The Reluctant Bachelorette

by Rachael Anderson

  Both Sterling and Burt studied their phones, and then shook their heads.

  “Okay.” Taycee searched the trees. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I know this trail well, and I’m sure I can find my way back. So how about I go on ahead, find Luke, and we’ll bring a horse back for Sterling to ride on.”

  “How will you find us again?” Sterling asked. “It’s pitch black out here.”

  “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you going on alone,” Burt added. “I’ll come with you.”

  “And leave me here alone?” Sterling squeaked.

  Taycee rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine, Burt, I promise. I can use the light from my phone. And don’t worry, Sterling, we’ll be able to find you with a flashlight. We can’t be that far from his house. I’ll be back in a half an hour. Forty-five minutes tops.”

  Sterling grabbed a hold of her arm and brought her closer. “Are you sure?” A spray of moisture hit her face.

  “Positive,” she said.

  LUKE SADDLED UP A HORSE in the barn, berating himself for thinking this had been a good idea. The sky had darkened and Taycee still wasn’t back. He figured they’d have trouble getting the horses to leave the meadow without Sally, but had they refused outright? Was everyone walking back on foot? Had they gotten lost? Was Taycee okay?

  He cinched up the belly strap with a bit too much force and reached for the bridle.

  “Luke!” Taycee’s voice rang out.

  His body stilled as he let out a breath. She was okay. She was fine.

  “In here,” he called. “It’s about time you guys got back.”

  The barn door flew open, and Taycee stood there in the dim light with a few leaves poking out of her disheveled hair. She looked beautiful. And angry.

  “I’m the only one who’s here,” she said, hooking a thumb behind her. “Sterling’s back about a mile with a twisted ankle.”

  “And the horses?”

  “In the meadow.” Taycee glared. “How kind of you to send us with your most stubborn trail horses.”

  Luke smiled as he walked over to her, reaching to pick the leaves from her hair. It was soft and looked silky in the lamplight. He felt the sudden urge to pull her to him, but rested his hand on her shoulder instead. “I figured you’d get along really well with them."

  “Very funny.” Taycee stepped away, making his hand fall from her shoulder. She pointed to the animal behind him. “Will you please put a bridle on that horse so we can go find Sterling? He and Burt weren’t exactly thrilled to be left in the dark.”

  Luke gave her a lingering look before he reached for the bridle once more.

  “Where do you keep your flashlights?” Taycee walked past him and started looking through his gear, pulling open drawers and slamming them closed when she didn’t find what she wanted.

  “In the bag on the saddle,” Luke said as he fit the bridle in place. “I was just about to come looking for you.” He led the horse from the barn and double-checked the saddle. Then he mounted and held his hand out to Taycee. “Coming?”

  She hesitated, as if touching him was the last thing she wanted to do. Finally, she placed her soft hand in his, stuck her foot in the stirrup, and swung up behind him, immediately relinquishing his hand.

  When her arms didn’t come around his waist, Luke glanced over his shoulder to see her gripping the back of the saddle instead. He bit back a grin. “I know you’re mad, but it’ll be a lot safer if you hold on to me.”

  “No thanks.”

  “Suit yourself.” A quick tsk, a kick, and the horse leapt forward. Taycee gasped and her arms coming around Luke in a tight hold as she steadied herself. His grin widened as they started forward, reminding him of other times they’d ridden together like this. Only now it was different. Better.

  “You’re smiling and thinking ‘I told you so,’ aren’t you?” Taycee accused.

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  “Right.” As they settled into an easy pace, her grip around him slackened. Luke resisted the urge to grab her hands and keep her close.

  “Thanks for the great date, by the way,” she finally said. “It was a real adventure.”

  “No problem.” From the sounds of it, she would never forgive him for this.

  “And thanks for the other night as well. That was you too, wasn’t it? Ralph sure did a great job. How much did he charge you for that performance? Or was it just a favor to an old friend?”

