Page 41 of Red Hot Rancher

“Shopping it is.”

She popped her head up. “And they have outlet malls close by.”

“Which are?”

Her forehead crinkled. “Brand-name stores for a discount.”

“Ah.” No wonder he’d never heard of them. If he couldn’t find what he needed in town, he ordered it. He glanced down at himself. Same old black cowboy boots, his nicer pair of blue jeans, and a Moore Fire Department T-shirt with Cruise in block letters across the back. The clothing in his suitcase wasn’t much different.

But it wasn’t like he could do anything. Buying a new wardrobe wasn’t in his budget. There’d be meals out, and he wasn’t letting Brigit shoulder the whole trip. He saw the guilt reflected in her gaze each time she mentioned Justin paying her. She might want to make her own way in the world, but she enjoyed working with her family and hated taking money that could go back into the farm and ranch. Or into the accounts of her cousins who had kids to raise.

She flopped back. “But we don’t have to worry about that until tomorrow. I don’t think they’re supposed to get as much snow here as home.”

“Sounds like only an inch or two.”

“So we’re ready to turn in, then?” Her sultry question pushed aside all thoughts of money and job interviews. He had Brigit to himself and he was going to make the best of it.

Chapter 12

Brigit swirled around outside of the dressing room. “Does this say professional woman who desperately needs a job?” She’d found a black knit sweater dress on clearance, thick gray leggings in the discount bin, and a collared white plaid shirt for underneath the sweater—also on sale. All she needed was a thick belt and neck wrap and her ensemble would be complete.

She bit back a smile at Caleb’s expression. He was perched in one of the two wingback chairs in the waiting area outside the changing rooms. Heat simmered in his eyes as his gaze stroked her legs. The charcoal gray knee-high boots were hers. A splurge from years ago, when she’d fit into the rest of her working-girl clothes.

A couple of women circled a rack of designer shirts, spying on Caleb out of the corners of their eyes. Brigit knew the feeling. He wasn’t wearing a hat of any sort today. His hair was slicked back, his shaved sides bare, and his small ear gauges in. The way he was sitting only made his shoulders broader, and he’d kept to a soft black T-shirt, claiming his other shirts screamed country boy. Like that was a bad thing. His dark blue jeans were a newer pair and exaggerated his swagger when he walked.

He was so hot.

“It says a lot of things not appropriate for me to say,” he drawled. “Damn.”

“I think it’ll work too.” She zoomed back into the changing room and changed back into the only outfit that had looked decent on her since she’d moved back home. It was one of the few things she had left that didn’t fall into the realm of pajamas or chore wear. She tied off the sage-green wraparound cardigan over her cream long-sleeved shirt and black leggings. This outfit would’ve been fine, but a new one was a confidence booster.

And she needed one, being back in the city she’d lived in for so many years.

She stepped out. Caleb was paging through a women’s magazine. He tossed it back on the table and unfolded his body. As he put on his coat, he twisted, his shirt tightening in all the right places. Her insides somersaulted. Why was he getting more potent the more she was around him? She’d never get over him. That was probably why the phone call offering the interview hadn’t made her dance through the house. This link between them was only strengthening.

Checking out, she mused over the differences between Minneapolis and Moore. The clerk was polite and asked if she’d found everything okay. But there was no, “How’s your mom and dad doing?” “I loved seeing your brother’s sheep in the parade last summer.” “Oh, that little nephew of yours is the spitting image of Travis.”

She could probably go to the nearest farm supply and get taken seriously instead of someone like stick-in-the-mud Teddy ignoring her until she went away.

Those instances, she hated. All the times she’d gone to run errands with her dad and had been invisible—or worse, the times the guys had laughed at her interest. “Just like Daddy, isn’t she?”

Friends didn’t believe her when she recalled the time she’d actually heard, “Don’t worry your pretty little head about power tools.” That had been from a woman in her seventies.

Though Brigit did miss the personal touch. Like her fifth-grade teacher stopping her in the grocery store. “Oh, Brigit. Nice to see you back in town.”

She’d been home long enough that people didn’t ask her about school anymore. They seemed to accept that she was back, and they’d see her around again.

She was deep in thought as she slid into the driver’s seat.

“Something wrong?” Caleb tapped his knees, watching her. Droplets from melted snow glistened in his hair. She wanted nothing more than to take him back to the hotel and cozy into the blankets. Maybe order some room service.

“Just thinking about how shopping here is different than home. Nothing serious.”

“So where’s this place you want to take me?”

She’d planned on taking him to a club she used to visit in college, after she turned twenty-one. But pumping bass was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. Room service sounded better and better.

“The place I had in mind is actually a club and I’m not really in the mood for it.”

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