“Gabby, I love you, and I love Wyatt. I know somewhere in that brain of his, the net is just waiting to catch a clue. He just needs…a little help getting there. So, I have an idea.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Gabby’s stomach somersaulted. “Oh no.” She opened her eyes. “No ideas. I mean…you had an idea to spy on Hank Clines because you thought he stole your Barbie Jeep. We both ended up with a broken arm because the tree branch broke.”
Carrie Anne gasped. “That wasn’t my fault! You ate all those cookies!”
Leveling her eyes at Carrie Anne, she said, “We both got poison ivy when you decided it would be a great idea to get a picture of the huge black bear when we went camping in Colorado.”
Carrie Anne scoffed. “I swear it was a bear.”
“It was a rabbit.”
Shaking her head, Carrie Anne shrugged. “We were going into high school. I needed a good picture to get on the newspaper team with you. So, technically, that was your fault.”
“It was not!” Gabby sighed and shook her head. “My point is that you have ideas and they usually end up with us in pain.” She could only imagine the pain she’d be in if Carrie Anne’s idea included Wyatt.
“It’ll work. I know it will.”
Gabby rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to quit until you get it out, are you?”
Shaking her head, Carrie Anne grinned. “Nope.”
“Fine. What’s your idea?”
Her friend giggled and bounced on the bed. “Okay, so…we’ll need Bandit in on this, but I think we can do it.”
Closing her eyes, Gabby wilted. “I don’t like where this is going.”
A smile spread on Carrie Anne’s lips. “We make Wyatt think you and Bandit are serious.”
“No,” Gabby said. “No way.”
“It’ll work!”
Gabby groaned and palmed her forehead. “It’ll be a colossal failure, and I’ll be the one with a broken heart. This isn’t going to work.” She’d almost said she just needed to get over Wyatt. With that revelation, Carrie Anne would’ve been rabid.
“Please, just try it. Just…I don’t know, try to plan for the worst and hope for the best. You know, just, if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, you go back to South Carolina knowing once and for all that it’s over.” Carrie Anne took Gabby’s hand in hers. “I know this will be hard, but I really think it’ll work.”
Silence settled over them as Gabby considered the crazy idea. It had disaster written all over it, but that tiny voice that whispered, What if, reared its ugly head. What if it worked? What if Wyatt’s eyes were finally opened? Could they have a relationship, and would it work out?
“Come on, Gabby, I’ll never push it again as long as I live if this doesn’t work.”
“Okay.” Okay? Holy smokes. “I mean—”
Carrie Anne let go of Gabby’s hand and grinned. “Nope. I’m not letting you back out.” She took a deep breath and released it. “So, we just need to talk to Bandit.”
Gabby rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if he doesn’t want to participate in this little scheme, it’s over.”
“I accept your terms.” She jumped up. “I’ll be right back.”
As Carrie Anne slipped out of her room, Gabby let out a frustrated breath. No way was this going to work, because there was no way Bandit would agree to Carrie Anne’s scheme. The man was too smart for that. At least, Gabby hoped he was.
Wyatt wasn’t jealous; he was nosey. He hated it when he was the last to find something out. He’d been furious when she announced she was leaving for South Carolina. It had taken seconds, and he was over it, which just provided further proof that he wasn’t interested in her.
The door to her room opened, and Carrie Anne slipped inside with Bandit.
“O-o-okay, why d-d-did you need to talk to m-m-me?” Bandit asked.
Carrie Anne crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “We need a favor.”
His eyes narrowed. “A f-f-favor?”
“We need you to pretend you’re Gabby’s boyfriend.”
Bandit’s eyes widened. He looked from Carrie Anne to Gabby and back. “Uh, wh-what?”
Gabby held back a laugh. “See, even he thinks it’s a horrible plan.”
“Shush, you!” Carrie Anne hissed. “Wyatt needs to think you are dating Gabby. We—”
“Whatchoo mean, ‘we’?” Gabby cut her off.
With a pop to the arm, Carrie Anne continued. “We want to make Wyatt jealous so he’ll finally realize Gabby is more to him than family or friend.”
