"Come on Dana, I see Leigh, and she saved us some seats." Phoenix grabbed Dana's hand and pulled her up the stairs of the stadium seating.

Leigh waved to them as they approached "Hurry you two, it is almost Billy's turn."

Leigh Packard was a friend that Phoenix had made at his new job tending bar. Since graduation was coming up for him, Phoenix had felt that he needed to find a job to keep him busy. He had no interest in leaving town after graduation, so the best he could do in the limited job market was bartending.

The job had come with a new instant friend, who just happened to be looking for a place to stay and had ended up moving into the third bedroom in their home.

"I can't believe you two have never been to a Rodeo before," Leigh said, her eyes scanning the cowboys milling about below her.

"Come on Leigh; you're talking to two New Yorkers here," Phoenix said in his best New York accent while rolling his eyes. "I just hope to meet one of the fine specimens in person later today." Phoenix's eyes, like Leigh's, were busily scanning the crowd. Phoenix had tried a new route with Leigh and had been honest with her from the start about his sexuality.

"Phoenix you meet plenty of cowboy's at the bar." Leigh reminded him, sitting up straighter.

Dana didn't have the heart to tell Leigh that most of the cowboys who came into the bar were not really cowboys. That was not something that one could pretend to be. Once you spent time with the real deal, you could easily spot a fake, and she had learned to avoid all of the real cowboys, rare as they were because they all reminded her too much of Quinn.

She had been seeing the drummer of a local band that performed at the bar regularly, but she had taken a page out of Lizzy's book and wouldn't let it get too serious.

"There he is." Leigh pointed towards the gates where they were loading up the next rider and his horse.

The sport was team roping, and Leigh had assured them that they would enjoy themselves, if for no other reason than there would be plenty of eye candy.

The three of them watched avidly as Leigh's boyfriend and his partner sat astride their horses, their heads bent, waiting for the gate to open, and the calf that they were going to rope was released. When it finally happened, it was over in a matter of seconds, and they both turned to Leigh with questioning looks in their eyes.

"Just wait, now we watch and see if any of the others beat their time."

Phoenix and Dana smiled at each other, but they turned back towards the action to see the next competitors taking their places.

Dana stilled she recognized the men in the chute.

"Ohhh these are the guys to beat. One of them is a past national champion if they can't beat Billy's time no one will," Leigh said with the utmost confidence.

Dana held her breath as the announcer came over the speaker

"Next are two brothers from Austin, Texas, Caleb and Quinn Stevens. Quinn Stevens holds a former national title. These are the guys to beat," The announcer agreed with Leigh's statement.

Dana watched fascinated, her eyes glued to Quinn.

She was too distracted to notice that Phoenix had also tensed next to her.

Quinn looked magnificent. He was wearing tight blue jeans with a matching blue shirt. His white hat was pulled low, and his muscles flexed as he controlled his horse in its chute. He had a number pinned to the back of his shirt, and his horse was a tall red quarter horse whose muscles were flexing with Quinn's.

Dana watched in slow motion as the gates opened and Quinn and Caleb surged forward. Caleb's rope was flying over his head and as he roped the calf's head Quinn's rope landed around the calf's legs. The horse and Quinn's muscles flex in unison as Quinn tightened the rope around the saddle horn and pulled back on the calf. It was a beautiful sight even too Dana and Phoenix who were unfamiliar with the sport. A roar went up from the stands as their time was announced. It seemed they were a favorite with the crowd.

"Well that's that," Leigh said standing. "Let's go console my poor Billy."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll head home and start to prepare for the party tonight," Phoenix said.

Dana just shrugged she was too numb even to hear, much less notice, Phoenix's sudden departure. She stood and blindly followed Leigh down the steps towards the tunnels that led under the seating area. Leigh spotted Billy who was talking to Caleb and Quinn while he patted their horses, probably congratulating them on their win.

They were halfway there, and Dana froze. Standing next to Quinn was a beautiful brunette, who was laughing up at him as if he was the most handsome man in the world.

She should leave, there was no way that she could meet Quinn again so soon, as if nothing had happened, especially while he had a new woman in tow.

