Free Branded for You by Cheyenne McCray

it hurt, maybe it was better that she hadn’t had any with Bart. There were no connections between them now and she could move on with her life, never having to deal with him again.
    Except for his family. But that was okay. She wasn’t going to let him end that relationship too.
    The tears started to subside. She was over Bart. Some of the pain was still there, but he couldn’t hurt her anymore.
    Talking with Grace had affirmed that fact.
    Megan took a deep breath and brushed away the remnants of tears with the backs of her hands.
    “Stop it, Megan,” she said out loud. “This isn’t me.”
    She normally had a positive attitude, and she wasn’t going to let him take that from her. She had a new life and potentially a great guy in Ryan. Who’d have thought?
    It was more the sadness of what she considered a failure, even though she’d done everything she could to make their marriage work. The mistake had been thinking he could change.
    She was resolved all the more to find someone who was different.
    Life has a way of teaching lessons. Now she knew what to look for in a man and just maybe she had a good one now.
    She sighed. Her concentration was shot. She might as well go look at the houses since she couldn’t get her mind to focus on work. She’d just go ahead and work late into the night to make up for it.
    Once again she thought about Ryan and the fact that he happened to be at a wedding himself. It could even be going on this very moment.
    She groaned. Stop obsessing over the man and go look at houses. She picked up the cell phone and dialed the first number.
    After making appointments with a realtor to take a look at some rental homes, Megan headed out of the house. She had some time before she met with the realtor, so she drove to the Hummingbird Café.
    Her parents’ café was quaint with an old-fashioned look to it. It was pretty with light blue trim on white and a blue and white striped awning. Flower boxes filled with geraniums were on the windowsill and a large hummingbird with flowers was painted on the front picture window. Three ironwork tables with matching chairs were on a patio in front of the restaurant for patrons to use when the weather was nice like it was now.
    On the right side of the café was a convenience store and gas station which no doubt drew some patrons.
    On the other side of her parents’ place was an older restaurant with a sign that said The Chuck Wagon over the door. It had a western look to it with thick dark wood borders, and the place could do with a new paint job. She frowned. It had to be Roger Meyer’s place.
    People passed by on the street and a group stopped in front of the Chuck Wagon then went inside. A tall and lean man came out of that restaurant and started to walk past Megan toward the convenience store, but he stopped in front of her. He had brown hair and muddy brown eyes. He might have been considered good looking, yet his angular face seemed somehow at odds with his smile.
    “You don’t want to go in there.” He jerked his thumb toward the Hummingbird Café. “Bad food and they’ve been in trouble with the Health Department.”
    Anger burned in Megan, making her face hot but she kept herself composed. “You must be Roger Meyer, the owner of the Chuck Wagon.”
    “Yes, I am.” He grinned. “Best restaurant around.”
    “If your restaurant is so great,” she said, “why do you have to tear down someone else’s? Is your reputation not good enough to stand a little competition?”
    Meyer’s face darkened. “You must work for them.”
    “My parents own the Hummingbird Café.” She stared him down. “Why don’t you leave them alone and tend to your own business.”
    She didn’t wait for a response and walked past him to the café. Skin on the back of her neck crawled as she could feel the jerk’s eyes on her.
    When Megan pushed open the door to the Hummingbird Café, bells danced in a playful jingle. She took a deep breath and then let it out,