Page 42 of A Reckless Memory

Saturday, after walking Tex, I found a plate covered with aluminum foil and the omelet Ansen had made me. Next to it sat a carton of fresh eggs.

For a bigger mindfuck, he’d left eggs every morning. Was he upset I called him a thief and was being an obedient employee, or was he being thoughtful? I was afraid of either answer.

I brought eggs with me for Cody and the kids.

To waste time, I looked at my phone. Message updates from Ansen. Nothing but business, yet he sent them more often than before. Photos of the kittens. They were at least eight weeks old and danced around the barn with their tails held high. I replied he needed to make an appointment with Dr. Jake to spay Fancy.

The cats were scattered among messages about the horses. Shelby was ready to take a saddle. Downy spooked at shadows and didn’t like to be away from Melon. Morrow had been limping, but he’d dug out pebbles and grit from a rear hoof and didn’t think there was an abscess, and he’d keep an eye on him.

We’d be able to find owners for Shelby once she was used to a saddle again. Downy would need more work. I could sell her as a pair with Melon, but I couldn’t guarantee the new owners would keep them together or that there wouldn’t be issues with either one if separated. The natural worries that came with a rescue were a nice reprieve from my personal conflict with a handsome horse trainer.

A knock racked against the window. I shrieked and dropped my phone. Tex woke up from the back seat with a sharp bark.

Sutton was grinning on the other side, and my heart settled back into my chest. Most of it, anyway. As long as Ansen was at my place and Daddy was in the house, there’d always be some tension in me. Laughing, I retrieved my phone. Tex licked the window, happy to see his occasional vet.

Outside the pickup, I gave Sutton our typical quick hug, neither of us super touchy-feely, and let Tex out to run. There was little traffic for miles. Crocus Valley was rural, but the county wasn’t as empty of people as Buffalo Gully.

“You scared the shit out of me.” I tucked my phone in my pocket and squinted at Tex sprinting up and down the driveway. The sun was out, but the strong wind could take the shine out of new paint.

“I saw you pull in and waited. Then I figured you might need reinforcements.”

I did. “Where are the guys?”

“Cody’s in his office. The kids are in the backyard with Wilder. Austen’s coming home for Christmas instead, and Eliot’s...” She waved her hand behind her. “Out there somewhere.”

Eliot wasn’t a sentimental guy. After working with Daddy his whole adult life, he was probably as closed off as a lagoon.

“The house looks the same.” I shoved my hands in my pockets.

“It’s exactly the same. Go on in. I’ll take care of Tex. The kids have been so excited to see him again. I have to go pick up the food in an hour.”

If I had stayed, it would’ve been my job to cook the Thanksgiving meal for everyone. It probably would’ve been my job to cook each night, and it wouldn’t have mattered where Ansen and I built our house. The only fights Sutton had admitted to between her and Wilder had been about what Daddy had expected Sutton to do for the ranch as Wilder’s wife.

Cody probably had absorbed the conflict to keep it from Meg. My brothers’ wives had suffered for my absence, but I didn’t shoulder the responsibility. That fell on Daddy.

I wandered to the door to the garage and stepped inside just as Cody pushed out the door from the laundry room.

He was dressed down in crisp blue jeans and a collared white shirt under a thick knit sweater. His dark-brown hair was brushed off his forehead, making his attention more direct and intense. His stern gaze landed on me and softened. “Aggie, you made it.”

I crossed to him and gave him a hug. As my oldest brother, he’d been the father figure I could actually talk to. His hold around me was a brief band, but he kept it longer than normal.

“How is everything?” I asked. If I phrased it as “How are you?” he’d go on the defense and only say he was fine.

“Organized chaos. I was just coming out to check on the kids.”

“Sutton said they’re with Wilder.”

“Exactly.” A ghost of a smile passed over his mouth, then he was back to being my serious brother. “Barns is in his chair. He doesn’t... he doesn’t move from it often these days. It’s close.”

I nodded, my throat tightening. The swell of emotion had to be stronger because I was back home for the first time since that day, and it was harder to be there when I was trying not to think of Ansen living on my property.

I sucked in a hard breath. “Time to get this over with.”

“Good luck. He’s heard about Ansen.”

“You’re shitting me.” Daddy knew, and he still hadn’t called me? Had he talked to Ansen since his breakup with Stephanie? No, Ansen would’ve said something. Daddy was probably waiting for today to pester me about Ansen again.

The grimness didn’t leave his expression. “He’s giddy. Eliot can’t keep a secret.”

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