Page 31 of White Collar Rancher

He popped back in with her clothes and phone. “Brigit’s going to feed Isaiah while Caleb and I get stuff ready in the barn. When I see her outside and we’re so far out into the pasture that they can’t see you, I’ll send you a message.”

“Didn’t they ask who was in here?”

He grinned. “Oh yeah. They’re dying to know. But they’re used to me not telling them a thing about my personal life.”

He shucked his pants and started dressing in his work clothes. The faded jeans he pulled on only highlighted the muscles in his legs, and the long-sleeved Henley he pulled over his head draped over his chest more than she had last night. But the most devastatingly sweet thing he did was give her a quick kiss before darting back out the door.

She puffed her hair out of her face. Since she was trapped in here, she might as well shower. When she stood, she balled the sheets up and set them on his hamper. She found a fresh set at the top of his closet. She had to knock them down with a boot, but she succeeded and made his bed.

The shower was the quickest of her life. She wiped down the walls after and folded her towel over the hook when she was done. While she was killing time, she wiped down the counter and arranged his toiletries in the corner. As she dressed, she mused over the sharp turn her life had made in a day.

Had anything really changed? She was getting laid. She had to keep it secret. Beyond that, her parents and sister were traveling the world without her. Her grandparents in London still never came to see her, and her grandparents right here in Moore still worked all the time. At the clinic, she was still struggling to keep her patients.

So no. A few orgasms made her feel physically better, but she was still alone. At least she and Justin could stay friends. The only awkwardness this morning was thanks to his sister.

She sat on the bed and checked her phone. Nothing. Was Brigit outside yet? Perhaps Justin had forgotten.

Tiptoeing toward the closed bedroom door, she stayed quiet. Putting her ear close to the door, she listened. Her brain worked out a plan.

Brigit was either outside with Justin and had Isaiah with her. Or she’d put the baby in the crib and Justin had taken the monitor with him. The garage wasn’t far away. But if Brigit was giving Isaiah his bottle, she was probably in the nursery. If she was in the rocking chair, she couldn’t see where Priya parked. The window faced the wrong way.

She wasn’t staying locked in this bedroom all morning while Justin went about his day. She had her weekly meals to prepare.

Cracking open the door, she slipped out and clicked it shut behind her. When she spun around, she yelped.

Brigit was tucked into the corner of the couch, facing the nook that hid Justin’s door. Her jaw dropped, but she didn’t lower the bottle from Isaiah.

“Priya?” It came out as a near screech.

Priya flung her hand over her chest. “Don’t give the doctor a heart attack.”

“Sorry.” Brigit blinked. The shadow her ball cap cast over her eyes did nothing to hide the woman’s astonishment. She shook her head, her blond ponytail swinging from where it stuck out of the cap. “I was going to read Justin’s fling the riot act. You know, be all overprotective sister, but I didn’t expect you.”

But I didn’t expect you. Wasn’t she Justin’s type? “Who did you expect?”

The smirk on Brigit’s face didn’t feel personal, more like she knew what Priya was thinking. “Not someone who’s emotionally stable, has a good job, is more educated than my brother, and didn’t make insulting me her favorite sport growing up. No offense to Maisy, but her death doesn’t change how she treated me.”

Her irritation drained away. “No, I understand. Her behavior was escalating and we all denied it.” She pushed a hand through her damp hair. “Listen, can you keep this to yourself? This thing is just casual, but if it gets out, it’ll look bad.”

“Because of Maisy?” Brigit shook her head. Isaiah turned his face from the bottle. She flipped a burp rag over her shoulder, set the bottle on the end table, and arranged Isaiah to pat his back.

“My work has been… It’s been hard to…” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t finish. This was the second person she was talking to in as many days about her issue. She should be embarrassed by her failure as a doctor to gain her patients’ trust, but she only wanted to talk about it. She wouldn’t, though.

Brigit seemed to catch what she was alluding to. “This town can be brutal. Like a weird hive mind. Trying to change the impression that someone with boobs can’t make ranching decisions hasn’t been easy. I’m sure whenever anything bad happens to one of your patients, it’s held against you much more than it would your dad.”

Priya snorted. “Right? Though he’s been practicing thirty years and I’m brand new, so I guess there’s that.” Though she also remembered Dad’s hushed conversations with Mom about how he felt like an outsider and wasn’t sure he could live in Moore. But he’d stuck it out. She couldn’t go whining to him when he’d carved out a career long enough and successful enough that the clinic had hired his daughter.

“Whatever we can do to help, Priya. Say the word.”

Priya gave her a wan smile. “Have you had a pap smear recently?”

Brigit’s eyes widened, and she coughed out a laugh. “Well played, Dr. Patel. It’s coming due. I’ll keep you in mind.”

No, she wouldn’t, but Priya understood. It was hard to let a doctor you grew up with examine you and until recently, Brigit had thought Priya was a mean girl like Maisy. “I was just kidding.”

Her gaze strayed to the door. She was a little too emotionally exposed to stay much longer.

“He’s out in the barn with Caleb,” Brigit said. She grinned when Isaiah let out a belch. “You might as well pop in before you go because I’m going to tell Caleb everything.” Her smile turned reassuring. “But you can trust us. We know what it’s like when the whole town gossips about your life.”

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