Shelby ignores me. “Well, he grew, and his hair got darker. By the end of college, he topped out at six feet exactly. But more importantly, he’s a divorce lawyer in Tulsa.”
Pops sits forward, putting his coffee down on an end table. “Think he’ll give us a friends and family discount?”
Shelby smiles. “Better. He said he’ll do it pro bono.”
Ridge, who’s remained a stony silent participant in the corner of the room, squeezes his eyes shut. He looks terrible. His eyes are puffy and bloodshot, and he’s aged ten years in the span of twenty-four hours. I feel for the guy. He’s going throughit emotionally, and now he carries the guilt of the family ranch being in jeopardy because of his choice in women.
I look over at Shelby as she explains the next steps. I’m proud of her. I know, even when we officially break up, she’ll be my friend. She’s a good person to her core. She’d never try to lash out and hurt me like Tiff is doing to Ridge. Just one more reason to love her, I guess. Just one more reason it’s going to suck trying to fall out of love with her. But to keep her in my life as my best friend, I’ll do it. I’ll find a way. One day, one minute at a time.
As Frankie and Skye read through the entirety of the divorce papers that were given to Ridge yesterday, Shelby confers with Pops. I steal out of the room and head for the kitchen on the pretense of a coffee refill. I stop short, seeing Meemaw perched on a stepstool, bending over the kitchen sink.
“Meemaw! We’ve talked about this. You can’t bathe the chickens in the kitchen!”
Said chicken squawks at my interruption. Meemaw looks over her shoulder, unfazed. “He’s getting bumblefoot!”
I grimace and pour another cup of coffee. “Okay, well, soak his feet in a bucket, not the sink where we prepare food.”
Meemaw titters. “He’s as much a part of this family as you, Dallas Gamble. You use your kitchen sink as you see fit, and I’ll use mine.”
I roll my eyes, but she’s too busy crooning at her chicken to know. Pulling out my cell phone, I hit the contact for my twin. Houston picks up, which surprises me. Then again, phone calls this early are usually an emergency.
“What?” he says, voice so rough I can barely make out what he said.
I keep my voice low, not wanting Ridge to overhear me. “We got ourselves a situation, Hou.”
He clears his throat, sounding slightly more awake. “Lost more calves?”
“No, I think Shelby stopped the spread. Thank god, since we already lost enough to have Pops sweating bullets. It’s Ridge. He got served divorce papers.”
“Halle-fucking-lujah.”
“That’s what I was thinking at first, but then he read the whole thing from her lawyer. She’s asking the court for half the ranch.”
“That little cunt bucket’s gonna to see the underside of my boot if she ever shows her face around here,” Meemaw mutters not quite under her breath.
“Fuck,” Houston breathes.
“Yeah.”
We both sit there in silence, just breathing into the phone. When he finally speaks again, there’s a resignation in his voice I’ve never heard before. I bet most people wouldn’t know the difference, but this is my twin brother. I know him just about as well as he knows himself.
“I assume with the calf deaths this season, we’ll have to tighten our belts?”
I shake my head. “Even with Shelby donating her veterinary services.”
“Okay,” Houston sighs. “I have a rodeo in three days I can’t back out of. I’ll cancel the next one since that’s over a week out. I’ll be home within the week.”
Hope, the kind that makes you think everything will be all right even when everything’s falling apart, lights up my chest. “You mean it?”
“What the fuck do you think?”
“I think my brother’s coming home.”
Meemaw turns from the sink at the news, a grin stretching out all her wrinkles. Thank god she put her dentures in.
I hang up, and Meemaw puts the chicken down, its feet bandaged up in so much white gauze it glides out of the kitchenlike it’s ice skating. Meemaw grabs a bowl, tucks her hand in my elbow, and we walk together into the family room. Shelby and Pops have Ridge looking a little less likely to puke right then and there. Skye and Frankie are loudly discussing options.
“I think we need to pivot. This is the perfect time to close down the cattle business and do something else with this land,” Skye is saying.
