Right Move (Clean Slate Ranch #6) - A.M. Arthur Page 0,4

mind the tricks those two do. You thinking of a career change?”

“No.” Not really. George liked his job but he didn’t want to do it forever. He wasn’t sure trick riding was in his future, but he still had a lot of his old flexibility and muscle control. It might be a fun thing to try.

If he got up the courage to ask. Which he probably wouldn’t.

Dez started talking about her newest upcycling creation, and the meal resumed like usual, attention finally off George. He didn’t mind the vegan pizza, even though he picked off most of the pepperoni. Too spicy. Orry tried a piece, though, and liked it. But he’d always been a more adventurous eater. Orry hadn’t had to stay slender and light to perfect his triple axel. Didn’t have to carry the weight of their parents’ hopes, dreams and financial investment on his shoulders...

“Dude?” Morgan snapped his fingers in front of George’s face, and George reared back. “You okay? You zoned.”

“Yeah, sorry.” He offered what he hoped was a passable smile. “Lost in thought.”

“No kidding.”

George avoided looking at Orry. Orry waited until they were both back upstairs, alone, before bringing it up. “What upset you?” he asked.

“Nothing upset me.” George adored his twin and how attentive he was, but sometimes Orry could be a little overbearing when it came to watching George’s mood. “I started thinking about food and it swept me into the past. I’m okay.”

Orry studied him a beat. “Are you sure you want to go to this big Thanksgiving meal?”

“Yes. It’ll be good for me. And it’s been a long time since either of us had a big, home-cooked dinner.”

“True. Okay, well, you can still change your mind before Thursday.”

“I know.” He had no intention of changing his mind—or telling Orry even if he did—because he knew how much Orry needed this. Orry worked so hard he barely had a social life, and Orry had the kind of personality that thrived around other human beings. George was the extreme introvert who’d spent a third of his life avoiding people at all costs.

But he was also...bored with this life. He used to live for the glamor and spectacle of the rink, and now he lived for...well, to live and that was it.

There had to be more to life than just existing.

Right?

* * *

With Bentley Ghost Town shut down for the next two months, Levi had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with. He hadn’t been so content living in one place since his first homestead up in the Lakeview Campground in Wyoming, and he wanted to stick around, but boredom gave him itchy feet.

Moving to Northern California to be closer to Robin Butler, a man who was still his brother no matter what legal documents said, had been a calculated risk. Robin used to work at Clean Slate Ranch, and when the owner of the ghost town wanted to do a grand reopening this past January, Levi had agreed to help. He and Robin had been trick riders once upon a time for Lucky’s Rodeo, and Levi still remembered everything he’d picked up after a lifetime of practice. When the reopening show was a resounding success, Levi and Robin became a permanent part of the ghost town experience.

Being on the beautiful property outside the tiny town of Garrett, California, settled Levi in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He’d planted his tiny home on a piece of land lent to him by the owner, and his three cats loved the freedom they had to explore. Those crazy animals had been his most consistent allies from the moment he found that box on the side of the road. No matter how far into the wilds they traveled, they always came home to him at night.

Unlike lying, cheating boyfriends.

Nah, not going there. It was Thanksgiving, and Levi wanted to be in a positive mood when he walked down to his hosts’ home for a midafternoon dinner. Despite being told he didn’t need to bring anything, Levi had used his small oven to cook up a batch of his father’s infamous cornpone. Thicker and wetter than cornbread, the treat was a family favorite.

Xander had adored it.

A bit of melancholy settled over Levi as he combed his hair in the small-ish bathroom, as it still sometimes did when he remembered his late little brother. Hard to believe he’d have been gone four years this Christmas Day. Xander and Robin had loved