by Liz Isaacson
Foolishness raced through her, and she swiped at the tear that had managed to escape. “It’s fine.”
“It sounded like an angel was out here,” he said, that smile making her stomach vibrate in a strange way. A very good, very strange way. “You’re a great singer.”
“Thank you,” she said, testing her weight on her toe. “I think I might have really injured my foot.”
“I’d help you to a couch if there was one,” he said, looking around the empty, floorless cabin. “So up you go.”
Before she could figure out what he was talking about, he picked her up. “Oh,” she squealed, the strength in his hands and arms making a flush move through her whole body.
He set her on the island and said, “Let me see.” He used those large, strong hands to take off her tennis shoe in the most gentle way. She didn’t even know a man with as many muscles as him could do something so soft.
“I don’t think there’s anything broken,” he said, probing at her foot with two fingers. “I’m going to bend your toes, okay?”
“Mm hm,” she said, because she wasn’t sure she could form words. She’d met Micah at Christmastime, of course. He was gorgeous, just as all the Walker brothers were. But he’d been aloof and almost like he wasn’t present for the meal. Simone had sat quite far from him, and she’d learned not to judge someone based on one meeting.
“I think it’s just bruised,” he said. “Want me to carry you to the homestead for some ice?”
“That actually sounds awful,” Simone said, clapping one hand over her mouth the moment the words left her mouth. Her eyes widened and looked right into Micah’s dark green ones.
He chuckled, the laughter building in his chest before he let it out. Pretty soon, they were both laughing, and Simone reached for her shoe. “I’m Simone Foster, though you probably know that already.”
“I do remember.” He tapped his chest. “Micah.”
“Right.” After pulling it back on, she got down from the counter, feeling too big and out of place next to Micah.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
Her eyes flew to his. “You want to help me?”
“Well.” He leaned closer, a sparkle in his eyes. Simone’s heart flopped around inside her chest, and while she’d thought for a moment that she might meet a cowboy in the row of cabins where she was moving, she didn’t think she’d feel something for a Walker brother.
Evelyn and Callie had already done that.
“Jeremiah is in a snit about something, and I’d rather stay out of his line of sight.” Micah pulled back, and Simone giggled. Actually giggled.
She cut the sound off when she realized how stupid she sounded and nodded to the bucket. “Well, I have windows to wash and a bathroom to clean. Baseboards, windowsills. Basically, no one’s lived in this cabin for a long time, and I’m going to live here, so I need it cleaned up.”
“You’re going to live here?” He stooped for the bucket and picked it up with one hand when she’d barely been able to do it with two.
“Yeah,” she said. “That way, Liam and Callie can have the homestead.”
Micah nodded and took the bucket into the bathroom. Embarrassment pulled through her as he poured the dark water down the tub, though she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like she’d been living here, and the house was still filthy.
“All right,” he said, rinsing out the bucket and setting it to fill again. “What are we putting in for the windows?”
“Uh.” Simone turned and picked up the bottle of window cleaner she’d bought last night. “This said it could be used inside and out.”
“Inside and out,” he said. “I think I may have made a mistake walking through your door.” He grinned at her, and Simone ducked her head. Actually ducked her head. She gathered herself together and handed him a clean rag.
They started in the living room, both of them working on the same window. “So, you don’t live at the ranch yet? But you’re coming.” She remembered him saying something about it during Christmas dinner.
“That’s right.”
“Where do you live now?”
“Temple,” he said. “I have a carpentry shop there I need to close and move.”
“Oh, you’re moving the shop too?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” He could reach up to the top of the windows, and they settled into an easy rhythm of rinsing rags. She worked on the windowsills while he worked up high. “Jeremiah says I could have a building out here at the ranch to do carpentry, but he also said he wants to add more cattle and horses to the ranch, and he needs my help with that.”
“Are you an actual cowboy? Or just a handsome man wearing the right hat?”
Micah chuckled, squeezed out his rag and stepped over to the other window. “You think I’m handsome?”
“Well, I mean, for a woman who likes that sort of broad-shouldered look.”
“Are you that kind of woman?” he asked.
“Maybe,” she said, feeling flirty at the moment. “But if you’re a carpenter, then you’re probably just wearing the hat.”
“I’m decent with horses,” he said.
“Decent,” she teased. “Do you ride?”
“Honey, I’m Texan. Of course I ride.” He flashed her a playful grin, and Simone found him so different than the other Walker boys.
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Thirty-three, ma’am.”
“Oh, you are Texan,” she said, her cells buzzing with more life than she’d experienced in a long time. And he was younger than her, which made her a bit self-conscious.
He didn’t ask her how old she was, instead saying, “I heard you shop yard sales and restore old furniture. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, adding some twang to her voice as well. He returned to the bucket, rinsing his rag and straightening as she bent down. Some water splashed on her arms, and she pulled in a breath.
“That was an accident, I swear,” he said, but he was chuckling.
“Oh, you’re asking for it,” she said, dipping her rag.
“Simone,” he warned, plenty of playfulness and flirtation in his voice.
