“I’m building a new cat sanctuary here in town,” she said. “Well, down in Three Rivers, and I think I’ll be attending the small ranch owners’ meetings with you.” She raised her eyebrows, and Jake tried to swallow down some of his ire.
“Sure,” he said, his memory finally coming together for him. “You’re Trap’s girl.”
“Yes.” Lila Mae brightened and grinned at him. “And I’m just trying to learn as much as possible about the climate here, the landscape, and how big operations like these work.”
“You bought the Hensen place,” he said, once again not asking.
“Yes,” she said again. “Trap and I are working on it together, and I’m from Georgia—well, kind of— which is quite a bit different than Texas. I’m just trying to learn everything I can, and I’d love it if my veterinarian or I could talk to you and ask questions from time to time.”
Jake certainly couldn’t see how he could tell her no, and he cut a look over to Hailey, who didn’t quite wear the same PR smile that Lila Mae did.
He was terrible at judging age, but if he had to guess, both women were close to him—early to mid-thirties. While they both wore tank tops, jeans, and closed-toed shoes—Sensible, he thought—something sparked way hotter in him when he looked at Hailey.
Yeah, irritation, he thought, because he suspected she’d taken that last photo of him just to be cheeky.
“I suppose I can talk to you,” he said. “But we’re really busy today and we’re behind schedule.”
“We didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lila Mae said, and he noted that the moment she’d arrived, Hailey had stopped talking. He wasn’t sure what that meant, and he told himself he didn’t care.
He hadn’t given up his dream job and big, beautiful house in the stunning Texas Hill Country to return home to small-town Three Rivers and wrestle cattle for fun. No, he’d done it because he couldn’t stay anywhere near where Chantelle lived. She’d taken his heart, cracked it right in two, and he’d left little pieces of it between here and there.
So he ducked his head and tipped his hat and said, “If you’ll excuse me, ladies,” and turned back to his task at hand.
Little John raised his eyebrows at him, but Jake simply shook his head. “Where we at?” he asked, letting his inner grump once again come out.
Because he’d told Hailey and Lila Mae the truth: they were behind on getting their blood samples and administering the vaccinations. Carver and Levi would be back in the next few minutes with yet another herd of cattle that needed to go through the chutes.
Jake had let one pretty face distract him in the past, and though he glanced over and found Hailey and Lila Mae still there watching, he told himself he wouldnotallow such a thing to happen again.
He loved Three Rivers Ranch and he loved this job. He loved being closer to his parents and his younger brother, and he felt loved and accepted by the men and women at the small ranch owners’ meetings. All of that would have to be enough, because Jake was not willing to let his heart and life be shredded by a woman, even one as beautiful as Hailey Winters.
After all, if everything blew up here in Three Rivers the way it had in Hondo, Jake didn’t have anywhere else to escape to.
28
Elaine pinned her hair back on the sides and fluffed up her bangs. She’d just gotten them cut, and they did make her look a little bit younger. At the same time, she had a tall forehead, and bangs helped cover some of that up.
She’d been thinking about her relationship with Brandt non-stop lately, as he’d made a few remarks about her center for women on their past couple of dates. She hadn’t appreciated them, nor had she solicited his opinion on how she ran her business. While she understood that everybody said insensitive things from time to time, Brandt’s comments had actually revealed a lot more about who he was.
“Or who he isn’t,” Elaine said to her reflection. The truth was, Brandt was a total small-town cowboy who had never left Three Rivers. He enjoyed a truck his daddy bought for him and didn’t seem to understand that other people didn’t come from as much privilege as he did.
Elaine certainly couldn’t say she’d come from a place of poverty, either, but those she endeavored to help didn’t have generational ranches or fat bank accounts, and she held a lot of compassion for them.
She turned away from her reflection, because she’d already made this decision. She’d been seeing Brandt for a couple of months now, though, and she didn’t feel like she could end it with a text.
September and October were very busy around the Panhandle, but Elaine had asked him to meet her for a quick dinner at the Baker Brewery. She reasoned that they’d get their food fast, and she could tell him she just didn’t think it was going to work between them.
“Hopefully I’ll be home by nine,” she muttered as she left the bathroom without putting on her usual lipstick and triple-checking that everything sat exactly in place.
A sense of sadness accompanied the frustration that came with her decision to end this relationship. She’d been hopeful in the beginning, as Brandt had been charming and handsome, showing up with flowers and planning dates, but the last couple had literally been them either walking around the mall—where he didn’t even buy a full dinner but a hot dog and an ice cream cone.
Then, she’d gone to his house so he could “cook for her,” only to discover that he’d ordered pizza, and the only thing he actually did to prep was make homemade ranch dressing.
“Itwasgood dressing,” Elaine said to herself as she picked up her red handbag and transferred her car keys from her black one.
She wore a pretty crimson-colored blouse covered in Texas poppies and a black skirt, as the color made her feel powerful and feminine at the same time. She’d need her courage with her tonight to end things with Brandt, and she left the house determined not to let him talk her out of it.
Not that she knew if he would or not, but she knew enough about Brandt Lyman to know that the man usually got his way,and if it wasn’t his idea to end the relationship, he probably wouldn’t be happy about it
