AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks for coming, Holt,” his mother said, kissing him on the cheek.
“Happy birthday, Mom.” He pulled her into a hug. Then he stepped aside, because his other siblings were waiting their turn.
His youngest brother, Lane, and sisters, Cara and Evie, had all arrived with him. He’d planned it that way since he wanted to talk to them for a few minutes alone before the party. Holt had explained the events surrounding Macie and her daughter. Everything. Well, mostly everything, but they knew enough.
Lane had only shaken his head. Cara had asked a bunch of questions about Macie and Ruby. Evie hadn’t seemed to care one way or another.
His mom already had a house full of people. Several neighbors were there, and the ladies she sat on committees with fluttered around the kitchen overseeing the food.
“Hey, cousin,” a woman said. “It’s been a while.”
He turned to see his cousin Kellie, grown up from the blonde teenager he remembered. She used to spend summers at the ranch back then, but Holt couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to her. “Wow, great to see you.” He pulled her into a hug.
“You, too,” Kellie said after drawing away, a broad smile on her face. She was a pretty woman, petite, but definitely with spunk in her blue eyes.
“I didn’t know you were in Prosper again,” he said.
“I’m not,” she said. “At least not officially. I’m here to do an interview for the newspaper. I thought it would be fun to interview in person. And, you know, see my cousins.”
They moved out of the way of more people entering the house and settled on the couch in the front room, while most people had congregated in the kitchen area. “An interview, wow. What’s it for?” He felt bad that his mind was drawing a blank on any recent news about her life.
“Well, you know about my divorce a couple of years ago, right?”
Right . . . He nodded. “Yeah, tough, I’m sure.”
Her gaze dropped, but then she shrugged and said, “It was really rough, but I also learned a lot about myself and relationships. Why they get sabotaged, and how to pick up the pieces after. I decided to put my licensed therapy work to a more personal use. So, I started running retreats from my parents’ ranch house. Well, I guess it’s my place now since I inherited it.” Her laugh was light. “I named the retreat Broken Hearts Ranch.”
“Sounds interesting, I think.”
Kellie smiled. “Well, it’s not for people like you. Unless you’ve had your heart broken and can’t move on in life.”
Holt swallowed. Kellie was hitting a bit too close to home.
Her smile faded. “Oh, no. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not that exactly . . . well, things are complicated.”
Kellie nodded. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m a professional now. Putting my license to good use.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m not sure even counseling can sort out the fact that I’ve fallen in love with my brother’s ex-wife.”
Kellie didn’t speak for a moment, and Holt didn’t blame her. The words had just shot out of his mouth, and were probably way too much information for anyone to hear about, but they’d been said. And it would be a lie if he took them back.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she said in a quiet voice.
“Dead.”
Kellie placed her hand over his. “When did all of this happen? I thought I heard Knox was here, and Heidi said something about Ruby staying at the ranch part of the summer.”
Holt gave her a brief rundown, including the fistfight.
Kellie’s eyes widened. “Whoa. That’s kind of intense.”
For some reason, this made Holt laugh. “To say the least.”
“So, now what?” Kellie asked. “I mean, Knox is gone again, and where are Macie and Ruby?”
“At a hotel the next town over.”
