by Emily Mayer
"Oh." I forced the word out, looking down at my shoes while my brain and my heart warred over this new information. "What… um… what did you talk about?"
"How about I tell you later, when I'm sure you’ll remember it the next day?" he said, a note of laughter in his voice.
My head snapped up and I stepped in closer to him, shaking my head furiously. It felt like his words had shifted something fundamental between us.
"No, I think now is good. I'm fine. I’m really good at remembering things. Well, except for everyone I met tonight's names. But there were a lot of them and I do remember a lot of them. Like that guy over there is Tom and the girl next to him is Sara."
I pointed at the first two people I saw standing just beyond us. Jack didn't bother turning to look. I was prepared to perform a field sobriety test if it got him to talk.
He smiled at me indulgently, moving back some of the hair I had shook loose. “I told her that I’m not interested, that whatever she thought was happening isn’t because there’s someone el—”
"Hey, are you guys ready to head out?" Margot's voice came from behind me.
I bit back a groan, refusing to break eye contact with Jack. I silently begged her to go away. I just needed a few more minutes in this moment.
"Yep, we're good,” Jack answered.
I spun around and started walking toward Margot and Cole, feeling unreasonably annoyed. Jack caught up with me in no time, then Gabe appeared out of nowhere and joined our little procession.
"Where did you come from?" I asked him, noticing his shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way up anymore.
He shot a boyish grin my way. "You don't want to know."
I shuddered. "Am I going to need a biohazard suit to sit next to you?"
Snickers erupted around us. Gabe chuckled, throwing his arm around my shoulder and dragging my body into his.
"Nah, it's all good, Evie. How'd you like your first Montana bonfire?"
"I liked it. I'm not sure it's safe to have a fire that big, though. I don't think Smokey the Bear would approve." I leaned into his body, suddenly feeling tired.
Cole hit the unlock button on his keys, and we all moved toward the flashing lights like insects to a flame. Gabe, Jack, and I slid into the back seat while Cole convinced Margot he was okay to drive us home.
Almost as soon as the truck started moving, my eyes started trying to close. It didn’t help that I was sandwiched between two human space heaters. I stifled a yawn. My eyelids felt like they weighed a million pounds. Another small yawn managed to escape, and I gave up the fight and closed my eyes.
"No, I got her." Jack's voice stirred me. It sounded like it was coming from the opposite end of a long tunnel.
I was too tired to open my eyes when I felt myself being lifted out of the truck. I instinctively snuggled closer to the warmth. Jack's smell surrounded me. I felt myself being jostled, but didn’t investigate—the pull of sleep was too strong. I was perfectly comfortable in this cocoon. Then there was a warm, wet pressure on my forehead. The unexpected sensation made my eyelids flutter open, struggling against their own weight. They landed on a familiar form closing the door to my dark room.
32.
Hank Williams woke me up the next morning by shoving his wet nose in my face. I groaned and Hank whimpered.
I shoved myself upright, pausing to let my head catch up with the rest of my body. Stumbling into the bathroom, I flinched when I saw my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a tangled mess and my eye makeup was smudged all over my face, making it look like I was sporting two black eyes.
Hank headbutted my leg, drawing my attention away from the crime scene in the mirror. I slowly bent down to give him a reassuring head scratch.
"I know, buddy, I look like hot death. But hey, I actually feel worse than I look, so there's that."
I piled my hair on top of my head before scrubbing the makeup off my face. Clothes, then coffee, I promised my body. I slipped on the first pair of jeans I found on my floor and pulled on a sweater before I caught a glimpse of my boots sitting neatly next to my bed. Memories of the night before came flooding back to me: being lifted out of the truck, laid on the bed, what felt suspiciously like a kiss being placed on my forehead.
"Hank Williams, is there any chance you carried me to bed last night?" Hank walked past me and straight out the dog-sized crack in the door, which led me to my next question: How did this dog manage to get in and out of my room every day?
