Chapter 16 #2
The idea of finding someone else soured his stomach.
Waking up alone after experiencing a few months of being with Brigit was propelling him toward insanity.
Every morning, he’d open his eyes and stare at the ceiling and wonder if his pride was really that important.
Had he thrown away his future to patch over his ego?
He didn’t know. Had he hoped that telling Farah and Jesse what had happened would reinforce his decision? Because that was backfiring.
Farah broke into his thoughts. “I’m surprised that Brigit would pay them back.
I guess I always thought of her as the pampered princess of that family.
And yeah, she is. I get why it would be hard for her to walk away from the life track she had planned out, but to do it because she found out her parents drained their retirement for her school?
I mean…a selfish person wouldn’t do that. ”
Caleb took another swig of his lukewarm beer. “It feels more like a convenient excuse not to go through with shattering their expectations of her. In the Cities, she didn’t even want to do anything. She claimed she wanted to come home.”
“I get that,” Jesse said. “I don’t want to go back to living in a town bigger than Moore, either. St. Cloud, St. Paul, I don’t care. Those places aren’t my scene. Moore is my home.”
Caleb leveled him with a stare. “But you’d still vacation there.”
Jesse bobbed his head, the bar lights gleaming off his dark hair. “Hell, yeah. I’d get away with Farah anywhere. But Brigit was there for a job interview she didn’t want.”
“And wasn’t it storming across the state?” Farah asked. “Isn’t that why you went early in the first place?”
“It was still a mini vacation,” he grumbled. The other two stared at him, their expressions saying sure it was . “You two aren’t helping.”
“We’re not helping with the pity party?” Farah asked. “Or we’re not helping build an image of a selfish, vindictive girl who would end up treating you like your mom, which we all know is bullshit?”
“I didn’t say exactly like my mom.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Perhaps Brigit’s call had been nothing more than bad timing. He’d been at an emotional low and she’d… asked him to wait for her.
Fuck, how long had he wanted her to want him? And he’d pushed her away.
“I’ve gotta go.” Caleb paused before he got up. “But thanks for the talk. I mean it.”
He hoped they didn’t think he was brushing them off and walking out in a huff, but he didn’t wait around to see. He had emails to send.
On the way to Justin’s, he formulated his plans. Once he was settled in his room, he pulled up his email. The home builder got a message first, canceling the meeting. The next email was for the banker, spelling out what he wanted to do instead.
Sleep was restless, but he powered through the waking-up-alone part. He was a man on a mission.
He flew through his chores, then dusted himself off and drove to town, grateful for all that money he’d spent keeping his good truck running.
Swinging into the bank’s parking lot, he found a spot.
If it were any other banker, he probably would’ve gone home to change.
But Dennis Gleason had worked with his family for years.
Grandpa had sung the man’s praises, that he’d kept them from rolling under several times.
“Caleb,” Dennis greeted. “Come in.”
Caleb selected a chair across from the expansive desk. Pictures of Dennis’s kids and grandkids lined the walls and bookshelves. Even artwork from one of his grandkids hung behind his chair. Dennis was family man. He’d know how big of a decision this was for Caleb.
“I was quite surprised by your email.” Dennis sifted through some papers. “It’s a sudden shift to go from building a home to selling the entire ranch.”
“I assure you, it’s not a decision I made lightly.” Only impulsively.
“No, I can imagine.” A line formed across Dennis’s brow as he studied the forms in front of him. “I went back and pulled the information from the time your grandpa thought of selling.”
“Excuse me?” This was news to him. His grandparents had died in that place. They’d wanted to sell?
“Yeah. Gosh, it was years ago. You were a teenager. But we started the process. I have all the appraisals from then. They’ll be different now.
Higher. Anyway.” Dennis pushed the forms across the desk.
“They decided not to when you planned to stay in Moore. Keeping the ranch limping along wasn’t easy, but they wanted you to have something to your name, and a home if you ever needed it. ”
He had needed it.
His grandparents had kept the place for him?
They’d continued ranching for him when they could’ve sold and, hell, moved to motherfucking Arizona?
Dennis was right. They had limped along.
He’d taken what Grandpa had taught him and wasn’t doing much better.
It was part of why his impulsive decision had made sense.
Now selling the ranch and chasing Brigit to Arizona was suddenly so complicated. So terribly complicated.
He was in possession of this very thing—a huge and major thing with a lot of cattle roaming on it—because his grandparents had worked and sacrificed for him.
How could he sell now that he knew that? They’d toiled for extra years, given up retirement, all so he could have more.
His chest burned as conflict raged inside. Was this what Brigit was feeling? So damn torn between everything her family had done for her and her own personal wants, which weren’t trivial but seemed so compared to all that had been given up for her?
Fuck.
But he wasn’t one to give up. “Dennis, I’ll get back to you.”
He was going to have to change his plans. He wasn’t leaving, and she wasn’t staying? Well, he could change that.