by Amy Vastine
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” he said, wondering what the right idea truly was at this point.
“Kiss me, Tyler.”
How could he resist?
A pounding on the door disrupted Tyler’s well-earned sleep and dangerous dream. He rolled over and fell off the couch. He’d forgotten he wasn’t in a bed. The knocking persisted.
He shook off the fog of sleep. No one could know that he’d slept on the couch. He gathered up his blanket and pillow.
“Just a minute!”
Tyler tossed his bedding into the bedroom and shook Hadley awake. “Someone’s here. We have to get up.”
Hadley bolted upright. Confusion was quickly replaced by panic. “What time is it?”
Tyler had no idea. He scanned the room for a clock. His phone was still charging out in the other room. An alarm clock on the far nightstand read eight thirty.
“Way too early,” he grumbled. “Stay back here.”
He checked the sitting room for any signs he’d slept out there before opening the door. Katie smiled on the front porch.
“Good morning, sunshine!” She grinned, proving she was nothing but redheaded trouble.
“What are you doing here this early in the morning?”
“Early? I’ve been working for over an hour and it’s about time I got some help. We have fencing that needs fixing on the north side of the horse pasture.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
Katie tipped her hat back. “You’re here to help, right?”
“Not to fix fences. I’m here to fix the website and build a Facebook page. You must have me confused with Ethan. He can help you and Lochlan with the manual labor.” Tyler began to shut the door. Katie stuck her hand out to stop him.
“Listen, my dad is in Arizona visiting an old friend and finally getting some R & R. I’m in charge around here and Ethan is already up and helping. I thought your fiancée was here to handle the internet stuff. You, on the other hand, are a Blackwell. We need your muscle.”
“That’s pretty sexist for a female ranch hand,” Hadley said from behind him. She was wrapped up in a robe and had her hair pulled into a ponytail. Thoughts of her asking for a kiss crept back into Tyler’s consciousness. “What if I want to help with the fence?”
“Truthfully, I would be happy with either one of you. If you want to join me, you’re welcome to come.”
“Will I get to see the horses if I come?” Hadley asked.
“I’ll show you all of our horses if you help me out,” Katie promised.
Tyler was annoyed by Katie and impressed by Hadley. “Give us a few minutes to get ready,” he said, shutting the door in Katie’s smiling face.
“You don’t have to fix the fence. I can do it,” he said, following Hadley back to the bedroom. “Spending the morning with Katie wasn’t exactly how I imagined my first full day back, but I’m a little worried that with her dad gone, she’s got too much on her plate. If she’s asking for help, she must really need it.”
“Look at you putting someone else’s needs before your own. I like this side of you.” She pulled some jeans out of the dresser and yanked a shirt out of the closet. “But, you need to make a phone call, so I will help Katie with the fence.”
Hadley wasn’t about to let him forget about talking to Kellen. He had to admire her determination. “I’ll call Kellen first thing.”
“Perfect. I’m going to get ready so I can mend a fence,” she said, grinning from ear to ear and disappearing into the bathroom.
Tyler sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands down his face. Why was he dreaming about Hadley? Everything had been settled last night. The two of them were on the same page. Mutual trust had been established. Why would his subconscious try to ruin everything?
Throwing himself into work would help keep his focus where it should be. He had pictures to take, a website to build and a phone call to make. Hopefully, Kellen would be on board with Hadley’s promotion.
He moved back out to the sitting room and grabbed his phone off the side table. Resisting the urge to check all his emails, he dialed Kellen.
“Tyler, you’re supposed to be on vacation.” Kellen sounded like he’d been woken up. It was almost eight there, why wasn’t he on his way to the office? There was so much to do and Tyler trusted him to take care of all of it.
“I am on vacation.”
“Why are you calling me? People on vacation do not call their business partners.”
He wanted to point out that when one partner was on vacation, the other one should perhaps work a little harder. Lucky for Hadley, Tyler remembered his true reason for calling. He couldn’t risk getting Kellen angry if he wanted him to agree to the job changes.
“I forgot to mention to you before I left that I feel Hadley should take over as brand strategist when I return. Eric is a great kid, but he’d be better suited for a less challenging position, one that suits his skill set.”
Kellen was quiet on the other end. Tyler feared he’d hung up until he spoke. “Eric needs some time to adjust. He’s learning and he likes what he’s doing. I’m not going to fire him.”
“I didn’t say fire. I implied reassign.”
“You want me to demote him before we give him a chance to shine.” Kellen was overprotective of his sister’s son. That made him a good uncle but a terrible businessman.
“We can’t afford to keep him where he’s at. There will be repercussions if we drag this out much longer. Plus, Hadley would need no time to acclimate to the job. She’d be ready to go day one.”
“What we can’t afford is to pay Hadley to be brand strategist. She’s great, but I made a commitment to Eric. I’ll work with him. Get him up to par before your return.”
“Kellen.” Tyler needed be more persuasive, but Hadley came out of the bedroom in her tight jeans and T-shirt knotted at her hip. Her hair was pulled into two braids that hung over her shoulders.
“Am I dressed right for the job?” she asked before noticing he was on the phone. She smacked a hand over her mouth.
