Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
“So. A kid.”
Lacey slowly lifted her eyes from her meal.
Thank goodness Mack had the foresight not to take her to the restaurant where she worked.
That was a point in his favor. She’d had the occasional date take her to The Steer House on the off chance they could get a discount.
Mack had engaged in the typical small talk.
And normally, broaching the subject of Bridger was never a possibility. She never brought him up.
Unfortunately, he’d found out at that party.
She swallowed. “Yes. A kid.”
He grinned at her as he leaned back and shifted so he could rest his arm atop the back of his chair. “I’d expected that I’d get an earful about him by now. We’re…” Mack glanced at his watch. “An hour in, and you haven’t said a word. I didn’t imagine him, did I?”
Lacey placed her fork down and wiped her mouth with her napkin, contemplating how to best explain without sounding rude. “I told you about my one date rule.”
“Yes,” he drawled. “As much as I’d like to go along with it, I’m sorry to say I decline.”
She stilled, her words leaving her. “What?”
This time he leaned forward. “I simply haven’t gotten enough of you, Lacey.”
She flushed. There was no helping it. “Well, that’s too bad.”
Mack’s chuckle was low and warm. It curled around her, infusing her with something not entirely unpleasant. “Oh, you’re going to go out with me again.”
“No, I won’t. This date isn’t even over yet.”
“Exactly my point. It’s getting late, and you have a kid to get home to that you don’t like talking about. If I had to guess, it’s because you’re a little overprotective.” He pinched his finger and thumb together all the while grinning at her with that infuriating smirk.
Lacey’s instincts to snap at him ebbed. He couldn’t force her to do anything.
Crossing her arms, she smiled right back.
“I don’t talk about my son, because he doesn’t matter to you.
He never will—because this—” She gestured between the two of them.
“While not a bad first date by any means, it will not continue on to a second.”
“Yeah, so you say,” he quipped. “But let me ask you something.”
She lifted a brow.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
He leaned forward, bringing his chair closer to the edge of the table and lowering his voice almost conspiratorially. “Why have that rule?”
Lacey opened her mouth then closed it. Never had she been required to argue her case. She wasn’t about to tell him that men weren’t to be trusted. He wouldn’t accept that story. And something told her that he wasn’t going to let this go if she said it was in fact because she was overprotective.
Not by a little, but by a whole ton.
She definitely wouldn’t go into her whole backstory and tell him that if she picked the wrong guy, her parents might try to get her son back again. They cared more about raising him than allowing him to be raised by his own mother.
Her face heated, and she frowned at him. “It shouldn’t matter what my reasons are. As long as they make sense to me, that’s all that matters.”
He studied her for a moment, making her squirm beneath his gaze. She half-expected him to goad her into more of an explanation. But he didn’t. Instead, he shrugged and leaned back in his seat again. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll figure it out.”
His dismissal irritated her more than she wanted to admit. “Let me ask you something,” she shot back.
Mack grinned. “Please do.”
“Why?”
For a moment, he actually looked confused. “Why what?”
“Why are you being so pushy about this? I’m clearly not interested. Why not cut your losses? Please don’t tell me you think you’re God’s gift to women.”
The way his lip quirked upward on one side made it evident she wasn’t too far off. But then again, there was something in his eyes that gave her pause. It was a flicker, a glimpse of something else that almost looked like insecurity. Had she found a chink in his armor?
Lacey didn’t get a chance to delve into that possibility before he chuckled. It was low and less filled with amusement than others had been. “Because I like you.”
She scoffed. “You don’t know me.”
“But I want to.” Mack shifted his focus to his drink and picked it up, watching the liquid as he swirled it.
“I know enough about you to know that you intrigue me. A woman with a child—not a baby—working as a waitress in a small town.” His eyes flitted up to meet hers, and her heart stilled.
“Don’t you find it interesting? There’s a story there. ”
Lacey swallowed and forced herself to look away. “It’s nothing any different than most single mothers out there.”
“Perhaps.”
The rest of their date shifted to something lighter after that. Thankfully, Mack had eased the tension by asking about her job and interests—steering clear of her family and Bridger.