She rinsed out her rag but barely squeezed any water out of it before lifting it up.
“Oh,” he said, eyeing the rag and then her. “Don’t you dare.”
Simone ran through her options quickly. The floor needed to be dry to lay down the new flooring, but everything would go in at the homestead first. She had at least two or three days before they’d show up at her cabin, and that meant she could have a little water fight with the handsome cowboy.
She jerked as a splash of water hit her face. Micah’s laughter filled the house, and Simone gaped at him. “You’re so dead.”
She rushed toward him, slapping her sloppy, wet rag against his chest while he yelped. They laughed together, and Micah’s arms came around her, pinning her hands against her chest so she couldn’t splash him further.
Enjoying the feel of his arms around her, Simone wiggled to try to get away.
“Truce,” Micah said.
“Only because you dropped your rag,” Simone said through her giggles.
“Simone?”
She practically leapt away from Micah, panic covering every other emotion in her body. Evelyn stood in the doorway, and Simone felt like she’d been caught kissing a forbidden boyfriend by her father.
“Evvy,” she said, dropping her rag in the bucket as she walked away from Micah. She glanced over her shoulder to find him bending to pick up his rag. “What do you need? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Evelyn said slowly. “I just wondered where you were, and Tripp said you’d asked Liam for a cabin?” She glanced around, definitely letting her gaze linger on Micah.
“Yeah,” Simone said. “I’m going to live out here once Callie and Liam get back. That way, they have a house, and so do I.”
“Simone,” she said, lowering her voice. “Callie doesn’t care if yo
u live there.”
“I care,” Simone said. “Can we talk about this later?” She didn’t want to glance over her shoulder to Micah, because she could still feel his presence.
Evelyn looked past her too. “Oh, sure. I’ll let you get back to flirting.”
“I was not flirting,” Simone hissed, though she totally had been.
“Good to see you, Micah,” Evelyn said in a loud voice, throwing Simone a smirk as she turned around.
“Ma’am,” he said behind her, and Evelyn grinned.
“He’s cute,” she whispered. “Good luck with the windows.” With that, she opened the door to leave. “Oh, and we need to go through the art and stuff and decide what to put back in the homestead.”
“Okay,” Simone said. “I’ll be over in a little bit.” The door closed, sealing her and Micah back in the cabin together. She pressed her eyes closed and drew in a deep breath. Then she turned around and got back to work, the handsome cowboy who’d heard her singing doing the exact same thing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Callie stood on the balcony as the sun set into the ocean. “I can’t believe tomorrow is our last day here,” she said to Liam.
“Mm.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “More snorkeling?”
“It’s what I love most,” she said. “And coconut shrimp and another one of those shaved ices.”
Liam chuckled. “And I’m going to give surfing another try.”
“You almost had it yesterday.” She laughed with him, because while Liam was very good at almost everything he did, surfing could not be counted among his talents.
“You’re such a liar,” Liam said. “Did you want to go to that dessert bar tonight?”
“Have you ever heard me say no to chocolate?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Great, then put your cowboy hat back on, and let’s go.” She tugged on his hand to get him to come in off the balcony. Callie had enjoyed the island immensely, the sleeping in, the time on the beach, the swimming with sharks.
They’d gone sailing and parasailing and deep-sea fishing. Anything either of them wanted to do, they did. Liam’s plans for their honeymoon had only included getting to Oahu and having a place to stay.
The activities for each day were wide open, and Callie had suggested anything that sounded remotely fun to her. And she’d enjoyed everything they’d done, even if she wasn’t good at it.
“Are you coming?” Callie asked when she realized Liam still stood by the balcony, his focus on his phone.
“Yeah,” he said, clearly distracted. He didn’t look up, and he didn’t come over immediately. Callie slipped on her sandals and picked up her own phone. She’d texted a little bit with Evelyn and Simone, but not much. She knew they didn’t want to disturb her on her honeymoon, but she felt removed and left out for a reason she couldn’t name.
With nothing to do on her phone, she sat down and waited for Liam to come back to reality. Several minutes passed before he did, saying, “Are you ready?”
“Yep.” Callie stood up and headed for the door. Liam texted all the way to the elevator and all the way down to the street. Her irritation with him continued to grow as they stepped onto the busy streets of Waikiki, and he still had his head down.
“Is that work?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Jeremiah.”
“Crisis at the ranch?” Callie tried to stuff her annoyance away. She didn’t know what was going on at her ranch either, though Evelyn had said everything was fine. She’d worked through the thoughts that Liam had taken care of everything, and she’d tried to enjoy herself.
And she had.
“No,” Liam said, finally glancing up. “Just getting caught up.”
“Mm.” Callie suddenly didn’t want to be out. She just wanted to go to bed and look forward to another day of sun, sand, and snorkeling.
Down the block, the line for the dessert bar was out the door, and Callie stopped. “It’s too busy,” she said. “Let’s just go back upstairs.”
Liam didn’t answer, and she turned to find that he hadn’t come with her. She could see him standing down the sidewalk a little ways, his head bent over his phone again. Callie had half a mind to leave him there, the cowboy island in the stream of tourists.
