Chapter Twenty
Afew days had passed since Zoey’s horrific fight with Hunter. She stood in Brandon’s barn, cleaning out stalls and rubbing her horses down. She’d given them all a good workout today in Brandon’s arena, like she’d done yesterday and the day before. She glanced down at her hands, chapped and sore from days of hard riding and hard work on her brother’s property, and almost grinned. Almost. She knew what hard work was now; no one could doubt that. She’d have to get some lotion from Allie and Jo to help.
It’d been a little nippier than usual today, and she would’ve liked to use the Westbrooks’ indoor arena, but she’d rather die than get anywhere near there. Not that she was being dramatic. She unrolled the sleeves of her flannel against the sudden chill she felt settling around her as the horses brayed in their respective stalls.
She’d really started to think that Hunter was the one. It was bad enough that he’d treated her like a misbehaving child, but what had really bothered her was the accusations he leveled at her about the land. It was like he didn’t know her at all. Well, of course he didn’t. She’d only been here a month. How could he possibly?
And what’s more, how could she? How could she have convinced herself that he’d really seen her? Understood her? Thought of her as an equal? This was why she’d never let herself get close to a guy before.
She ran her metal curry comb gently over Cher Bear’s mane, cooing to him as she worked. Unbidden, she remembered Hunter’s promise to pick her up for their next date. She thought of how he’d been trying to make an effort to put her first even though he was always overworked as a rancher, and a small sob escaped her.
Cher Bear turned his head and nuzzled into her neck. The comb slipped from her fingers, landing with a thunk and a ting on the wood floor as she leaned into his neck, her fingers threading through his mane, and sobbed. And she sobbed out everything she’d held back for years.
She sobbed for the loss of her parents, for the ruins of her brother’s relationship, that Brandon would never come back to North Carolina. She cried for the role she’d allowed herself to be put in with her brothers, that they so mistrusted her ability to be serious and do a good job, and for the lengths she had to go to show them she could be a good business partner. But mostly she wept for Hunter and what could’ve been. That, more than all of it, made her insides quake from loss, her head ache, and her heart bleed.
Cher Bear nipped at her shirt sleeve and let out a sigh.
Once she was all cried out, she took several deep, calming breaths. All right. That was enough of that. Crying wouldn’t help anything.
“Sorry, Cher Bear,” she said, wiping at her nose, then patting him on his neck to calm him. “It’s been a rough week. I’m okay now.”
“Zoey?” came the deep voice of her brother.
He spoke so softly, it startled her. She jumped and spun around.
Brandon stood back by the gate, his tall frame looming even in the huge barn. His gaze landed on her face, and his expression fell. “Zoey, what happened?”
She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Nothing. I-I stubbed my toe.”
He furrowed his brow as he came closer. “Still fighting with Hunter?”
“No, no fighting,” she said. And that was true enough. That hadn’t so much as looked at one another since she’d ridden off three nights ago, let alone talked.
Brandon didn’t look like he believed her, but he didn’t push. “I just ran into Liam Nicholls in town. The landowner countered your offer for a higher one.”
Zoey had known it was coming, but she took a deep breath to steel herself. “How much?”
“Fifteen grand,” he said.
She only had three saved, which meant … She turned to Cher Bear and rubbed his muzzle. “There’s an auction this Friday in Charleston. I’ll call and get Cher Bear on the docket.”
“Zoey—”
“Please, Brandon, just let me do this,” she said. “Let me be your and Rick’s actual partner.”
Brandon nodded. “I wasn’t going to stop you. When I moved away, that was something I needed to do. I can see this is something you need to do. I’m real proud of you, Zoey. Real proud.” He placed a large hand on her shoulder. “But I’ve got to tell you. This is killing me.”
“I know,” she said. “Me too. But I knew it was a possibility going in, and I’m prepared to deal with it.” Tears started again, but this time for an entirely different reason. She turned to Brandon and wrapped her arms around his waist, and he hugged her back. “You’re the best big brother a girl could have.”
“Rick and I are the lucky ones, Zoey,” Brandon said, squeezing her tighter. “We’re the lucky ones.”