I decided I could overthink everything over a cup of coffee. Grabbing Jack's coat off my bed, I followed Hank out the door. At least I didn't need to worry about how I’d ended up in nothing but my underwear. I remembered waking up sometime in the middle of the night, fully dressed, and stripping off all my clothes.
The kitchen was eerily quiet for it being so late in the morning. Thankfully, there was still plenty of coffee left in the pot. I breathed in the smell, letting it rejuvenate me.
"She lives!"
Gabe's voice boomed behind me, making me jump and squeal. I whipped around to scowl at him, careful not to spill my coffee.
"Are you trying to kill me? My heart almost exploded,” I grumbled, moving toward the breakfast bar. I sat on a stool and watched Gabe start moving around the kitchen.
"Feeling pretty good this morning, huh? I heard you and Katie went a couple rounds with a bottle of tequila last night," he said, pulling things out of the fridge.
"The tequila won. What are the odds that a McDonald’s opened a convenient distance from this ranch overnight?" I would have given my remaining kidney for a greasy breakfast sandwich just then.
"Not good,” Jack said from the doorway. My cheeks turned red as we made eye contact. I didn't know what the protocol was for the morning after someone carries you to bed and gives you a maybe-kiss on the forehead. Of all the things I’d slept through in my life, sleeping through that kiss was the worst.
Speak! a voice in my head urged me.
"A girl can dream,” I sighed, turning my attention back to the steaming cup of salvation in front of me.
Jack poured himself a cup of coffee before joining Gabe at the stove. I watched as they began heating up two large skillets. I was genuinely curious about what was happening at the stove, and not just because I was hungry. I couldn't remember seeing either of them cook anything that didn't involve reheating something in the microwave.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked, slightly concerned for my safety.
"Cooking,” Gabe said, cracking eggs into a skillet.
Jack was buttering bagels like the two of them made breakfast together every morning. I really liked where this was going. I hoped they knew what they were doing, because my heart would be broken if this plan went up in flames. Literally or figuratively.
"Do you two know how to cook?"
Both men turned to give me a withering look. Okay, then.
"Yes, Evie, we know how to cook,” Jack said, placing the buttered bagels on the other skillet. My stomach rumbled loudly. I was pretty sure I started drooling when I saw Jack hand Gabe a pack of ham. Holy hallelujah, they were making breakfast sandwiches!
"You guys look really domestic right now. It's kind of cute. You just need some aprons and it could be the cover of Home and Garden." I hid my smile behind my coffee mug.
Gabe reached over to swipe at me with the spatula. "Do you want this sandwich or not?”
I dodged the spatula, laughing. "That depends—will it have cheese?"
I heard Jack chuckle and I turned to smile at him. He held up cheese. My smile got bigger. He placed a gigantic sandwich on a plate and handed the plate to me. Without thinking, I said, "Oh God, I think I love you." My face flamed and I looked at the sandwich like it held the meaning of life. I hoped they both thought I was declaring my love to the sandwich.
I took a bite and groaned. I could really be in love with this buttery piece of heaven.
"Oh man, this is so good. Way better than McDonald’s. I will never doubt your do
mestic abilities again."
Gabe and Jack joined me at the breakfast bar, and launched into a lengthy discussion about cows and whether they would need to burn a pasture this year. My attention was divided between the deliciousness I was inhaling and the maybe-kiss from last night.
"Do you want to help exercise the horses today?" I heard Jack ask.
I needed to get my phone out of my purse. I hoped the battery wasn't completely dead. There was no way my sisters would forgive me if I didn't tell them that Jack had carried me inside last night. Then a wadded-up napkin hit me in the head, forcing my attention to the two men.
"Yo, Earth to Evie," Gabe, the thrower of the napkin, yelled. "Do you want to help exercise the horses?"
My eyebrows shot up my forehead and I pointed a finger at myself. "Me? You were asking me if I wanted to help exercise the horses?" My disbelief was evident in my voice as I looked at Jack.
