As he slipped inside his room, he stared at the duffle bag sitting on top of the bed.
What was he going to do? He’d told her he was staying across the hall. If he didn’t, either she’d think he’d lied or he was avoiding her. He wasn’t between a rock and a hard place. He was in a rockslide.
Eh, he’d still change rooms. There was a chance she’d be stubborn again.
He laughed at himself. Man, he’d spent too much time on the road and not enough time at home. His reaction was due to loneliness. Nothing else. With a little time, everyone would find their rhythm again, and everything would be back to normal.
Chapter 5
Carrie Anne squeezed Gabby a little harder. “Oh, how I’ve missed you. I’m so glad you’re home.”
Gabby returned the almost too-tight hug. “It’s good to be home. I’ve missed you too. All of you.”
Her friend leaned back. “Wyatt especially, huh?”
Pulling away, Gabby walked to her bed and sat on the edge. “I can’t let myself think that way, Carrie Anne. He doesn’t see me like that. It’s never going to happen. And I told you, I’m dating someone.”
“And that’s hogwash. You can’t sell that to me.”
Narrowing her eyes, Gabby crossed her arms over her chest. She should have known Carrie Anne would meddle. “Fine. I made him up because I didn’t want you pressuring me. Is that why you set me up?”
“I didn’t set you up. Everyone else was busy. Wyatt was the only one who was available.”
“Pretty stinkin’ convenient. The one man I don’t want to see, and I have to spend two hours with him and nowhere else to go.”
Then add being tossed over his shoulder like a flour sack and carried to her room. And that weird hug that lasted almost too long. For a second, it even looked like he might kiss her. Already, her mind was playing tricks on her, and it’d only been a couple hours.
Carrie Anne joined Gabby on the bed. “Well, regardless, I know you and Wyatt would be great together if you guys would give it a chance.”
“If you love me at all, you’ll stop. I’m begging you to stop. I’m here through Thanksgiving weekend, and I just want to relax.”
Before Carrie Anne could respond, a light tapping came from the door. “Can I come in?” Gabby’s mom, Pauline, asked.
Gabby jumped up and met her mom halfway, giving her a hug. “Hey, Mom.”
“Where’s my hug?” Carrie Anne’s mom, Caroline, asked with waiting open arms. Gabby hugged her too. “Oh, it’s so good to see you.” Mrs. West held her out. “Oh my word, I think you’ve gotten even prettier.”
Waving her off, Gabby shook her head. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.” She smiled.
Gabby’s sister, Stephanie, laughed as she hugged Gabby. “Hey, it’s good to see you!”
Gabby returned the hug and said, “You too.”
Stephanie dropped her arms and stepped back. “This house is amazing, am I right?”
Nodding, Gabby smiled. “Bear did an incredible job, but I’m not surprised. He’s only talked about this ranch since he could speak.”
“True. Still, it’s wow-inducing. Big enough for our families, but not so big you get lost. I love how homey it feels. I especially love the peace and quiet.” Her sister turned her attention back to Gabby.
Peace and quiet? Gabby could use some of that. “Yeah, out in the middle of nowhere, I think you should expect that.” She laughed.
Mrs. West looked at her daughter. “Carrie Anne, did you ask her yet?”
Gabby looked from Mrs. West to Carrie Anne. “Ask me what?”
Carrie Anne stood and chewed her bottom lip. “I wanted to see if there’s a chance you can stay until the wedding. I have dress fittings, food tasting, all the things that go with a wedding, and I can’t imagine doing those things without you. I know it’s last minute, but you’ve hardly taken any time off from work. Do you think they’d be okay with you staying until New Years?”
Six weeks? In Caprock Canyon? With Wyatt? Her heart wilted. The thought of five days had been bad enough. But this was Carrie Anne. Her best friend in the whole wide world. She could be a pest, know-it-all, instigator, and every other annoying thing possible, but Gabby loved her. If the roles were reversed, there was no way Gabby could get married without Carrie Anne by her side.
