Chapter 13
H ave you heard yet?
Brigit typed in her reply. No.
She didn’t write, I told you I’d tell you when I heard . Every day for the last two weeks, Mom had been sending the same question like it was a compulsion. Mom was just a little excited. Such a good position. Oh, you’d be perfect for it. I can just picture it.
And there it was. Mom’s unfailing confidence in her ability. Mom’s unshakable faith. She was the reason Brigit worked so hard.
But it’d been a month since the trip to Minneapolis.
The person she’d interviewed with said they had several applicants and some were flying in from out of state, one was even international, and they weren’t going to offer the job to anyone before Christmas—which had been last week.
No other places had called offering her an interview, but her inbox had filled with a few variations of Thank you for your interest in this position.
We’re sorry to say… She’d applied to five more jobs, and with more reluctance than she cared to admit, she’d widened her search to other cities as well.
“Ready already?” Caleb sauntered into the room after his shower, a towel slung low over his hips.
She was dressed, but she wasn’t ready. Justin had asked them to go with him to the bar for New Year’s Eve.
He probably wanted them as a buffer to the insanity Maisy had infused into his life.
She was pregnant—the positive test had been shipped express to the house. Brigit had signed for the package.
Then there were the phone calls. And messages. And pages of texts. Justin had been imprisoned on the ranch for the last month and he wanted to go out. Brigit and Caleb had decided to make that happen.
She had no desire to get caught in the crossfire, but this wasn’t about her.
It was about her twin and he’d done so much for her.
Besides, she couldn’t escape the feeling that somehow she’d disappointed Caleb in Minneapolis.
He hadn’t said anything—and she’d asked.
He wasn’t acting differently, but there was a heaviness in the air between them.
A separation, even though they were closer than ever.
“I’m ready.” She wore a combination of the clothes she’d worn in the Cities and the ones she’d bought. Same old sweater but new leggings and boots.
Caleb was the same. Shiny hair slicked back, and the sides freshly shaved. Instead of a black T-shirt, he wore a red shirt emblazoned with a fire engine in red, white, and blue. She could pick him out of a crowd, but she’d always been able to do that.
Justin hopped in with them on the way into town. Caleb was driving his truck. Less conspicuous for Justin that way.
Brigit buckled herself in. “Not planning on making any more babies?” His situation was no joke, but she used humor to get Justin through these dark days.
Justin snorted. “Not in Moore anyway. I feel like I’d endanger any woman I looked at.” He was only half joking. “And I have to prove I’m a daddy in the first place.”
The parking lot of the bar was packed. Caleb took a loop around looking for Maisy’s car.
“I don’t see it.” Justin peered out the window. “I think we’re good. For now.”
“Let’s go ring in the new year,” she said.
Her stomach fluttered. She hadn’t been out much since returning to Moore.
Once in a while, she’d gone out with Oliver and hated every minute.
He’d been determined to play the golden boy come home again, when really they’d only moved back because it was the last option.
And there was always the risk of running across Caleb and reminding herself of the heartbreak that never faded.
She and Caleb hadn’t done more than grab a quick lunch or supper. They were both trying to save money and were perfectly content to curl up on the couch and watch TV.
Justin’s troubles had only made her leery of running across Maisy’s spies. She had a pack of them spreading lies in order to recruit townspeople to her side. It was a small town. Her friends and family would track and report Justin’s whereabouts and who he was talking to.
Once they were out of the cold and in the loud bar, she spotted her cousin Aaron. His wife Dalisay was next to him and his friend Lucas sat across from them. When Aaron saw them, he waved them over.
Lucas stood to pull another table over.
Aaron gave her a hug. “I think we’re the only Walkers going out to ring in the new year.” He grinned at his wife’s baby belly. “At least this year.”
She smiled back, ecstatic for them. “You’ll be glad to be stuck at home. How are Jackson and Nicolas?”
“Giving Mom more gray hair. Come on. Have a seat.” He didn’t bat an eye when Caleb draped an arm over the back of her chair.
An hour of stories and gut-busting laughter flew by. Brigit had killed off a beer and a couple glasses of water. She leaned over to Caleb. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Want another drink?”
“Yeah, I’ll take another beer.” All three of them were going light tonight. Caleb was driving, and Justin wanted to be prepared for a confrontation.