  “No idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh please. Ralph’s too nice to come up with that idea all on his own.”

  “And I’m not a nice guy?”

  Silence.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Luke said, shining the light through the darkness as they picked their way along the trail. The crunch and scuffle of the horse’s hooves mingled with the creaking of crickets as they moved along. “What about you, Taycee Lynne? Are you a nice girl?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wonder if Carl and Missy would agree. Or me, for that matter.”

  More silence. Her hands fell from his side, probably gripping the back of the saddle once again. What happened to her anyway? They used to be such great friends. Could time really do that to a friendship? Erode it to nothing?

  The fact was, Luke wanted her friendship. Craved it even. Especially since it could be the start of something even better. But Taycee refused to give an inch. It made him want to give her a good, hard shake.

  “So tell me this, Taycee Lynne,” he finally said. “Why did you do it? Have things really changed that much between us that you couldn’t stand the thought of going out with me? I don’t get it.”

  “And I don’t get why you wanted to make me look bad on camera—especially since I’m only doing this for Shelter Springs.”

  He shrugged. “It’s called retaliation, something you know all about.”

  “How would you know?” Taycee accused. “You don’t know me anymore. You may not have changed much during the past ten years, but I have.”

  “Too bad. You were a lot more fun back then.” Okay, so maybe he’d gone too far, but it was the truth. Where was the girl who used to hold on tight and urge him to go faster? The girl who used to follow him anywhere and looked up to him. Who’d tease him and talk to him. Made him feel like the older brother he’d never gotten to be—not that he wanted to be her brother anymore.

  What happened to that girl?

  “What did I ever do to you anyway?” Luke asked. “You’ve treated me different since I got back, and I don’t get it. I’ve done nothing to you.”

  “Nothing? You call tonight and Ralph nothing?”

  “I’m talking before that. Why the manure in my driveway? Why Missy?”

  “I was helping you out. You said you didn’t want to be on the show, remember?”

  “No,” Luke said. “I said that I would get voted off if I wanted to—not that you should take it upon yourself to do it for me.”

  “Well, excuse me for helping you out. You should be thanking me right now.”

  “Thanking you? For making me look like a jerk in front of a whole lot of people? Sorry, but forgive me if I don’t.”

  “Please. Since when have you ever cared about people seeing you with different girls? Or is it the fact that it’s now all over the internet that bothers you?”

  Luke yanked on the reins and twisted around to face her. He felt like he was being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, as though Taycee grasped at any excuse she could find to rail on him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Will you please keep going? Sterling is probably freaking out.”

  “Not until you explain.”

  “Seriously?” Taycee said. “You really need me to point out the fact that you’ve never had a problem dating a bunch of girls? Back in high school you did it all the time, or is your memory really that bad?”

  Luke slid off the horse and pulled Taycee down with him, fighting the urge to shake her senseless. “Who cares if I dated a l
ot of girls in high school? It was ten years ago, Taycee! Ten years! And since I got back, I haven’t had a chance to go out with anyone but you.”

  Taycee’s fingers fisted at her side. “You left, Luke! You promised to call and you didn’t. You promised to email and you didn’t. You walked away without a backward glance and forgot all about me and Caleb. You don’t do that to friends!”

  Whoa. Luke shook his head to clear his thoughts. Caleb had said that Taycee had a hard time when he left, but that was so long ago. Was she still hung up on it? “Is that what this is about? Why I’ve been getting the stiff arm from you since I got back?”

  No answer.

  A deep breath, and Luke tried again. “I don’t get it. Caleb doesn’t care that I didn’t keep in touch, and no one else in town does either. In fact, everyone else has welcomed me back with open arms. Why can’t it be the same with you?”

  “Because I’m not Caleb or everyone else! I’m Taycee!”

  “Duh.”

  With a stomp of her foot, Taycee spun on her heel to leave, but Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Oh no you don’t. You aren’t going anywhere until we finish this. Are you really still blaming me for something I did ten years ago?”