It wasn’t like she had a job anyway. Not that she’d spill that just yet. Plus, there was no one waiting for her in Charleston either. It would just be her, looking for jobs and nothing else to do.
“I’d have to call the paper and ask, but I don’t think they’d mind.” Gabby didn’t like the fib, but the last thing she wanted right now was to talk about her job situation. Not only would Carrie Anne try to fix it, but she’d be begging Gabby to move back home. Something she couldn’t do just yet.
Carrie Anne clapped her hands, jumped up and down, and then grabbed Gabby in a bear hug. “I’m so glad you can stay.”
Laughing, Gabby hugged her. “I didn’t say I could. I said I’d call and ask. They may very well want me back.”
“Do I need to bribe them?” Carrie leaned back as she asked.
“No.”
Gabby’s mom smiled. “I certainly would love for you to stay for a while. It’s been a long time since you’ve been home.”
“Me too. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to really hang out with my little sister,” Stephanie added.
Pulling free from Carrie Anne, Gabby looked at her mom and sister. “You’ve visited me in Charleston.”
“It’s not the same thing, honey,” her mom replied.
Mrs. West nodded. “Absolutely not the same. Having your babies home gives mommas peace of mind. It doesn’t matter how old you are; we worry.”
Carrie Anne rolled her eyes. “Mom, you’re so dramatic.”
“I am not.” She chuckled. “Anyway, everyone is waiting on us to start eating.”
Hooking her arm in Gabby’s, Carrie Anne grinned. “This is going to be awesome. We can talk colors after dinner. I told the wedding planner we’d have a decision by tomorrow. She said we’ll need to make them quickly if we plan to pull this wedding off by New Year’s Eve.”
They followed their moms out of the room, still linked together and Carrie Anne talking a mile a minute. Once they reached the formal dining room, Gabby looked around in awe. It was open and bright and warm.
Whoever Bear had hired had done an incredible job here. The walls were painted warm hues of blue-gray, with pictures hung that complimented the rustic farmhouse table running the middle of the room. It wasn’t some cavernous space, but it did have more room than their families’ homes in Caprock Canyon.
Based on the plates of meat, cheeses, and various condiments, they were doing sandwiches. It made sense because they’d be eating such a heavy Thanksgiving meal the next day, and she suspected that Bandit was already getting ready for the feast.
The moment everyone realized she’d arrived, it was a hug-fest. Gabby loved it. It had been so long since they’d all been in one room together, and she’d missed how warm it made her feel.
As much as she loved being in Charleston, she loved being home even more. Five years away, and she’d forgotten how much she treasured her little hometown. Being in Caprock Canyon, surrounded by the people she loved, weakened her resolve to return to Charleston.
She glanced around the room and found Wyatt leaning against the far wall, talking to his dad, King. His face was lit up, and even from where she stood, she could see the twinkle in his eyes. Whatever they were discussing had him excited.
That was one of the things she’d loved about him. The way he’d pour all of himself into something. It was always all or nothing with him. The moment he made his choice, he was whole-hog into it. Same as her. Another trait they shared. Not that they spent time talking a lot about it. It was just something she’d noticed.
Wyatt must have sensed her staring and pulled his attention from his dad to her. He
shot her a half-smile and straightened, and the next thing Gabby knew, he was weaving through people, walking toward her.
“I’m not wrong,” whispered Carrie Anne.
“Hush. You are too,” Gabby whispered back.
Wyatt stopped in front of her, a huge grin on his face. “Hey, no nap?”
Chuckling, Gabby shook her head. “Like she’d let me.” She tipped her head in Carrie Anne’s direction.
“True.” He stepped closer. “You gonna sit by me?”
Sit by him? “After you tossed me over your shoulder?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”
His mouth dropped open, and his posture wilted. “I said I was sorry.”
Gabby shook her head, hiding her smile as she looked away. “I was thinking I’d sit between my mom and Carrie Anne. I suspect she has wedding stuff to tell me about.” She shrugged one shoulder, nonchalant.
His lips turned down. “Oh.”