"Yeah, you. Do you want to help?" Jack asked, like that wasn’t a life-altering question.
"Yes! I absolutely want to do that. I just have to help Ben with something this morning and then I’m all yours!"
I was practically bouncing in my seat with excitement. The wheels in my mind started turning, making all kinds of plans. Maybe if Jack trusted me more around the horses, he would be willing to let me help with King. Maybe there was a chance he could see me as more than some city girl pretending to belong here.
That last thought blindsided me. Belong here? Where had that come from? I was definitely the happiest I could remember being, here on the ranch, but I was on a quasi-vacation. Everyone was happier on vacation.
I reassured myself it was just the hangover and my intense love of this breakfast talking. But a small corner of my mind wasn't quite convinced.
33.
After breakfast, I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth. I headed to the office, and found Ben waiting for me.
"Hey, sorry I'm a little late."
I slid into my seat at the desk. Ben handed me a stack of folders I hadn't created. I stared at the pile in confusion, reading the labels Ben had made for each one.
"It's not a problem. Technically it's the weekend, so normal business hours don't apply. I also heard you got pretty cozy with a bottle of tequila last night."
I palmed my forehead in embarrassment. Information traveled at the speed of light around here. I cleared my throat. "That wasn’t really my fault. I thought you were going to make an appearance?" I said, trying to change the topic.
"I was planning on it, but I started working on this and lost track of time." Ben motioned at the pile of folders sitting in front of me.
"What is all this?"
I was surprised and thrilled that Ben had come up with a project to work on. He was acting the way he had been before the board asked him to step away. When Ben was like this, he was totally in his element—unstoppable.
"I need you to help me find a new outside firm to work with us on the mergers and acquisitions we can’t handle in-house."
My mouth dropped open. The calmness in his voice belied the enormity of what he was saying. It took me a couple of seconds to formulate the obvious follow-up question.
"Why do you think we need to hire a new firm?"
Alarms were going off in my head. Ben was going to fire Rodney's firm. This would be messier than a Kardashian divorce.
"I want to fire Rodney's firm, but I need to have every possible scenario planned before I bring it to the board,” Ben said, confirming my suspicions.
"Why do you want to fire them? Sterling has worked with them for decades. This is going to be major, Ben." I tried to infuse some of his calmness into my voice.
This plan of Ben’s could either prove how serious he was about running his family business well, or be one more thing to demonstrate to the board that he wasn’t fit to lead the company.
"I do know this is going to involve an insane amount of planning and research, so it's a good thing I have a master planner working on it with me." He shot me a grin, and I rolled my eyes at his attempts at flattery. "Look, I did a little digging after it was brought to my attention that Rodney was getting a little handsy. The man’s a serial sexual harasser, and some of his business practices are questionable at best. I might be calling the kettle black here, but I don't do business like that, and this is still my company."
I nodded my head, a spark of pride flaring in my chest. There was no way I wouldn't follow him on this.
"Okay. I’m assuming you’ve compiled all the complaints from HR, so I think we need to put that into some kind of comprehensive report. Chronologically would be best, to show that it’s a long-term pattern. Next, we need to research what it would take to divest his firm." I started digging around in my bag for a notebook and pen.
"You read my mind. I’m going to go grab us both refills while you start looking through the data I already compiled." Ben stood, grabbing a coffee mug off the desk.
I immediately outlined a plan of action, leaving space to fill in additional steps along the way. Ben reappeared with mugs in hand and explained how he had organized the folders in front of me.
I lost track of time, sifting through the information and organizing it into a more cohesive format. Jack's voice from the doorway drew my attention away from the computer screen.
"Hey, you ready for a break?" he asked, his gaze directed at me.
"Oh… um… I'm not sure—"
Ben cut me off. "Yes, go take a break. I need to take one too."
