by Erin Wright
What if Wyatt showed up today and wanted to take you out on a date? A real-honest-to-goodness date like a normal couple? Would you say yes?
She finished the last of her soup staring out the front door, pondering the question. She was pretending, if only to herself, that it was a debate, but truthfully, it wasn’t.
She loved her father, but she loved Wyatt more. It was hard for her to imagine defying her father straight up by marrying Wyatt, but that didn’t mean that her heart didn’t want it. While Wyatt had been busy deciding whether or not he could give up the idea of having children, Abby had been busy falling in love with him.
Which just about made her the dumbest woman on the planet, because Wyatt had never even hinted at feeling the same way towards her. Sure, he’d been willing to get some when she was offering it, virtually throwing it at him, but that just meant he was a guy. It didn’t mean he loved her back.
She shouldn’t feel this way. She knew that. She should shut her heart off and pull away and walk away and guard herself against the heartache that was coming, because even if for some bizarre reason, Wyatt ended up falling in love with her, could she really defy her father by being together with him?
But not surprisingly, “just walk away” seemed a hell of a lot easier said than done.
Chapter 38
Wyatt
Done. It was done. He triumphantly carried the paperwork into the county jail. He realized as he walked in that he probably should’ve called to make sure Abby would be there before he came over, but he was relieved to spot her behind the counter. She looked up at the sound of the bell over the door ringing and smiled when she saw him.
“Hey Wyatt,” she said easily, rising to her feet gracefully. “How are you doing today?”
It’d been three days since she’d run out on him, and they hadn’t seen each other once. Hadn’t talked. Hell, they hadn’t even texted. He’d been nervous about coming over and dropping the paperwork off; what if she didn’t want to see him? But her ready smile seemed to say she wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see her.
He felt himself breathing a little easier.
“Good. I have the paperwork from Adam and from Rhonda. You can look it over, of course, but…I’ve finished my end of the deal.” He handed the paperwork over with a happy smile, and she began shuffling through it, noting the hours worked and the signing off for the counseling appointments.
Finally, she signed at the bottom, made him a photocopy, and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Miller. I will submit your paperwork to Ada County, but as of now, you’re in the clear. You are officially off probation. You’ll be receiving a confirmation letter in the mail two to three weeks from now.”
He grinned, the heavy weight that had been pressing on his chest for months now finally gone. “So I am a free man?” he asked.
“One hundred percent.” She looked thrilled for him, almost as thrilled as he felt.
“Good. Then I have a question to ask: Will you be my date this Friday?”
“Your date?” she repeated in a half whisper. She seemed stunned by his question, although how, he couldn’t begin to guess. It wasn’t like he’d been hiding his feelings from her.
Well, other than the whole “I need to figure out which I love more – you or children” discussion.
Okay, maybe she had every right to look surprised by his question.
“Yes. A date. With me. Out in public. Well, to be more specific, out at my brother’s house. Stetson and Jennifer are having a gender reveal party on Friday out at the farm. I want to take you as my date.”
Orrr…
On second thought, as he was telling his plan to Abby, he realized that perhaps she wouldn’t be as thrilled about this as he was. He was asking her to go from friends-with-occasional-benefits to dinner-party-with-family. Which even he knew was a Big Deal in the dating world. Not that he was super well-versed in such things, but he’d heard comments through the grapevine once or twice.
He was ratcheting up the level on their relationship by more than a couple of turns of the screwdriver. Or ratchet. He should probably keep his analogies straight.
He was mentally babbling like a buffoon.
Slowly, the smile grew on her face until it was going from ear to ear. “Yes. Yes, I would like that very much, Wyatt.”
He nodded once. “Good. See you at 5:30 on Friday? I’ll pick you up.” He didn’t miss the move from “Mr. Miller” to “Wyatt” that she’d just made. He decided that he never liked his first name as much as he did in that moment.
“Okay. Sounds good.” She sounded breathy and happy.
He grinned and walked out the door. That was a very fine start to their Friday date, if he did say so himself.
Chapter 39
Wyatt
He walked into Happy Petals, the little bell over the door announcing his arrival. Carla came bustling in from the back, a big smile on her face when she saw him. “Hey Wyatt, long time no see,” she said, coming around the counter and giving him a hug. “What’re you doing here?”
She’d graduated a couple of years after him – probably in the same class as Abby, actually – but she’d always been friendly to him. She was the huggy sort who loved turquoise and cats, and not necessarily in that order. The shop cat came out with her, twining herself around his legs, and Wyatt leaned down for a moment to pet her, grateful he’d left Maggie Mae at home for once. He really didn’t want her chasing a cat around a floral shop, knocking knick-knacks over. That could be a little more fun than he was really up for.
“I…have a date this evening. With a woman.” He had no idea why he felt compelled to say that last part. “Abby Connelly,” he clarified.
“Oh, I love Abby!” Carla said with a huge smile. Of course she did. She loved everyone, he was pretty sure of it. And the thing was, she was somehow genuine in that. It was the darnedest thing.
“Well, I wanted to bring flowers over when I went to pick her up. Do you have a bouquet I could buy?”
