by Kim Loraine
“This one’s a real beauty. She never should’ve been treated this way.” I brushed my fingers gently over the mare’s pitch-black mane. She huffed and shuffled away. The scars on her once pristine body set a fire in my heart.
“None of them deserved it.” Sadness flickered in Penny’s eyes.
“Nope. But now they have you and Buck and the rest of us. They’re gonna make it out the other side and live the rest of their lives knowing safety.”
After feeding the horse a fresh carrot, we left the stall and strode out of the stable toward the big old farmhouse my brother had bought for them both. Her little dog, Peanut, ran around, jumping up on my legs for attention as we walked. “What’s going on, Penny?”
“What do you mean?” She tried for surprised but overshot just enough I knew I’d caught her.
“Buck’s not been himself. You’ve been missing from the ranch except for your shifts at the spa. Something’s wrong.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“He told me about the pregnancy test.”
Her jaw clenched. “It was nothing.”
“He said you were happy you weren’t pregnant.”
Sinking down onto the steps, she dropped her head into her hands. “I was. I am. I’m not ready for us to have a baby. I mean, we’re not even married yet. He asked me, and then…nothing. No date set, no more talk of even just eloping.”
“Did you tell him this?”
Her green gaze leveled with mine. “What do you think? Of course I told him. I explained it all. But he was just so hurt that I didn’t want his baby. He couldn’t see past that.”
I sat down next to her and stared at the land they’d begun to really cultivate. “I think he was excited about taking that step with you. He loves you hard, Penny. Sometimes we’re just so focused on the work that needs doing around the ranch that we can’t see what’s right in front of our faces. I know the idiot wants to marry you.”
She sighed. “Me too. I just… I panicked. A baby is…huge.”
“You’re tellin’ me.”
Laughing, she shoved me with her shoulder. “It’s not something I want to be thrown into. I want to choose to start a family when I’m ready. Some people do fine when it just happens. I’m not that kind of person. I saw what a toll it took on my sister and her husband. They struggled. Buck and I are still learning each other.”
“Well, your brother-in-law is an idiot, but I get what you’re saying. I’m just glad to know there isn’t a deeper problem between you two. We all love you, Penny. We want you guys to be happy.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I am. I promise. I’ll talk to him about it.”
The back door opened, and Buck stood in the doorway, expression serious. “Tristan, I’ve been calling you for an hour. You gotta get home. Something’s happened with Hazel.”
My gut turned to a hard lump. “What? Is it something with the baby?”
“No. But, I think she’s leaving. She’s packing up her stuff. Did she tell you anything?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and swore at the black screen. Damn thing was dead. “I don’t know. I need a new fuckin’ phone. This one keeps dying on me.”
“You’d better go.”
Nodding, I ran for my truck and headed down the back road toward the ranch. By the time I got to the cabin, Hazel was hauling her suitcase toward the Jeep we’d given her to drive while she was here. Not that she used it much.
I jumped out of the still running truck and called out to her. “Hazel, what the hell?”
Her eyes blazed with anger and fear. “I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Jessica, Carly, Danica. Take your pick.”
Shock hit me hard in the chest. “What?”
“Every single one of them felt the need to reach out to me after my sister’s latest episode on Ryker Ranch. They sent pictures, Tristan. Pictures of things that didn’t happen long ago.”
Dread took the place of shock, turning my heart to ice. “I don’t know what you saw—”
“They were in your house. All three of them. And not long before I came here.”
Shit. Memories flooded me of the night I spent partying with the three guests I’d found at The Silver Spur. “You don’t understand. Nothing happened.”
“Bullshit. One of them was topless and straddling you. That’s not nothing.”
“Darlin’—”
“Don’t you dare call me darlin’. I knew I was wrong to let myself get so swept up by you. This whole thing was a mistake. You told me you hadn’t been with anyone since our first night together. You lied to me. What else have you lied about?”
She tossed her suitcase into the back of the Jeep and walked past me, but I caught her by the hand. “Please, listen.”
Tearing her hand away from mine, she stared hard at me. “I don’t know how you think you can talk your way out of something like this, Tristan. You’re not that charming. Now get out of my way. I should have gone home a long time ago. I’ll leave the Jeep at the rental place. You can pick it up tomorrow. I have a long drive home.”
“Hazel…what about Mama, my family, the baby shower?” Me…I thought, but left it unsaid.
“Have the damn shower without me. You’re gonna need some baby stuff anyway. Unless you’ve changed your mind about being a father. In that case, I left the paperwork on the table along with my attorney’s address. The last thing I want you to do is teach my son to be a liar.”
Son? “It’s a boy?” My voice caught in my throat and I had to force the words free.
“Yeah. I saw on the ultrasound but didn’t want to spoil it. Congratulations, another Ryker boy to add to the pack. Hopefully, this one will know the difference between the truth and a lie.”
She got into the Jeep and started the engine, but the thing coughed and spluttered. I’d never been so thankful for our temperamental old hunk of junk. Slamming her hand on the steering wheel, she stared straight ahead and sighed before tears began tracking down her cheeks.
