Page 31 of A Reckless Memory

An amused glint reflected in his eyes. “Remember when that family visited the ranch after the new owners took over and their kid told Mama she was nothing but the help, and he’d better not hear her make a sound?”

I couldn’t forget. Dad had lost the cattle ranch he’d purchased with family money after leaving North Dakota. When he lost it, he’d been hired on as the ranch manager. We’d moved to “the help’s” place, out of sight of the main house, and Mama had cleaned our former home to earn extra money. The little bastard Archer mentioned had slept in what used to be our bedroom and talked to Mama like she was trash. “And you said you’d keep him busy while I put dead scorpions in his boots?”

We both snickered. Archer and I had gotten away with it, and if Mama had figured it out, she hadn’t mentioned a thing.

“I’ll run interference again,” Archer said.

I appreciated his offer, but it wouldn’t be fair. I’d done enough to her.

Aggie was also getting even.

I should leave it alone. She might find what she wanted in the charming vet.

Stomach acid crawled up my throat.

I’d messed with her heart enough. “No, man. I’m fine.”

Archer folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Ansen.” My brother might have been dressed in a clean pair of blue jeans and a navy shirt with a loose black flannel over it, but he looked every inch the corporate guy he’d once been.

“Yeah?”

“Were you serious about marrying her?”

Some days, it was hard to untangle the motivation from reality. Other days, it was crystal fucking clear. “I would’ve made sure she was happy with me.”

He studied me for several moments. “It took me a long time to admit that my wife meant everything to me. Everything. I had to lose her a second time before I got my head out of my ass. I wasted a year and a half, Ansen.”

Kind of like I’d wasted years not talking to him. Pissed away more years with Dad, who wanted to get to know his adult son. There were ten empty years between me and Aggie that were my fault.

Archer glanced at the couple chatting again. “If there’s anything inside you that wants to rekindle what you two had, now’s your chance. It’ll be a lot harder to do when his dick’s inside her.”

I was sliding out of the booth before I could decide if I was making the right decision. After a lifetime of impulsive decisions that kept me from seeing how empty my years were, I went with it, grabbing my plate and water.

Archer threw money on the table, took his food and drink, and pushed past me. I followed him.

When we got close, Jake lifted his gaze. His trademark grin spread across his face when he saw Archer and surprise registered when he saw me. “Archer, buddy. You met the new arrival?”

Aggie glanced up, and her eyes widened. A beat of alarm, and dare I say relief, passed through her surprised expression.

“I used to change the new arrival’s diapers.” Archer chuckled as he took a chair next to Dr. Jake. “Ansen’s my brother.”

“No shit?” the vet said. “I guess I never caught your last name, Ansen.” Aggie had intentionally not given it to him. I continued owing her. “Two Barrons. I’m in the presence of royalty.”

“Something like that.” Archer laughed, and I started to question the intelligence of my move. Way to run under the radar. I didn’t know who Dr. Jake would tell, but with a town this small and the Barrons as prominent as I heard they were, it wouldn’t take much for the news to spread.

Sitting next to Aggie, getting a hint of that coconut-sunshine smell, I wouldn’t have made a different decision. I didn’t have to look at her to know she was tense, but I acted like this was a normal night for us, and I tried not to think about how shooting the shit with people we knew in the bar had once been normal for us.

Archer launched into a tale about a goat pregnancy and Dr. Jake’s help. I pushed my plate over, and Aggie absentmindedly snagged a fry. She furrowed her brow and looked from the fry to me.

“Go ahead,” I said casually, but nothing inside me was easy. She had a soft spot for fried food, and I used to let her have my french fries. Wrap those pink lips around my fry. “Did you eat yet?”

“I had a sandwich before I came here.” She ate the fry, and I had to look away before I gawked at her mouth like a pervert. She tapped her mug. “I got a taste for the shandy they have on tap here. It’s made at Reservoir Barrel outside of Coal Haven. This is your cousin’s beer.” I must’ve looked confused. Her mouth tipped up. “You haven’t met the rest of your family yet?”

I shook my head. Archer had Dr. Jake’s attention. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

Her eyes softened like she sensed my sincerity. “Glad you and Archer got together.”

I reached across her for the ketchup. Once I squeezed some on her end of the plate, I cut a chunk off my burger. She was a sucker for a good burger too. She snagged another fry and dipped it in ketchup. I took a bite from the burger and caught the way Dr. Jake’s gaze jumped from Aggie to my plate, then to me. He slumped in his chair, a defeated look on his face. He laughed at Archer’s story, but it was half-hearted.

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