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Chapter Seven
“Let me get this straight.” Casey turned in his saddle to look at Rome. “You’re befriending Cloe Holiday so you can get information that will give you an edge on buying the Holiday Ranch.”
Rome cringed. Put that way, it made him sound like their father. “I’m not befriending Cloe Holiday just because I want information on the ranch. I like Cloe. I’ve always liked her.”
“If that’s true, then why haven’t you made any attempt to be her friend before this?” When Rome struggled to find an answer, Casey snorted. “I thought so.”
Rome adjusted the reins in his hand and rode around a pothole. “Okay, so maybe I didn’t make an attempt to be friends with her in high school. But now that I’ve gotten to know her a little, I’d like to be her friend. We have a lot in common. We both grew up on ranches with stubborn Texas daddies. We attended the same schools. Know the same people.”
“Both got dumped by your significant others.”
Rome shot him an annoyed look. “Thanks for the reminder.”
Casey grinned. “That’s what brothers are for. So what you’re trying to tell me is it’s okay that you’re using Cloe because you’re going to grace her with your friendship.” Shit. Why did Casey always have to put things in perspective? “I get it,” he continued. “You want to get out from under Daddy’s thumb and buying the Holiday Ranch is the perfect solution. You can still help run this ranch, but from a distance.” He shot him a look. “I hope there will be room in that big ol’ farmhouse for your little brother because I’m not living with Daddy without our mediator. We’d kill each other.”
Rome nodded. “There will always be room in my house for you, little brother.”
“Then why don’t you just tell Cloe about your interest in buying her family’s ranch. She seems like a logical, practical girl. From what I hear, they need to sell quickly and for as much as they can get for it.”
“Where did you hear that?”
Casey grinned. “I never divulge my sources. So I’m assuming Cloe was the woman you seduced in the hayloft.”
“I didn’t seduce her. We just fell asleep. There was no touching. Just talking.”
But even as he said the words, an image popped into his head of his hand pressed to soft, abundant breasts . . . followed by the moment when he’d actually been about to kiss her. Thankfully, Mimi’s humming had interrupted them. If he had kissed her, he would be struggling even more to justify his plan of becoming friends with Cloe.
“Wanting to be her friend is not all about getting information from her,” he said. “She’s been through a lot and doesn’t seem to have anyone to talk to. Her sisters are all busy with their own lives and I happen to understand how devastating getting . . . dumped can be.”
They rode for a few minutes before Casey spoke. “Maybe it would be good for you and Cloe to become friends. I think you still have a lot of pent-up anger over Emily that you need to get out.”
“I don’t have pent-up anger over Emily.”
Casey shook his head. “Sure you don’t. That’s why you haven’t dated since she left.”
“I’ve dated.”
“You’ve had a few one-night stands right after Emily left. That’s not dating. That’s sex. And you haven’t even been with a woman for three years.” Casey looked completely bewildered. “Three. Years.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“If you’re too busy for sex, you’re too busy. I love this ranch too, Romy, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it keep me from enjoying life.”
“Nothing keeps you from enjoying life.”
Casey grinned. “True. Maybe you need to take a page out of your little brother’s book.” His smile faded. “I get it, Rome. You loved her and she broke your heart, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on women. There’s someone else out there for you. I know it.”
Positivity was just something else he loved about his little brother. Casey never let anything bring him down. He also wasn’t realistic. If he wanted something, he never thought things through. He just went for it full steam ahead. To hell with the consequences. Rome, on the other hand, thought everything through. He listed pros and cons and took plenty of time before he made his decision. The only time he hadn’t done that was with love. When he fell for Emily, he hadn’t thought, he’d just dove right in.
And look at how that turned out.
But never again.
“Like I told you before, Case,” he said. “I’m not interested in getting married again. Carrying on the Remington name and making Daddy happy is all up to you, little bro.”
Casey laughed. “Then I guess the Remington name will end with us. Because the last thing I enjoy doing is making Sam happy.” He shot a challenging look over at Rome. “Race you home?” Before the words were even out of Casey’s mouth, Rome was urging his horse into a gallop.
When Cloe didn’t show up at Cooper Springs by ten thirty that night, Rome should have headed home and left well enough alone. Casey was right. Rome shouldn’t be using Cloe to get information about the ranch. But on the way back to his truck, he started to get worried.
