Texas Rebels: Quincy Read online

  A Heart Divided

  Quincy Rebel lives by a strict code of honor. Family first. Which means Jenny Rose Walker, his younger brother’s ex-girlfriend, will never know how deeply and devotedly he loves her. The woman of his dreams is off-limits...until his brother gets engaged to someone else.

  Jenny is ready to sever all ties with the ranching clan who has been like a second family to her. Even if it means giving up working with her best friend, Quincy, who she helps train paint horses. Quincy...the tall, masculine Rebel who’s always been there for her. Is she developing feelings for him? Or are they headed for a rebound romance that will leave them both brokenhearted?

  Cast of Characters

  Kate Rebel: Matriarch of the Rebel family.

  Falcon: The oldest son—the strong one. Reunited with his wife, Leah, and proud father of Eden and John.

  Egan: The loner. Married to Rachel Hollister, daughter of the man who put him in jail.

  Quincy: The peacemaker. In love with Jenny Walker, his brother’s girlfriend.

  Elias: The fighter. Falls in love with the archenemy of the family’s daughter.

  Paxton: The lover. Never met a woman he couldn’t have, but the woman he wants doesn’t want him.

  Jude: The serious, responsible one. Raising his small son alone.

  Phoenix: The wild one and the youngest. He’s wild and free until Child Protective Services says he’s the father of a small boy.

  Abraham (Abe) Rebel: Paternal grandfather.

  Jericho Johnson: Egan’s friend from prison.

  Dear Reader,

  Quincy is every woman’s ideal man. He’s loving, trustworthy, responsible and a hunky cowboy to boot. It was hard to find a flaw in Quincy because he puts everyone in the family before himself. Until he did the unthinkable: he fell in love with Jenny Rose Walker, the girlfriend of his brother. When his brother becomes engaged to someone else, Quincy has a chance to tell Jenny how he feels. Will he take it? Or will he stay true to his nature and keep harmony in the family?

  Jenny is every man’s dream. She beautiful, smart, funny and has a soft spot for anyone in need. As with Quincy, it was hard to find a flaw in Jenny. Until she realized she had feelings for two brothers. Caught between them, she knows she has to make a decision. Will she keep clinging to the past? Or will she let go and embrace the future and true love?

  Two perfect characters gave me a perfect headache, but I loved writing them and discovering flaws beneath their perfect exteriors. To experience everlasting love, they had to experience the pain, and although it wasn’t easy to write, it became a perfect love story. I hope you feel the same.

  Until the next Rebel book, with love and thanks,

  Linda

  You can email me at [email protected], send me a message on facebook.com/lindawarrenauthor or on Twitter, @TexAuthor, or write me at PO Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805. Visit my website at lindawarren.net. Your mail and thoughts are deeply appreciated.

  TEXAS REBELS:

  QUINCY

  Linda Warren

  Two-time RITA® Award–nominated and award-winning author Linda Warren loves her job, writing happily-ever-after books for Harlequin. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch, all set against the backdrop of Texas. Her favorite pastime is sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife, especially the injured ones that are coming in pairs these days: two Canada geese with broken wings, two does with broken legs and a bobcat ready to pounce on anything tasty. Learn more about Linda and her books at her website, lindawarren.net, or on Facebook, LindaWarrenAuthor, or follow @Texauthor on Twitter.

  Books by Linda Warren

  Harlequin American Romance

  The Christmas Cradle

  Christmas, Texas Style

  “Merry Texmas”

  The Cowboy’s Return

  Once a Cowboy

  Texas Heir

  The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas

  Her Christmas Hero

  Tomas: Cowboy Homecoming

  One Night in Texas

  A Texas Holiday Miracle

  Texas Rebels

  Texas Rebels: Egan

  Texas Rebels: Falcon

  Visit lindawarren.net for more titles.

  I dedicate this book to Jaci Siegert, my goddaughter. May you always love to read.

  Acknowledgments

  A special thanks to Linda Stewart, LVN, for taking time to share her knowledge and answering my many questions about nurses and injuries.

  And thanks to the American Paint Horse Association for sharing their information.

  Also, thanks to Texas A&M Veterinary Clinic for answering my vet questions.

  All errors are strictly mine.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Her Mistletoe Cowboy by Marie Ferrarella

  Prologue

  My name is Kate Rebel. I married John Rebel when I was eighteen years old and bore him seven sons. We worked the family ranch, which John later inherited. We put everything we had into buying more land so our sons would have a legacy. We didn’t have much, but we had love.

  The McCray Ranch borders Rebel Ranch on the east, and the McCrays have been a source of stress for my family. They’ve cut our fences, dammed up creeks to limit our water supply and shot one of our prized bulls. Ezra McCray threatened to shoot our sons if he caught them jumping his fences again. We tried to keep our boys away, but they are boys, young and wild.

