Chapter 9 #3
She puffed her hair out of her face. Since she was trapped in here, she might as well shower. When she stood, she balled the sheets up and set them on his hamper. She found a fresh set at the top of his closet. She had to knock them down with a boot, but she succeeded and made his bed.
The shower was the quickest of her life. She wiped down the walls after and folded her towel over the hook when she was done. While she was killing time, she wiped down the counter and arranged his toiletries in the corner. As she dressed, she mused over the sharp turn her life had made in a day.
Had anything really changed? She was getting laid.
She had to keep it secret. Beyond that, her parents and sister were traveling the world without her.
Her grandparents in London still never came to see her, and her grandparents right here in Moore still worked all the time.
At the clinic, she was still struggling to keep her patients.
So no. A few orgasms made her feel physically better, but she was still alone. At least she and Justin could stay friends. The only awkwardness this morning was thanks to his sister.
She sat on the bed and checked her phone. Nothing. Was Brigit outside yet? Perhaps Justin had forgotten.
Tiptoeing toward the closed bedroom door, she stayed quiet. Putting her ear close to the door, she listened. Her brain worked out a plan.
Brigit was either outside with Justin and had Isaiah with her.
Or she’d put the baby in the crib and Justin had taken the monitor with him.
The garage wasn’t far away. But if Brigit was giving Isaiah his bottle, she was probably in the nursery.
If she was in the rocking chair, she couldn’t see where Priya parked. The window faced the wrong way.
She wasn’t staying locked in this bedroom all morning while Justin went about his day. She had her weekly meals to prepare.
Cracking open the door, she slipped out and clicked it shut behind her. When she spun around, she yelped.
Brigit was tucked into the corner of the couch, facing the nook that hid Justin’s door. Her jaw dropped, but she didn’t lower the bottle from Isaiah.
“Priya?” It came out as a near screech.
Priya flung her hand over her chest. “Don’t give the doctor a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” Brigit blinked. The shadow her ball cap cast over her eyes did nothing to hide the woman’s astonishment.
She shook her head, her blond ponytail swinging from where it stuck out of the cap.
“I was going to read Justin’s fling the riot act.
You know, be all overprotective sister, but I didn’t expect you. ”
But I didn’t expect you. Wasn’t she Justin’s type? “Who did you expect?”
The smirk on Brigit’s face didn’t feel personal, more like she knew what Priya was thinking.
“Not someone who’s emotionally stable, has a good job, is more educated than my brother, and didn’t make insulting me her favorite sport growing up.
No offense to Maisy, but her death doesn’t change how she treated me. ”
Her irritation drained away. “No, I understand. Her behavior was escalating and we all denied it.” She pushed a hand through her damp hair. “Listen, can you keep this to yourself? This thing is just casual, but if it gets out, it’ll look bad.”
“Because of Maisy?” Brigit shook her head. Isaiah turned his face from the bottle. She flipped a burp rag over her shoulder, set the bottle on the end table, and arranged Isaiah to pat his back.
“My work has been… It’s been hard to…” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t finish.
This was the second person she was talking to in as many days about her issue.
She should be embarrassed by her failure as a doctor to gain her patients’ trust, but she only wanted to talk about it. She wouldn’t, though.
Brigit seemed to catch what she was alluding to.
“This town can be brutal. Like a weird hive mind. Trying to change the impression that someone with boobs can’t make ranching decisions hasn’t been easy.
I’m sure whenever anything bad happens to one of your patients, it’s held against you much more than it would your dad. ”
Priya snorted. “Right? Though he’s been practicing thirty years and I’m brand new, so I guess there’s that.
” Though she also remembered Dad’s hushed conversations with Mom about how he felt like an outsider and wasn’t sure he could live in Moore.
But he’d stuck it out. She couldn’t go whining to him when he’d carved out a career long enough and successful enough that the clinic had hired his daughter.
“Whatever we can do to help, Priya. Say the word.”
Priya gave her a wan smile. “Have you had a pap smear recently?”
Brigit’s eyes widened, and she coughed out a laugh. “Well played, Dr. Patel. It’s coming due. I’ll keep you in mind.”
No, she wouldn’t, but Priya understood. It was hard to let a doctor you grew up with examine you and until recently, Brigit had thought Priya was a mean girl like Maisy. “I was just kidding.”
Her gaze strayed to the door. She was a little too emotionally exposed to stay much longer.
“He’s out in the barn with Caleb,” Brigit said. She grinned when Isaiah let out a belch. “You might as well pop in before you go because I’m going to tell Caleb everything .” Her smile turned reassuring. “But you can trust us. We know what it’s like when the whole town gossips about your life.”
Yeah, she’d pop in. Guess her awkward morning after was going to happen after all.
“Dude.” Caleb snapped his fingers. His breath puffed out. The barn was protected from the wind but without the sun shining in and no sheep packed inside, it stayed chilly inside. “I lost you again. This mystery girl was that epic, huh?”
