Chapter 19
NINETEEN
MEREDITH
“Oh my god, those assholes.”
Sawyer’s repeated the same thing since I told her what Bowen said.
We’re on her couch in the old farmhouse she lives in on the edge of town to be closer to both the ranch and the vet clinic where she works.
Her decor is more farm chic, but she’s refurbished many of the end tables herself.
Two cans of open beer sit on an upcycled crate-turned-coffee table.
Her yellow lab, Simba, is asleep at the base, and two cats are passed out on the back of the couch.
I didn’t tell her the whole story. There was no confession about how I was a barnacle on Calder. How close I was to coming with no penetration. How close his fingers were to—
“Are you okay, Mer?” Her concerned frown is on me. “Those two jackasses really did a number on you.”
“Um…” I blow out a breath. I’m not hiding this from her. I have no one else to talk to. “I’ve gotten close to… I was… Calder and I…” I squeeze my eyes shut.
“No. Noooo. Meredith, what are you thinking? You fell for Calder?”
“No. It’s only been, like, four days. I’m not that desperate.” I peel an eye open. “But we were kissing when Bowen showed up.”
“What!”
“It was just the stress. That’s all. I wanted a release.” And to climb that hard body of his.
She shakes her head, grabs her beer, and chugs it. “I bet that prick Bowen was pissed to see that.”
She has no idea what Bowen’s like. Neither do I. But he’s definitely still hurt, and angry about his dad and my sister, like Calder.
“It just happened, and Bowen’s timing was perfect. Then he asked if I was trying to use my magic pussy to change Calder’s mind—”
She snorts and immediately looks apologetic. “Sorry. I’m not scoffing at the lack of coercion in your vagina.”
“Thanks,” I say wryly. “Calder basically asked if my only other option is Tanner and that’s the real reason I don’t want them to sell.”
“What a dick.”
“It was quite a dick.”
She chokes and slaps a hand to her mouth. When she recovers her breath, she glares at me. “A little more than kissing?”
“Dry humping,” I mutter.
“Jeez.”
“He calls me rosy.” I rub my hands down my face.
My cheeks are still piping-hot. The stress of the past week piles on my shoulders with the loss, the grief, and the roller coaster of emotions.
“I was really starting to think there was more to him than some obnoxious rich guy who thinks he’s too good for this small town.
I put everything into all things Jules Creek, and those guys just… don’t care.”
She gets up. “This conversation needs more beer.”
How am I going to show my face around Calder again? I can’t imagine walking into that house with the both of them. Will they be in the living room, or will Calder be in his spot at the table, ready to glare at me when I walk in? Will Bowen be sitting in my spot?
Sawyer returns with two Jules Creek IPAs, and I polish off my first.
“By the way, we’ve started locking the doors.” Which was why Bowen ruined the most perfect make-out session I’ve ever been a part of.
“Why? Is that a rich prick thing too?”
“I felt like someone was in there last night.” Was it only last night? The past hour tripled how long the day felt.
She sits straighter. “What? Did you get robbed? Vandalized?”
“We couldn’t find anything broken or missing, but Calder helped me look and locked the door.” I shift my gaze away. “And made me sleep in his bed while he took the couch.”
She doesn’t speak at first. Then she smacks her lips. “So he might actually care.”
“No.”
More silence.
I nibble the inside of my cheek. “But he kicked Tanner out for grabbing my arm.”
She holds a hand up. “When the hell did that slimy humper come to town?”
I smile, loving her steadfast hatred of my ex. “He claimed he wanted to talk to me, and he kept trying to get me alone. Calder took care of it. He was, like, right there, ready to step in.” A wishful sigh sneaks out of me.
“God, Meredith. You’ve got it bad for that moody rich bastard.”
“No.” My lips tingle, along with the skin of my lower abdomen that got to learn the touch of his fingers. “I think it’s just that he’s temporary.” And handsome as hell. Maybe we’re both distracting ourselves from our grief.
Understanding fills her eyes, and she chews on the inside of her cheek. “What are you going to do without the brewery?”
“What are you going to do without the ranch?” It’s more than a part-time hustle. It’s like a second home to her.
“Get really good at avoiding Kelly at work.”
Kelly Driscoll is her coworker—and former fiancé. “Is he still telling you she’s nothing but a friend?”
“‘She’s like a sister,’” she mimics and adopts a fake pout, then she rolls her eyes.
“Why do our selfish exes get to live the good life? You’re going to get tossed out on your ass by some millionaires, and I’m going to be a lonely cat lady without you.
” She glances at the passed-out dog. “No offense, Simba.”
“To be fair, I’m getting tossed on my ass. You have a house.”
“And you always have a room when you need one.” Her sweet smile fades. “I don’t want you to move away again.”
She’s casually mentioned before that the years I lived in Williston were lonely for her. Being a single workaholic in a tiny town doesn’t open up many avenues for friendships and relationships. Somehow, though, her ex still found a way to have a girl best friend he treated better than his fiancée.
“I don’t want to, either. Not that I expected Ransom to leave me anything, but it sounds like there’s nothing.
” At least I’m not starting with a broken heart like after I broke up with Tanner.
“I’m going to hang on until the end.” I let determination fill the emptiness that was in me a minute ago.
“I owe it to Ransom and my sister for caring for me when I had no one else.”
“Now you have me. We have each other.” She lifts her can in the air. “Cheers to us.”
I ting my can against hers. We chug our beer, but when the cans are lowered, we aren’t smiling.