Page 16 of Red Hot Rancher

Yet she’d managed to have a couple of long-term boyfriends and even get engaged. He couldn’t be surprised. A tall stunner like her would attract men like flies. A good analogy, since from what he’d heard about Oliver, the men she’d dated had treated her like shit. There wasn’t one Justin had approved of.

On top of that, she thought she was pathetic for no longer being around people who made relationships one-sided.

“Being focused isn’t pathetic. And I’m guessing that if the friends prefer Oliver, then you’re better off without them.”

Her smile was slow, and she shook her head. “I never thought about it like that, but…”

He waited for her to finish, but she didn’t. The gravity in her expression prompted him to ask, “But what?”

She shrugged. “They’re nice people, but there was always this subtle undercurrent of competition. Like when we moved back here, Oliver made me promise not to say anything until he’d landed a job. When he told people why we’d moved back, he made it sound like he was doing his family friend a solid by working for him in Normandy. ‘Closer to the parents and all that. They’re not getting any younger.’”

The sarcastic note in her voice reminded him of the old Brigit. The one who pretended to be the good girl around her mother but cussed at the cattle when they acted stupid and bluntly stated what was on her mind. Had her cousins ever seen that side of her, or was it just him and Justin? Hell, had Travis?

“I’m sure he thought he was the expert in a lot of things,” he said.

“Well, he can try to impress what’s her name.”

The divorced insurance adjuster he’d been having the affair with. “Better her wasting her time with him than you.”

“Logically I know that, but it still hurts.”

He crossed to her. The dim lights in the barn cast shadows across her face that matched her expression. “I know it does. You trusted someone, and he let you down.”

She didn’t move away. “I moved back to Moore for him.” She screwed her face up. “Mom didn’t even pester me about it because it seemed like he helped me a lot with school.” She lowered her voice to mimic Oliver. “‘We have to save money. Your school costs too much and Dad can use his connections to get me a job. You do your part and get a job in the Twin Cities and I’ll worry about the rest.’” She snorted and looked away, but her eyes shimmered with extra moisture.

“It was his idea to move back but he blamed you?” He didn’t bother mentioning the fact that coming home didn’t equate with failure.

“I kept going to school, so…”

“Bridge.” She lifted her gaze to his. The rim of gold in her blue irises glittered with a sheen of tears. “It’s not who did or didn’t do what, it’s how he made you feel. It was wrong.”

She cocked her head. Her forehead wrinkled like she was fighting to keep the tears from spilling. A sniffle echoed through the barn, but a small smile graced her full lips. “When’d you get so wise?”

She was trying to lighten the mood, but her question only grated on him. His job wasn’t just fighting fires. He was there when bad shit happened to people, regardless of whether they were good or bad. “Hazards of the job, I guess.”

Compassion filled her eyes. “Oh, Caleb. I never think about what you must go through.”

She drifted closer and feathered her fingers down his cheek. He hadn’t meant to get so deep into the tragedies of his job. This discussion wasn’t about him, but he’d gone from dealing with his own childhood to bearing witness to life going to hell for others, and except for some counseling through work when a particularly bad incident happened, he had no one to talk to.

“I didn’t, uh…” he said gruffly. “I didn’t mean to get all serious.”

“But what you do is serious. It’s a lot more serious than a cheating ex.” She hadn’t removed her hand, settling her warm palm on his shoulder instead. The brims of their hats nearly touched.

“I deal with those too.” He grinned. This time he was the one trying to lighten the mood. Because if Brigit didn’t back away, he was going to tilt his head a few inches to the right and try to kiss her. No matter whether she let him or shunned him, it would ruin him. “Their fights are Farah’s territory, but one time, a couple crashed while fighting about his affairs and they were still arguing when my crew showed up.”

Brigit giggled. “Sorry. I know it’s not funny.”

“They were both okay, but her door wouldn’t open and his was pinned against a telephone pole. And they were still screaming at each other.”

“I’m glad that time turned out well. At least for you.”

He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. She was so close, her body heat reaching for his. It would be so easy to wrap his arms around her waist. They were both dirty, standing in a barn littered with cow shit, but all he wanted to do was hold her and never let her go.

“Bridge.” He had to get out of this situation and break this spell she had over him. Her rejection had destroyed him once. He wasn’t in a place to weather it again. “You coming with me to Farah’s?” There. That was a good place to start.

She drew in a breath and dropped her hand from his shoulder. He instantly missed the contact.

“I am hungry.” There was still a note of uncertainty.

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