by Jennie Marts
What if they kicked her off the ranch before she ever had a chance to talk to Mason? What if they exposed her before she could even defend herself? And could she defend herself? What would she even say?
And what the heck was she going to do if they did reject her idea and refuse to let her write the article? She’d be back to the idea of selling drugs or running the spiked-lemonade stand with Mimi. Although hawking curbside margaritas sounded a lot easier than facing down Rockford and Mason James and telling them the truth.
But she’d face that hurdle when she came to it—one James brother at a time. Right now, she needed to muster her courage, hike up her big-girl panties, and come clean with one of Denver’s most notorious hockey players and his fiancée.
She stuffed her feet into her tennis shoes, and taking the notebook and Dewey with her, she headed up to the house in search of Rock and Quinn.
* * *
Mason sang along with the radio later that afternoon as he drove down the driveway of the Triple J.
He’d finished his business early and was excited to get back to Tess. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited about seeing a woman. Any woman.
But something about this woman had his palms sweating and his heart racing as if he were a teenager in love. And there was no denying that that’s what was happening.
He’d fallen head over heels in love with Tess. With a woman he’d just met and barely knew. Yet he felt like he did know her. Like he knew her heart. Especially after the things she’d shared with him the night before. Plus, they’d laughed and joked and gotten on as if they’d known each other a lot longer than just a few days.
They’d spent the majority of their time together over those few days, but instead of getting tired of her, he only wanted to spend more time with her. And get to know her better.
He’d gone out on dates before, and as much as he’d enjoyed the company of the women he’d taken to dinner or the movies, he’d never felt the deep desire or hunger for any of them that he felt with Tess. And he’d never been compelled to want them to stay for one night, let alone for several.
He pulled his truck into the Quonset hut and parked next to Tess’s car. They kept most of the ranch vehicles and tools in the large building that served as a garage and workshop.
He’d sent a ranch hand to retrieve Tess’s car the day before, but neither he nor Tess had been in the car since it had arrived. He peered through the windows as he passed and shook his head at the mess inside. The interior had to be stuffy. He should probably at least roll down the windows to air the car out. He opened the door and slid into the driver seat. The car smelled like stale bedding, wet dog, and the faint scent of vomit.
He glanced around the messy car. Tess had done the breakfast dishes this morning while he’d been in the shower. It might be a nice surprise if he cleaned her car.
It wouldn’t take him long, and he’d cleaned up much worse messes when he mucked out the stalls or assisted in the birth of a farm animal. Ranching was a messy business. Cleaning out this car would be a piece of cake and would hopefully bring a smile to Tess’s face.
And he was all about making her smile lately.
It only took him a few minutes to open all the doors and shake out the meager blanket. He pulled over the wet-dry vac and vacuumed the seat and the floor. The center console was full of crumbs, so he ran the vacuum hose over the plastic and inside the cup holders.
“Damn,” he cursed as the suction from the hose grabbed a length of lanyard that had been sticking up between the seats. He snatched the lanyard before the vacuum sucked it down. A laminated card was attached to the ribbon, and he caught his breath as he read the writing on the card. Bewildered, he turned it over in his hand.
It appeared to be a press pass.
And it belonged to Tess. Her name was clearly printed on the card.
Tessa Kane. Reporter. Colorado In-Depth magazine.
Tess was a reporter?
What the hell?
He peered between the seats, looking for something else, anything else, to prove that this was a mistake. Maybe the pass was old, from a former job.
A steno pad was stuffed between the console and the seat, and he pulled it free and flipped it open, quickly scanning the notes written there.
Bad Boy Bachelor Becomes a Bridegroom.
All the dirt I know on Rockford James.
He couldn’t believe it. His heart sank as he read each new word, each new damning piece of evidence that Tess was just like all the rest. That she’d been lying to him this whole damn time. Lying to him and using him. Using him to get to Rock.
He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Why?
Seriously? How the hell had he been fooled again? How had he let himself believe that Tessa cared about him, loved him even, just for himself? Why would she?
How could anyone be interested in him when Rock was around?
This was on her for using him, but it was also on him for letting her. He should never have let his guard down, never trusted her.
Because apparently he couldn’t trust anyone. Couldn’t just let himself believe that a woman could be into him and care less about who his brother was.
Letting out another string of curses, he grabbed the heartbreaking evidence and slammed the car doors shut. Leaving the wet vac where it lay, he marched toward the bunkhouse, his heart in shreds and his head pissed as hell.
Chapter 19
Mason slammed open the front door of the bunkhouse.
Tessa was curled into the corner of the sofa, and Dewey lay sprawled on the cushion by her feet. She looked up from the book she was reading, a welcoming smile on her face.
Her smile fell as her gaze traveled from his expression to the lanyard and notebook he held in his hand.