  One day John was out working and two of our youngest, Jude and Phoenix, were riding together bareback. When John heard shots, he immediately rode to find his boys. They lay on the ground, blood oozing from their heads. Ezra McCray was astride a horse twenty yards away with a rifle in his hand. John drew his rifle and fired, killing Ezra instantly. Both boys survived with only minor wounds. Since my husband was protecting his children, he never spent one night in jail. This escalated the feud that still goes on today.

  The man I knew as my husband died that day. He couldn’t live with what he’d done and started to drink heavily. I had to take over the ranch and the raising of our boys. John died ten years later. We’ve all been affected by the tragedy, especially my sons.

  They are grown men now and deal with the pain of losing their father in different ways. One day I pray my boys will be able to put this behind them and live healthy normal lives with women who will love them the way I loved their father.

  Chapter One

  Quincy: the second son—the peacemaker

  The cowboy who couldn’t ride away...

  Always being the nice guy must have finally brought out the bad boy in Quincy Rebel. There was no other way to explain how he could have fallen in love with Jenny Rose Walker, his brother’s girlfriend.

  It broke the brothers’ code, as told to the Rebel boys by their father: never betray your b
rother with a woman. There will be many women in your lives, but a brother will be a brother forever. Strong words. Their father’s words. As the peacemaker in the family, Quincy would not do anything to cause a rift with his brothers or to dishonor his father’s memory. This was his heartache. His pain. His secret.

  Riding into the barn on his paint stud Red Hawk, he felt sure he could continue to hide his feelings. He dismounted and ran a hand around the back of his neck to unstick his sweaty collar from his skin. The sultry August heat had lingered into the first week of September. Before he’d left at the start of the day, he’d opened both double doors of the barn, and a gentle breeze stirred the heat like a slow-moving fan. The scents of dust and alfalfa filled his lungs.

  Quincy bred paint horses and had his own barn and corrals away from the main ranch. He’d picked out the spot near the neighboring Walker property because of the huge live oak trees that had grown there for over a hundred years. He’d always loved paint horses, ever since watching reruns of Bonanza with his grandfather. The character Little Joe rode a paint.

  One day, Rebel Ranch would be divided into seven parcels and Quincy had already staked the land he wanted. His mother and brothers had agreed. So after long days working on the ranch, he then took care of his horses. He had a registered stud and five mares, but one day he hoped to have a larger operation. For now it was just a hobby.

  At the sound of hooves pounding against the dry, hard ground, he swung around to see Jenny ride in bareback on the black-and-white paint horse he’d given her for her birthday. She loved the paints, and helped him all the time. They’d become close friends, but it had turned into much more for him.

  Jenny slid off the horse in one easy, fluid movement. With long dark hair and riveting dark eyes, inherited from her mother, who was part Italian, she was every man’s dream of the girl next door: beautiful, smart and funny. And blessed with a friendly disposition that endeared her to everyone, especially Quincy.

  “Is it true?” Her eyes sparkled with high energy.

  He mentally snapped to attention. “You’ll have to be more specific.” He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he was stalling for time.

  “Is Paxton engaged?”

  And there it was. Jenny and Paxton, Quincy’s younger brother, had been an item since high school. Their on-and-off relationship had been the talk of Horseshoe for over a decade. Jenny wanted a home and family. Paxton favored the rodeo circuit and any pretty thing he could find. Quincy had never understood why Jenny put up with Paxton’s many affairs. It was none of his business, though. Other than the fact that he’d been in love with her for years.

  Quincy just wished she had asked someone else besides him. It wasn’t his place to tell her about the new woman in his brother’s life. But again, he and Jenny had grown close over the years and she considered him a friend, as he did her. His feelings were his own.

  His hand tightened on the horse’s reins. “That’s what I hear.” Hawk sidestepped, snorting. Quincy needed to unsaddle his horse.

  “When did this happen?”

  “I don’t know. Mom just told us Paxton had called and said he was engaged.”

  “To whom?”

  “I don’t know, Jenny. You’ll have to talk to Paxton about that. I’m not the person you should be asking.”

  “Don’t you think I’ve tried? I’ve called and texted him and he doesn’t respond. Why would he do this?” The pain in her voice twisted Quincy’s insides. He’d never understood how she could keep clinging to a relationship that was so one-sided.

  “Haven’t you been broken up about two months now?” He hated to be blunt, and there was nothing as blunt as the truth.

  She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, stretching her blouse taut across her full breasts. He looked away.

  “Yes. But he always calls and we get back together.”

  “I guess he met someone else.” He stroked Hawk, calming him, and searched for a way to end the conversation.

  “A buckle bunny who fawns all over him.” Her pain echoed in her voice.

  He had no words to soothe her wounded pride. “I don’t know. All I know is what my mother told us.”

  Her glistening eyes stared at him and this time he couldn’t look away. “I heard there’s an engagement party here on Saturday night.”