She got up to find the bathroom and he went to the bar. The night was fun, but she stayed in the bathroom stall a few extra minutes to soak up the muffled silence. There was a time when a noisy bar had been the best bar. It wasn’t just Minneapolis. Her tastes had changed.
She must be getting old. Or too used to enjoying a quiet ranch.
After finishing, she headed out. Turning out of the hallway, she nearly ran into the lone occupant of the first table outside the restroom entrance.
“Oh, Brigit.” Maisy’s painted red lips pursed.
Brigit tensed. The water she’d drunk churned in her stomach. God, she didn’t want drama. “Hello, Maisy.”
“I suppose Justin told you? You’re going to be an aunt?”
Brigit almost glanced at the table they’d been sitting at, but maybe she had an icicle’s chance in hell that Maisy hadn’t noticed Justin was here. “I hear it’s a possibility.”
Irritation flushed Maisy’s face. “It’s more than a possibility. I know who the father of my kid is.”
“Right. You’re feeling well then?” She wanted to run. To keep from giving away Justin’s presence despite it being inevitable, she scanned the bar.
Priya, with her glossy black hair, her designer purse, and that damn med school degree was smiling at Caleb. Her hand was on her hip, and her head was tilted as if hanging on every word coming out of his mouth.
Maisy followed her gaze. “They make a cute couple.”
The woman’s smugness laced Brigit’s spine with steel, but she wasn’t going to feed the jealousy beast. “Caleb would look good with anyone.”
“Especially Priya, though. She’s so…petite.” Maisy didn’t even bother to look her up and down to make her point. She was too practiced at hitting her target.
Don’t take the bait. “Yes, she’s very cute. Excuse me.” She attempted to sidle past, but Maisy’s vise grip on her bicep stopped her.
“Tell Justin I need to talk to him.”
“I’ll let him know.” She tugged on her arm.
Maisy’s grip tightened to painful. “I’ll just come with you.”
“It’s best if you don’t.”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me around those hips of yours, Bridge. I’m coming with you.”
At first the comment stung, like always.
No. She’d had enough and didn’t need to tolerate Maisy’s insults.
“Maisy, grow up. Comments about my weight were childish and immature when we were kids. They’re still rude and petty.
You have business with my brother? This isn’t the time or the place.
Now, I’m going to meet up with my boyfriend. He loves my hips.”
Maisy’s face turned stony. Fire flashed in her eyes, but there was enough sanity in her to know that what Brigit had said was true. Brigit gave her arm a little twist. Maisy snapped her hand back, her gaze assessing.
As Brigit barely managed not to run away, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d taught Maisy a lesson, or made the woman fortify her defenses.
Caleb’s smile widened when she approached. The way he looked at her eased the constant anxiety she had being out with him. Her constant fear of being judged. They weren’t teenagers anymore. And she’d finally spoken her mind to Maisy without stooping to her level.
Caleb pushed off the counter and held out her beer. When she took it, he tucked her into his side. His easy smile and friendly presence were in place.
Priya blinked and took a sip from her glass, her gaze bouncing between them.
Brigit swallowed her frustration with the fizz of her cold beer. Why so surprised?
Caleb tightened his arm as if sensing her need for a little extra support. “Priya here is Moore’s newest OB/GYN.”
“Wow. Congrats.” Brigit reflected on herself. Nope. No jealousy.
Priya smiled, pride radiating from her. “I honestly thought I’d never reach this point. And come back home on top of it.” She cocked her head. “Weren’t you going to go to med school?”
Brigit studied the other women but detected no malice. Her tone was curious, not catty, unlike her friend Maisy. Had Priya been like that in school too? Had Brigit assumed the worst because of who Priya associated with?
“No, law school was my initial plan, but I changed my mind in college.”
“Oh.” Priya shrugged her delicate shoulders. “And here I saw you back in town and thought maybe there’d be two of us young docs charging into Moore Community Health and… Well.” She gulped the rest of the liquid in her glass.
If Brigit could pick one girl from her past to vote Ms. Perfect, it’d be Priya. But the woman didn’t chug her drink out of perfection. “Isn’t your dad still a doctor there?”
“He is.” Priya grimaced. “Which will come in handy when a colleague or patient wants to second-guess me. They can go straight to him.”
“It’ll take time,” Caleb said. “We don’t get too many new doctors, and it’s gotta be hard in a town that remembers when you were in pigtails.”
“Pri,” Maisy’s sharp voice cut it. “It’s time to go.” Maisy stalked away.