She watched as the pretty woman pushed her hair behind her ears and giggled. What did she have that Dana didn't? She can have children a little voice in her head taunted her, and Dana almost cried out at the pain of it.

Leigh had zeroed in on the men and missed the fact that Dana was no longer behind her.

Dana's eyes were glued to Quinn as he smiled at something Caleb said. It seemed to be a polite smile to her. There seemed to be something missing from its usual charm, or maybe it was due to her tarnished image of his charm.

She watched as both he and Caleb turned to greet Leigh, and Quinn extended his large hand which engulfed Leigh's. She remembered that hand, the feel of it. She swallowed hard wishing that he did not affect her. How great it would be to walk up to him and act as if nothing had happened.

Dana felt an arm around her shoulders, and she jumped.

"Sorry did I scare you?" Dana turned to see Davis, his usual camera around his neck.

"Hey, Davis." She gave him a brief hug. "Does everyone in the family wear one of those?" She pointed at his hat.

Davis grinned. "It's a Rodeo Dana." He held up his camera. "I had to blend in; it's easier to get pictures this way. It is probably one of my last chances to get Quinn in action. He barely ever competes anymore. When Caleb's partner broke his arm last month, he begged Quinn to step in and help him."

"Quinn is riding in once again to save the day," she said bitterly as she turned to watch him lean down so that he could hear what the brunette was saying. When he laughed, she felt jealousy tear through her, and she turned her back on the situation no longer able to watch.

"How have you been Dana?" Davis looked over at her with concern.

"I am actually doing really well Davis." Her eyes met his, and she gave him a sincere smile.

He sighed. "I've been spotted." Davis lifted his hand and gave a wave.

"It was good to see you, Davis." There was so much she wanted to ask him, like had the pretty brunette been welcomed into the family as she had been, but to do so would risk the others joining them. She couldn't bear to turn around and look at Quinn again.

She reached out and gave him another hug then moved away into the crowd.

*******

"Who was the blond?" Caleb teased Davis as he joined them.

Davis grinned. "Jealous?"

Caleb searched the crowd again looking for the beautiful head of hair.

"Davis, this is Leigh Packard. You've met Bill Sharp before, he belongs to Leigh, and this is India West," Quinn introduced the others in the group.

Davis noticed India was playing all of her womanly charms to the hilt. His eyes kept darting back and forth between her and Quinn to see if he was interested in her attention. Davis had learned to read people through his camera lens, but Quinn was playing his cards close to his chest for a change, making it hard for Davis to get a read on him.

He thought back to Dana and what he had seen on her face. The sadness and longing there was so heartbreaking that he hadn't been able to resist taking a picture before he had approached her, knowing that Quinn had caused that pain upset him. Davis usually had a high regard for his brother, but on this he felt he had been let down, they all had.

"So who was the blond?" Caleb asked again. "It wasn't Lizzy, she said she would catch up with us later."

Davis focused on Quinn who was running his hands over the horse, doing a quick checkup.

"Oh, that was just Dana." Davis watched Quinn's hands still for just a moment, then continue in their exam.

"Dana!" Caleb studied the crowd again looking for her. "Why didn't she come over to say hi?"

"I don't know, she seemed in a hurry and didn't give me a chance to ask." He shrugged, watching Quinn as he stood up keeping his back to the crowd.

"What on earth is she doing here, in this small little town?" Caleb asked.

"You guys know Dana?" The girl named Leigh asked.

"She's a friend of our family's" Caleb acknowledged while searching the crowd.

Quinn's eyes met Davis's questioning ones. He raised an eyebrow with a look that told Davis to spit it out if he had something to say. Davis handed him the camera that had Dana's picture pulled up on it. If Quinn didn't recognize the pain and hunger in her gaze, then he was blind. When Quinn took the camera and looked at the photo but his face remained passive.

Davis just shook his head as he took his camera back, hoping his disappointment was evident. Needing something to do so he didn't hit his brother, he turned to the ladies. "How about a picture ladies." He held up his camera, and they were only too happy to oblige.