I opened the passenger door and got in with her. “Hazel, listen to me. Please?”
“I want to go home. I need some space from you, from all of this.”
“Fine.” I gritted my teeth and got out of the Jeep before walking around to the back, grabbing her bag, and heading for my truck.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she got out and followed me.
“Get in the truck.”
“What? Why?”
I opened the passenger door of my truck and waited. “Get in the damn truck, Hazel. You wanna go home. I’m not letting you drive upset for six fuckin’ hours.”
Her brow furrowed as she pondered my offer, but I knew if she wanted to go home so badly, she’d get in. Sure enough, she did. She took my hand as she climbed in, and my damn heart broke into pieces at the contact. But at least this way I’d have six uninterrupted hours with her. I’d use every minute of that to make her see she was making a mistake.
Hazel
I hated how much I didn’t want to hate him. Tristan drove us quietly off the ranch property and onto the long stretch of freeway that would eventually end with us parting ways. I wished so much that things were different. That those women hadn’t seen Erin’s video where she spilled the beans that I was having a baby with Tristan. That he hadn’t lied about being with them.
Honestly, if he hadn’t given me the whole “I’ve been celibate since you” song and dance, I probably wouldn’t have been so hurt. But he had. He’d lied to my face, just like Quinn. I wanted so badly for him to be a better man. But the truth was, I had a type, and Tristan was exactly it. Handsome, charming, emotionally unavailable, and a liar.
“You okay? Warm enough?” he asked, reaching for the dial that controlled the temperature in the cab.
“Fine.” I wasn’t. I was too hot, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making me more comfortable.
An hour passed with tight, uneasy conversation between us, then a
nother, and another. We stopped to grab a drink and bite to eat, but aside from that, I shut him down every time he tried to open up some kind of dialogue, replying with one-word answers and refusing to meet his gaze. If I looked into those blue as the sky eyes, I’d break.
“You were really gonna leave without telling me?” The hurt in his voice made my eyes sting and my throat tight with unshed tears.
“I tried to call you. You didn’t answer.”
“My phone died.”
I shook my head and looked out the window at the wide span of land on the horizon. “It doesn’t matter. You and me, we were a bad idea.”
“No, we weren’t. We aren’t. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt this way about, Hazel. Fuck. I wake up thinking about you, fall asleep missing you even when you’re right there next to me. I can barely focus on my work sometimes because you’re the only thing on my mind.”
My heart fluttered. I wanted to believe him so badly. “Because I’m there. If I wasn’t in the bed with you, it’d be someone else. I’ve been through this before. I can guarantee you, come tomorrow, you’ll have moved on to another girl.”
He pulled over then, turning on his flashers and staring daggers at me. “I don’t deserve this from you. Not after everything between us. I’ve given you no reason to doubt me. When I say nothing happened between these women and me, I mean it. I picked them up from The Silver Spur, drunk off their asses. They were guests at the ranch, and the last thing I wanted was for them to run off the road or end up stumbling into the stables and getting trampled.”
“So they just ended up stripping for you and giving you lap dances?”
“They thought me bringing them home meant they’d get a night with a cowboy. Instead, I shut them down and let them sleep it off on my bed while I took the couch. You’ve got no reason to trust me, I know, but I’ve never lied to you, and I never fucking will.”
“And the picture?”
“Look at it again. I can guaran-damn-tee you there’s nothing on my face that says I’m into whatever shit they were doing. Two seconds later, I pushed her off me and made them go to the bedroom. By themselves.”
I pulled out my phone and inspected the photo. Sure enough, his jaw was clenched, his expression filled with annoyance I’d seen plenty of times since I’d arrived on the ranch.
“You really mean it, don’t you?” The stubborn streak I fought hard with eased as I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity.
“I’m not your ex. Lies and love don’t go together.”
Breath catching in my throat, I leaned close and let his truth wash over me. “Love?”
A vulnerable smile spread across his face. “Yeah. Love.” He swallowed and took a deep breath before linking our fingers. “I love you, everything about you, Hazel. I’ve known for a few weeks, but I really think it happened that first night. You took my heart the second you smiled at me. I want you to be mine and for me to be yours forever if you’ll have me.”
Worrying my lower lip between my teeth, I tried to reason with myself, figure out what I should do. Pretty words had broken my heart before. Was this the same thing? Was Tristan doing this because he didn’t want to lose? Or because he didn’t want to lose me?
“Look, we’re halfway home either way we go. I can turn around and take you back to the place we’ve begun to make ours, or we can go to your sister’s house. Just tell me what you want.”
He leaned close and ran his hand up my arm before brushing my hair behind my shoulder. The longing in his words already had me melting, but when he took off his hat and pressed his forehead to mine, all resolve went out the window. Lips lightly brushing my cheek, he took a ragged breath.
“What do you want, darlin’? Just put me out of my misery.”
“Take me to Erin’s,” I finally said.
