Page 61 of Omega's Refuge

I turned my head to smile at him. “Was that something your mom loved doing too?”

“Yep. She’d whip up some hot cocoa and we’d spend the night watching the stars.” His voice was full of affection.

“I wish my parents had been into that kind of thing. They loved me, but they didn’t do much with me. That’s why I was so excited to spend asummer on my granddad’s ranch. But then he turned out to be a jerk, so that was a bust.”

“Yeah.” He sounded sympathetic. “That’s a damn shame.”

We watched the stars for a while in silence, then I asked, “You said you’ve only worked at the dude ranch for four years. What’d you do before that?”

“I was a very different person before I came to work at the ranch.” He sounded a bit defensive.

“That’s okay.”

He chuffed. “Not really.”

I got up on my elbow, studying him. “What does that mean?”

He hesitated, and I thought for a moment he wouldn’t be willing to confide in me, but then he relented. “I’m sorry to say I was a lot like my father.”

“Were you?” I frowned. “You seemed so negative about him earlier.”

He sat upright, to sit cross-legged, his expression strained. “I didn’t approve of his choices growing up, that’s very true. But once I left for college, and after I graduated, I changed. I started focusing more on making a lot of money. I lost my way for a while.”

“That’s so surprising,” I murmured. “To be honest, I can’t picture you working anywhere but on the ranch.”

He sighed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. You wouldn’t have liked the old me. For a while there, the only thing I cared about was money and power. I was turning into my dad without even realizing it. I’m kind of embarrassed to even admit that to you.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” I said softly. “You’re not like that now, that much is obvious.”

He hung his head. “No, I’m nothing like that now.”

“So, what did you do before you took the job at the ranch? You never actually said.”

“I was a corporate lawyer.” His expression was sheepish.

I bugged my eyes, trying hard to picture Rex in that sort of setting. Try as I might, it was impossible. “Are you serious? Where?”

“In Dallas. I worked for a big law firm, and made an obscene amount of money. That was one reason I kept doing it—the money.”

“That’s crazy. I… I can’t picture you like that.” I laughed gruffly, trying to visualize Rex in an expensive suit and tie. That image didn’t fit. Flannel shirts, blue jeans, and cowboy boots suited him too perfectly.

He grimaced. “I can’t see me that way either anymore. It’s like a vague memory of someone else. I’ve had a lot of years to think about things, and in hindsight, I believe I was trying to get mydad’s approval. Since money and power were all he cared about, I was trying to accrue as much of both as I could.”

“Makes sense.”

He shook his head. “What a waste of a lot of good years. My mom was horrified that I was turning into Dad right in front of her eyes. She loved him to death, but she didn’t want any of her sons turning out like him. Family was too important to her.”

“I still can’t see you going to law school. That’s nuts.” I rubbed my jaw, still trying to grapple with the new info he’d dumped on me. “So, how does a corporate lawyer end up working on a dude ranch?”

He knitted his brows. “In my case, I was terrified into it.”

“Huh?” I frowned.

He smiled at my muddled expression. “I had a health scare four and a half years ago. It altered how I looked at life. Forced me to change.”

I was shocked at what he was saying. He looked healthy as a horse. “What kind of health scare?”

His expression was grim. “The kind that stops you in your tracks and makes you take stock of your life.”

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