Bandit set his hands on his hips. “Y-y-you also thought it was a g-g-great idea t-t-that I set Bear up on a f-f-farmer’s dating w-w-website.”
Gabby gasped. “Carrie Anne, you didn’t!”
“What? I’ve found the love of my life. Is it really all that wrong to want my brothers to find love?”
“But a dating website? Really?” Gabby pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re incorrigible.” She looked at Carrie Anne. “He’s going to kill you when he finds out.” She cut an eye toward Bandit. “And you too.”
He shrugged. “I-I-I haven’t f-f-finished it yet.”
“What?” Carrie Anne huffed. “You said you were almost done last night.”
“I-I-I said I thought I c-c-could finish. B-b-bear walked in on me, and I had to s-s-stop.”
“Okay, I’ll help you finish it up after this.” Carrie Anne grumbled under her breath. “Back to Gabby and Wyatt. Would you help us?”
When Bandit didn’t immediately respond, Carrie Anne stood and walked to him, taking his hand. “Please, Bandit, you’re our only hope.”
Gabby rolled her eyes. “You are not Princess Leia.”
Waving her off, Carrie Anne worked her puppy dog eyes. “Please.”
He pointed at her face. “Th-th-that’s not f-f-fair. Y-y-you stop that!”
“Please.”
As he took a big breath, he closed his eyes. “I’m g-g-goin’ to regret this, but a-a-all right.”
Carrie Anne squealed and hugged him around the neck, kissing his cheek. “You are the best, Bandit! Just the absolute best!”
Gabby wilted sideways on the bed. “We’re both doomed.”
More than doomed. It would be all kinds of painful, but it would also mean Gabby was done wishing and hoping and pining. Wyatt would be a past crush, and Gabby would have to face that reality. As much as she’d tried to convince herself that she was over Wyatt, she wasn’t. Maybe Carrie Anne’s harebrained idea would help Gabby move on once and for all.
Then she could look to the future with a sharper focus. With Bear starting the ranch again, Caprock Canyon would have people coming back. They’d need a newspaper. Gabby could have the best of both worlds. She could have her family and her career.
She sure had missed home. The day spent shopping had made her realize just how much, too. Her mom and sister laughing and teasing. Carrie Anne talking a mile a minute about everything from what she was getting Israel for their wedding to the names they were debating for their first child. She’d missed Mrs. West too—how much her relationship with Gabby’s mom resembled Carrie Anne’s and Gabby’s.
Staying away from her home because she wanted something she couldn’t have was ridiculous. The time away, on her own, had helped her grow up and taught her to face her challenges, and deal with life when it handed her lemons. Like thinking she was getting a promotion when she was actually being let go. Yes, it hurt, but she wasn’t crushed, and she didn’t need to let her infatuation with Wyatt crush her either. She couldn’t let him keep her away from home any longer.
The bed moved as Carrie Anne sat down again, going over her plan with Bandit. “Okay, so, you’ll plan things with Gabby and either be hung up with something or just not show up. I’ll make sure Wyatt knows about them and see that he’s the one filling in.”
“Carrie Anne, I s-s-sure hope you know what you’re d-d-doing. If he really gets j-j-jealous, he’ll knock m-m-my lights out.”
Gabby used her hand and pushed herself back up. “That’s not going to happen because he’s not jealous. You know how he gets when he thinks he’s been left out of the loop. That’s all that was earlier.”
“Hush,” Carrie Anne said. “That’s not what it was.”
“Was too.” Gabby pinched her lips together. “I can be just as stubborn as you are.”
Bandit held up his hands. “Ladies, j-j-just tell me what to do, and we’ll g-g-get this plan in m-m-motion. If he knocks my t-t-teeth loose, you’re p-p-paying for the dentist, Carrie Anne.”
“I’ll get you the best set of false teeth this state’s ever seen.” She winked.
Bandit gave her one last look and left, mumbling something about women and weird.
Carrie Anne faced Gabby. “Okay, so let’s talk strategy.”
Gabby shoulders sagged. It was more like stragedy…a strategy of tragedy. Doomed. This whole thing was doomed.
