Fated for Love

by Melissa Foster

  “Hey.” Chip brought his horse to a stop beside Wes. “How’d the interviews go?”

  “They were all shit.” Wes ran his hand through his hair and looked off into the woods toward the boulder where he’d taken Callie the first night she was there. Damn, he wished he were on his way home to see her.

  “Come on, Wes. You can’t knock down everyone.” Chip shook his head.

  Sweets barked repeatedly.

  “I’m not.” When did Sweets become a barker? He slapped his thigh. “Sweets. Here.”

  Sweets came to his side and plopped down beside him. With her tail wagging and her butt wiggling, she looked like a spring ready to launch.

  Wes continued. “Look, we got a few years out of Ray, and we knew him before we started. If we hire someone we don’t know, we could train them, then lose them in a year or two, or whatever. I think we need to reconsider Cutter.”

  “Cutter?” Chip took off his hat and wiped his brow with his forearm. “You’re an ass. You dismissed him from the get-go, remember? You said he was too vital to the ranch’s everyday needs.”

  “He is.” He clenched his jaw. “Damn it. This is a pain in the ass. Cutter handles the budgets, the inventory, and the barn. He manages the ranch hands and sees to the animals with meticulous care. I’m not sure how we’ll fill his position, but he’s reliable and respectful, and the guests love him. The truth is, he deserves this promotion. It was shortsighted of me not to see that. I think we’re better off trying him out and then filling his position.”

  “About fucking time. Why the change of heart?” Chip set his eyes on Wes’s.

  “Truth?”

  “No. Lie to me.” Chip shook his head.

  “I trust him explicitly. He’s the best damn barn manager we could have. He’s organized as shit. He’s in the barn office right now, going over inventory spreadsheets and all sorts of shit that I can’t even think about. Moving him up means getting new blood in that position, and that sucks.”

  Chip laughed. “Your fear of paperwork never ceases to amaze me.”

  He wasn’t about to admit to Chip that in addition to his aversion to paperwork, he’d been jealous of Cutter and he had let that jealousy cloud his decision these last few days. Nor did he tell him that with a single look, Cutter had understood that his sights were set on Callie, and without question, Cutter had respected Wes enough to back off. That was more than the mark of a smart employee. It was a mark of a good friend. What kind of a friend doesn’t promote a guy who more than deserves it?

  “You’re not just doing this so you can take off tonight and see Callie, are you?”

  “Nope. I’m taking off and seeing Callie whether we promote him or not. I’ll send Cutter and Butch on the trip if I have to.” Wes hadn’t made a conscious decision until that very second, and now he felt as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

  “When were you going to clue me in on that change?” Chip asked.

  Wes smiled at the prospect of leaving tonight. “I didn’t even realize I was thinking about it until just now. You have a problem with it?”

  “No, man. I don’t. It’s about time you did something besides work.” Chip lifted his chin toward Wes’s cabin. “I’m glad Em made it up for a few days.”

  “Yeah. She needed a break. I’ll go talk to Cutter after I touch base with her; then I’m out of here.” Wes patted the horse, which brought Sweets to her feet again. She trotted back and forth beside them before following Wes up the hill toward the cabin.

  He found Emily reading on the deck. She crouched to pet and love up Sweets, who wiggled with delight and lavished her face with kisses.

  “She’s so adorable. She almost makes me want one.” Emily rose to her feet, and Sweets tried to climb up her legs. She was about as big around as a sapling, and in her shorts and sweatshirt, she looked more like she was twenty-five than thirty-one.

  “Sweets.” Wes patted his thigh again, and Sweets hesitated, looking up at Emily with her big, sad eyes one last time before coming to his side.

  “I don’t know why you ever come back to Trusty. If I worked here, I’d stay twenty-four seven.” Emily set her book down on the chair and hooked her thumbs in her pockets.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind if I take off soon?” Wes asked. He hadn’t bothered to tell Emily about the last-minute booking and the trip he was supposed to go on, and now he was glad he hadn’t. It alleviated the need for a complicated explanation.