Once home, he walked her up to her apartment.
She leaned against the door and stared up into his face.
The man was infuriating in so many different ways. And yet there was something about him that made her wonder if her one date rule was necessary.
He pressed a palm beside her head against the door as he gazed down at her.
His eyes smoldered, heated her like a laser from the inside out.
Mack wasn’t the first cowboy she’d been on a date with, but he was the first one who made her stomach flip when he shifted his focus to her mouth for that brief moment.
Lacey swallowed. “Thanks for dinner.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured.
He nodded to the door. “Mind if I come in?”
“Not gonna happen,” she whispered, though she didn’t sound convinced even to herself.
His crooked grin didn’t hint at a lick of disappointment. “Not even to let me say goodnight to the kid?”
Her eyes narrowed, and he chuckled.
“Ease up. I’m just teasing.” He moved closer, dipping his face closer to her. For a brief moment, she considered letting him steal a kiss. She hadn’t been kissed in years.
Years .
Not since she’d finally gotten her life on track and prioritized getting Bridger back. Unbidden, her hand came up, and she pressed her fingertips against his chest. Only the slightest pressure was needed for her to get him to stop his progress.
“Goodnight, Mack,” she whispered.
“Goodnight,” he murmured, taking a step back to allow her to turn to her door with her keys in hand. “I’m gonna wear you down,” he added.
She smiled, her back turned to him, hating that he was already getting to her. “Good luck with that.”
“Lace! I have the best news!”
Lacey pulled her phone away from her ear as her sister all but squealed into the phone.
“I’m coming to Rocky Ridge for a few weeks!”
Blinking, Lacey looked at her phone. There was no way she’d heard that right. “What?”
“I’m expanding! Can you believe it? I just found the cutest storefront to lease, and I signed the paperwork yesterday. I’m going to come down there and get things going so we can open at the end of the month.”
“That’s incredible!” Lacey smiled. “Congratulations!”
“Isn’t it? Now I have more excuses to come visit! You won’t have to come up to Billings to see me and try to avoid seeing Mom and Dad.”
Lacey grimaced. They all knew she avoided seeing them as much as possible. It was for the best, really. She couldn’t trust them, and they still harbored resentment with everything that had happened since she was a teenager.
“So…” Angela drawled. “You gonna let me stay with you?”
Lacey scrunched her face up, grateful her sister couldn’t see her. “You realize you’d have to sleep on the couch. I only have a one-bedroom apartment. I can move Bridger’s bed into my room. It’ll be cramped, though.”
“I don’t care if I’m sleeping on the couch. You know me. I just want to hang out with my baby sister and my favorite nephew.”
“He’s your only nephew,” Lacey said dryly.
Angela laughed. “How long is that gonna last? You finally gonna accept that the kid needs a father figure?”
Lacey rolled her eyes. “What about you? When are you going to make our parents actually excited to be grandparents? I’m sure they’d love to see you married and having kids.”
“Not until I find the right guy. And Lace? They don’t exist.”
Lacey held back a snort. If her sister believed that, then she shouldn’t be pushing her baby sister to marry some guy just so Bridger had a father-figure.
Against her will, her thoughts shifted to Mack. He wasn’t father material. At least he didn’t appear to be. He was the charming, flirtatious type who wanted to give a girl a good time and then move on so he didn’t get bored.
But that wasn’t what he’d said.
“Lace? You still there?”
She blinked. Shoot. Had Angela been speaking? “Yeah? What were you saying?”
“I asked how everything was going. Meet any interesting guys? I know the town is small, but sometimes the ranches have turnovers.”
She could tell Angela about Mack, but something held her back.
Her sister was well aware of her one-date rule.
She teased Lacey incessantly about it, and at the same time, utilized it to her benefit.
Usually, the guys would end up asking Angela out after the fact.
They were flings, but it wasn’t something either sister wanted to change.
Nope. Lacey wasn’t about to talk about Mack. There was a twinge of something sour in her gut at the thought of her sister hanging all over Mack. It wasn’t rational, but there it was.
