“His bestie was boning his girl,” Bailey adds, in case I didn’t get the picture. “They truly deserve one another.”
I screw my nose up, appalled. “You’re kidding?”
They both shake their heads. “Zane was head over heels,” Jo-Beth goes on. “Never quite got over the betrayal, apparently it had been going on for a while.”
“T-that’s, truly awful.” My mind flicks back to Duncan and finding all of those dating apps and hook up messages on Messenger. It was truly sickening. If he’d fallen out of love with me, or wanted to move on, why didn’t he just do that? I justdon’t get cheaters. I’ve never been able to understand the point. I wasn’t holding a gun to his head, but clearly he wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. His excuses were bullshit, and he’s tried getting me back for months. Which reminds me, his message earlier had me reeling, not that I should’ve been surprised.
I miss you.
I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean it.
I’m nothing without you
To which I replied promptly, to go fuck himself.
I stare into my drink and I can feel Bailey’s eyes on me. I should tell her about Duncan and the texts.
“Yeah, that rat and Hilary took off to Cheyenne together. But I heard they broke up a few months later,” Bailey sniffs. “That’s when Zane really went mountain man on us. We were worried for a while there. Over the years, he just became more and more of a recluse.”
I know what it feels like to be rejected like that. To love someone and be devoted to them and have them turn around and do that to you. But your best friend? That really is low.
Maybe there are layers to Zane I didn’t understand before. It doesn’t excuse his hostility, or his comments about the city I love, but he’s been hurt. And I know exactly how that feels. People have the ability to make or break you, that I know for sure.
“Yeah, it really screwed with his head. Fuckface Stanley got run out of town, the one thing that you don’t do around here is fuck with anybody like that, pardon my French,” Jo-Beth says. “George, he’s the local law enforcement and Zane’s other best friend, made sure Stanley was escorted outside the city limits. He ran the outfitters before Doris and Jasper took over, but nobody shopped there after what the two of them did to Zane, sohe had no choice but to leave, albeit with a black eye courtesy of the big guy.”
I feel sick to my stomach.
“The saddest part?” Bailey goes on, as if this isn’t hard enough to hear. “Zane really loved her. Treated her like a queen. He worshipped the ground she walked on. Sad when you think about what could’ve been.”
I nod, sipping more of my drink. So my calculations were right, not that I wanted to be right.
Zane is a grizzly on the outside, but inside he feels deeply. He was hurt by the two people he trusted. Now I get why he keeps to himself and grunts all the time. People suck, that much I know.
Maybe there’s more to my boss than I once thought?
CHAPTER 15
Zane
When I heard Iz gave Sadie the old truck to use to get to and from the farm, I spent the entire morning putting snow tires and chains on it before the weekend. The storm isn’t going to freeze us over, but it’s the first of many to come. I don’t want her skidding around and having an accident. It’s downright dangerous at this time of year without appropriate tires.
“I’m so sorry,” Iz says when I look up from the ground. “I didn’t think about the tires or the chains. The truck barely ever leaves the farm.”
“It’s fine. Good excuse for me to check everything, and make sure the old girl still runs okay.” I can’t be too hard on her, she’s been helping out at The Lodge all morning since we’re a couple of staff members down with the flu.
“How is our newest recruit doing?” She wiggles her eyebrows, and I’ve no idea what that’s all about.
“She’s fine. I got her answering calls, and servin’ all mornin’. She’s already resurrecting the filing system, because apparently I’m a slob in the office.”
Isabelle giggles. She’s been on my hide for ages to try and sort something out, but she and Mom don’t have time to sort my paperwork out right now. “Glad to hear she’s fitting in. I’ll swing by shortly and show her around the lodge properly.”
“Fine, but I don’t want you overworkin’ her. She’s good with the customers, and I don’t want her runnin’ away.” A few seconds pass, and I glance up again. My sister is staring at me with her eyes narrowed. “What?” I ask.
“You don’t want meoverworkingher? Since when did you care about that?”
“Like I said, she’s good with the customers. They like her.”
