Page 7 of Red Hot Rancher

Brigit trudged through the barn and out into the sunshine. A fall breeze cool with the frigid promise of snow blew across her, but the effect was lessened by the warm rays beating down on her. Birds chirped around the house as they hunted for late fall fare. The bleats of the sheep faded behind her.

Calling her own mother shouldn’t feel like this much of a chore, but Mom had adored Oliver. The woman hadn’t said as much, but Brigit knew without asking that she’d had fantasies of her daughter being married to a successful businessman, and even better, one who had a last name almost as respected in the town of Moore as Walker.

Inside, Brigit kicked her boots off by the door and jogged up to her room to grab her phone. There were no messages, no “I miss you” texts from her ex, and no cheer-up comments from all the friends she didn’t have. Her social circle had consisted of Oliver’s friends, and she supposed it was like a divorce. He got all the people, she got all the loneliness.

If she thought about the phone call too hard, it wouldn’t happen. She punched in her mom’s number and waited for her to pick up.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you.” At the sound of Mom’s cheerful voice, Brigit sank onto her bed and rested her head in her hand.

Skipping the greeting, she went straight for the gut. “Oliver and I broke up. He was cheating on me.”

“Oh, honey.” Mom paused. Her breath echoed over the line, like she was opening her mouth to say something and closing it again. “Who? How? Why…”

The story spilled out of Brigit, every humiliating detail. She didn’t spare one moment of the coffee-shop debacle, hoping that would sway her mom’s opinion of what Brigit should have done.

“I just can’t believe it.” Mom’s exasperated huff sounded angry. That was a promising sign. “Wasn’t he willing to work out any issues?”

“What was there to work out? We were barely engaged and he was already sleeping with someone else.”

“It’s not your fault he turned to another. Did he say at all why he did it?”

There could be so many reasons. He felt like he was carrying her through life? She wasn’t good enough in bed? He didn’t like the way she looked anymore? It all added up to him being unhappy with her.

“We didn’t get that far in our conversation.” She’d been unwilling to hear how she “made” him do it.

“And you weren’t interested in repairing the relationship?”

“No, Mom. I figured that if he couldn’t keep it in his pants even with a ring on my finger, he wasn’t worth one more minute of sharing my life.” Brigit pressed her lips shut. She never lashed out at Mom. Not after all the woman had done for her. “I want a rock-solid foundation before I get married, not a wing and a prayer.”

The hard edge of her voice kept Mom from replying right away. “You deserve nothing less. I just thought—the way you talked about him… I’m surprised you’re letting him go. So what now?”

The way she talked about him? Brigit thought back. No, she never had discussed those times Oliver made her feel less than, or the belittling comments he made. She hadn’t wanted to hear anyone else agree. “Well, since I was kicked out of the house, Justin helped me move. I’m staying with him.” She held her breath, waiting for the news to sink in.

“Isn’t… Isn’t Caleb staying with Justin?” There it was. The other major reason she’d put off this phone call. Mom would breathe easier if Brigit didn’t share the same roof as Caleb, or better yet if Caleb moved to a different country, maybe the one his mom had been born in.

“Yeah, he’s here too. But he works one full day, and his days off he spends working on his own ranch.” She should leave it at that, but more explanation might help Mom accept her new living arrangements. Being roommates with him wasn’t going to anchor her to Moore and make her give up all that schooling Mom had fought for. “You remember his house was destroyed by a tornado?”

Mom snorted. “No surprise. It was probably only a couple steps away from being condemned.”

No, it hadn’t been. Caleb’s grandparents might not have had enough money to update the look of the house in the last several decades, but she’d cared for what she had. Including Caleb.

“Either way, he lost his home. And I lost my home. Thankfully, Justin is still single, and we can both crash with him.”

“Crashing with him is one thing but living with him is another. I know you’ll help your brother out. Has Caleb paid him even one penny in rent?”

“He’s trying to rebuild his house, Mom. I got kicked out by a selfish prick. Caleb’s trying to rebuild his life and his best friend is helping him. You know Justin isn’t the type to let people use him.”

“You’ve always had a blind spot when it comes to that boy.”

“And you’ve always had a lot of judgment when it comes to him.” Brigit pressed her lips together and squeezed her eyes shut. If it weren’t for Mom, things between her and Caleb might have turned out so differently. But ultimately, it’d been her decision to cut things off and leave town.

She couldn’t dwell on the past. Good, bad, or indifferent, it didn’t change that Mom had once asked Brigit if she was willing to give up school and a career to be stuck in Moore. She’d had one shot at school, and Mom had fought for it.

I finally got your father to agree to pay for your school, wherever you choose, instead of doing exactly what you’re doing now—settling for the first boy that makes your heart go pitter-patter.

Caleb did more than that, but Mom had been right. Her parents had put Travis through school. Justin had big plans. But when it came to Brigit, Dad looked at all his sisters-in-law who’d settled down with ranchers and wondered why she couldn’t do the same and save him the money.

“Brigit. It was for the best.” So much emotion saturated Mom’s words. Was she not proud of the way she’d divided her and Caleb as kids?

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