiled at Ethan. “It was wonderful to see you again.”

“You too, Ella,” Ethan replied. She nodded to him and went to go greet the newcomers. Jupiter the dog followed faithfully behind her.

“I didn't know you were friends with Jack and Emma,” Ethan said to Jace. “Although, I guess we all end up knowing one another eventually.”

“Emma and Ella became fast friends when Emma held a fundraiser for her animal charity at the hotel,” Jace explained. “Now that Emma's had her baby, they've been on the phone with each other almost non stop.”

“I saw that they had the baby. They named him Daniel, for Jack's father, right?” Ethan asked, trying to remember the card that had come in the mail with the announcement. Jack owned an oil company, named after Jack's father and now his son, so Ethan made sure to keep tabs on him since he fueled many of his car models. “He's two months old now?”

Jace shrugged. “I actually have no idea. Babies aren't my thing. Give me a kid, and I'm happy. Babies- not so much. They just sleep and cry. I like them a lot better once they can tell me they're hungry, not scream it.”

“I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure kids can still scream if they're hungry,” Ethan told him.

“Yeah, but they use words,” Jace countered. “I like words. I can fix things if there's words. I don't like the guessing game of just shrieking.”

Ethan chuckled and looked over at Jace's wife. Ella was holding Emma's son in her arms and cooing at him with a big smile on her face.

“You better be careful,” Ethan told his friend. “I hear those things are contagious. She's going to want one.”

“She already does,” Jace replied. A shadow crossed his face and he swallowed hard. He shook himself and smiled at Ethan. “So, you horseback riding with the kids today?”

Ethan paused at the obvious change of subject, but decided not to pursue it. Whatever the issue with Ella and babies was, it was between Jace and Ella.

“That was an option?” Ethan asked. He remembered that Laura was responsible for the horses on the ranch and he felt his stomach tighten.

“Did you look at your invitation at all?” Jace asked with a laugh.

“Nope. Carter just said to come and look pretty,” Ethan told him with a shrug. “I'm just here as eye candy for all you big donors.”

“You can join us. We're supposed to be in the arena after the ribbon ceremony,” Jace replied. He looked over at his wife loving on the baby and Emma waiting patiently to get her son back from her. “I'm going to go save the baby from my wife. We'll meet you there.”

“Sounds good.” Ethan smiled at him. It would be nice to hang out with Jace and Ella. They'd always gotten along well.

Ethan turned and started walking toward the barn and arena. With every step, he realized he was heading into Laura's domain. Nervousness started to snake its way into his stomach and his footsteps slowed. He shouldn't be anywhere near the barn.

Laura wanted nothing to do with him. She had made it incredibly obvious, or rather her boyfriend had when he had picked up the phone. Still, he definitely didn't want there to be an issue, especially not at something Mia was working so hard to make work. He wanted to support Mia, and being around an angry Laura wasn't going to do that.

He stopped walking and sighed. He should just back out of seeing the horses with Jace and Ella. He could go find another part of the camp that Laura wouldn't be at. There were plenty of other places he could go.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Jace said, clapping him on the back as he and Ella caught up to Ethan. “I'm looking forward to catching up.”

Ethan gave him a weak smile. It was too late to back out now. Ethan decide it was just best to smile and go with it. Besides, it wasn't like Laura was going to personally be attending to him. She'd probably be too busy to do anything but glare at him.

He could do this. So, with a smile, he joined his friends as they headed into the barn.