She stepped out of the way, because people didn’t flow around her the same way they did him. She’d get trampled while he got respected. Liam finally looked up, and she could see the confusion on his face. What? Did he think she’d just pause in the middle of the sidewalk and wait for him to finish his conversation with his brother?
In the end, she couldn’t just leave him standing there, especially when he turned around as if he’d go back to the hotel alone. He hadn’t taken a step in any direction when Callie lifted her hand to get his attention.
It took several seconds for him to see her, and then he came toward her. “Sorry,” he said.
“I say we just go back,” she said. “I’m not in the mood for dessert anymore.”
“Not in the mood?”
“The line is out the door,” She said. “And you’re not present.”
“I’m present.”
“It’s fine,” she said, because she didn’t want to fight with him. They’d done plenty of that in the past, and Callie wanted to enjoy her last day in paradise.
“I just have a lot going on at home,” he said.
“It’s fine,” she said again. “I’m tired.”
“Sweetheart,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I’m sorry.”
“Maybe we can order room service.”
“I need to tell you something,” he said, steering her off the sidewalk and down another path. This one had less people on it, but plenty of noise from the music coming off the beach and the busyness of a nearby restaurant.
“What is it?” Callie asked, but Liam didn’t say anything. He led her to an outdoor bar, which didn’t seem like a great place to have a conversation. “I can’t even hear myself think,” she said. “I don’t want to be here.”
Everyone around her was at least a decade younger than her, and she felt like everyone was staring at her. Or maybe they were staring at Liam, what with that cowboy hat and all.
“Two shaved ices,” he said to the bartender anyway, and Callie looked away.
A few minutes later they got their drinks, and Liam did lead her out onto the sand then, away from the crowd and the noise. He sat down, a groan coming out of his mouth. “I think you’re going to be mad.”
Callie just scooped up another bite of shaved ice. “Just say it then. Blurt it out.”
“I’ve been texting with Jeremiah a lot, because they’re moving my computer stuff to your place. Our new place.”
Callie’s mind whirred through what he’d said. “That’s good, though, right?” She looked at him, still trying to figure out what about what he’d said was catching in her mind.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “But I have a lot of delicate equipment.”
Our new place.
She nodded, finally realizing what he’d said and why it was a bit strange. “Our new place? We’re just living on the ranch, right?”
“Yes,” he said. “And Simone wanted to tell you herself, but with everything else, she’d been texting me too, and she’s asked me to tell you.” He took a bite of his shaved ice, but he was still distracted.
“Tell me what?”
“She’s moving into one of the cabins,” he said.
Callie opened her mouth to respond, but the air left her lungs. Simone was leaving the homestead?
“And that’s only the beginning of the changes you’ll find at the Shining Star when we get back.”
Callie blinked at him, trying to wrap her head around having the house on the ranch to herself. Her and Liam. Alone.
Of course, they’d been alone for the past two weeks, and their time together had been wonderful. She’d been nervous about being in such close quarters with him, and now she wondered what it would be like to
wake up alone again. She liked the warmth of his body next to hers, and she liked the way he held her close until they both fell asleep.
“What else am I going to find?” she asked, finally catching up to the situation. Simone had moved out so she wouldn’t have to be across the hall from Callie and Liam. Simone had done that to give Callie her privacy, and Callie couldn’t be too upset about it. She did like her private time with Liam.
“I, uh….” Instead of speaking, he just watched the waves continue to come ashore.
Callie wanted to tell him to spit it out, but she’d had plenty of things stuffed inside her mouth that she couldn’t get out. Heck, she’d almost lost her ranch because she couldn’t tell anyone about her problems.
“I’ve had everyone I know working around the ranch and the house,” he said. “Everything is cleaned up and cleaned out, and all three thousand acres are ready for planting or cattle or whatever you want to do.”
Whatever she wanted to do. She didn’t know what she wanted to do.
“You cleaned up the ranch,” she said.
“We gutted the house too. New carpet, new flooring, new furniture. All the cabins have been spruced up, and people are moving in there tomorrow. The barns are cleaned out. The stables were in great condition. The landscaping has been redone. You’re hardly going to recognize the place, and Evelyn thought you might freak out if I didn’t tell you.”
“She’s not wrong,” Callie said. “Do you have pictures?”
“No.”
She held out her hand. “Let me see your phone.”
He didn’t argue as he passed it over. She scrolled through the texts, and he’d been texting more than Jeremiah and Simone. But no one had sent him any pictures. Something boiled in Callie’s gut, but she couldn’t identify it.
“I want to remind you about our rules,” he said gently, taking his phone back. “You were going to keep an open mind about what I choose to spend my money on.”
“I don’t need new couches,” she bit out.
“No, but we needed new couches,” he said.
Callie stared out at the ocean, her shaved ice forgotten. Twilight had fallen, and it would be full dark soon. She suddenly just wanted to get on the first flight back to Texas, see her ranch and find out what he’d disturbed.