  Taycee yanked her hand free. “You did it when you got back, too. You said we should get together for dinner. You said you’d call. But did you? Of course not. Why? Because you really haven’t changed. Ten years later, and you’re still the same unreliable excuse for a friend.”

  Her words slammed into him with a brutal force. Luke took a step back, as if distance would somehow lighten the impact. But it had the opposite effect because Taycee’s eyes now appeared darker. More condemning. The expression looked so out of place on her. So wrong. And yet somehow, he’d put it there.

  Luke suddenly had this insane urge to drag her toward him and kiss her until she stopped looking at him like that. Until she stopped blaming him for something Luke didn’t understand or feel like he deserved.

  He needed to get away. Somehow figure out where he’d messed up and sort through his mixed up feelings about her. He reached for the reins and jumped back onto the horse, and then pulled an extra flashlight from his bag and tossed it to her. “We’re not far from the house. You can wait inside, and I’ll go and get Sterling.”

  With that, he sank his heels into the horse’s side and lurched forward, putting as much distance between them as he could.

  A sickening pit formed in Taycee’s stomach as she watched Luke ride away. She’d gone way too far, unleashing ten years’ worth of pent-up frustration. But no matter how much she wanted to take the words back, they were already out. She may as well have said, “I’ve been in love with you for forever and jealous of every girl you’ve ever dated!”

  Turned out Jessa was right after all. Taycee was a shaken can of soda, and Luke had just opened her up.

  It had been a problem she’d been plagued with her entire life. Let things build inside until one day the pressure became too much and everything spurted out. Her mother had always warned her not to let things fester, to say what needed to be said before it reached this point. But Taycee had never quite learned how to do that. Anger had always given her words the wings they needed to fly right out of her mouth.

  The problem was that when it reached this point, the words usually came out tainted with a nastiness she didn’t really mean. A nastiness that Luke may never forget.

  Or worse—forgive.

  TAYCEE BLINKED AT THE BRIGHT LIGHT sneaking through the blinds. She’d spent most of the night replaying over and over what she’d said to Luke, and with each replay, it got worse. Almost to the point that Taycee didn’t deserve to see the sun or bask in its warm glow.

  She tossed her covers over her head and burrowed beneath them, keeping the light out. But it was no use. Sleep offered an escape that she really didn’t deserve either, so she threw her covers off and headed to her bathroom. What she needed was to get away. Away from Shelter and everyone in it. Away from that cloud of nastiness that hovered over her. Away from everything.

  Maybe if she drove fast enough, she could leave it all behind.

  She donned her swimming suit, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, and packed a backpack with water, some snacks, and a towel. Then she hopped in her car and headed west.

  Thirty minutes later, she pulled off the side of the road and started the three mile trek through the woods to a place Caleb and Luke had discovered over fifteen years ago: The Hole. Perfect for swimming and hanging out, The Hole became their secret place of escape. And over the years, Taycee had kept that secret, unwilling to share it with anyone—even Jessa.

  She trudged toward it now, ducking under branches and stepping over rocks, heading purposefully toward her own private retreat—a place packed full of the most wonderful memories she had of Luke. Maybe the bittersweet reminder would serve as her penance.

  She finally emerged through the trees to find The Hole looking almost exactly as it had all those years before. The same small pond. The same waterfall off to the side. The same boulder to jump from. It was one of the things she loved most about this place. Other than the rope swing that had seen better days, it never changed.

  Unlike the people who once spent so much time here.

  Taycee dropped her backpack to a flat, grassy spot and quickly stripped down to her swimsuit. Then she waded to her knees and dove into the chilly mountain water. It had been awhile since she’d come. Not since the summer after college. Without Caleb or Luke, it had never been the same.

  Taycee swam for a while before spreading a towel across a sunny patch of ground and settling down to soak up the sun and enjoy the sounds and smells of nature. The rustling leaves, the chirping birds, the scent of fresh pine needles. It had an almost hypnotic, soothing effect, and before long, her eyes drifted shut.