“Was that Hadley?” Kellen asked. As far as everyone in the office was concerned, Tyler was on vacation visiting family and Hadley had taken over one of his California projects while he was gone. No one at 2K knew they were together.
“Hadley? Of course not. Why would Hadley be in Montana with me? That was my ranch hand. I have to go fix a fence so the cattle don’t get loose in the mountains.”
“Sorry, I guess I had Hadley on the brain,” Kellen said. “I’ll let you get back to your vacation.”
“I’ll talk to you later.” Tyler couldn’t argue about the job in front of Hadley. If she knew Kellen had shot down the idea, she’d reconsider helping him out.
“Was that Kellen?” The expectant look on Hadley’s face tightened the knot in his shoulders.
“It was. We’re all set. When we get back, you’ll have a promotion.”
Hadley threw her fists in the air. “Yes! Thank you, Ty. I appreciate you talking to him today. I promise to do everything I can to keep your secret.”
She was so happy. It made him feel amazing and terrible at the same time. He hadn’t planned to lie. It just came out like the lie about being engaged. This one would hopefully be untrue only until the next time he talked to Kellen and argued his point a little longer.
“You better get out there. Katie’s probably champing at the bit to get to work.”
* * *
HADLEY WAS THRILLED. Everything had worked out in her favor. All she had to do was smile and play Tyler’s wife-to-be. Without the doubt that Tyler wouldn’t come through with the job, she could stay focused on the present instead of the future.
“I have to admit, I was a little surprised you offered to get your hands dirty,” Katie said as they drove her pickup truck to the broken section o
f the fence.
“I figured I might as well enjoy the whole experience while I’m here. I also love horses. I’ve been waiting to meet them.”
Katie’s brow furrowed. “Really? Ethan told me he got the impression you were a city girl through and through.”
That was the impression she had wanted to give. Hadley was a little surprised that Ethan had already shared that with Katie.
“I am, but a city girl can love horses. Can’t she?”
Katie mulled that over for a second. “I don’t see why not.”
Fixing the fence wasn’t as labor intensive as Hadley had imagined. Katie did most of the work while Hadley basically held things in place. The two women loaded the tools back into the truck. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky today and things were heating up. Hadley wiped the sweat from her brow.
“It’s supposed to be in the mideighties today. You need a hat or you’re going to be red as a strawberry later tonight,” Katie said, flicking the front of her cowboy hat.
“I didn’t bring a hat like that. Portland girls wear beanies.”
“Beanies?”
“You know, a knit hat. A beanie.”
Katie’s freckled nose scrunched up like she’d smelled something bad. “Yeah, we don’t wear those unless it’s snowing. Even then, we wear one of these,” she said, pointing to her cowboy hat.
“I’ll have to go into town and get me one of those. It will be a fun souvenir to take home.”
“I wonder what Tyler did with all of his hats. That boy used to live in cowboy hats.” Katie made her way around the driver’s side of the truck and hopped in.
Hadley climbed in the other side. Katie was full of interesting information. “Really? I can’t picture him like that. He’s so suit and tie.”
“Tyler used to be all cowboy. Before his parents died, he used to tell everyone he was going to run this place. Of course, most people assumed it would be Jon.”
“Jon was their dad’s favorite, so that makes sense.”
Katie started the truck up but didn’t put it into Drive. She rolled down her window. “Is that what Tyler told you?”
“Of course he did. He thinks all his brothers were someone’s favorite. Except for him. He was no one’s favorite apparently.”
Shaking her head, Katie laughed. “The Blackwell boys compete over everything. Even who loves who the most, I guess.”
“They are a unique crew. Must have been fun growing up with them. Tyler said he thinks of you like a little sister.”
“Annoying little sister, I bet.”
Hadley held her hands up in defense. “I didn’t say that.”
“I know Tyler well enough.”
“The stories you could tell.” Hadley didn’t know why she was so curious. Maybe it was because he had been unwilling to share much about himself after she unloaded everything there was to know about herself.
“Oh, I could tell you things that would entertain you for hours, but get me in a world of trouble with Tyler.”
“Tell me one thing. Something you don’t think I know about him.” Which was pretty much anything. Something told Hadley the Tyler she did know wasn’t the same one Katie grew up with.
“Tyler was famous for taking off and being gone for hours. He used to roam this ranch from one end to the other. When he was a teenager, I can remember Big E calling my dad more than once and asking him to go looking for him. Ty would take a horse out on his own and disappear all day. It drove his grandpa and his brothers nuts.”
Tyler was a wanderer? That was not the Tyler that Hadley knew. Her Tyler was in the office all the time. In fact, he probably went in on the weekends. Enjoying the great outdoors didn’t seem like his thing at all. It was part of the reason she offered to help Katie this morning. Tyler had seemed less than pleased with the idea of working outside.
“It’s hard to imagine him like that. He’s very controlled and a bit of a workaholic,” Hadley shared.
“Ben was the one I figured would love working in a corner office overlooking a big city and wearing fancy suits. No one would have guessed Ben would show up here, fall in love with the girl next door and settle down in Falcon Creek. When Tyler left, he said he’d never be back, but I thought for sure he’d miss this land. He’s the one I imagined running this place.”