Chapter 10
Barefoot and still in pajamas, Wyatt slowly walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. He’d struggled to go to sleep after watching Gabby and Bandit being all snuggly with each other the evening before. Add to it all the talk of feelings about Gabby. Plus, he was still trying to decide if he wanted his rodeo career back. It was enough to drive him bonkers.
“B-b-breakfast is about over,” Bandit said with a laugh.
“I’m not hungry.” Wyatt’s irk flag was already at half-mast, and Bandit hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well. You got any coffee left?”
Bandit took a cup from one of the cabinets and handed it to him. “Pot’s got a l-l-little left.”
“Thanks.” Wyatt poured the last of what remained into his mug and took a seat at the kitchen island. He took a tentative sip and then a big drink. “This is good.”
“M-m-mom’s recipe. It’s n-n-not bitter.”
Not even a little. On the road, Wyatt had choked down his fair share of coffee so nasty sugar couldn’t save it. “You know, you really should open a restaurant. I know you don’t want to take money from us, but with Bear getting this place going again, townfolk are going to need a place to go. Why not yours? You’re the best cook I’ve ever known.”
Bandit shook his head. “No.”
“Bear said he’d even do a contract. Charge you interest if it would make you feel better.” Wyatt set his cup on the counter. “What good is all this money if we can’t share it? You’re family, Bandit. Just ’cause you didn’t claim it with us doesn’t make it any less so.” Oh, they’d tried to get him to take a share of the winnings, but just like his parents and the Fredericks, Bandit wouldn’t have any of it.
“It’s th-th-the principle of it.” His lips curved up. “Hey, s-s-sweetheart!”
Wyatt followed his line of sight. Of course, it was Gabby, dressed in curve-hugging jeans and a red turtleneck sweater. Her hair was pulled up with the tips of it grazing her shoulders. Mercy, she was breathtaking. Her eyes twinkled, and her skin glowed. Why, he didn’t even need coffee to perk up after all.
“Hey, are you almost ready?” she asked as she crossed the kitchen and hugged Bandit, kissing his cheek.
Now Wyatt’s blood was boiling. His half-mast irk was waving like a sheet in a tornado, one clothesline clip away from being ripped off. “Ready? Ready for what?”
“Oh, hey, Wyatt.”
Oh, hey, Wyatt? Like she didn’t see him sitting there? “We’re supposed to go look at the orchard today.”
She looked up at Bandit. “I’d totally forgotten about that.”
Bandit tapped her nose with his index finger. “It’s o-o-okay ‘cause you’re c-c-cute.”
Her cheeks turned a hue of rosy pink that bugged Wyatt. Why didn’t she blush like that when he complimented her? He picked up his cup, took a big swig, and stood. “I guess I’ll go by myself.”
“W-w-why don’t you go a-a-ahead and go with Wyatt to see that orchard.” He paused. “Mrs. West was in h-h-here earlier, and she wanted to go over a f-f-few things for Carrie Anne’s wedding since I’m d-d-doing the c-c-cooking.”
The way Wyatt’s heart thrummed against his ribs, he’d have thought he’d won the lottery again. There’d be none of that infuriating canoodling if she and Bandit weren’t together.
Wyatt hung his head as shame filled him. Gabby deserved to be happy, even if that meant Bandit and not him.
The last bit of that thought caught him off guard as he chugged the rest of his coffee, and he choked. He held his chest with his hand and worked to keep coffee from shooting out his nose like Old Faithful at Yellowstone. Where on earth had that idea come from?
“Are you okay, Wyatt?” Gabby asked as she approached him with a kitchen towel in hand.
He took the towel and held it over his mouth until he could catch his breath. “I’m fine.” And he was until he locked eyes with her. Fine flitted out the window and blew down the street. He wasn’t fine at all.
She palmed his cheek. “Are you sure? That sounded like it hurt.”
“No…I mean, yeah, I’m okay,” he said, his voice thick. “If you have plans, we can see the orchard another day.”
Looking over her shoulder, she smiled. “I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but Carrie Anne’s wedding takes priority over my dating life.”
