Page 25 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
“Thanks. I honestly have no idea what I want or what I’m gonna do, but talking it out helped. Thanks for that.”
“Anytime, and I mean that. Even if this guy you’re into isn’t your forever person, I wish you luck figuring it out. But before we say goodbye, I’m going to ask you a question that I asked my best friend a long time ago when he was hung up on a guy he wasn’t sure wanted him back.”
“Okay.”
“If this person you like were to go out tonight, say hit up a bar and go home with someone else not you? How would you feel about it?”
Brand made a rough noise, not quite a growl, hating the idea of Hugo hooking up with someone else. Not that he had any claim to Hugo, but still. Bad feelings.
“I think that’s my answer, brother,” Colt said. Brand could hear the smirk in his voice. “Might not be a bad idea to test the waters. If you don’t, you’ll never know if you’re going to sink or swim.”
“Yeah, maybe. Thanks for the advice.”
“No problem. Take it easy.”
“You, too.”
Brand ended the call and stared at his dark cell screen for a while, unsure what to do next. He’d ended both of his long-standing personal affairs, and he felt fine about it. Today had been a roller coaster of emotions, not only with Brutus’s attack, but also the careful, kind way Hugo had taken care of him. That hug back at the vet’s office had been everything Brand had needed in a hug, or from comfort. A kind of hug he really wanted to experience again. And again.
Not tonight. Definitely not tomorrow. So many things were still too uncertain around the ranch for Brand to risk not only driving away a perfectly capable employee, but also to risk his heart. For now, he had to focus on work. His personal life could wait.
Chapter Eight
A week after Brutus’s attack, Hugo decided it was time to see his mother, and the decision left him a nervous wreck.
After coming home full of stitches and wearing a cone around his neck, Brutus spent his days on a blanket on the Woods house porch, rather than running the pastures with the horsemen. Dog paid him a lot of attention when not busy sticking close to Jackson, who seemed a bit more dour than usual. Brand was outside more, probably because Brutus couldn’t make the steps inside the house, and he was, well,attentivewasn’t the right word. Extra polite maybe? Hugo wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t avoiding Hugo like he had those first few weeks.
So weird.
During their lunch break on Tuesday, Hugo brought it up with Rem while they munched on their sandwiches in the barn’s break room. “I think I want to see my folks.”
Rem nearly choked on a potato chip. “Finally? How come?”
“Feels like time. I’ve been back for about a month. Got my legs under me now, no fear of losing the job. I’m honestly surprised Mom hasn’t called me yet because someone from Weston let it slip I’m back.” Not that he’d been around town all that much, just a few times to grocery shop, and another night at the Roost having beer with Rem. No Brand this time.
“Then you should go, dude. Wasn’t part of coming back to Texas making things right with your folks? Can’t do that hiding out up here.”
His purpose wasn’t so much making things right as reconnecting and maybe having an adult conversation with his mother and stepfather. He’d likely never appeal to Frank’s better nature, because he’d always had a blind eye to Buck’s faults, but Hugo wanted a relationship with his mother again. She’d done her best to raise him, and he owed her so much. “That was a big part of it, yes. I’ve got the day off tomorrow.” Part of their rotating schedule. “You think your scooter will get me to Daisy?”
“Should. Make sure the gas tank is full, though. She burns fuel better in town than long distance.”
“Noted.” He picked at his roast beef sandwich. “So, uh, Brand’s been around more this week, huh?”
“You noticed that, too? I think maybe he and Ramie broke up or something. Haven’t seen him around the Roost this week, and he’s been all over doing basic chores. Almost like he’s trying to fill up his spare time.”
“I didn’t think him and Ramie were technically a thing.”
“Well, no, but what else is there? He’s finally got a hot girl on the hook, and what does his dumb ass do? Loses her. I swear, that fool is never gonna get married.” The tiny bit of venom in Rem’s voice caught Hugo’s attention.
“Why’s that such a bad thing? Not everyone’s the marrying type.”
“Because Dad’s always talking about needing a grandson to take over and carry on the Woods name. Me and Shelby have been trying a lot with no luck. She even does that thing where she’s supposed to lay on her back after with her legs in the air and—”
“Dude, TMI.”
“Sorry. Anyway, Brand’s the only other brother I have who can spawn a kid.”
Hugo bit back a snort. “Colt can technically still have a kid if he and Avery want one.”
