The movie started. It was an action movie with a subplot of romance and bits of humor. There was lots of blowing things up which seemed to hit Paul’s funny bone every time, since he laughed at each blast.
Ty had settled more comfortably with his ankle resting on his knee and his arm lying behind Georgia’s backrest. Every once in a while, they shared a laugh or a comment. He was actually having a great time, when, about halfway through the movie, Louise got up, tapping Paul’s arm, then slipped out.
Georgia looked at him in question. He shrugged but lifted his arm off the armrest and straightened his legs, thinking to go after her, since Paul had barely glanced away from the movie.
Georgia put a hand on his arm. “Let me,” she whispered.
He stood so she could get out, wanting to follow but knowing it was probably Louise going to the ladies’ room or something, and he was already being a stalker by going to the movie he knew she was going to and sitting right behind her.
Chapter 15
Louise leaned over the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Ty had sat behind her. She’d recognize his voice anywhere. And he had some giggling, squeaky little thing with him. Happy and bubbly. The kind of girl he deserved. But she didn’t have to sit there and be tortured the whole movie while her “date” laughed at the gore and ignored her.
She slapped the sink. She was being unfair to Paul. Lots of people loved that movie. It was a huge hit nationwide. Paul was a nice guy, and he didn’t deserve what she was doing to him—comparing him to Ty and finding him lacking in every way.
The door opened, and Louise started looking in the mirror at her eye like she had something in it and wishing she’d gone into a stall. She didn’t think she’d get company.
“Louise?” a familiar voice asked. Familiar in that it had been behind her and beside Ty the whole movie.
She glanced in the mirror. “Georgia?” He’d taken his sister to the movie? All the jealousy that had beaten its way up her throat withered away. She straightened, her attitude doing a complete turnaround with this development.
“I saw you leave, just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Georgia touched her shoulder. “And we keep saying we’ll catch up, but we never do.”
Louise turned and hugged Georgia. “I’m fine. I didn’t realize it was you behind me, but I recognized Ty’s voice.”
Georgia’s left brow arched. One side of her mouth moved up, just a little. “Ty told me he was coming because you would be here.” She held Louise’s eyes with a steady gaze. “That’s the first I’d ever heard anything about Ty and you. I guessed the rest.”
It took a few seconds for Louise to realize Georgia was talking about Tella. Her eyes widened. “Please don’t say anything. Tella doesn’t know. I am almost certain she’ll be fine with it; she adores Ty, but...”
Georgia held up her hand. “I won’t say a word. Not until you’ve told Tella.” She paused. “But when are you going to do that?”
Louise shrugged. “She’s at Sawyer’s right now.” A shadow of something passed over Georgia’s face. But her bright smile returned. Louise wasn’t sure what that meant, so she kept going. “I figured I’d tell her when she got home.”
“So, Ty’s pretty serious about you.”
“He’s been away for almost a decade. That’s not serious. Plus, he has his choice of women. Once he leaves, he’ll forget all about me.”
“There are a lot of women, but never anyone special. I think I know why, now.”
Louise looked away. The flower basket on the small table by the hand towels had been there since she was little. Faded but familiar.
“You can’t really be serious about Paul? I mean, Paul is really nice and everything, but he’s, what, fifteen years older than you? And, well, I know my opinion is biased, but seriously? If I had to choose between Paul and Ty, Ty is the easy win.”
Louise had been under so much pressure, searching her soul, wanting to do the best thing for her daughter, but not wanting to make decisions based on money. She’d known Georgia since they were young. Georgia would keep her secret.
“I got a letter.” She gave Georgia the rundown of the letter—that she would inherit one billion dollars if she got married before Christmas.
“Oh, wow.” Georgia’s eyes had gotten big and almost bugged out of their sockets. “But that’s perfect! Marry Ty.”
“Whoa. First of all, he hasn’t asked. Secondly, he just showed up. Last time he made promises to me, he disappeared and didn’t even call. I have a child to consider and will not allow that to happen again. And, third, I don’t really know him.”
“You do too. You grew up with him. You knew him from church and school. Yeah, he’s a big hockey star now, but he’s still Ty. He’s honest. He works hard, and he’s head over heels for you.”
“Paul lives in North Dakota.”
“Our mother has a ranch in North Dakota,” Georgia said with her brows raised.
“She’s selling.”
Georgia’s face dimmed. “I know.” Her eyes brightened. “Maybe Ty will buy it.”
“Maybe I will buy it.” That had been the plan.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes. I was.” She leaned a hip against the sink. “That’s what I wanted to do with my billion. But I’ve already decided I can’t marry Paul.”
Georgia smiled wide.
“I’d be using him, and it wouldn’t be right. I know he likes me, like a friend, and when I offered marriage, he agreed. Maybe to be nice. I don’t know. I need to talk to him.”
“I don’t think I’ll tell Ty this.”
Louise laughed. “It’s up to you. I’ll probably tell him the next time I see him. That I won’t marry Paul. Not about the money.”
“Not tonight?”
“No.”
“You know, he threw me into the creek when I was little, and I might just have to tease him with scenarios about you and Paul and what you’re doing after the movie.”