  “Taycee Lynne.” The voice drifted through her muddled brain, wrapping her in a blanket of warmth. How she loved it when Luke called her that.

  “Taycee.” Fingers gently prodded her arm, nudging her subconscious to fully awaken. Real fingers. On her arm. Taycee popped up quickly, whacking something with her head.

  “Ow,” she groaned, holding her hand to her forehead as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.

  “Ow is right,” Luke said, rubbing his own forehead. “Remind me never to wake you up unless I’m in the mood for a headache.”

  She blinked. Luke. Here. And the swimming hole—their swimming hole. “What are you doing here?” She squinted at him.

  “Saving you from a nasty sunburn. Although I might be a little late.” His fingers brushed against her cheekbone, just below her eye.

  Taycee’s hands flew to her warm cheeks, unable to tell whether the heat was from a sunburn or the sizzling sensation that came when he touched her. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “I don’t know.” Luke shrugged. “How long have you been here?”

  Taycee glanced up. The sun hovered high overhead now, which meant it had probably been a few hours. Great. She grabbed her bag and pulled out some sunscreen. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but in a few days she’d be on camera again and didn’t want to show up sporting a sunburn. Her last few dates had been embarrassing enough.

  She squirted some lotion onto her hand and rubbed it all over her face, arms, and shoulders, before trying to reach her back.

  “Want some help?” Luke asked with half a smile.

  “No.”

  He shrugged. “I get it. You want goofy-looking variegated lines covering your back. Like a non-permanent tattoo, right?”

  Taycee held out the bottle of sunscreen. “Fine, you win.”

  He eyed it, not taking it from her. “I didn’t hear any magic words.”

  “Pretty please?”

  “Now you’re talking.” Luke took the bottle and scooted behind her. His warm, lotion-covered hands rubbed slow, methodical circles over the back of her shoulders and between her shoulder blades. Taycee’s eyes drifted closed,
willing him to keep going. She could sit like this forever, soaking up his touch, his warmth. Him.

  “There, all set,” he breathed into her ear as he held the bottle in front of her face. Happy shivers sped down her spine, making her cheeks burn even more. It wasn’t fair that he had this effect on her.

  “Thanks.” She shifted away from him and held up the bottle. “You want some?” Part of her hoped he’d say yes and part of her didn’t. Her eyes lingered on his broad shoulders and already tanned skin.

  “I don’t know. Am I allowed to stay?”

  Her gaze fell to the ground, and Taycee’s finger drew circles through the long blades of grass next to her towel. She owed him an apology. But what could she say without embarrassing herself even more?

  “I’m sorry, Luke,” the words finally tumbled out. “I didn’t mean half of what I said. It’s just that . . . well, I’m sorry. You’re not a poor excuse for a friend. In fact, there was a time when you were one of my best friends.” She looked out over the swimming hole, not wanting him to see the emotion in her eyes or how badly she wished for those days back.

  Luke scooted closer until they sat side-by-side with their shoulders lightly touching. “You say that like it’s behind us. But we can still be friends, can’t we? Even after all these years?”

  Friends. As much as Taycee would love to say yes, she didn’t think she had it in her to just be friends. Once it had been enough, but now Luke’s reappearance in her life had exposed all the feelings she’d tried to bury over the years, making them even more imposing than they’d been before.

  “You were right,” Luke said when Taycee remained silent. “I should have kept in touch. I guess I got a little self-absorbed and threw myself into college life without really looking back. Then when my parents moved, I figured it was better that I move on. So I graduated from college and vet school. I even did an internship. But after that . . . I don’t know. It’s like I took a peek into my past and couldn’t seem to stop looking back. I missed it. So I made the plunge and moved back to the one place I never thought I’d return to.” He paused. “Maybe I made a mistake, though. I never meant to stir up past hurts.”