  “Oh God, no. Go see your precious new girlfriend. I love it out here with no phone or Internet. It’s the only way for me to get away from work.” She lowered herself into a chair, and Wes did the same.

  “You can get both Internet and phone in the lodge.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes. “Shh. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. I like not being available for a whole forty-eight hours. Don’t you?”

  Sweets sat between his legs and he reached down and stroked her head. “I used to, but now? Not really.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “You know, out of all of my brothers, I was sure Ross would be the first to fall in love, and I always thought I would before any of you.” She sighed. “But here you are creating fairy tales and dying to get home to see your girlfriend, and here I am, the same single girl as always.” She flopped back in her chair and groaned.

  “Well, you may be the same single girl as always, but…” Wes withdrew an envelope from his back pocket. “Now you can be the single girl who has seen the Poppi Castle.”

  Emily gasped and snagged the envelope from his hands. “What?” She tore it open. Emily was a year younger than Wes, and they’d always been close. Seeing her jaw agape as she read the confirmation paperwork for the trip he’d arranged made him smile. “Wes. My God, I can’t accept this.”

  “You can, and you will.”

  She shook her head, as if clearing her vision. “You have to be kidding. I arranged for a day of pampering and some dresses, for God’s sake. You’re sending me to Italy? That’s huge.”

  “What you did for me was huge.” He rose to his feet, and Sweets followed. She ran to Emily for a quick head pet and snout kiss, then returned to Wes’s side.

  “Wes…”

  “Hey, I’m your older brother. You can’t win. Stand up and give me a hug and say thank you.” He opened his arms and she walked into them.

  “Thank you so much. I could have booked my own trip.” Emily, as well as each of their siblings, had large trust funds that had been passed down for generations. But like Wes and their other siblings, Emily wasn’t one to dip into it for whimsical purposes. He’d noticed that Emily had been a little down lately, which wasn’t like her, and even so, she was always willing to pitch in for Wes or any of their siblings. The extravagant trip paled in comparison to years and years of her doing whatever anyone ever asked of her.

  “Yes, but you haven’t, and you won’t, so just enjoy it. Besides, how long have you been talking about that villa you want to see?”

  She ran her hand through her straight hair and pushed it over her shoulder with a dreamy sigh. “The one Gabriela Bocelli built. It’s a dream come true. Thank you.”

  He pointed at her. “I don’t want to hear that you can’t take off work to go.”

  “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She hugged him again. “What time are you leaving?”

  “Ten minutes. I’m going to talk to Cutter; then I’m heading back to Trusty. You sure you’re okay here alone?” Emily was tough as nails despite her slight figure. He knew she’d be fine.

  She waved him off and settled into her chair, reading over the confirmation document again. “You know I’m fine. Besides, if I need anything, Cutter’s here.”

  Cutter. Wes felt like an ass for waiting so long before seeing the light where Cutter was concerned. “Hey, there’s a guy for you.” He was only half kidding.

  “He’s like a brother to me, not a real guy.” Emily put the paper back in the envelope and pressed it
to her chest.

  “Not a real guy? I’ll have to remember that when the guests are drooling all over him. Make yourself at home and just lock up when you leave. Hey, Em, I really appreciate all of your help.”

  “I know you do. It was fun for me, believe it or not. I can’t wait to meet Callie this weekend at Luke’s.”

  “You’ll love her.” He gave Emily another hug; then he and Sweets headed down to the barn to talk to Cutter.

  BY THE TIME Callie left work, she felt like she had a devil on one shoulder whispering, He’s staying another night. Who’s he with? And an angel on the other side screaming, It’s Wes, for heaven’s sake. What are you thinking? She was exhausted, confused, and so in love with Wes that she wanted to drive up the mountain to The Woodlands and fall into his arms so he could dispel her worries. Of course, if her worries were valid, then she’d be driving right back down the mountain with even more tears.