Dating life. Dating Bandit. His mind and his heart screamed it was all wrong. She shouldn’t be dating Bandit. The man was family, but he wasn’t the right guy for Gabby. “Okay, I guess I’ll go get ready.”
“Okay.” She left Wyatt and returned to Bandit, whispering something Wyatt couldn’t make out.
On the way out of the kitchen, he looked over his shoulder, and his chest constricted. Gabby’s little nose had scrunched up as she giggled at whatever Bandit whispered back. Wyatt had loved when she’d done that when they were younger, so much so that there were times when he’d goof around just to see her laugh like that. What would it take for her to do that for Wyatt again? Lord have mercy. It was as earnest a plea as he’d ever had. All these weird feelings needed to just go away.
Now it felt like his time with her was over, or at least the way they used to be. Wyatt couldn’t be the guy who made her laugh or seek her out when he had a problem. Not like he used to do. If she was with Bandit, everything would be different.
All that too-late talk was the problem. His sister putting ideas in his head. Still, her neon words were breaking the dam and flooding his brain. Too late…
Wyatt shook his head, trying to clear his wayward thoughts. It was wrong to even entertain thoughts of stepping between her and Bandit. The guy was family, and so was Gabby. No, Wyatt needed to respect them and be happy for them. That was the right thing to do.
It was time for a shower and then exploring the orchard with a friend, and only a friend. That’s what his head said, but his heart was singing a different tune. One that was off-key, sounding like a tomcat. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. Why did all this stuff have to be so complicated?
When an answer didn’t come, he headed for the shower, hoping hot water and quiet would help ease the war going on in his mind.
* * *
Glancing at Gabby, Wyatt tried to think of a way to start a conversation. It wasn’t nearly as hard before he found out she was dating Bandit. Leave it to his sister to muck with things that were perfectly fine the way they were.
“Why do you keep staring at me?” Gabby asked.
He startled, and the truck swerved a little. “What?”
Gabby grabbed the dash and squeaked. “What is wrong with you this morning?”
He took a deep breath as he focused on the road ahead. “Nothing’s wrong with me. Is something wrong with you?”
“You’ve been acting weird since breakfast.”
“Have not. I just didn’t sleep well last night, and…” What could he say? That finding out her new relationship status with Bandit had hit him wrong? He sure couldn’t answer the inevitable “why” if he did.
She twiste
d in the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve been grumbling since your feet hit the first floor after your shower, and now you’re staring at me and trying to put us in a ditch. What is going on?”
“I didn’t know you were dating Bandit.” It slipped out so fast that Wyatt was blindsided.
Her eyebrows knitted together. “Why would you care?”
“I don’t.”
“Then what else are you upset about?”
He cut a glance at her. “I’m not upset.”
Dropping her hands to her lap, she took a deep breath and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You are too. I’m sorry you were the last to find out. It’s always bothered you.”
“I’m not bothered. Just…” He scratched the back of his neck. “I just didn’t know you thought of Bandit that way.”
“Why not? He’s a good guy.”
“I don’t know. I guess I pictured you dating someone different.”
“Like who?”
Shrugging, he tried to think of an answer. “I…”
Gabby’s eyebrows drew together. “Did you think I’d stay single forever? Or is it that you can’t stop seeing me as a little kid?”
Now that she was asking, he hadn’t really thought about it at all. Her dating someone had never even crossed his mind. Why hadn’t it, though? She was a beautiful woman. Intelligent, caring, warm, and wonderful. Honestly, she’d always been one of his closest friends. The person he trusted with all his secrets. But he’d never considered another man enjoying her company.
Of course, he’d thought of her while she was gone. Felt her absence. Missed her smile and her laughter. How comfortable he was when he was with her.
When she’d first announced she was leaving for South Carolina, it had taken him off guard, gutting him, since she’d stuck close to home until then. At the time, he’d chalked it up to not liking change, but soon after, he’d realized it was that he didn’t like her living so far away. She was another fixture in the family like anyone else.
The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother (Caprock Canyon Romance Book 1) Page 7