Justin glared at his friend, mostly to hide the fact that his night had in fact been that epic. Now he was fretting over the diminishing chances of it happening again, thanks to his sister and brother-in-law.
“So, about the sheep.” They needed to be moved to new pastures before the snow got too deep for them to forage safely.
The creatures might have a wool coat, but they were sensitive to the bitter wind chills Moore experienced in the winter.
It was getting too close to Thanksgiving, but thanks to baby mania, they hadn’t herded the sheep yet.
“Sure. The sheep.” The corners of Caleb’s eyes twinkled, but he hadn’t pushed for the identity of the woman in Justin’s bedroom. “Want me to distract Bridge so your girl can sneak out?”
“Could you?” Brigit would understand. Eventually. And while he didn’t want to think about it as her brother, Caleb would know exactly what distracted Brigit.
The other man was about to answer when his gaze strayed to the door. A flurry of panting kicked up. The dogs were excited about someone’s approach. The shock on his face told Justin exactly who it was.
He turned from where he was leaning against a metal stall rail.
Priya picked her way through the dirt of the barn floor.
Her pristine white winter coat was zipped to her chin and those fancy boots weren’t her friend in this environment.
The faint light streaming through the barn glistened off her recently washed hair.
She didn’t look up as she spoke. “I should’ve listened to Brigit when she said suede wedge boots would die a slow death in the barn.”
“There’s no fresh manure,” he replied. “As long as you stay out of the back. That’s where we keep the injured sheep.”
He wanted to go to her, give her a kiss and ask how she was doing. But friends didn’t do that. They were casual. Looking at her didn’t feel casual. His body heated enough to ward off all the cold. He could use a repeat of what they’d done as soon as Isaiah was down for the night.
So he played it cool and stayed standing by Caleb.
Questions streamed through his mind. Had she grabbed breakfast?
Was she dying inside? Had Brigit interrogated her?
Had she been lured out of the room? He wouldn’t have thought his twin would do that, but since she’d moved back to Moore, she’d been bolder in her words and actions. He liked it. Just not right now.
Priya stopped where she was. “I…don’t want to ruin my boots.” She stuffed her hands in her coat. “I, uh, just wanted to say bye.”
He should walk her to her car. He wanted to. Dammit. This casual shit was messing with his mind. His flings when he was single had been just that. Temporary. With women who were looking for release as much as he was. He and Priya didn’t quite fit into that category.
Besides, he didn’t normally walk her out. And if he got too close to her, he might be the one ruining her boots. His own were filthy. He lifted his chin. “Call ya later?”
Her smile seemed forced. “Whenever.”
As she tottered away, he wondered if their little show had been more for Caleb than for maintaining the limits of exclusive friends with benefits.
Caleb had the grace to wait until she was out of earshot before he spoke. “You and Priya, huh?”
“It’s not like that.”
“It’s not like you were having a slumber party and her clothes were all over the living room?”
Justin rolled his eyes. “It’s not serious. She knows I have a thing about getting into another relationship.”
“But does she have a thing about it, too? Because if I recall correctly, the major issue between you and Maisy was that she wanted more than you. And then that lady in Denver wanted less than you.”
“That’s different.” He stalked off to check his sick ewes. The ones he and Caleb had already looked at.
“How?” Caleb followed him. “Your bad experience on one end propelled you toward the other.”
This was why he never talked about his personal life. “Friends with benefits. Ever hear of it?”
“Even the parts about how it turned out badly because one of the friends ends up wanting more.”
Justin stopped and faced Caleb. The man wasn’t laughing. He was genuinely concerned and not just for Justin. Priya had been on the periphery of their group of friends because he’d dated Maisy. Some of his ire drained away.
“Look, I’m not looking to debate. I slept with her.
I want to do it again. But I don’t want another woman pulling my strings to get me to do her bidding.
She knows that, and all this”—he gestured between him and where Priya had walked out—“is between her and me. I’d appreciate it if you kept it all to yourself.
She’s having a hard time at work with what happened. ”
Caleb nodded. “I heard.”
Justin cut him a sharp look.
His friend shrugged. “Firemen like to talk. One guy said his wife’s friend convinced her to switch to a bigger clinic out of town. He says the drive is a pain in the ass and he’s worried about the weather when the baby comes.”
“That sucks.”
“Yep. I tried sticking up for Priya, but he didn’t need convincing.
As firemen, we know freak shit happens. As ranchers, you and I know that animals get sick and die the second you turn your back.
Humans aren’t that much different.” He shook his head, his dark eyes grim. “But not everyone is exposed to that.”
They fell quiet for a moment, neither of them moving to do any work.
Then Caleb slapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe it’s for the best. She didn’t look cut out to be a rancher’s wife.” He swaggered toward the barn door.
Justin chuckled, but Caleb’s words echoed in his head.