  She pulled over in front of the diner with the intention of picking up an entire chocolate pie to consume by herself. Her cell phone rang, and Bonnie’s name flashed on the screen. Callie glanced through the diner window and saw Margie talking with a customer at the counter. If she went inside, Margie would probably ask about Wes, and Callie wasn’t sure she could talk about him without bawling—so she threw the car into drive, pulled back onto Main Street, and answered Bonnie’s call on speakerphone.

  “Hi, Bon.”

  “Hey. You sound awful. Are you okay?”

  Fricking dandy. “Yeah, just tired.”

  “Oh, well, with a guy like Wes, it’s worth every sleepy moment, I’m sure. Hey, did you see the pics?” Bonnie sounded happy, and for some stupid reason, that made Callie even sadder.

  “I couldn’t look at work. I’ll see them when I get home.” She pulled around the corner and down the street, then turned into the parking lot of her apartment complex with a heavy heart.

  “Are you seeing Wes tonight? Kath told me how upset you were on the way home. She said you didn’t say two words.”

  How could she answer? Kathie was right. She’d remained silent the whole way home for fear of sobbing so hard she’d flood the truck.

  “Cal? Why aren’t you gushing over seeing him?”

  She parked and turned off her car and headed upstairs to her apartment with the phone against her ear.

  “Callie Jo Barnes, if you don’t answer me, I’ll climb through this phone and I’ll drag it out of you.”

  She pictured Bonnie’s brows furrowed and her lips pinched tightly together. She stepped inside her apartment, and when she saw her still-packed bag on the couch to her right and the yellow gown lying over her reading chair, she couldn’t stifle the sharp inhalation that followed.

  “Cal? Come on, hon. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  The compassion in Bonnie’s voice pulled Callie from her stupor. “Oh, Bonnie. I’m so messed up.”

  “Why?”

  “I went back into the lodge to say goodbye to Wes, and he wasn’t expecting me. He was on the phone, and…” She pressed the heel of her hand to her tear-filled eyes.

  “Callie, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

  Callie drew in one deep breath after another and sank onto the couch. “I heard him talking to someone about coming down for the night and how he had a surprise for them. He even…” She clenched her eyes shut to try to stop the relentless tears from tumbling down her cheeks. “He…he said, I love you.”

  “And? Who was he talking to?”

  Bonnie sounded calm and rational, which only made Callie feel worse because she knew if she hadn’t been living in some fantasy world fueled by love over the past few days, she would have asked him about the phone call instead of torturing herself. Even if the answer might have crushed her, she normally wasn’t someone who avoided the truth. But then again, her emotions were all-consuming right now.

  “I didn’t ask. I just left.” She wiped her eyes and went to the kitchen and opened the freezer.

  “Why not, Callie? You can’t seriously think he has some other girl in his life after everything he did this weekend.”

  Callie pulled a quart of strawberry cheesecake ice cream from the freezer and snagged a spoon from the drawer, then returned to the couch, where she kicked off her heels and hunkered down beneath a blanket.

  “Of course not.” She shoved a spoonful of frozen comfort into her mouth and closed her eyes against the shock of cold. “I don’t think so, but…”

  “Oh, Callie.” Her name sounded like an embrace. “Callie, Callie, Callie. What are you eating?”

  Callie dropped her eyes to the ice cream carton. “Strawberry cheesecake.”

  “Good. At least you have something worth the calories. Now listen to me, hon. You need to talk to Wes. You know there’s a good explanation for this.”

  She shoved more ice cream into her mouth. “I know there’s a good explanation! That’s why I’m having such a hard time.” She swallowed the mouthful of ice cream. “Oh, brain freeze!” She clenched her eyes shut until the pain subsided. “Sorry.”

  “Why haven’t you called him?”

  “I did. But his cell doesn’t work there, remember? And he said he’s staying another night, so that made me worry even more.” Callie shoveled more ice cream into her mouth and tried to talk around it. “You know…” She swallowed the ice cream. “I’m not like this.”