  Nothing in Horseshoe, Texas, stayed a secret for long. This was faster than usual, though. “That’s what I’ve been told.”

  She turned toward her horse. “If Paxton doesn’t answer my calls by then, I’ll be coming to the party.”

  “It’s by invitation only,” he reminded her.

  “Miss Kate won’t care if I come.”

  His gut tightened like a cinch on a saddle and his nerves kept applying the pressure. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she left him no choice.

  “Mom would rather it be a fun evening. Please don’t embarrass yourself by showing up. It would only cause tension.”

  “Embarrass myself?” With a twist of her head, she tossed her long, tangled hair back in anger. “Everyone in Horseshoe is talking and what they’re saying is she waited all these years and he’s marrying someone else. That’s embarrassment, Quincy. And I can take the tension.”

  “Don’t do it, Jenny. It will only hurt you.”

  “As if I’m not hurt now? He’s going to tell me to my face that he’s fallen in love with someone else.”

  “He’s engaged. I think that pretty well says it all.”

  She fixed her heated gaze on him. “You think it’s okay what he’s done to me?”

  “You broke up with him,” he told her. “You always break up with him because it bothers you that he sees other women while he’s on the circuit.”

  “I thought he would change,” she murmured, almost to herself.

  “Let it go, Jenny. It’s time for you to move on.”

  “How do I do that, Quincy? I spent half my life waiting for him to grow up and want the same things that I do. I guess...”

  He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her, because he knew things were only going to get worse. She’d lost Paxton and she didn’t want to face that, but in reality, she’d lost him a long time ago. She just hadn’t realized it until now.

  “Hawk is getting restless. I have to unsaddle him,” he said instead.

  “When will Paxton be home?”

  He shook his head. “Jenny, I honestly don’t know.”

  “The party’s tomorrow night so he has to come in sometime soon.”

  “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  “Not on your life.” She vaulted onto the horse. “At the very least, Paxton owes me an explanation.”

  He caught the reins of her horse before she could gallop away. “Don’t come to the party, Jenny. If you care anything about the Rebel family, you’ll stay away and not make a scene.”

  “I thought you were my friend.”

  “I am. That’s why I’m trying to protect you and keep you from getting hurt any further.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  He loved many things about Jenny, but her stubbornness wasn’t one of them. “Mom said Paxton and his fiancée are going to stay at the ranch for a while so she can get to know the family. Maybe it would be best if you didn’t come around during that time.”

  Her face crumpled. “You’re asking me not to come to the ranch anymore?”

  He drew a deep breath. “Yes. I appreciate your help with the paint horses...”

  “Since Paxton rejected me, the whole family now has rejected me. I love working with the horses and you’re taking that away from me, too.”

  There was a limit to how much Quincy could endure and this was just about the last straw. He had to end this conversation one way or the other. “Jenny—”


  “Stuff it!” she shouted and jerked the reins, charging out of the barn for the Walker property, stirring up the heat and dust.

  Clyde Walker, Jenny’s dad, owned about a hundred acres that cut into Rebel Ranch. John Rebel had tried to buy it for years, as had Quincy’s mom, but Clyde was hanging on to his property.

  Jenny lived so close, and she was like one of the family and was at the ranch a lot. Sometimes to see Paxton and other times just to ride the paint horses. Lately, Quincy had spent more time with her than Paxton. Looking back, he could see that wasn’t a good idea. But it was a little late to change now.

  She’d be angry and hurt for a while and then he would apologize for hurting her feelings. At this time, though, he didn’t have any other choice. Maybe it was for the best. He had no future with Jenny. She belonged to his brother.

  “She was pretty mad,” Jude said from the doorway.

  Quincy turned toward his brother. “Yeah. Paxton didn’t tell her he’s getting married.”

  “Why did you discourage her from coming to the party?”

  “How do you think she’s going to feel when she sees him with another woman? I’m just trying to save her some pain.”

  “Jenny and Paxton are adults and it’s their relationship. Let them sort it out.”

  “Says the man who never interferes and minds his own business.”

  “You bet. Ready to get those broken bales of hay off the field?”

  “Yeah, sure. I was just unsaddling Red Hawk.”

  Zane, Jude’s son, ran into the barn. “Hey, Uncle Quincy, I’m going to drive the tractor.”

  “You got it. I’ll be right with y’all.”

  Zane had just turned twelve and he was a clone of his father in looks—in personality, not so much. Jude and Paige, Jude’s girlfriend, had gotten pregnant in high school, similar to his older brother, Falcon, and his wife, Leah. Paige was incredibly smart and had received a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. She was torn about what to do. In the end, her future was more important than the child she carried. They’d decided to give the baby up for adoption. But Jude hadn’t been able to live with that decision. He’d gone back to the clinic and got his son and raised him. Jude hadn’t seen Paige since, nor did she know about Zane.