Chapter 21
Cole
Lauren: I’m at Millie’s. She needed me to exercise her horse because she hasn’t been able to ride this week. Can you pick me up at seven to go to Hannah and Tanner’s place? I’m running a little late.
I looked down at the text with a frown on my face.
It had been a long week for Lauren because she was wrapping up two projects, and she’d missed a workday last Monday because of our extended first date.
Unfortunately, my schedule had been heavy, too, and I’d had a ton of things to attend to with a few of my investments.
Nevertheless, I wished I could have taken on the job of exercising Millie’s horse off her hands, but that wasn’t possible. My aunt owned a delicately built Gypsy Vanner horse that wouldn’t appreciate a big rider like me.
Most of the time, Millie could get out and ride, but the winter cold had been hard on her arthritis this year.
Lauren and I had done our morning exercise at my place, but we’d cut our sessions a little short because we’d both had busy days ahead.
Other than that, we hadn’t seen each other in person.
We hadn’t had our second date, and that was unacceptable to me.
I almost wished that I hadn’t agreed to spend our Friday night with my cousins, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that we’d be spending the rest of the weekend together at my place.
The family was all having dinner at Tanner’s so they didn’t have to drag the baby out into the cold.
The temperatures had been unusually brutal the last few days, especially at night.
Me: Anything I can do to help?
Lauren: Not unless you want to help me shower and get dressed.
Fuck! I wasn’t quite sure if that comment was suggestive…or not.
With Lauren, sometimes it was hard to tell.
Most of her comments weren’t meant to be sexual because she was still so damn innocent.
Me: If I did that, we’d definitely be a lot later than you are already. In fact, we’d probably never show up for dinner at all.
Lauren: Pervert.
I smirked.
Me: You have no idea how depraved I can be. Be careful driving home. I’ll see you shortly.
“I take it that you’re getting ready to leave,” Asher said as he finished the beer he was drinking and tossed the bottle into the trash. “I noticed that your horse trailer is hooked up to your truck. Are you moving your Arabians somewhere?”
My brother had stopped by after work, and we’d taken some time to catch up.
It was the first time we’d seen each other all week.
I shook my head. “Nah. I’m going to move Lauren’s horse, Daisy, from Tanner’s barn to mine.
The weather is supposed to get a little warmer this weekend.
We’ll probably try to get in a ride. It just makes more sense to keep Daisy here so Lauren can ride her more often.
” I paused before I asked, “So are we officially done searching our property?”
Asher nodded, his expression regretful.
“I think we should try doing Millie’s. At least the route that someone would have traveled from our place to hers. Do you think our father abused Mom?”
Lauren had filled me in on what Millie had said about our mother and their relationship.
I’d just finished sharing that information with Asher before Lauren’s text.
“He did,” Asher answered. “She hid it, but I saw those bruises on her face, too. I also remember how he used to treat her and how cruel he was to her. I can’t say I’m surprised that she wanted to leave him.”
“I don’t think she really wanted to leave us,” I replied.
Asher shook his head. “She didn’t. She loved us.
If she left, I have to believe that she would have taken us with her.
I don’t think she ever left the ranch, Cole.
Millie said she didn’t think Mom was planning on leaving immediately.
I guess we should give that route on Millie’s property a try.
I’ll talk to her next time she stops by. ”
For once, I didn’t give Asher a hard time about his slowly developing relationship with our aunt.
I wanted Asher to get closer to Millie.
Hell, I wanted him to get closer to everyone.
“You could chat with her yourself if you come to dinner at Tanner’s place. We were both invited.”
I knew it was a long shot, but I was tired of seeing my brother isolate himself at his ranch with only his horses for company.
He’d hired himself a housekeeper, but she was only there for a few hours a day, and I doubted very much that he spoke a single word to the woman.
Asher’s isolation wasn’t healthy.
I’d probably never thought about that before because I’d been very much like him when we’d lived in Austin.
We’d lived to work, and now that we weren’t doing that anymore, I really wanted my brother to try to get a life.
A life that included people in it.
I wasn’t a social guy myself, but Asher’s total isolation worried me.
“She’ll drop by this week,” he replied, blowing off my suggestion.
I let out an exasperated breath.
I’d already known what his answer would be.
