Page 63

“You’re welcome. And my work here is done.” He stood and tipped his hat at Ava before doing the same to Thea and adding a wink.

“See you at lunch,” Ava said around a mouthful of cupcake.

His next stop was Hadley and Thea’s cabin. He left the goodies on the table and found a tall glass for the flowers. If Hadley had a vase, he didn’t find it.

He pulled up at the barn right on time. Jess’s truck was already parked out front, and the barn doors were open. He ran into Jess in the tack room and stepped around her to get Vanilla’s grooming supplies.

When he reached for the crate, Jess lifted her chin. “She’s got an infection around her shoe. Tucker said to use that antibiotic on it.”

Brett studied the new ointment in Vanilla’s crate. “Did he look at Kiwi’s leg while he was here?”

“He said it’s arthritis. We’ll probably retire her after this year.”

Brett nodded and got to work. Jess wasn’t on board with the Thea situation yet, and he knew enough to give his sister space. They’d done a fantastic job dancing around the elephant in the room yesterday, and it seemed today would be the same. He’d never been in the habit of telling his younger sister what to do, but there were times–like now–when he wanted to tell her to stop being stubborn.

Avoiding Jess was easier than he’d expected. She spent the morning training their newest horse, Geyser, and Brett took his time giving each horse a thorough check as he groomed them.

His phone dinged with a text as soon as he put Jethro in his stall.

Ava: Thea wants to know if you’re coming to lunch. I think she wants to save you a seat.

Brett grinned down at his phone like a goof. The hearts at the end of the text said Ava was playing matchmaker.

Brett: I’ll be there in five.

He put Jethro’s grooming supplies away and washed his hands. Jess stepped out of a stall on the other side of the indoor arena.

“I’m going to lunch. You want me to bring you a plate?”

“No need,” Linc said as he walked in. He held up a white container.

So, Linc would bring Jess lunch, but he wouldn’t even be friends with Brett? They were roommates, for Pete’s sake. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Linc was interested in Jess. Only, Linc and Jess never seemed to be interested in anyone, and they weren’t even slightly affectionate to each other.

“Thanks,” Jess said as she pulled off her gloves. “Put it in the office, and I’ll get to it in a little bit.”

Linc put the food in the office and walked back out. He wasn’t going to stay and eat with Jess. Definitely not interested.

Brett followed Linc out. “What’s on the menu today?”

“Fried chicken.” Linc didn’t spare a friendly second to elaborate. Not that Brett’s question had required more of an answer, but a “See you later” would have been nice.

Brett found Thea in the dining hall chatting with Jameson and Ava. Thea and Ava wore matching smiles. Linc could use a lesson from Thea on how to make friends.

She was definitely a social butterfly. All the women at the ranch wanted to sit beside her, effectively crowding Brett out of the cool kids space.

“Your girl is popular,” Ridge said as he took the seat beside Brett.

“I’m glad they’re being nice to her.”

“Why wouldn’t they be?”

Brett shrugged. “It’s hard to understand why some people are good to you and some people are bad to you when you grew up thinking you sucked.”

“Her parents were just as bad as yours?” Ridge asked.

“Her dad gave mine a run for his money, but her mom is good. That’s where Thea gets it.”

“That’s tough. My parents would have done anything for me. Still would. They traveled all over the country with me when I was a teenager and came to almost every football game I played all the way through the pros.”