The look of utter devastation on her face almost caused him to back down. But was she devastated because he’d found out she was a reporter or because she was about to lose her connection to his brother?
He held up the items in his hand. “I thought I’d clean out your car as a surprise, but apparently the surprise is on me. You want to tell me about these?”
“Mason, I can explain.”
“Can you?”
Lord, please let her be able to explain all this away, he prayed. Let this all be a big mistake.
“I was going to tell you,” she said.
“That sounds like an excuse, not an explanation.”
She cringed.
He knew his words were sharp, but he didn’t care. “What were you going to tell me, Tess? That you’ve been lying to me since the moment I met you?”
“I haven’t lied about everything.”
“Really? Because it seems to me that you have. In fact, it seems like every single word out of your mouth has been a lie.”
“Let me explain.”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“It’s not? Because what I think is…” he said, as he threw the lanyard and notebook onto the coffee table in front of her, “that these are evidence that you were not fired from your job, but are still employed at Colorado In-Depth magazine, as a reporter. And if I recall correctly, you told me you were a writer.”
“I am a writer,” she whispered.
“Yes, you are a writer, just not one who’s working on a book. No, apparently you are working on a story about my brother. And you are currently looking for—How did you put it in your notes there?—all the dirt on Rockford James. And his gold-digging fiancée.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“You said that before. And it appears nothing with you is what I thought it was. I thought you were a nice girl who got stood up at my brother’s prewedding celebration, but that wasn’t true. I thought you were fun and sweet, that we had a real connection, and th
at you were sincere when you said you wanted to be my date for the weekend. But that wasn’t true either. Was that whole thing just another ploy to get closer to my brother?”
“No.”
He stared at her, drilling her with a steely glare.
She hung her head. “Sort of, I guess. Maybe a little, at first. But I also really liked you. I do like you.”
He held up a hand, acid churning in his stomach. “Save it. I don’t believe you. I don’t believe a single word you have to say.”
“Mason, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you.”
“So, tell me now.”
“It’s complicated. And I didn’t lie to you about everything. I did get fired from my job. I was a reporter for Colorado In-Depth, but I didn’t write the stories that they wanted to publish.” She averted her eyes and stared down at her tightly clasped hands. “I wasn’t good enough.”
Mason let out a huff. “So, you’re saying you’re the victim here?”
“No. I didn’t say that. I just meant that the magazine wanted tough, hard-hitting stories, and I wasn’t making the grade. My stories were apparently too nice, and my boss let me go. He fired me the same day I met you, right after I found out that I’d been stood up. I was still in the parking lot of the lodge, and I was getting ready to head back to Denver when he called me. Then it came out whose party I was attending, and he said I could keep my job if I got him the story on Rock and the dirt on why he was getting married so quickly.”
“So, what? You sought me out? Thought I would be a good patsy? Was that whole thing with the closet just a big setup?”
“No, of course not. That was all an accident. I didn’t even know who you were at first. And everything’s changed since then. What I have with you now doesn’t have anything to do with the story on Rock.”
“You don’t have anything with me,” Mason snapped, the words causing his throat to tighten. “But whatever is going on here seems to have everything to do with Rock.”
Tess scrubbed her hand over her face. “Could you please sit down? And stop interrupting me. Just let me tell you what happened. Please.”
He grudgingly sat on the edge of the sofa, but angled his body away from hers.
She blew out a sigh. “I told you that I live with my grandmother.”
“What does that have to do—?”
She held up her hand. “Let me finish. I’ve lived with my grandmother most of my life, and I love her dearly, but sometimes she doesn’t make the smartest decisions.”
He raised an eyebrow but kept silent.
“She really was a victim. She got involved in an online scam and thought she was helping a nice family in Nigeria, but really a fraud ring was helping themselves to all her money. They convinced her to send them cashier’s checks, then gained access to her bank accounts and wiped out her entire savings. Not only were her accounts wiped clean, but they’d given her fake checks to deposit so she was also then in debt to the bank. She was embarrassed and ashamed and didn’t tell me until she was so far behind in our bills and on the mortgage that she was in danger of losing the house. I came home early one day to find collection notices and unpaid bills spread across the kitchen table. She finally came clean with me, but it was too late. She was in too deep. I gave her everything I had. And I mean everything, every red cent. But it wasn’t enough.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “I’ve been looking for a second job, but jobs are scarce in the city right now. We were doing everything we could think of to raise money. I was working overtime and turning in extra articles, but like I said, they weren’t the kind of thing the magazine was looking for. But when my boss found out about the wedding, he said he’d give me one shot to save my job and would even throw in a bonus if I could get the real truth—which meant the dirt—on Rock and Quinn’s wedding. I told him this isn’t the type of story I write, but he was adamant, and the bonus alone would cover an entire delinquent mortgage payment. We need the money, and I can’t let my grandmother down. And at the time, I didn’t know Rock from a hole in the ground. What was I supposed to do?”
