Rustler's Heart (A Kinnison Legacy Novel) by Amanda McIntyre Page A

say.” Aimee reached out her glass to touch his bottle.
    “And good God in heaven, I hope that changing diapers is going to be a helluva whole lot easier than listening to you getting sick every morning.”
    Aimee chuckled and leaned her head against Wyatt’s shoulder.
    Dalton’s gaze moved around the table. “It used to be just the three of us, but seems like each day our family is expanding. I like to think that Jed would be happy with the way things are turning out.” Rein noted that his brother’s eyes landed on Liberty. “To family.” A reverent response of raised glasses followed from Dalton, Michael and Rebecca Greyfeather, Liberty, Wyatt and Aimee. Rein joined in reluctantly avoiding Liberty’s gaze.
    “This brings up an idea that I wanted to run past you all, especially you Liberty and of course, Rein.” He leaned around his wife to speak directly to his newly discovered half-sister. “I know you haven’t been here long and that you may not have made up your mind about what it is you want to do. But I hoped maybe that I could convince you—we could convince you—to stay on at least through the summer. We thought maybe you could put some of those design skills of yours to work by helping Rein with the interiors of the cabins.”
    “And I’d love having the help with the baby coming,” Aimee chimed in with a smile.
    Rein’s fork stopped short of his mouth. What the hell?
    “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.” Dalton piped in. “Save me from buttin’ heads all the time with Rein the Impossible. I like the idea. What do you say?”
    Rein stuffed a chunk of steak in his mouth, pretending to take his time eating it, until it all but dissolved in his mouth. He realized then how the conversation had stopped and all eyes were on him. He swallowed and chugged a swig of his beer.
    “Well, guess we’ve heard from everyone but you,” Wyatt stated. “What do you think? Could you use a little help?”
    Clearing his throat, he avoided looking at Liberty. “To be honest, I’m not sure we have the same vision of how these cabins should look. My style is more local tradition, while hers is likely to be more…well, modern.”
    He caught Wyatt’s curious look before he passed a side-look to his wife.
    “Thank you, Wyatt, I appreciate the offer,” Liberty interjected into the awkward silence. “That’s a lovely offer, and I would have considered it, had Betty not already asked me to help her with renovations on the café. She’s also offered me a part-time waitressing position. However, if your offer to stay in one of the cabins still stands, I would really appreciate being able to live here. And of course, I’d be happy to pay rent.”
    He stopped her with his hand and glanced at Rein. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. That was our arrangement. And congratulations, I’m glad Betty saw fit to give you a chance with your designs.”
    Maybe reading the letter, dredging up the past made left him feeling disconnected, singled out. What irked the hell out of him was that he was Jed’s own nephew and Wyatt hadn’t even bothered to speak with him first about his idea. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got chores to do.” He picked up his plate and after a brief stop in the kitchen to drain his beer, trudged down to the barn.
    Wyatt found him there a few moments later. Rein felt his presence, but continued to groom his horse. Whatever the reason —Liberty, the letter, getting behind on his self-imposed deadline, something had set him on edge. And when it came to Liberty, lines became blurred and frustration generally followed. And, right now, discussing that frustration with her older brother was the last thing Rein wanted to do.
    “What is your problem with Liberty?”
    The horse whinnied in protest when he brought the brush down a little too hard on the mare’s side.
    “Not a thing.” He offered a quick glance at Wyatt.
    “You’re ticked because I didn’t talk to you first about asking