Page 25 of Red Hot Rancher

“Yep. I do both.”

“A fireman rancher. Awesome.”

“That’s me.” He got that a lot, but at least Priya wasn’t oozing shock and awe. He got that a lot, too, from people he used to know. Look at Caleb Cruise. He actually did something with himself.

Her laugh was as beautiful as she was, but he’d never been drawn into the mob of boys drooling after Priya Patel. Like Brigit, she’d left home for education and success. But she was back to stay. Only she wasn’t staying under the same roof. And he hadn’t made out with her wearing nothing but a towel less than twelve hours ago.

Not only that, but Priya didn’t stop him in his tracks like Brigit did crouched in that damn towel. His mouth didn’t dry up and his entire blood supply didn’t rush to his groin despite being only feet away from her. Sure, Priya’s grandpa was close by and they were in public.

But when Brigit was around, it didn’t matter. And since she was still in Moore, and under Justin’s roof, and single, he’d have to hold his shit together. He’d been single this long. He’d used his hand so much that he didn’t have to worry about wasting water in the shower. Going without sex to keep from doing something stupid and creating a shit-ton of drama in his life wasn’t that hard.

“Is your grandpa busy?” Talking to an old friend shouldn’t be so depressing.

“Grandpa Saunders is always busy. But he’s always got time for his customers.” She moved back to let him pass. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths anyway if Maisy’s seeing Justin again.”

That was enough to pull him to a stop. Justin’s life was none of his business, but Maisy getting close to Brigit’s brother was enough to raise alarms. Maisy wasn’t any nicer now than she’d been in high school, and she hadn’t set the bar high.

Maisy was the type of girl who put down others to feel better about herself. She could also charm whoever she was talking to as she was stabbing them in the back. Brigit had never confessed to how badly she’d been targeted, but Caleb had read the signs. The red eyes after gym class. The hunched shoulders and averted gaze as Maisy and her cohorts sauntered by. The avoidance of any school function run by the cheerleaders. Their team captain at the time: Maisy.

But she was hot and single. And must’ve fooled Justin enough to tap back into his high school on-again off-again girlfriend and all the drama she fostered.

Even Joan Walker had sensed something off about that girl. Maisy had never been allowed at the house. Brigit had either talked to her mother, or Joan had read the mean-girl vibes loud and clear.

That was one thing they could agree on.

He left her with a “see you around” and found her grandfather.

As he made arrangements for processing the deer, his mind puzzled over the Maisy question. Would she be the wedge that permanently drove Brigit from her home?

It smelled like snow. Brigit stamped the fresh straw under her feet. She was in the barn with Justin, pitching in to clean the muck left behind by a couple of sick sheep they’d been doctoring.

“Mom and Dad are coming for Thanksgiving next week,” Justin announced with all the delicacy of a charging ram.

She didn’t bother hiding her groan. One thing she and her twin commiserated over was parental pushiness. Justin couldn’t dodge it now that he’d come back home. Neither could she.

“How long and where are they staying?” Her thoughts turned to Caleb. What was he going to do?

“I told them there was still a bedroom left. Mom said she’d get back to me.”

“She’s going to comment about how it’ll be crowded with Caleb taking a room.” Somehow, the barn was their safe space. It had always been where they teamed up to bitch about Mom and Dad’s interference. In the house, they passed each other like there was a fence between them. He did his thing, she did hers.

But the barn. Surrounded by the familiar scent of manure, straw, and musty dirt, they dropped their guards. Maybe it was because they’d spent their childhoods outside.

Justin grunted and unhooked a corral panel that had been separating the sheep. “I already told her that he was my guest. I even listed how he contributed.”

For Justin to go that far in explaining his life? Mom would know not to push the Caleb subject.

He pushed the brim of his ball cap up. She always teased him that his cowboy hat was just for show. When he ranched, he wore an old grungy ball cap. “I never understood what she had against him.”

Mom held Caleb’s allure against him. Brigit and Justin and Caleb had been close, but Justin hadn’t been the one to entertain skipping college to live with Caleb. After the fight with Dad about letting Brigit go where she wanted for school and getting treated the same as the boys, for Brigit, Caleb was a huge threat. But for Justin, Mom only held Caleb’s family against him. “She was afraid her precious Justin would be corrupted by a student with less than a four-point-oh GPA.”

“Right? I almost wish I still had a reason to go to Denver for the holiday.” He clenched his jaw and looked away.

Brigit didn’t have to ask for specifics. That Justin had mentioned even this much meant the situation was gnawing at him. “She really did a number on you, huh?”

“How long can one guy try before he gives up?” A disgusted sound ripped out of him. “Until she gets engaged to someone else, I guess.”

She blinked and looked away. His question propelled her back to the scene in the bathroom. Caleb was still trying to give up. She hadn’t encouraged him to. Instead, she’d practically scaled his body, made herself his hood ornament. But this moment wasn’t about her pain and insecurities. “She wasn’t the one, I guess.”

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