  “I know, Cal. Listen. Set your ice cream down long enough to pick up your laptop. Let’s look at some of the pictures. Maybe that’ll knock some sense into you.”

  Callie reached for her laptop, knocked over the ice cream carton, and spilled pink ice cream onto her lap. “Darn it. I spilled the ice cream everywhere.” With one hand, she scooped the ice cream from her lap back into the container.

  “I told you to put it down.”

  “Whatever. At the moment it’s my security blanket, okay? And I’m not giving it up.” Her dress was ruined. She pulled it over her head and brought it into the bathroom, where she set it on the sink. Then she washed her hands, pressing the phone to her ear with her shoulder. “That stupid dress was ugly anyway.” She went to her bedroom wearing her bra and underwear and threw on a T-shirt; then she climbed back onto the couch and put the ice cream container on her lap again.

  “Are you all cleaned up?” Bonnie asked.

  “Sort of. Okay, my laptop is open, and the ice cream is secure.” She ate a spoonful.

  “I thought you spilled it.”

  “I did. But I scooped it off my lap and tossed it back in the container.”

  “Oh, Cal. You’re in bad shape. Want me to drive over to your place? I can be there in—”

  “No. I’m fine.” She shoveled ice cream onto her spoon and clicked on the pictures. Wes’s handsome face lit up the screen, and all her emotions tumbled forward again. She suppressed the urge to cry at the ache in her heart. In the picture, he was standing before her in his princely clothing with one hand outstretched. Callie’s hand went to her heart, tilting the spoon and spilling the ice cream onto her shirt. Mesmerized by the slide show as it displayed one loving picture after another, she felt her heart swell. There were pictures of her and Wes hugging and kissing in various places throughout the ranch and profile shots of Wes gazing at Callie, his sensuous dark eyes filled with love. How could I ever doubt you?

  “Are you still there?” Bonnie asked.

  “Yeah.” It came out as one long whisper as the pictures changed from frame to frame. “Bonnie, these are…Oh my God. You took pictures when we rode the horse up the trail together?”

  “Girl, you were in your own little world. There are hundreds of pictures on that slide show, and you didn’t even know about half of them. But let’s focus on the important issue here. Do you really think Wes would cheat on you? I have always believed that we should trust our gut instincts, even if we don’t want to, but this? Callie, I cannot believe this.”

  Callie shook her head.

  “Callie?”

  “Yeah?”
Another whisper. She pulled the laptop onto the couch beside her and noticed the melting glob of ice cream on her shirt. She used the spoon to put it back in the container, then set it on the coffee table.

  “Cal, do you really think he’d do that?”

  No. “Aw.” A picture of Wes kissing Sweets appeared on her screen.

  “Callie!”

  Callie startled. “What? Sorry.”

  “Listen to me. Do you think that he would hurt you like that?” Bonnie’s tone was serious.

  “No. That’s the problem. I don’t. There’s no way he could fake the love in his eyes or his voice. Or his touch, for that matter.” She pointed to a picture of Wes on the computer. “Look.”

  “Oh my God. You really are messed up. You’re the one friend I have who never spaces out, and you are totally spacing here, Cal.”

  “Sorry.” She paused the slide show. “I’m sorry. You know what, Bon? I needed this so badly. I definitely don’t think he’d cheat on me. Thank you for making me see that.”

  Bonnie exhaled loudly. “I didn’t do anything, but I’m glad, and I hope you’re right.”

  “Oh my God, really? How can you say that?” She sank into the back of the couch.

  “No, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Callie looked down at her shirt. “Yeah, but my clothes have seen better days.”

  “Okay. Call if you need me, and, Cal, call him. Stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions.”

  Callie turned back to the computer and watched the slide show all the way through. Twice. She was already feeling much better and felt like a fool for worrying in the first place. Each time she watched it, she noticed something new, like the way Wes’s smile quirked up a little higher on the left side than the right and how in every picture where they were in close enough proximity, he was touching her. He had his hand on her hip or her lower back, or they were holding hands, or his arm was draped across her shoulders.