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“Two-thousand is all I’m asking.”
Holt Prosper shook his head even though his older brother Knox couldn’t see him on the other end of the phone call. “That’s what you said last month,” Holt said. “If I lend you another two-thousand dollars, you’ll be in deep four thousand.”
“But they put me on Granger,” Knox said. “You know that bull throws everyone. The rodeo judging was rigged in Montana.”
Holt couldn’t hold back his scoff. His brother always had one sorry excuse after another. He’d chased his dream of becoming a big rodeo star, but that dream hadn’t gone so well. He had yet to qualify for the pro circuit. Somehow, Knox had weaseled his inheritance from their dad, blown through it, gotten the girl, even married her, and now they had a kid together.
And now, Holt was standing in the living room of his family home, keeping everything together, being the go-to person in the family as usual. “I don’t know, Knox,” he said. The late-night call from his brother should have been warning enough. “Mom and Dad would be furious if they found out, and I don’t think I can keep four thousand under the radar.”
Holt had stayed back in Texas—Prosperity Ranch to be exact—and managed the ranch for their dad. His younger siblings were off to college, following their own ambitions. Holt wasn’t one to complain. He loved the ranch. But he hated being everybody’s fall-back guy. Especially Knox’s.
“I’m sending half of it to Macie,” Knox said, “if that makes you feel better.”
At the mention of Macie’s name, Holt physically reacted. He should be over it by now. The gut-punch, the racing thoughts, the slow-burn of his pulse. Macie was . . . His gaze involuntarily strayed to the family picture taken at Knox and Macie’s wedding. Four years ago.
Holt rubbed his forehead, which did nothing to dispel his growing headache. “Are you ever going to tell me why you divorced her? And don’t tell me what you told Mom.”
Knox laughed.
Sometimes Holt hated his brother. It was complicated. The Macie staring back at him right now was how he remembered her from their first meeting when she’d come to the town of Prosper that was named after his great-grandfather and attended the hometown rodeo. Holt had even talked to her first. She’d been sweet, curious. Beautiful. Full of questions and smiles. He’d been about to ask her to the dance that followed the rodeo when Knox’s name was called as the next bull rider.
Holt had told Macie that Knox was his brother, and the old saying the rest was history turned out to be a real thing. It wasn’t the first time Knox had attracted a girl Holt had been interested in. But it was the first time Holt had cared.
“First of all,” Knox drawled in a tone he usually saved for the ladies, “I didn’t divorce Macie. She divorced me.”
Holt tore his gaze from Macie’s photo, which was mocking him with her dark brown eyes and stunning smile. He pushed out a breath. “And why’s that? I thought you were her dream cowboy.”
Another laugh from Knox sent heat pricking the back of Holt’s neck.
“Tell you what, bro,” Knox said with amusement. “Why don’t you ask her for yourself? She’ll be there tomorrow.”
Holt stilled. It felt as if someone was dragging hot needles along his skin. “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t Mom tell you?”
If there was one thing about Knox that drove Holt the most crazy it was his inability to answer a question directly. Right now, though, it was imperative that Holt get his shock under control. He couldn’t let his brother know how his thoughts had strayed to Macie more than once, both during her marriage to Knox, and well, now.
“Mom’s been preoccupied,” Holt said. With cancer treatments. And now Macie’s visit might put a strain on his mom’s health. She always went all-out for guests at the ranch.
Knox’s next words were contrite. “Yeah, I know. Mom said she’d pick up Macie and Ruby at the airport. But, you know, if she’s not feeling well, I was thinking . . .”
Another pet peeve of Holt’s about his brother. Knox never asked things directly. He was a super-human-passive-aggressive type. If there was such a thing. “I’ll pick them up.” His tone might have come out casual, nonchalant even, but inside, all kinds of thoughts and emotions were brewing.
On second thought, maybe his dad could do the airport run.
“Thanks, man,” Knox replied. “About the two-thousand. I really need it by tomorrow, or Friday at the very latest.”
Holt closed his eyes. Exhaled. He had his own savings account that was separate from the ranch funds. He’d been slowly renovating a house in town. Every penny counted. “All right.”
He could hear the grin in his brother’s reply.
“Thanks, Holt,” Knox said. “I’ll make good on it, I swear.”
Holt only grunted and hung up. His twisting gut told him there was little chance of Knox paying back the original two-thousand, let alone this new loan.
He slipped the phone into the back pocket of his well-worn jeans. Then he scrubbed a hand through his hair, which had been confined beneath a cowboy hat most of the day. “Macie,” he said, testing the word out on his tongue.
The last time he’d seen his sister-in-law—now ex-sister-in-law—had been when she’d been pregnant with Ruby. It had been Christmas time, and Knox brought his wife home for the holidays. Macie had spent more time in the bathroom than anywhere else in the house.
Then on Christmas Eve, Knox and their dad had gotten into another argument—about money, it was always about money—and Knox had packed up his and Macie’s things. And that was that.
“So . . . Macie,” Holt murmured to the picture. “Looks like I’m going to be moving back to my place sooner than I thought.”
No matter how much time had passed, or how much he or Macie had changed, Holt Prosper knew one thing. He’d have to return to his partially-finished house sooner than he thought. He couldn’t be sleeping in the same house as her.