“Oh, no. Wedding details are for later. I’m sitting with Israel and Daddy. You’re free to sit with Wyatt if you want to, Gabby.” Carrie Anne grinned a smidge too brightly.
Gabby pinched her lips together, wishing she could push pause and scream so loud it hurt. What could she do, though? Tell Wyatt she couldn’t sit by him? He’d ask why, and Gabby had no good reason. Well, other than her feelings for him, and she was certainly not divulging that information. “Then I guess I’m free.”
His smile returned, wider than ever. “Great. I’m sitting at the end.” He placed the palm of his hand on the small of her back, making her nearly jump as the tingles spread from his fingertips to the rest of her body. “I think it’s quieter down on the end. We can talk and catch up.”
The whole world was out to get her. She didn’t want to catch up with Wyatt. She didn’t want to be sitting next to him looking all gorgeous and smelling so good that it took effort not to lean in and take a big whiff.
They walked together to the end of the table, and he pulled out her chair for her, placing her at the very end of the row, on his right. At the end of the table was her dad, and she hugged him again before taking her seat across from her mom.
Wyatt took his seat next to her and leaned over. “Told you it was a little quieter down here.”
His breath tickled her ear, and she giggled.
“What’s so funny?” her sister asked. Stephanie had taken a seat next to their mom, with Josiah on her right.
Gabby wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Nothing, really. Just funny that we’re finally all together at a table and it’s not suffocating.”
Their dad chuckled. “This was really nice of Bear to think of the family like this. He’s done a jam-up good job.”
Wyatt cleared his throat. “You scouted the property with Bear and Dad, didn’t you?”
“I did.” Amos paused as he took a drink of water. “We found a pecan orchard about five miles from here. It’s in rough shape, but I think we can save it. It’ll need better irrigation. That’s if Bear wants to keep it.”
Wyatt’s mouth dropped open. “A pecan orchard?”
Her dad nodded. “That’s what we all thought. I had no idea the Canyons had any such ideas. They must have started it right before they fell on hard times. There’s even a rundown old house over there, like they planned on having someone stay there and tend it.”
Gabby’s gaze drifted to the table as she lost herself in a memory. The summer after his graduation from high school, Wyatt had his tonsils out. She was supposed to go to camp, but Mrs. West was still working at the time. Gabby overheard her fretting about staying home with Wyatt.
In a split-second decision, she offered to stay with him, and then she’d torn up her registration for camp. She’d told Wyatt that her parents had planned a vacation, and then it had fallen through. Of Course, Carrie Anne had picked up on what she was doing the second Gabby said she wasn’t going.
Oh, he’d been miserable that week, but Mrs. West had supplied them with enough popsicles to build an igloo. In Gabby’s mind, it was a good trade. Not only did she get to spend time with Wyatt, but she got junk food too. Plus, she loved Mrs. West as much as she loved her own family. The look of relief when she’d volunteered was worth just as much as spending time with Wyatt.
She couldn’t remember how it had started, but they’d spent the entire week talking about owning an orchard. She was going to bake pies. They were going to have apple-picking days where families would come to the orchard. Once a month, they were going to have a farmer’s market so people could buy fresh produce.
Wyatt nudged her with his shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts. “You remember talking about having an orchard? That summer I had my tonsils out? Maybe this could be it.”
“Vaguely,” she lied.
“When did you two talk about all that?” Gabby’s mom asked.
“Oh, quite a few times,” Wyatt answered. “I’d go to her with girl trouble from time to time, and we’d wind up talking about all sorts of stuff.”
Stephanie tilted her head. “I didn’t know that.”
Shrugging, Wyatt looked at Gabby. “Well, we had this little spot at the playground by the school. We’d go there when we had stuff on our minds. Sometimes, I’d find her; other times, she’d find me.”
Gabby nodded, the memories filling her thoughts with so many good times. She’d loved those moments, especially when they’d grown older. She could remember it like it was just a second ago. They only brought her heartache now.
He smiled. “That summer after my surgery was a rough one. My first time back on a bull was rough. It left me feeling like I had no business being there.”
