“It’s not that Ransom wouldn’t by choice,” Sawyer sighs, and it’s easy to see the toll this week has taken on her. The dark rings under her eyes and the droop to her shoulders match Meredith’s. She really did get close to my dad and the ranch. “I would’ve had to send it out to a reference lab.”
Ah. A flagging ranch can’t afford that. “Money.”
“If I could’ve done it myself, or pulled strings…” She holds her hands up.
Silence falls around the table, only, this time, it’s companionable. The last time I discussed ranch drama with such ease was with my brothers.
I collect the empty plates and rise.
“The dishwasher is the short boxy appliance with a door,” Sawyer says with snark.
I flip her off just like I would’ve done to one of my brothers as I round the island, and the women’s laughter echoes through the room. I clamp down on my smile. I can’t seem too chummy. It’ll only make selling all this out from under Meredith even worse.
THIRTEEN
MEREDITH
For a Sunday, tonight has been particularly busy. Everyone who can’t make the funeral, or who doesn’t feel close enough to Ransom to attend the small ceremony, is stopping by and having a round or four in his honor.
Molly was supposed to show up tonight, but she called in sick. An employee who worked with us last summer just started, so she knew I wouldn’t be left totally high and dry. Brenner Crow and I are running our asses off, while Calder saunters around taking orders and fetching refills, making it look like it’s a slow night.
Calder worked his fine butt off all weekend. I did too, but unlike him, I went to bed dreaming of his massive chest in his too-tight shirts and those hard butt cheeks. Then there’s the way his face was shaded by his cowboy hat when I went out to feed the cats this morning, and god, his scruff. I’ve become needy and so turned-on all the damn time. It’s like my brain and my body desperately want the distraction from everything else. Even worse, we haven’t had breakfast together again since Sawyer was there, and dang it, I miss it.
I circle around the bar. Brenner’s poking at the tablet.
“Meredith, how do I do the military discount again?”
As I pause to show him, the door opens, and I glance up.Shit.The man who enters can’t wear a suit like Calder, but the main difference, aside from the quality of the material, is that he believes he can.
Tanner Nelson. My ex.
I fix my gaze back on the iPad and point out the discount option.
Tanner takes a seat at the bar. I avoid eye contact with a scowl. He may have come to offer his respects for Holly and Ransom, but I wish he would’ve kept focusing on himself. His drama is the last thing I need.
More people enter. A group of three women. They head right to an empty table behind where Calder’s chatting with the bank president, Shirley.Damn.We’ve had a higher percentage of ladies coming in recently, and I don’t have to guess why. Half the room is female, and that’s where Calder’s been stuck taking orders. Shirley’s old enough to be his mother, but she’s monopolized his time for the past hour.
“Hey, man,” Brenner says congenially to Tanner. “What can I get you?”
“I wanted to talk to the boss.”
I refrain from rolling my eyes. I won’t indulge him. “I’ll be right with you, Tanner.”
Hoping someone’s got refills for me, I rush around the taproom. I return with an armful of glasses and still don’t speak to Tanner. My time is no longer his to waste. Brenner shoots a few questioning looks at me while I ignore my ex. Tanner eyes my movements as I add clean mugs to the cooler. He taps his fingers on the bar top.
Finally, I can’t justify putting my reputation on the line any longer.
When I face Tanner, I recall all the things I once adored about him—his cleft chin, the cowlick on his left side, and hisstunning blue eyes. But now all I notice is that his five-o’clock shadow isn’t threatening to beard out by morning, and I know from experience he doesn’t spend enough time between a girl’s thighs to leave a beard burn anyway.
“What do you need, Tanner?”
“I heard about Holly and Ransom.”
“Thanks. The funeral’s on Thursday.” I don’t mind everyone else coming to pay their respects, but Tanner’s presence irritates me.
“I have to work, but I’ll see if I can get it off.”
I have to work.Years later, that excuse still smells like rotten eggs. This time, I don’t care if he’s fucking his coworker in the back seat of an Impala on the sale lot. Still, I can be petty.