Louise held her hands up. “I have nothing to do with that.”
“Nope. Sibling torture.” She hooked an arm through Louise’s. “It was good to see you. Wish we could get together more often, but Ford is so demanding.”
“You’re working for him?” She pushed the bathroom door open, and they both stepped out.
“Yeah, as kind of a housekeeper, business planner, event organizer.”
“I thought he didn’t go anywhere.”
“He doesn’t. I do it for him.” Georgia rolled her eyes like that explained everything. “It’s too much, and I’ve told him he needs to hire someone else, but he won’t listen. He wants me to do it all.”
“Then I guess you need to quit.”
“Oh.” Georgia stopped with her hand on the theater room door. “I never thought of that.” She pulled the door open, and they walked in.
AFTER THE MOVIE WAS over, Louise stood up with Paul. She fiddled with her purse and tried to take up a little time, trying to avoid having to talk to Ty, but Paul got pulled along with the crowd and started walking out without her.
She turned to follow him but from behind her, Ty said, “Let him go. He doesn’t deserve you.”
Louise gave him a dark look and continued to walk, afraid if she stopped, she’d want to be with Ty rather than the man she’d come with.
Catching up to Paul at the door, she said, a little breathlessly, “I need to talk to you.”
“That’s fine. You can walk me to my apartment. It’s only three blocks away.”
She did not want to go there. Paul had been nothing but a gentleman, and she was sure that’s all he had in his mind tonight, but she wasn’t going to his apartment.
He looked around at the night sky. “It’s not too cold out tonight. You’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” She didn’t want Ty to come out and see them arguing. They started down the sidewalk. “Thanks so much for going to the movie.” She’d ended up paying for their tickets, but that was probably an accident on his
part because he’d gone to the restroom while they were in line.
“No problem.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
He’d never been super talkative. It hadn’t bothered her before.
She took a deep breath and braced herself, even though she knew she wasn’t going to be breaking his heart. “I know it was my idea to get married and I gave you that offer, but I’ve changed my mind. I think it would probably work, but I don’t think it would be fair to you.” Hundreds more reasons rushed to her tongue, but she held them back.
Paul stopped walking. “A deal’s a deal.”
“You don’t love me,” Louise said softly. They weren’t far enough away from the movie theater for there to be enough distance between her and Ty. For some reason, she didn’t want him to hear this.
His brows knitted. His kind face held confusion. “Me loving you wasn’t part of the deal.”
“No, of course it’s not.” He didn’t deny that he didn’t love her. It should make this easier, but it really didn’t.
He started walking again, slower. “This is a breach of contract.”
“But we didn’t sign anything! We’re not married.”
“But you said you would.”
He was right; she’d given her word. She’d even been the one to make the offer. But she couldn’t go through with it.
Paul sighed, a heavy sigh, like he was really being put out. “I guess the decision is yours and I can’t make you, but maybe you should think things through better next time.”
His eyes held hurt, and Louise hated that.
“I’m sorry.” She would be doing him a worse disservice if she married him, but she wasn’t going to get into it with him. “I guess I’ll head back to my car.” It was parked on the other end of the street.
Paul’s soulful eyes looked at her, and she felt like she’d kicked a puppy. “I’ll see you around,” he said.
Louise closed her eyes before nodding and waving. She turned and walked away.
Everything inside of her wanted to protect Tella. All of her mother’s instincts wanted to cover her child. Paul would have made a great dad.
But she’d made a mistake by propositioning Paul. To marry him would have been an even bigger mistake. Making the offer in the first place had been a dumb idea. Now she had to face his displeasure and betrayal as she stood up and undid the thing she never should have done to begin with.
She was so deep in thought that she didn’t see Georgia and Ty sitting on a bench at the entrance to the park, eating ice cream, until she was almost on them. Too late to change course, even if she wanted to. Her car was parked not twenty yards away.
She smiled at them as she passed. A strained smile, but hopefully they didn’t notice. How did she always manage to make such a jumble out of her life?
To make it worse, if Palmer hadn’t solved the ranch’s financial problems, she might still be tempted to marry Paul. Although all of her rebelled at that idea. Especially with Ty sitting right in front of her.
“Want to join us for some ice cream?” Ty called out.
Her automatic response was “no,” but Tella was with Sawyer for the evening. Gram and Pap were in bed by this time. Palmer and Ames were probably enjoying a peaceful evening alone together. A shaft of loneliness cut through her.
Her gaze took in Ty and Georgia. They never really looked like siblings, but they still looked good together. Ty’s handsome brown hair and blue eyes, his strong jaw and wide shoulders, plus his height, contrasted so nicely with Georgia’s wild, dark curly hair and her curvy but petite frame. Although it did kind of look like Ty was taking his daughter out and not his sister. Georgia looked so young.
“I don’t want to interrupt sibling time together.”
“I’ve spent enough time with him for one day,” Georgia said. “Come on over, you’ll keep us from killing each other.”
“What kind of ice cream do you want? I’ll go get you some.” Ty flashed straight white teeth, and Louise couldn’t look away.
She stopped. “You sure you don’t mind?”
