“Yes.”
“Got it.”
Well, that was easy.
“Ugh,” she groans. “You never have anything to say. It’s maddening.”
Ignoring her stab, I park in front of the sliding wood barn doors and kick my snow-covered boots against the rusty metalroping dummy before walking in. With protection from the wind, it’s much warmer in here, and I lean my head over each of the panels separating the cows that are about to calve. They all seem relaxed and have plenty of straw to bed on, so they should be fine until later tonight for another check.
“This is it, Ledger. I’m hanging up now. And don’t even think about crawling back to me the second you need a warm mouth and can’t find one to put up with a recluse.”
“K.”
“This is your last cha?—”
Click.
As soon as I hang up, it’s not disappointment or an uneasy feeling that settles in my chest. It’s damn near joy. I smirk, knowing I’ll get to do whatever the fuck I want this weekend and not be criticized for it.
Katie will be fine. She never had any issues picking up the loneliest cowboy within a fifty mile radius before. In my eyes, we were never endgame, and I have a hunch she wanted a piece of my parents’ money and land too. According to her, there’s not much else to like about me, so it only makes sense.
Gold digger seems a little extreme, but if the boot fits, all the more reason to cut things off. Although, I guess she’s done that for me and I don’t have to be the bad guy this time.
I didn’t listen to my gut when I kept seeing her, which is hard to admit. I usually pride myself on the fact that I’m good at reading people, predicting outcomes, and staying out of bad situations.
Oldest child syndrome in full force.
Avoiding it altogether is the safest route, but I’ve been lectured by my mom and sister one too many times about being more social. I wanted to make them happy, and seeing me with someone had them skipping for joy. Literally.
I want them to feel that way. I just wish it didn’t mean entertaining girls who’d rather slowly change everything about me than take me the way I am.
With frozen fingers, I untie the Wild Rag around my neck and shake off the frost. A humming white noise crackles from the old radio that hangs by the chute in the corner of the barn, and I walk over to turn the dial until the local station comes through again.
After tipping up the brim of my hat and leaning against the chute, the weather report comes through. There are a few skipped words from the bad signal, and a scratchy tone behind their voices, but I listen as best I can.
“Could be a big one,” a man says with an urgent edge.
The transmission fades momentarily into a hum of static, but then a woman cuts in.
“Outages are likely, so fill up your generators. And stay off the roads if you know what’s good for you.”
I purse my lips and flip the off switch.
My sister or my mom will be calling in approximately two minutes, convincing me to either head home before the roads get worse or stay here for the weekend. I love my family, but they’re a social bunch. I have no doubt there will be a million people here by the end of the night for card games and hours of talking.
Right on cue, a text from sis pops up, asking if I’m staying here for dinner.
I reply that I’ll stop in for a quick bite, but then I’m headed out for the weekend. To which she responds with three eye rolling emojis. She makes sure to add on a heart and tells me to be safe, so I don’t need to worry too much about bailing.
Now I have to hightail it out of here before Mom catches word.
Chapter Three
Ledger
The sun is finally settingas I leave the ranch, although it’s hard to tell. It’s already been nearly dark most of the day as angry gray clouds have smothered the sky, dumping a ridiculous amount of snow to the ground as they hover above the mountains.
It’s been a few years since we’ve had a true blizzard. Sure, we’re used to getting snow here all the time in southeast Wyoming. The locals, including myself, don’t usually get too worked up about a familiar storm. This one seems a little stronger than average, though.
