Page 6 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
“Wow.” He’d known Buck was in prison, but he’d never asked anyone for the exact details of the assault. Buck had hit a cop? “What happened?”
“He beat up his girlfriend so bad that her parents called the county sheriff, and when a deputy went to arrest Buck, the asshole was so drunk he attacked the deputy.” Rem grunted unhappily. “Assault charges for the girlfriend didn’t go far, because she was too scared to stand up to him with a statement, but the new sheriff? Seamus McBride? He refused to back down on pressing charges for assaulting his deputy. Judge gave Buck three years.”
A ripple of worry unsettled Hugo’s gut. “How long ago?”
“About two years or so now. Rumor is he’s had parole hearings but he gets into a lot of fights, so it’s not been granted yet.”
That made sense. Buck was...unstable. Ever since they first met when Mom started dating Frank, Hugo had seen something mean in Buck’s eyes. Something that scared him. But Mom had fallen for Frank, and Buck had been fine for a few months after the incident at the wedding. Then his true nature had started showing its ugly face—that of a cruel man who loved to bully his younger stepbrother every chance he got.
“Good,” Hugo snapped. “He belongs in prison.” But the idea that he could be paroled in a year made his gut knot.
“Yeah. Let’s hope that when he gets out, he stays far away from Weston.”
“Yeah.” Far, far away from Weston, or Hugo wouldn’t be held responsible if he saw the man again. On the outside, he was still an average guy, but on the inside, he was no one’s pushover anymore. No one’s victim. “Away from here and Daisy. But I can’t help wondering if Mom and my stepdad will take Buck back if he ever gets out.”
“Hard to know. If not, he’ll probably go to a halfway house somewhere in the county. Not great for those residents but probably better for us.”
“Right.” Hugo sank deeper into the passenger seat and watched the boring scenery go by. They didn’t chat much more after that, other than a few vague questions from Hugo about the ranch, and from Rem about his adventures since Hugo left Texas. Hugo stayed vague on the details, only mentioning various odd jobs that took him west, until he landed at Clean Slate Ranch. Rooming with Slater and learning the ropes of a tourist-focused dude ranch. How much he loved the overnight trips spent under a bazillion glimmering stars.
Eventually, Rem took the exit to Weston, and Hugo’s stomach rolled again. His hometown of Daisy was only ten miles farther east, but the towns weren’t all that different. Weston itself had a single stoplight at the intersection of Main Street and Weston Avenue—named after the founding family of their small town back in the eighteen-nineties—one grocery store, three bars, and five churches. The only change was that one of the bars had a For Sale sign on it.
“Everything looks the same as I remember,” Hugo said.
“Yeah, not much has changed.” Rem paused at the red light and glanced around. “Pretty much the same my entire life. Wish those would go away, though.” He pointed at a house that had a Confederate flag hanging from the porch.
Hugo’s heart swelled a tiny bit. “Me, too, brother. Me, too.”
Brand spent as much time as humanly possible in his office that day—not only because he was reading a proposal on expanding their wind turbine farm by another few dozen acres, but also because of the new hire arriving today.
Hugo Turner.
His résumé was beyond reproach, and Dad had already offered him the job based on a remote interview, but Brand was still leery. The kid—okay, he was twenty-seven now, so not a kid—had plenty of experience, but he’d left so suddenly not long after turning eighteen. And he’d never been back. Why take a job at Woods Ranch now? Why come back after all these years? Not simply to fuck with Brand’s head. Unless Hugo had changed completely, this wasn’t some sort of revenge for their single encounter so many years ago.
Right?
His phone chimed with a text from Dad:They’re here, come down.
Brand heaved a sigh no one but himself heard, then pushed away from his desk. He’d spent so much time up here lately, plotting how to keep the ranch going, and he missed being in the saddle. Following the grazing herds and making sure none of the steer wandered off. But this was the lot he’d been dealt and by God and heaven, he’d do his best.
He thumped downstairs and into the home’s small foyer right as Rem opened the front door, grinning to beat the devil. His little brother had always been a spirited guy with a friendly smile for everyone, and he loved picking on Brand for still being single at thirty-five. And right behind Rem was the guy who’d starred in more than one jerk-off fantasy over the years.
Hugo was all grown up. Taller, with more muscles on his lean frame, and a healthy tan to his skin. He stood with his back straight, head up, confident in himself. So different from the skittish teenager Brand remembered clearly. But still as good-looking as ever in the perfect boy-next-door way.
Get it together, Woods, he’s an employee not a fantasy come true.
“Hey, dude,” Rem said to him as he draped one arm across Hugo’s shoulders. “Look what the cat dragged in all the way from California.”
“Good to see you again, Hugo,” Brand said, reaching for politeness because part of him wanted to remove his brother’s arm from Hugo’s body. Not an impulse he was allowed to act on. Ever.
“You, too, man,” Hugo replied, offering an affable smile that broadened when Mom and Dad came into the foyer from the hall leading back to the kitchen. “Mr. and Mrs. Woods, it’s amazing to see you both again.”
“Welcome home, hon,” Mom said. She walked right up to Hugo and hugged him. “We’ve missed you. You spent so much time here when you and Rem were in high school, it felt like we’d adopted a new boy.”
“I always felt very welcome here, ma’am, thank you.” Hugo shook Dad’s hand. “I really appreciate the job, sir.”
“You’ve got the experience we’re looking for, son,” Dad replied. “Outsiders think everyone from Texas is born knowing how to ride a horse and rope cattle but that just isn’t true. Plus, we’ve got some heifers due to calve this spring, so we need the help.”
“I get it, believe me. And your family always treated me well, so it felt like the right time to give back. And to make a change for myself.” His eyes flickered briefly at Brand.