“We’d love to have you,” Georgia said, standing. She closed the distance between them and linked her arm with Louise’s. “Just for an ice cream.”
Louise quit fighting herself and said, “Okay. I’ll take vanilla.”
“They whipped up a special batch of oatmeal cookie explosion,” Ty said. “Sure you don’t want to try it?” He held up his cone. “It’s pretty good.”
“No thanks.” She’d gone out on a limb with Paul. It had just ended badly, and she didn’t need to veer off the beaten path anytime again soon. Even with ice cream. “Vanilla is good.”
“Okay.” Ty hopped off the bench. The ice-cream store was just across the street. His shoulder brushed hers as he passed, and his eyes smiled.
She was glad he was so happy.
“What’s wrong?” Georgia hissed as soon as he passed.
“I just told Paul I wasn’t going to marry him and apologized for suggesting it in the first place.”
“He was heartbroken?” Georgia said in such a disbelieving tone that Louise had to smile. Like, how could any man ever be heartbroken if Louise broke up with him?
“Thanks,” Louise said dryly.
Georgia’s head snapped around, and she looked at Louise for a few seconds before she understood. “Oh no! I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know.”
“I’m surprised you’re upset about it, though. Are you having second thoughts?” Georgia led her to the bench, and they sat together.
“No. Nothing like that. He just seemed so down about it. I mean, he admitted he didn’t love me, but he gave me guilt about breaking my word, and he was right. But marrying him wouldn’t be fair to him. I didn’t go into it, though.” She bit her lip. “I know he would have been a steady dad for Tella, and I feel guilty. She’s already lived most of her childhood with no dad, and it’s all my fault.”
Georgia cocked her head. “Not to flaunt Ty, because he is an annoying big brother, but maybe having a superstar hockey player for a dad will make it up to her a little?”
That was a perk, but it didn’t make him a good dad. “Maybe.”
Georgia bumped her shoulder. “And if you and Ty get together, that will stop all the tongues from wagging about anything else and focus on you and Ty.”
“Yeah, until he leaves me again.”
Georgia’s smile dimmed. “He won’t.”
“My heart says you’re right, but my brain points out that he’s done it before. What if something happens to his mother? Or you? Or Ford? Would he leave me then? I mean, I don’t expect him to put his summer fling above his dad, but maybe something would happen again that would put him in a position to have to choose between me and his family. I don’t know what it could be, but something. You know?” Louise felt like she was whining, and she hated that feeling, but everything she’d said was the truth. Georgia had asked.
“I see what you’re saying. You trust him, but you’re not sure where you fit in order of importance. And if something happened, a fluke like Dad passing away, you’re not sure he wouldn’t do the same thing again.” Georgia crunched her cone, her eyes thoughtful.
“Exactly. And I know flukes don’t happen very often. But they seem to work in my life a little more than average.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’m scared. I’ve already messed up so badly for Tella. I don’t want to do it again. And yet, I almost did with Paul.”
“Ty’s only been home a few weeks. He needs to give you time.” She gave a short nod then popped the rest of her cone into her mouth, but her eyes met Louise’s. Both of them knew there wasn’t much time.
Louise took a deep breath. “I need to trust him.”
“You guys can work this out.”
“You seem confident he even wants to.”
“Mom and I have visited him several times a year. There are no girls in his life. Sure, you see pictures with wo
men on his arm, but there’s never been a steady girl. I told you, I really think that’s because he’s been stuck on you all this time.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Ty started back across the street with two cones in one hand and licking another. Georgia groaned. “Oh no. He got me another cone. I’m never going to be able to eat it all.”
Louise laughed. “You have to. I’d feel weird if you two sit and watch me eat ice cream.”
Georgia exaggerated squaring her shoulders. “Okay. I’ll have to take one for the team, I guess.”
Ty came back, holding the cones out for Georgia and Louise. “I’ve never taken two girls out at one time, so bear with me.”
Georgia giggled. “I’ve never shared my date with someone else, so bear with me, too.”
“I’ve never dated. So you can do whatever you want, and I’ll think it’s normal.” Louise shrugged before licking the melting ice cream around the base of her cone. Maybe ice cream was sweeter when a man bought it for her. Or maybe it was just Ty.
Ty had stilled when she spoke, but he seemed to shake himself. “You just went to the movies with Paul. That counts.”
“Does it count if I bought my own ticket?”
“No way!” Georgia almost shouted. “Most definitely not.”
Ty studied Louise like he’d never seen her before. “You never dated?”
“Sweet Water isn’t exactly a hotbed of romantic prospects, and my diaper bag didn’t exactly scream ‘sexy and available,’ although I think it did attract certain guys who thought that since I’d already had a child, I was...” She let the sentence trail off, unwilling to finish. There hadn’t been that many of those, anyway. Maybe two.
“Easy,” Georgia supplied.
“Yes.”
Ty’s lips flattened. He looked like he was eating a lemon instead of ice cream. “Go out with me, Louise. On a date.” His voice was rough like sand over gravel.
Maybe she’d shared too much. She hadn’t wanted pity. She didn’t want a pity date, either. “I haven’t dated, but I do think it’s rude to ask Date B out for another date while Date A is watching.”
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