Free The Rebel's Return (Red River) by Victoria James

cheesy sheen in Jake’s eyes made him uncomfortable.
    “Uh, that’s great. And you, Quinn?”
    Jake interrupted. “He begged Holly to marry him.”
    “Nice, Jake.” Quinn was already holding out his phone, showing him a family picture. Two cute little girls were smiling into the camera, while Quinn’s pretty wife stood in his embrace. God, they were all so damn happy. Even Jake. He’d pegged the two of them for sure as perpetual screwups.
    “Congratulations. Beautiful family, Quinn.”
    Quinn also beamed at him like an idiot. “Thanks. So how’s Dylan?”
    Quinn and Dylan had been close. Somehow even though he and Dylan had come from the same screwed-up household, it was only Aiden who’d messed up, probably because Dylan didn’t really have the luxury of acting like a moron. “He’s good. Work is keeping us busy.”
    “Yeah, I saw the commercial for Mobile Mechanic a few months ago. Great concept.”
    Normally he could talk business all day. Right now, after looking at what these two had accomplished, it felt like nothing. His whole life felt like it had no meaning. He had no relationship with his father. The only woman that he’d ever loved couldn’t stand him.
    He straightened in his booth a little as he spotted a group of women walk through the door. It was as if he already knew she was here without even seeing her yet. Sure enough, a minute later, at the edge of the crowd of women he caught a glimpse of Nat, and she looked irate. Luckily she hadn’t seen him yet, so he knew it wasn’t directed at him.
    Jake turned around and followed his stare. “I take it you haven’t seen Natalia yet.”
    “Oh, I have.” He had seen her many times. None of them had gone well.
    “She’s still pissed at you?”
    He nodded, his eyes on her. She was currently leaning over the edge of the bar, ordering a drink. He was not letting his gaze wander. Too late. She was wearing those dark skinny jeans again with the high boots. Sabrina appeared beside her, and he found himself smiling as Natalia smiled at her friend. He was relieved she wasn’t looking upset anymore.
    “You realize you’re smiling like a loser, right?”
    He glared at Jake and leaned back in the booth. “She’s hated me since I left.”
    Jake glanced over his shoulder. “Why don’t you tell her the truth? You never should have taken the blame for that,” he said, leaning forward.
    He shrugged. “What the hell choice did I have? I was no good for her then. I would have ruined her life.”
    “Yeah, but not now. You got your life together.”
    “What did you take the blame for?” Quinn asked.
    Jake answered before he could. “It’s in the vault. All I can say is that it’s in the past now. You should talk to Dominic and then come clean to Nat.”
    He toyed with the empty beer bottle and thought of the other relationship he’d screwed up—Dominic. Man, no wonder he’d stayed away from Red River. He and his father had a pathetic relationship. Natalia hated him, and so did her older brother. There was nothing left for him here. “What’s the point? I’ll be gone in a little over a month anyway.”
    “You don’t have to be. I left Red River for a while, but I came back and fixed things.”
    “It’s not the same, Jake.”
    Quinn leaned forward. “Jake really screwed things up. He had a lot of people angry at him, but it all turned out in the end. He’d never have the life he has now if he hadn’t taken a chance. Maybe you should trust people with the truth and then let them choose. Maybe it’s not up to you to decide.”
    He stared at Quinn. He had always been older, wiser. And hell, he was right in a lot of ways. It made sense. The only problem was, what if they didn’t accept the truth and still hated him? He’d spent the last ten years building a life that didn’t involve Red River. To come back and…
    He fidgeted with the label on his beer bottle and looked over at Natalia. He scowled when he saw two guys chatting her and