“You were supposed to tell me the truth. Not lie through your teeth and use me to get to my brother.”
“Yeah, right. My boss told me that Rock loathes reporters. The only way I was getting a story was if I could get him to talk to me without knowing I was one.”
“So, you used me to get to him. From the very first minute that I met you.” Mason rubbed a hand across his neck and tried to unclench his tightened jaw.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you. I didn’t care about you like I do now. I was wrong.”
“No, I was wrong. I was wrong for thinking that for once, I’d met someone who didn’t care anything about my famous brother. Who saw me just for me and didn’t give two shits about Rockford.”
“I do see you,” she whispered.
“Don’t,” he said through gritted teeth, feeling the vein pulsing in his forehead. “Don’t lie. Not anymore. You got what you wanted. You can go now.” His muscles jumped under his skin, and his stomach cramped at the thought of her leaving, but what else could he do? There was no way that he could ever trust her again.
“I don’t want to go.”
His nails bit into his skin as he tightened his hands into fists. He drew in a slow, steady breath, keeping his voice in a carefully controlled tone. “Well, I don’t want you to stay.”
“Mason, please. Can’t we talk about this?”
“What is there to talk about? You’ve been around Rock and Quinn enough times now that surely you’ve got enough dirt to write yourself a story. You got what you came for. You don’t need to pretend to care about me anymore.” The words burned his throat and left a sour taste in his mouth.
“I’m not pretending. I do care about you.”
“Last night you asked me to tell you about things that I hate, and I said things like bad drivers and itchy socks, but the thing I hate the most is being lied to. And I hate being used.”
“You also told me some things that you loved, or things you thought you were starting to love.”
He felt his heart thud painfully in his chest and was surprised to feel it beating it all. He’d thought it was completely broken. “I was wrong about that too.”
“I did lie about some stuff—about the article—but I wasn’t trying to use you. Especially not after I got to know you. And I’ve never lied about how I feel about you. We have something here. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Too late.”
She stared at her feet, then let out a long, low sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“I want to believe you. I want so badly to believe this is all a big misunderstanding, one awful mistake, and that you didn’t mean to lie. But it isn’t. You did lie, and you purposely wound your way into my life, into our lives, not because you cared about us, but because you wanted something from us. You wanted to use us, use me, to get what you needed. Well, you’ve got it now. So you can go. I want you to go.”
“I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone.” Her voice was thick, and her chin trembled as if she was going to cry. But she didn’t. She just nodded her head and stood up.
She took a shaky step away from him, then turned back as if she was going to say something else.
He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t take a chance he would get taken in again by the hurt in her eyes. No, it was better this way. Make a clean break.
She’d go back to Denver, and he’d go back to his life and try to forget about her. Try to pretend he’d never met her. Yeah right.
The dog gave his leg a tentative sniff, then jumped from the sofa and followed Tess as she turned and walked into his bedroom. The room where just the night before—hell, just that morning—they’d lain naked and tangled in the sheets, and he’d almost told her he loved her.
He’d tho
ught they had a chance at something good and honest. Something real.
But that chance was gone.
He sat where he was, his limbs too heavy to move, as he listened to her gather her things. She didn’t have much. Hell, most everything she’d been using, and wearing, was his. His shirts, his socks, his toothpaste, his shampoo, his favorite mug.
Even though she’d only been with him for a few days, she was already in every part of his life. And he knew that as much as he would try to forget, memories of her would haunt him even in the simplest things—like taking a shower or making coffee in the morning.
She came out of the bedroom, her shoes on and her bags slung over her shoulder. She stopped at the door and tried one more time to talk to him. “Mason—”
He cut her off with a shake of his head and a hard, glinty stare. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t get words to come out around the thick lump in his throat.
But she got the message. Her shoulders sagged as she turned away.
His body felt numb, disconnected, his heart in shreds, as he watched her walk out the door.
* * *
Tess pushed through the screen door, her legs leaden and her heart heavy with sorrow and regret. Dewey trotted along at her ankles.
Her car sat in the middle of the driveway. Mason must have had someone pull it around for her. She trudged toward it, her heart breaking further with each step she took away from Mason.
Her phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it from her bag, her breath catching in her throat as she glimpsed the screen.
Fifteen missed calls from Mimi.
Fifteen!
How could she have missed them?
She missed them because all her attention had been on Mason, trying to get him to talk to her and to persuade him not to hate her.
Her phone had been in her purse. She hadn’t bothered with it since she turned in the article. She hadn’t wanted the real world to intrude on the happiness she felt.
She’d talked to Rock and Quinn, told them the truth, and let them read the article she’d written. They’d both been angry at first—Rock especially was pissed. She knew they would be, but they’d spent a long time talking it through, and she’d repeatedly told them how sorry she was and how she wanted to make it up to them.