That was definitely not the Tyler that Hadley knew. Her boss wanted nothing more than to finish his business here and go back to Portland.
Katie pulled the truck up to the horse barn, where the guests came to meet up for the various riding activities the ranch had planned every day. Ethan led a horse out of the barn.
“Looks like I’m stuck with Ethan, though. Ready to meet the horses?” Katie asked.
Hadley couldn’t wait. She loved horses as a kid. Her mom had let her take riding lessons for a couple of years before she went to high school and all of her after-school time had been filled with sports and Future Business Leaders of America club meetings.
“Good morning!” Ethan greeted them. “Where’s Ty?”
“Most likely redesigning the website,” Hadley said. “He’s very determined to get things done so we can focus on planning our wedding.”
Ethan adjusted the baseball hat on his head. “Grace and I keep saying we need to do that, too. It’s not easy when we have so many other things on our plate. I don’t think we even talked weddings last night at dinner. Have you two picked a date?”
“I’d like to get married next spring. It’s my favorite time of the year.”
“Big wedding or small?” Katie asked.
Hadley had no reason not to dream big since this was all a fantasy anyways. “Oh, I want a big wedding with all our family and friends. I want to be a princess for an entire day. Big dress, lots of flowers, a party to remember. Tyler said I can have anything I want. He’s been so supportive of all my crazy ideas.”
“Tyler would want the biggest and the best. He’d want to make sure he outshined the rest of us,” Ethan said, opening the gate to the paddock. “We’ve got our adult group going out for a ride in a few minutes. They get a little cattle clinic, as well. You want to join?”
Hadley couldn’t say yes fast enough. She wasn’t so sure about the cattle working, but she was all about going horseback riding. “I used to ride when I was younger. I loved it.”
“You did?” Ethan seemed as surprised as Katie had. “Miss City Girl used to ride?”
“Well, not to wrangle cattle. I used to do English riding. Very civilized.”
“That makes more sense,” he said with a nod. “We’re going to make a Western rider out of you over the next couple weeks. You know, we do a rodeo with the guests on Saturdays. We let them show off what they’ve learned. Maybe we can get you into an event.”
“That sounds like fun.” Something to look forward to. Maybe being here wouldn’t be so bad.
“This lady needs a hat and some sunscreen before she heads out otherwise she’s going to be so sunburned, she won’t be able to do anything the rest of her visit,” Katie said. “Here, take my hat and I’ll grab another one later.”
“Thanks,” Hadley replied, taking the hat and trying it on. “Do I fit in now?”
Ethan was quick to answer. “It’s like you were born to wear a cowboy hat. I don’t know, Hadley. I think we might convince you to stay after all.”
Shoot. That wasn’t the plan. Was she enjoying this too much? “Don’t get your hopes up, Ethan. I can probably convince Tyler to visit more often, but moving back here is never going to happen.”
“Never say never,” he said with a wink. “I learned that the hard way.”
CHAPTER NINE
TYLER WASN’T A professional photographer, but he was quite impressed with the photos he had taken so far. Maybe he had missed his calling or maybe this landscape was simply too gorgeous not to shine on camera.
He leaned against his car and rested his foot on the bumper. Taking a deep breath, he found himself transported back in time to when he used to roam the ranch in search of adventure. Back then, all he had needed was the fresh air, the quiet rumblings of nature and the sun on his face. Back then, he had imagined himself growing old on this ranch.
That feeling lasted until it became abundantly clear Big E didn’t have any plans to trust Tyler with anything having to do with the ranch. Sometimes he wondered if Big E lumped him together with his twin, who was never interested in a rancher’s lifestyle. In the end, Tyler decided he simply wasn’t good enough, smart enough or important enough for his grandfather.
In the distance, a group of people on horseback came up over the ridge. Tyler took a few pictures of them and waited for them to get closer to take a few more.
“Now, if you look up ahead, you’ll see something very rare. Over there by that car is one of the infamous Blackwell brothers. These guys don’t come out much, so this is a real treat.” Conner Hannah was their newly hired wrangler. Ethan had been searching for someone with the gift of gab and Conner seemed to fit the bill perfectly. They had gone to high school together. Conner was Ethan’s and Ben’s age.
“Tyler!” Hadley waved from the back of the pack.
He zoomed in on her through the lens of his camera. She had on a cowboy hat and threw her head back laughing when her horse sped up to a trot for a second. Before he realized what he was doing, Tyler had snapped several pictures of her.
He dropped the camera down and rubbed the spot in the center of his chest that suddenly was aching. Hadley worked for him. He was her boss. That was all he could ever be. Should ever be.
He walked over to the group as they approached. “You folks having a good time?”
Everyone agreed that it was a blast. Hadley looked like a kid in a candy store. It made him smile to see her so happy.
“Come here and meet Dewey, Ty. He’s such a good horse.” She turned to the rider on the chestnut trail horse next to her. “Pete, this is my fiancé. Tyler, this is Pete Sunnywell. Pete’s here with his family this week but was thinking about having his company retreat here next summer. I told him we would love to talk to him about setting something up.”