He knew he was in over his head and the water was about to swallow him alive, but thankfully, Carla didn’t ask him a single question, like, “What kind of flower?” but instead brought him over to a case.
“Here’s what I have on hand. This one right here is something that I think Abby would like,” she said, pointing at a bouquet of pretty flowers. They were lots of different colors and it was a big bouquet.
“Perfect!” he said a little too loudly, but she just smiled at him, pulled the vase out, and rang him up, wishing him luck on his date.
He left, sucking in a huge breath of relief. Flowers were bought; now it was time to shower and shave.
Tonight was going to be awesome.
Dammit.
He turned back around and walked straight back into Carla’s shop. “Carla, I forgot – I need a second bouquet of flowers.” He couldn’t arrive empty-handed to the party tonight, and he wasn’t about to go onesie shopping over at Frank’s Farm & Feed. He also wasn’t about to bring alcohol with him.
She grinned up at him, her eyes twinkling from behind her turquoise glasses. “For Jennifer?” she guessed.
“Damn, you’re good,” he said admiringly.
“Only because your brother has been having me deliver flowers once a month to your sister-in-law, to celebrate another month in her pregnancy. Are you taking Abby to the gender reveal party tonight?”
Wyatt tugged on his collar. How did women do it? It was like they were connected to the hive mind or something. “Yeah,” he admitted.
“Well good. For Jennifer, your brother has been sending roses and Calla lilies, so I’d suggest that you do something a little less formal since you’re a brother-in-law, not her husband.”
Wyatt choked. “That’s true,” he got out. He liked Jennifer and all, and she sure was a step up for his brother, but marry her?
Oh hell no. She didn’t have all of the curves in the right places like Abby. She was too short. She didn’t have Abby’s loud laugh. She didn�
�t love horses with every fiber of her being. She didn’t have a cross-eyed cat named Jasmine.
No, Jennifer wasn’t for him.
It looked like the one he’d just bought for Abby, what with it being all colorful and flowery and shit, but a little bit smaller. “Is that what you had in mind?” she asked.
“Perfect,” he said. She really was good at her job.
Which was good for him.
He walked out into the pale winter sunshine that was struggling to come through high, thin clouds, and whistled a nameless tune to himself.
It was going to be a damn good evening.
Chapter 40
Abby
The doorbell rang, and she hurried over to answer it, smoothing at her dress as she went. She’d spent a lot of time curling her hair and putting on makeup, and was even wearing a dress, which she never did. But a date with Wyatt? Totally worth it.
She opened the door and her heart leapt into her throat. There was Wyatt, holding the most gorgeous bouquet of roses, daisies, and carnations that she’d ever seen. But more than the riot of color in his hands was him.
Handsome him.
Drop-dead gorgeous him.
She stared at him, the door open and letting arctic air into the house, but not giving a damn. Her eyes slowly swept from the brim of his stetson, down over his broad shoulders encased in a thick winter jacket, down to his Wranglers and boots. He’d shaved, and all she wanted to do was explore those cheekbones to see if his skin was as silky smooth as it looked.
He was skimming down over her body too, and he finished his perusal by locking eyes with her, hot with lust. “Hey,” he finally got out.
“Hi!” she blurted out, his words spurring her into action. “Sorry, just standing here letting out all the warm air. Let me grab my jacket.”
She grabbed her scarf and coat from the hall closet and wrapped herself up in it, then turned back towards him. His arms were still full with the oversized bouquet.
“Oh, the flowers!” she said, blushing and taking them from him. She buried her nose into their depths and breathed in deep. They smelled amazing.
She set them down on the end table in her living room and with one last regretful look back – she hated leaving such beautiful things behind – she walked out into the twilight air. The sun, hiding behind the mountains to the west, still lit up the sky in a hazy way. Pale streaks of gold and pink filtered out. It’d be dark soon.
“Smart thinking on the boots,” he said, nodding down towards her footwear. She was wearing knee-high boots that were classy but still ice-and-snow ready. In Sawyer, Idaho, there wasn’t much use for high heels.
“Thanks. I thought about wearing my police officer boots, but figured it’d clash with my dress.”
He laughed. “I think I would’ve paid good money to see you in army boots and that beautiful dress.”
He thinks my dress is beautiful.
She grinned at him. “You’re just going to have to keep your money, then, because I don’t plan on doing that any time soon.”
He opened up the passenger side door for her, and helped her get in. “Can you hold these flowers for me?” he asked, handing her a bouquet that’d been on the floor. “They’re for Jennifer.”
“Sure,” she said, happily breathing in the scents from it. It wasn’t quite as full or gorgeous as the bouquet he’d bought her, but she knew Jennifer would love them anyway. She’d met Jennifer a few times around town, and had always liked the petite, friendly woman. Although she was from Boise, she didn’t turn up her nose at Sawyer, or at least didn’t show it if she did.
“So anything exciting happening at the sheriff’s office lately?” Wyatt asked as he began pulling out of her circular driveway.
