The Ranger's Passionate Love by Nicole Jordan

sounding small even to herself. "I think he didn't want me to figure it out."
     
    "Bastard," concluded K loudly. "Rat bastard."
     
    "We really thought you knew," hastened Caitlin. "I swear we would have told you." Ashley nodded in agreement.
     
    "Why didn't anyone correct me when I kept calling him by the wrong name?" asked Kyara, looking at them. Caitlin shrugged.
     
    "We thought you were just formal," she professed. "Like, it was Southern manners or something."
     
    "You always call Cat by the name she prefers," pointed out K. "It just seemed like you were extra respectful."
     
    "And no one else told me either?" asked Kyara. "They just figured I didn't care about the review?"
     
    Ashley shrugged apologetically.
     
    "That's just how people are up here. They figure that it's polite – they stay out of your business, and you stay out of theirs. It's the only way to keep the peace in a town this small."
     
    Kyara stared at her.
     
    "But no one stays out of anyone's business up here! The moment something happens, the whole town knows," she exclaimed.
     
    "True," said K, leaning back against the ATV, "but no one will mention it to your face unless you bring it up. You can at least pretend that no one knows, and go about your life."
     
    "That's lying," pointed out Kyara.
     
    "It's polite," countered Caitlin.
     
    "So how do you know if someone really knows, or if they're just 'being polite'?" Kyara asked.
     
    All three of them paused.
     
    "They always know." said Caitlin helplessly.
     
    Kyara shook her head. "Crazy white people."
     
    That, at least, got a few faint smiles.
     
    "In his defense," said Ashley reluctantly, "he might have figured the same thing."
     
    "Bullshit," declared K loyally. "We're not at 'he might be a good guy' stage yet. We're still in 'we hate him' mode. Right?"
     
    She quirked an eyebrow at Kyara, who smiled a little, nodding.
     
    "Besides," continued K, "you were always too quick to forgive him, Ash."
     
    Ashley looked a little hurt as Caitlin jumped in.
     
    "I don't want to dampen man-hate time," said Caitlin, "but Ashley may be right."
     
    "At the very least he never corrected her when Kyara called him the wrong name," insisted K. "By order of the court, I find that, at the very least, sketchy."
     
    "And deceptive," added Ashley.
     
    "I don't want to pry," said Kyara tentatively, "But ... what happened between you two?"
     
    The women all glanced at each other.
     
    "It's fine," said Ashley. "Really. Jay and I dated back in high school. My dad owned the rental business, then, and Jay worked for him. Young love being what it is, I thought that, after we graduated, he'd stay and work for the company, maybe someday we'd get married and run the place ourselves."
     
    "He applied to college without telling her," cut in K. "Like, stealth applications or something. Didn't even let her know he was thinking about going until he'd been accepted."
     
    Ashley turned away, the sting of it apparent on her face, even ten years later.
     
    "Of course," continued K, "At that point if Ash asked him to stay, she looks like the bitch who's telling him to give up his future for her."
     
    "He did have a full scholarship," pointed out Caitlin.
     
    Ashley waved, regaining control of the conversation.
     
    "Anyway, that's pretty much it. He didn't lie, exactly, he just let me find out on my own. It's... not one of his best qualities."
     
    "Rat. Bastard." declared K. "We spent months putting a weepy eighteen year old Ash back together after he left. I never understood why you started making eyes at him when he got back."
     
    "Why did he come back?" asked Kyara.
     
    "His grandmother isn't doing well," said Caitlin. "He gave up a job in Boston and moved back to take care of her."
     
    "Jan," said Kyara, putting it together.
     
    "Family's pretty important to him," confirmed Ashley. "He says he figures it's only for a few years, and he wants to make her comfortable during that time."
     
    "Where are