Page 6 of Red Hot Rancher

“Hey,” he said softly and crept around to get a look at her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she pressed her lips together. He didn’t care what their history was or why she’d wanted nothing to do with him since their night together, he wanted to comfort her.

She dropped her face into her hands. He wrapped his arms around her and held her while her shoulders shook.

Oliver needed his ass kicked. Brigit—the real Brigit—went to the ends of the earth for the ones she loved. There was nothing she wouldn’t do. This Brigit, the put-together ice princess other people saw, was melting in his arms. When this moment ended, which Brigit would she be?

Chapter 3

This was her happy place.

Around her, small wooly sheep roamed, an occasional bleat bouncing off the barn walls. She’d always loved working with animals, and sheep ranching was a recent addition to the family business. Each time she was home, she learned something new. So she tried to help as much as she could, like checking hooves for hoof rot before the snow started to fly.

And it took her mind off living with Caleb.

That was a lie.

Being in his arms again had dusted off those old emotions she’d refused to analyze, the part of her brain that thought he’d hung the moon and aligned the stars just for her. Or noticed they fit together better than they had when they were teenagers.

She was only a couple of inches shorter than him. She was probably three milkshakes past doing the boyfriend jeans thing with his pants. But when he held her…she’d never felt so feminine, so petite. None of her boyfriends after Caleb, and certainly not Oliver, had ever made her feel that way, and there were times she craved it.

“Come on,” she cooed to the ewes as she released them back into the pasture.

She missed working cattle, but sheep had their own brand of easy. By herself, she could muscle an ewe around, even a ram, and perform several duties on her own if Justin was busy. Working cattle was a team effort, and that carried its own thrill, but this? This was a nice change from living in Minneapolis. No traffic. No driving to a park just to be outside. While there was plenty to do on a ranch, the pace was slower. It had changed her twin. Justin didn’t act like the uptight prick he’d been when he’d lived in Denver.

Seeing him joking around with Caleb was a blast from the past that only tumbled all those pesky memories to the top of her brain.

Today, Caleb was gone, working his twenty-four. She’d get a small reprieve from the stress of running into him. This morning, she’d snuck out of her room to use the bathroom just as Caleb had been coming out. She had rubbed her eyes and pretended to be groggy when she’d actually been stunned into silence at the sight of his wide shoulders and his navy-blue uniform top. His hair had been slicked back and to the side in a dapper but edgy way. And the way his pants had tapered over his strong thighs… It was just too much for a girl to take that early in the morning. He’d given her a curt “morning” and swaggered down the stairs. She’d stood frozen for a few heartbeats before realizing that she’d forgotten what she’d gotten out of bed to do.

Justin was wandering through the barn, his ball cap pulled down low and his boots crunching in the straw. The noise popped her fireman-Caleb fantasy.

“You didn’t do all my work for me already, did you?” He scanned the dim interior of the structure. The doors on both ends of the barn were open, if only partway, letting in the daylight.

“I listed the ones I inspected in the record book.” Brigit shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “I suppose I should go inside and do more job hunting or I’ll be underfoot.”

“Any ideas where you’re going to look? Or are you going to try for law school again?”

She averted her gaze and repressed a shudder. Law school hadn’t been her dream, just an idea Mom had thrown around that gained more traction than Brigit ever planned. “No, I don’t think it’s for me.”

“I’m not surprised. If you said you wanted to go to vet school, maybe, but I couldn’t see you being a lawyer.”

She swatted him. “What are you saying? That I’m better with animals than people?”

He cocked his head and shot her a knowing look.

Laughter bubbled out of her. “Right. And no to vet school. I’d rather work with the outsides of animals, not dig around their insides.”

“So then where are you applying? I know you’re not staying in Moore.”

Swallowing around the small lump in her throat, she grappled for an answer. Why was it hard to toss out a city? It couldn’t be leaving Moore that was bothering her—just homesickness. She was back home, but it wasn’t her home. It was Justin’s.

“Probably Minneapolis.” She’d lived there since leaving home after graduation. The city was…not home. Familiar. “I should get back inside. And call Mom.” That was one more task she had to do, and she’d sworn not to put it off any longer. She hadn’t planned to mention anything, but Justin would understand.

His expression changed from reassuring to sympathetic, and compassion simmered in his blue eyes. “You’re doing the deed, huh?”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t tracked me down already.”

“Being in Arizona delays the grapevine.”

“Well it’s been almost five days now. I’m still in the small window of forgiveness for leaving her out. Wish me luck.”

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