He didn't have to tell me twice. I took off my reading glasses and quickly tidied up my corner of the desk, making sure to mark the spot where I’d left off. Jack waited patiently for me at the door. I smiled up at him and apologized for making him wait.
"I don't mind waiting for you." His response was so casual, like he hadn’t even had to think before answering. This poor heart of mine.
We stopped in the mudroom so I could slip my boots on. Jack disappeared and returned with a cloth bag.
"What's in there?" I asked, pointing at the bag.
"I thought we could take the horses out on a trail and find a spot to have lunch," he said, pulling his own boots on.
"Really? A trail ride and a picnic?" I sounded doubtful because it seemed too good to be real life.
"Yeah—is that okay?" He opened the door and motioned for me to go first.
I turned to look at him so he could see the sincerity written on my face when I said, "‘Okay’? It sounds like the perfect day to me!"
I followed Jack to the barn and waited while he disappeared around the corner to get the horses we would be taking out. A few minutes later, he was leading two horses down toward where I stood. One of the horses was such a dark brown that it almost looked black except for a white stripe down the nose; the other’s coat was white and sprinkled with brown spots. He hooked the dark horse to the wall, and walked a little closer to me before tying the second one. He motioned for me to join him.
"This is Gypsy. She’s one of my favorite ladies here,” Jack said, stroking her neck affectionately.
"It's nice to meet you, Gypsy." I held my hand out to her. "She's such a pretty horse."
Gypsy pushed on my hand with her nose in approval. I gave her nose a tentative stroke.
"She’s an Appaloosa. They're known for their spotted coats. She's got a little more speed than Photo, but she's a much better trail horse. I think you can handle her."
My insides warmed at his compliment. Any nerves I had at taking a horse out on the trail for the first time were momentarily forgotten.
"I think so too. Should I get her all ready to go?"
Jack let out a whistle, a sly grin on his face that was nothing short of devastating.
"Look at you, city girl."
"Hilarious. Laugh it up now, cowboy; pretty soon I'll be riding circles around you,” I fired back, already placing the saddle blanket on Gypsy's back.
Jack smiled back at me, lifting the saddle onto Gypsy's back for me before making q
uick work of getting his horse ready.
"Okay, I think I’m going to try to mount Gypsy without using a mounting block. I feel like I’m strong enough to haul myself all the way up there,” I said, more to myself than Jack, once we were out of the barn.
"Uh, thanks for letting me know?" Jack was watching me, holding the reins in his hand.
"So can you please turn around?' I made a swiveling motion with my finger.
"You want me to turn around?"
"Yes, so…" I repeated the swivel motion. Visions of the first time I’d tried mounting a horse without help were playing on repeat in my head.
"Why?" he asked, looking at me with his head tilted a little to the side, like I was an abstract painting he couldn't quite figure out.
"I don't want an audience in case things go south, and there's a fifty-fifty chance this will end badly."
One of Jack's brows winged up skeptically.
"Fine, seventy-thirty," I said, amending my previous statement to more accurately reflect the odds of me ending up on the ground.
He seemed satisfied with the odds and turned around with a little huff. I waited to the count of five just to make sure he wasn't going to try to sneak a glance over his shoulder and witness me going down like the Titanic, then I placed my foot in the stirrup and hauled myself up. I wouldn't have won any awards, but I was up! I did a little happy dance in the saddle, careful not to upset Gypsy. I looked up to see Jack watching me. Gone was the inscrutable expression he normally wore, and in its place was one of genuine happiness.
"You looked!" I accused, not even a little bit mad that he had seen me in action, complete with a happy dance.
"I didn't want to miss your first solo mount. I knew you could do it," he answered smoothly. He turned to place his foot in the stirrup and I leaned forward, watching him swing himself up into the saddle in one fluid motion that left me breathless.
He turned his head back and I shifted upright in the saddle, hoping there was no drool visible.
"You ready?" he asked, oblivious as always to the destruction he was wreaking on my body.
