AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eight
“We’re cooking tonight,” Layla announced as she strolled through the open doors of the barn. “Josh and I. We’d like you to bring Aubrey to dinner with you.”
Vic had come in here to think, and he did his best thinking while riding Titan. Now saddled up, the gray speckled horse was itching to go out and run, and so was Vic.
“You’re cooking?”
“Yes. Here at the house, obviously, since Josh and I don’t have one yet. The staff has the night off, so the timing is perfect.”
Like he’d told Aubrey, Layla and Josh had been living at the hotel until their new house was built. They didn’t exactly relish the idea of living here as newlyweds, which he understood. But dinner? That was new.
“Why?”
“Why?” She blinked at him, waited and then filled the gap when she determined he had no more to say. “I’d like to use the gourmet kitchen at the house to practice. We won’t have a cook like Mom and Dad do, at least not right away. And you eat too many cheeseburgers.”
“Do not,” he argued, but she wasn’t wrong. He led Titan from the barn into the sunshine-filled day. “Bringing Aubrey to dinner isn’t a good idea, Lay.”
“Why not?” His sister followed him outside. “Afraid she’ll remember what actually happened between you two?”
After the kiss they’d shared, and Aubrey practically begging him to take her to bed, yeah, one could say he wasn’t eager for the bad memories to come flooding back.
“I ran into her at Morgan’s shop in town the other day,” Layla said. “She mentioned we don’t see enough of each other. What was I supposed to do? Blow her off?”
“Yes.” Titan snuffled his agreement. “You could have blown her off. Or you could’ve invited her to coffee that day. Not invite her here, to ground zero.”
He gestured to their family home, the massive Western-style structure a hulking behemoth against azure skies. Aubrey had thrown the engagement ring at him in this very driveway.
“You can’t keep her from remembering,” Layla said gently. “It’s the best thing for her.”
“I know.” But was it so wrong to want this part to last awhile longer? He wasn’t ready to let go of the Aubrey who beamed up at him while reminding him how they’d lost their virginity to each other long ago. It was hard not to delay the inevitable. “It’s just you and Josh?”
“And Chelsea.” Layla wouldn’t meet his eyes when she added, “And Nolan.”
“Nolan?”
“His twin brother isn’t anyone’s favorite person, but Nolan is not Heath. Nolan is also with Chelsea, so you’d better get used to it.”
“At least tell me Morgan is coming.”
“Nope. She’s doing inventory tonight, and Mom, Dad and Grandma are eating at the Lattimores’. Barbara is showcasing her recipes from her upcoming cookbook.”
“A family dinner wasn’t the circumstance under which I pictured bringing Aubrey back to the ranch for the first time in years,” he grumbled.
“Come on, baby brother. Aubrey loves us.” Layla swatted his hat off his head. He caught it before it hit the dirt—barely.
He hated when his older sister talked to him like he was a kid, especially when she followed it up with the hat thing she’d done way too often when they were kids.
“You can’t say anything to Aubrey to jog her memory. She believes we’re together, and her doctor thinks it’s best if she comes to any other conclusions on her own.”
“No one will blow your cover. Chels and I would never do anything to disrupt her healing. Tell me you know that.”
He knew that, but he didn’t answer. Worry was writhing in his stomach at the idea of Aubrey being here. In this house. Would she remember their horrible fight from years ago?
“She’s not allowed to work right now, which means she’s not seeing her friends. She has her parents and she has you. She needs a bigger support system than that. We all do.”
Dammit. He didn’t like when Layla was right—when either of his older sisters were right. Not to mention a family dinner, with Aubrey and his sisters’ significant others present, would be a good time to talk to them about the future of the ranch after Dad retired. Better still was the fact Mom, Dad and Grandma weren’t going to be there.
He frowned as he recalled the conversations he’d had with Dad over the years. Victor Grandin Jr. was a good man, a strong man. He cared for his family and his children. But he wasn’t what anyone would consider progressive. Like the Cattleman’s Club had once been a boys’ club with the archaic mantra of “No Girls Allowed,” so had their father come up to believe the only person capable of running the ranch would be a son, not a daughter.
