Page 9 of Broken Boundaries

Zach opens his mouth to answer, but Lacey beats him to it. “Melinda is Zach’s high school sweetheart. Lovely girl. I’m surprised he never mentioned her.”

Why on earth would my boyfriend mention his ex-girlfriend to his new girlfriend? He said things about an ex before, but I don’t remember him saying her name. And honestly, I don’t care to know. She’s an ex for a reason, and that’s good enough for me.

“I guess she wasn’t an important topic of conversation,” I murmur.

“And now she’s dating Zach’s best friend. Crazy how that works out,” she says as if she’s actually amused.

“Yeah, I’m happy for them,” Zach says. Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s moved on, so she should too.

Thankfully, the conversation steers away from this topic. When our food is dropped off, I eat as quickly as I can so we can get out of here before any more of Zach’s past decides to pop up unexpectedly and make this celebratory dinner any worse.

CHAPTER 4

Brooks

I hate sitting at a desk. I hate emails. I hate paperwork. I hate meetings. All the admin stuff… yeah, I hate it. Granted, I’ve handed most of that stuff off to Harper because, for reasons I’ll never understand, she loves that shit. I’d much rather be out in the lodge talking with guests or out at the stables helping with trail rides. Hell, I’d even love to renovate the guest cabins myself. Working with my hands has always been a skill of mine.

But occasionally, I do have to do some work that involves this stupid computer. Unfortunately, Harper can’t do everything. Some things still require my input. So, that’s what I’m doing this morning. Reading through emails that are waiting for a response from me. I’ve been putting them off for almost a week, so it’s time. Figured I should knock it out early so I can spend the rest of my day doing… anything else.

There’s a timid knock on my office door, and I look up, ready for a welcome distraction.

“Yeah?”

The door opens, and my new employee, Aspen, walks in holding my favorite coffee mug.

“Good morning, Mr. Calloway.” She sets the mug down on the corner of my desk. “I brought you your coffee.”

“Mr. Calloway is my father. Everyone calls me Brooks.” She nods. “And you don’t have to bring me coffee. I don’t mind getting it myself.”

“Oh, Harper said⁠—”

“I know what Harper said, but I can get my own coffee.”

She cocks her head, and I can see the confusion in her eyes. “Did your old assistant bring you coffee?”

“Well, yeah, but you’re⁠—”

“Then I’m also going to bring you your coffee. I don’t want to be treated any differently just because I’m Zach’s girlfriend.”

I chuckle. “Well, alright then.”

She looks much more casual today in her jeans and Moonlight Ranch shirt. Her curly hair, which was down and wild yesterday, is pulled back into a braid today. I was a little worried that she wasn’t going to fit in around here. Since Zach is so anti-ranch life, I assumed that she would be similar. But she’s looking the part already after only one day.

“Is there anything you need from me this mornin’?” I ask. I know she’s still deep in training with Harper. It might be a week or two before she’s ready to handle things on her own.

“Yes, actually. I wanted to remind you of your meeting with the mayor in an hour. He’ll be calling promptly at ten.”

“Aw, damn.” Add meetings with the mayor to the list of things I dislike.

“Would you like me to reschedule it?”

“Nah. I’ll just get it over with. He wants to go over plans for the Fourth of July, but we do the same damn thing every year. I don’t know why we need a whole ass meeting to discuss it.”

She tries to hold back her laughter at my outburst, but she can’t hide her smile. “Oh, right. Is there anything I can do to help?”

I don’t really need her help, but since she’s offering. “Yeah, you’ll need to sit in the meeting with me. Take notes on what we need to get done before the Fourth. It’ll be a good virtual introduction to the mayor of Blue Haven, also. He’s always been a good partner with the ranch.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be back in here a few minutes before ten then.”