Yep, she remembered that too. He’d looked so hurt and dejected. “You were pretty upset.”
He shifted to tap her shoulder with his again. “You told me to put my chin up and keep going. That those seasoned guys might have had a better ride, but they didn’t have my style or my drive.”
“They didn’t,” she said and lifted her gaze to his. “You’d finish your eight seconds, hit that ground, and your joy would be infectious. You loved it, and I loved watching you.” Her cheeks burned when she realized she’d said all of that out loud. She pulled her gaze from his and avoided any eye contact with her mom or sister. “I mean, everyone loved watching you. That’s why we’d all go to your events.”
Why had she said all that? Now she was going to look like an idiot. She should have fought harder to sit by Carrie Anne. When was she ever going to learn that being in Wyatt’s gravity was only going to make her crash to the ground?
Her heart whispered, Never.
Six weeks. She was going to go down in flames.
Chapter 6
Gabby’s sister laughed. “Well, not the whole family. She bribed me to drive her to your rodeo events.” Stephanie smiled, shaking her head. “One of them even got me a six-month reprieve from trash duty. It was right after you graduated from high school. You’d just joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and I think you were somewhere in Oklahoma. The only way mom would let her go was if I drove her. I don’t think she ever missed one until she moved to Charleston.”
Wyatt’s eyebrows knitted together as he thought back to that first year. Even his family hadn’t come to all his events. A couple of them were upwards of eight hours away, and he didn’t remember Gabby being at all of them.
Mrs. Fredericks smiled. “I remember that. He was in…” she paused, tapping her mouth with her finger. “Oh, yeah, Fort Smith, Arkansas, not Oklahoma. There was no way I was letting you drive that far by yourself. I’d taken you to a couple of the ones in and around Dallas and Abilene, but that was just too much distance for my peace of mind.”
“You were at the event in Fort Smith?” asked Wyatt.
Nodding, Gabby fidgeted with the napkin next to her plate. “Um, well, your mom had a really bad cold, and your dad didn’t want to leave her. That meant no one was going to be there. It was the first time you were in another state. I—”
“But you were there? I never saw you.”
Stephanie scoffed. “I know. She made me leave before you could. To this day, I have no idea why she was in such a hurry to leave. We’d driven all that way, and she wouldn’t even say hello. It made no sense to me.”
Gabby’s face was now as bright red as her blouse. “I think we’ve reminisced enough at this point. Um, so, Dad, you said that there’s a pecan orchard. What did Bear think of that?”
Whatever they were talking about, it was white noise to Wyatt. Gabby had shown up for every event. Why had she done that? They were family, and the two of them were pretty close as kids. She was his little sister’s best friend and basically a sister. Still, as much as Gabby hated taking out the trash, to trade for that chore for six months? He had no idea what to think.
“All right, everyone, let’s settle down.” Wyatt’s dad’s voice boomed over everyone in the room. He’d taken his place at the other end of the table.
Bandit set the last tray of bread down and turned to walk out.
“Where do you think you’re going?” his father asked.
“W-w-well, sir, I thought I’d l-l-let your families have your meal in peace.”
Mr. West point to the chair next to Bear. “You may have put this meal together, but that doesn’t make you any less family. Park it, boy.”
Bear laughed. “I told you they’d have you eat with us.”
Bandit grumbled, “Sh-sh-shut up, Bear.”
Talk about a friendship. Bear and Bandit had been friends since Bandit moved to Caprock Canyon as a teenager. He stuttered a little, and that was all the ammo stupid teenagers needed to pick on someone. Cue Bear West. Of the things Wyatt’s brother hated—well, they all hated—was people being bullies. That type of behavior didn’t fly in their family.
Bear was captain of the football team, and he caught rumor of one of his linebackers messing with Bandit. Bear wore that guy out. That day, he brought Bandit home to eat dinner with them. From that point on, they were as thick as thieves. No one dared pick on Bandit ever again.
The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother (Caprock Canyon Romance Book 1) Page 4
