Page 34 of Ocotillo Kisses
Hm, maybe not the best place for them to go, but she didn’t want to say so now. Then he would know which path her thoughts had gone down. Maybe his had gone the same way, and he hadn’t wanted to let her know that, either.
It was the prettiest part of the ranch, though, with the best view. She would keep her focus on that.
“So Caleb said you’re teaching his daughter to ride?”
“Yeah, we had a party a few months ago, and there were ponies, and his little girl Sophie fell in love with horses, so he brings her out here a couple times a week and we work on it.”
“I bet you’re good with her. You’ve always been so cool-headed and patient.”
He seemed to relax a bit in the saddle when she hadn’t really realized he’d been tense.
“Yeah, it’s been kind of fun, but she’s a good kid, and she listens and follows directions, remembers what I’ve already taught her. She reminded Dad of Claudia, so that’s why I started giving the lessons.”
Was every thread of conversation going to circle back to that? Maybe best to know that now, she supposed. She steered in a completely different direction. “And Lacey has twins?”
“Yeah, a boy and a girl. She was seeing this guy from the base in San Angelo and he pretty much took off on her. Beck just happened to be back in town and he kind of fell for her, and stuck around. Built her a house out there on his land. Maybe you can get out there to see it. It’s really nice. They actually had a surprise wedding, of all things, like, days after she’d had the babies. They’re happy.”
“I could tell. Every time I’ve seen them, they seem happy. And Caleb and Sofia, too? Everyone pairing up.”
“Yeah, it seems that way. Did—did anyone tell you I got married?”
“Grandma mentioned it at the time. To Noelle?” Noelle had been a cheerleader with Britt. They had been, well, as close as cheerleaders could be, after spending time at cheer camp and traveling to games, and all the other sisterhood activities. Noelle had lived in Kimmel—for all Britt knew, lived there again.
“Yeah, ah. She came out to the ranch that summer, to check on me, she said. And I was grateful for the distraction. We were married by Christmas, and divorced two Christmases later.”
From what Britt could remember of Noelle, well, she hadn’t been the most mature person. She had to imagine Noelle hadn’t made a great wife.
“Where did y’all live? Here?”
“Yeah, we got a single-wide, a gift from my parents, who didn’t want newlyweds underfoot when they were still coping with everything, and Noelle wasn’t really happy with those living arrangements. She wanted a foundation, she said, not wanting to hear her footsteps when she walked from one room to the other. Turned out, when I didn’t see the importance of that, she headed out. I think she moved up to Lubbock or someplace now. Got remarried.”
“Good for her.” Britt tried really hard to erase the image of the two of them together. Had Noelle liked Con back in high school? Britt didn’t think so. But Britt had been confident enough that she hadn’t worried about competition for Con’s affections. Should she have been?
No. He had turned to Noelle because Britt left. At least he had someone.
She wasn’t a jealous person. She’d never had need to be. She wasn’t going to start now, when she had a successful business and the life she wanted.
The dogs raised a jackrabbit, and Daisy tore off through the underbrush after it, Polka following.
“Wow, she’s fast.”
“She might be part greyhound.”
“You don’t worry about her getting bitten?” This time of year, this time of day, when it wasn’t too hot, the snakes were out.
“They’ve been vaccinated against the bites, which would buy me time, if they got bitten.”
“Where’s the nearest vet?”
“Kimmel.” He looked over at her. “Okay, it doesn’t buy me a lot of time, but some.”
She didn’t say anything, just thought that once they got the dog, got back to the ranch and drove to Kimmel forty five minutes away, even a vaccination wouldn’t help. And if he was the vet—
She kept her mouth closed. She never would have let anyone or anything derail her from getting her degree, from following her dream.
Daisy came running back, no worse for wear, panting and moving to walk in the shade of the horses.
“I guess she didn’t get it.”