I knew I was going to have to let Asher move at his own pace. If Millie could get to him, it was only a matter of time before she’d convince him to give his cousins a chance.
The thing was…if Asher did give Kaleb, Tanner, and Devon a chance, he’d like them. He’d like their wives, too.
Maybe we weren’t really raised together, but our cousins were a lot like Asher and me at our core.
They were driven and ambitious, but they didn’t let that ambition rule their lives anymore.
All of them were straight shooters, and they had very little tolerance for bullshit.
And Kaleb, Tanner, and Devon were close, probably just as close as I was to Asher.
The three of them razzed the hell out of each other, but it was crystal clear to me that they’d always have each other’s backs.
They were also protective of the people they cared about.
All of my theories about having nothing in common with my cousins had been completely wrong.
Maybe we had been raised differently.
Maybe Asher and I hadn’t gotten Ivy League educations.
But we still had more in common than I ever thought possible.
“You’d like them if you got to know them,” I told my brother.
Asher shrugged. “Maybe I would, but I don’t see the point. Other than you, I don’t really give a damn about family.”
I knew that wasn’t really true.
Truth was…Asher didn’t think he was capable of getting close to anyone else.
He was distant because he thought he needed to be that way.
My brother didn’t particularly like physical contact, and getting to know family might mean he’d have to be close to someone other than me.
I shrugged. “I’m starting to like them.”
“I want you to like them,” Asher said firmly.
“I want you to get close to the rest of the Remingtons if they’re going to accept you and care about you.
Our father was scum, but I think our uncle was a good man.
Sometimes I wish I’d just told him the truth, but I wasn’t sure I could trust him to protect us from our father.
I wanted to help you, but I wasn’t sure telling our uncle would put you in a better situation. ”
“We were kids, Asher,” I said as I ran a frustrated hand through my hair.
“We were rightfully terrified of our father. Let it go. We did what we had to do to survive. You were only two years older than I was. There wasn’t a damn thing you could have done differently.
We’re free. We have been for a long time.
It’s time for both of us to let go of the past. We both deserve to be happy. ”
“I think you’ll be happier when you’re in the company of your woman,” Asher said as he headed toward the door, completely ignoring my comment about both of us being happy.
Hell, maybe my brother just needed more time.
We hadn’t been back in Crystal Fork for long.
“What are you doing for dinner?” I asked as I followed him to the door.
He frowned. “My housekeeper left food, even though I keep telling her that I don’t need her to cook.”
“Is she a good cook?” I asked curiously.
“Too good,” Asher grumbled. “I’m going to hate going back to eating my own cooking. I’m going to have to talk to her again.”
There was something in Asher’s tone that made me ask, “Does this housekeeper have a name?”
“Sierra,” he said tersely. “It’s still a trial thing. I’m not sure if she’s going to work out. Maybe I’m not cut out to have someone in my home every day.”
I stared at my brother for a moment.
Yeah, he was just as stoic as usual, but there was something different about his tone.
“Young?” I questioned.
“I have no idea how old she is,” he said a little irritably. “Probably a few years older than Lauren.”
I’d talked about Lauren enough that Asher was very well aware of her age.
I’d actually mentioned that Lauren was probably too young for me once or twice before we started our new relationship.
“Maybe they know each other if they’re around the same age,” I mused.
“I doubt it,” Asher said tightly. “Sierra isn’t from Crystal Fork, and she lives in Billings.”
“Is she pretty?” I asked in what I hoped was a casual voice.
Asher shot me a disgruntled look. “You have a woman.”
I had to force myself not to smile.
My brother looked slightly unhappy about my question.
It was probably wishful thinking, but I had to wonder if my brother’s new housekeeper was chipping away at his morose exterior.
I held up a hand. “I was just curious. Don’t fire her. Let her cook you some decent meals first. Your cooking sucks worse than mine does.”
“We’ll see,” Asher said noncommittally as he strode through the door. “I find it annoying to have somebody underfoot every day. Later.”
I closed the door with a grin, hoping that this Sierra had an uncommon amount of fortitude.
It would take that and more to put up with my older brother. He was claiming that having someone at his house wasn’t really working out for him, but maybe someone to take care of him was exactly what he needed.