The Ranger's Passionate Love

"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.