Backing away, his shoulders sagged, and heartbreak was written in the set of his jaw. But he didn’t fight. He resigned himself to the loss of what we had.
But then I squeezed his hand. “I have to get the rest of my stuff if I’m staying at Ryker Ranch for the rest of my life.”
20
Tristan
I kissed her like my life depended on it. Like she was the only thing in my entire world worth anything. Because she was worth everything.
“Did you really just say what I think you said?” I held her face in my hands and stared into those beautiful eyes. I could still taste her lips on my tongue, sweet and perfect.
“I love you too, Tristan.”
I never wanted to let her go. Asking me to separate from her after I finally got her was a torture I hadn't been prepared for. But I knew I had to do it. We had a life to start together.
"So, is your sister gonna have a problem with me sleeping over tonight?"
She smirked, a wicked glint in her eyes. "Only if we can’t keep it down." I couldn't help but laugh. "I make no promises, darlin'."
"Neither do I."
"Maybe we should stay in a hotel?"
Shaking her head, she leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to my lips. "No way. This is payback for all the nights I had to listen to her with her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend? Is that what I am?"
She took her lower lip between her teeth. God, she didn’t know what that did to me. It made me want to taste it, it, bite it. "No. Boyfriend doesn't seem the right word for you.”
I chuckled. "Baby, daddy?"
She sighed. "Nope. While it's true, it doesn't suit you."
"Well, I know what I'll call you."
"Really? What's that?"
"The love of my fucking life."
Her cheeks turned a deep pink, and she looked down at her fingers where they were intertwined with mine. "All this time, I never really thought you existed. I thought a man like you had to be a fairytale. Because no one proved me wrong. But now I realize I was just looking in the wrong place.”
"What do you mean?"
“I should have just turned on the TV.”
"Well, darlin', I sure hope I was worth the wait."
Tears swam in her eyes, and I wanted so badly to wipe them away. But then I realized I could. I could make sure she never cried again if she didn't want to. Reaching out, I used the pad of my thumb to dry her cheek, then I kissed her, the swell of emotions inside my own chest threatening to overflow as well.
"Let's get back on the road, go get your stuff, and then we’ll go home to the ranch and let everyone know you're staying permanently."
"I hope that'll be okay."
I laughed. “Are you kidding?"
"I just think it's two different things. Me staying for a visit to get to know you and me staying forever."
“Darlin’, I think there's something you’ve been missing. Mama has been planning on you staying forever since the moment you showed up on my doorstep. Hell, she probably already has a horse picked out for you."
"I get a horse?"
I nodded and fought the grin that was creeping across my lips at the excitement in her voice. "Ah, so the truth comes out. You’re only with me so you can get yourself a horse."
Her laugh was pure and genuine, and it warmed my very soul. I wanted to make her laugh every day for the rest of my life.
"Busted. But the cowboy that comes along with it is a mighty fine bonus."
I pulled the truck out onto the freeway, heading in the direction of her sister's house, of our future. And when she took my hand in hers, I knew that everything between us was leading up to this moment—to the moment she became mine. "I love you, Hazel. I’ll love you and our baby forever."
"I love you too. And I know it's not been a very long time, and we don't know each other that well…"
"We spent more time together than most couples. And Mama will tell you she knows how quickly you can fall in love when you're with the right person." Hazel nodded and licked her lips.
A flicker of unease flashed in her eyes, and my heart lurched. "What is it? Did I say something?"
"No
. You said the exact right thing. I was going to ask you when… Do you remember when I first showed up on the ranch?"
I chuckled. "Of course I do. You knocked me right on my ass before I even realized you were pregnant."
“Well, you asked me something…but I shut you down as quick as I could."
My heart lurched. I had asked her to marry me. I hadn’t asked. I’d demanded, like a stupid fucking caveman.
"Is that offer still on the table?"
"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you right."
“Will you marry me, Tristan?
I stared straight ahead. Trying to keep my focus on the road before me, thankful as hell that it wasn’t busy, that I had the entire freeway at my disposal. Because I couldn't believe what she was saying. "Are you serious? I thought you'd never wanted to get married again."
"That was when I thought that marriage meant something very different than what I've seen and what I've learned from being with you and your family. Marriage between people who really truly love each other is this beautiful thing. It's what I wanted to have, but I had it with the wrong person. I had it with a person who didn't want me for the right reasons, but you, you want me for the perfect reason."
"The only reason I want you is because of you, Hazel. That's all. That’s everything.”
She nodded. "Exactly. And that's why I know that I don't want to spend my life questioning whether or not I should marry you. Because it's clear to me that you and me, we’re the forever kind. So, what do you think? Will you marry me?”
"You know, that’s my line.”
Her laugh filled the truck. "Not anymore."
Grinning like a damn fool, I said, “Yes, Hazel, I will marry you. I’ll marry the hell outta you."
21
Sam
My brothers and I hauled the ten-foot-tall Christmas tree in from the back of Clint’s truck, the smell of spruce and sap sharp in my nose. It was already the first of December. A month past when Mama usually had the house decked out for the holiday.