“Not unless you count Mr. Burgemeister’s dog treeing Mrs. Willow’s cat for the fourteenth time,” Abby said dryly. “The fire department had to bring their truck down to get up into the branches, although if you ask me, I think the boys just wanted to get their new shiny toy out and play with it.”
The Long Valley Fire Department had just purchased a new fire engine using money from local fundraisers that was matched by the state of Idaho. Abby was pretty sure the fire department would take their new engine out for a joyride around town if they thought they could get away with it.
“Yeah, I heard they’re pretty in love with it,” Wyatt said with a grin. “Every guy in town wants to drive it, but strangely enough, the fire chief isn’t allowing that.”
“Strange,” Abby said, laughing. They grinned at each other for a moment, sparks flying between them. He leaned over and picked up her hand. Warm and strong, his hand sent sparks through her. She realized after all they’d done together – slept together in his cell at the jail, had sex at his house, kissed at Adam’s place – they’d never held hands.
It shouldn’t surprise her that they were doing things so backwards. She and Wyatt had never done things in the “proper” order – why would they start now?
“A penny for your thoughts,” he said, stroking his thumb over her knuckles.
“I was just thinking that after all we’ve done, we’ve never held hands,” she said softly, smiling at him.
“There’s lots of things we haven’t done yet,” he said, picking up her hand and bringing it to his mouth. “We haven’t had sex outside yet. We haven’t—”
“Sex outside?!” she interrupted, laughing. “It’s like two degrees out there right now!”
“I didn’t say we’d fix that lack in our sex life tonight,” he said, grinning. “But if you’re up for it, I can think of a couple of other things that we could do tonight that are indoors.”
“Oh really?” she asked, breathless. It was funny – she hadn’t been running, of course, but it felt like it.
He heard that in her voice; she knew he did because his dropped lower. “I’d been thinking that I hadn’t sucked on your toes and given them the attention that they deserved. Did you know that you have the most adorable toes I’ve ever seen?”
“I do?” This time, her voice ended on a squeak, and he began laughing.
“As a matter of fact, you do,” he said. His voice was deep and rumbling and she felt it all the way down to the aforementioned toes.
“Oh,” she got out. They finally arrived at the Miller farm, saving her from making any further nonsensical replies.
Which she was grateful for, on one hand, but it also meant that he wasn’t saying anything that would inspire nonsensical replies. Which she wasn’t quite as grateful about.
Wyatt helped her out of the truck and, tucking her arm into his, they made their way up the sidewalk. Before they reached the front door, though, it swung wide open.
“Hello!” Declan said, the bright welcoming light streaming out from behind him. He and Wyatt shook hands, and then Declan gave her a warm hug. “How are you? I’m so glad you came.”
They chatted as they removed coats and then moved through the house to the crowded kitchen, where Carmelita was in full form, whipping up what appeared to be enchiladas, homemade chips and salsa, and enough finger foods to feed a small army. Abby smiled at the older lady. She hadn’t spent a lot of time around her, but knew she was a magician in the kitchen, and that she loved Stetson like her own.
Especially that second fact endeared her to Abby. None of the Miller boys had had it easy growing up, but she figured Stetson losing his mom when he was only twelve had it the worst of all.
“Hi!” Jennifer came around the corner, a huge smile on her face, her belly bulging out in front of her like she’d swallowed a volleyball for breakfast. On such a petite woman, the bump was even more noticeable. Abby figured she had to be the most adorable pregnant woman she’d ever laid eyes on. “Welcome to this madhouse!”
Abby held the flowers out to her and Jennifer took them with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “And welcome to the family,” she whispered into her ear.
Abby pulled back, blushing. Jennifer just buried her face in the flowers, smelling the
m and smiling. “I don’t mean to freak you out,” she whispered conspiratorially, “but I have it from the best source out there that the last person Wyatt brought home to meet the family was Shelly.”
Abby blushed harder. “We’re not exactly to that point yet,” she whispered back.
“The Miller boys move fast,” Jennifer said confidently. “If they like something they see, they don’t sit around and wait. They jump on it.”
Abby laughed hard at that one. The rumor around town was, Stetson had only known Jennifer for a week before he’d proposed to her. No, the Miller boys didn’t exactly let the grass grow under their feet.
“Come on, let me find a jar to put this bouquet into.” Jennifer grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the kitchen and down the hallway. “It’s best to leave Carmelita alone right now,” she said in a low voice. “She’s been working on this party for the last two weeks and at this point, I think staying in the kitchen for more than five minutes at a time is risking death by butcher knife.”
Abby threw back her head and laughed.
Yeah, spending time with the Miller family wasn’t going to be hard to do at all.
Chapter 41
Wyatt
It seemed like as soon as they arrived, Abby was being whisked off by Jennifer to go do…something. He hadn’t really caught what, but he figured that it was good to leave them to it. He could totally mix and mingle with the fine citizens of Long Valley on his own.
He didn’t exactly look forward to it, but he could do it.
“Want a lemonade or something?” Declan asked, appearing suddenly at his elbow.
Declan. He latched onto him. Here was someone he could hang out and talk to. “Sure,” he said with an overly bright smile.
“Be right back,” Declan said, disappearing into the crowd.