“Nothing interesting,” Lacey said. “Oh! My friend Sammie had her baby. I haven’t been over to see her yet, but I hear she’s beautiful.”
“That’s exciting.”
They continued to speak for about another half hour, planning for Angela’s stay. Her sister caught her up on everything going on with their parents. And then they hung up.
Lacey sat on the couch, Bridger still asleep on her bed. He’d slept there the last couple of nights. Lately, he’d been getting nightmares. It wasn’t a big deal. The bed was large enough, and she didn’t mind cuddling with him. Soon enough, he wouldn’t want to cuddle with his mother.
It had been three days since her date. She’d already gotten a couple text messages from Mack, but she’d ignored them. They were the typical short notes that most men sent when they wanted to go out again.
I had a really good time.
When can we go out again?
And then there were a few that were more personal.
Ignore me all you like, baby, I’m not going anywhere.
She stared at that message, her thumb hovering over the delete icon. Was it the fact that he’d called her a pet name? Or that he insisted he wasn’t going anywhere that stopped her from just trashing the message?
Lacey tossed the phone to the couch and curled up with her blanket. The town was small enough she knew she’d likely bump into him. And when she did? She’d have to turn him down to his face.
Something told her that was going to be incredibly difficult.
Burying her face into her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs, she heaved a sigh. The worst part was that it was tempting. They’d had a good time for the most part. He’d won several points in his favor.
But there were more important things to worry about.
Bridger’s custody, for one. She didn’t know how easy it would be for the courts to take away her rights again, but she wasn’t going to risk it. It would be best to keep everything status quo.
Two missed calls, three flirtatious messages, and three days later, Lacey pulled up in front of Sammie’s house. She’d insisted that they could wait to come meet the baby, but Sammie wouldn’t hear of it.
Lacey opened the back door of her car, and Bridger jumped out with a pink stuffed horse. He hustled toward the front of the house just as the door opened. Lacey turned just in time to see Mack exiting the house.
Of course.
He did live on this property. And Caleb was his brother. Why wouldn’t they bump into each other?
Mack smirked at her, his arms folded as he leaned in the door jamb. “That’s weird, I didn’t order a cute girl.”
Lacey rolled her eyes and let out a groan. “ Really ?”
He flashed her a wider smile and pushed away from the door. “I was wondering if there was something you could help me with.”
She headed up the steps, stopping before reaching the top of the porch since he stood in her way. He was even taller, and she had to crane her neck to look at him fully. “And what is that, Mitch?”
Mack held out his hand, unbothered by her use of an incorrect name. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Without thinking it over, she reached for her device and hesitantly handed it over.
He tapped the screen a few times, then lifted it to his ear. She watched as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and handed it to her. It was buzzing. “Here, will you answer that for me?”
“What? No. You answer it.”
He pointed to her phone he still held to his ear. “I’m making a call.”
She shook her head, flabbergasted, and grabbed his phone. “Hello?”
“So, your phone does work.” Mack’s voice came through the speaker and echoed in front of her. She gasped and whipped the phone away from her ear to hang up. Glowering at him while he laughed, she held out her hand. “Give me back my phone.”
Mack shrugged and did as she asked.
“You’re ridiculous,” she muttered, making an attempt to move past him, but he blocked her.
“I’d like to think that I’m committed.”
“Committed? Committed to what ?”
He shrugged again, his lips curling into a grin that was more devilish than charming. Her heart stuttered, and she had to force herself to keep breathing.
Lacey heaved a sigh when he made it clear he wasn’t moving. “Excuse me. I’d like to visit with Sammie and the baby.” Just as she said it, Bridger bolted from the house. He squeezed around Mack, breathlessly. “Mom! I saw her. I saw the baby. Sammie let me hold her. She’s so tiny.”
Dang it! And she’d missed it!
“Don’t worry.” Caleb’s voice came from the doorway, and Mack turned toward him. “We got pictures.”
Bridger hopped up and down. “Caleb said I could play catch with him. Can I?” She couldn’t fault him for losing interest so quickly. He was six. And the baby wasn’t related to him in any way. “Please?” Bridger pressed.
“Let the kid play. He could probably use some manly influences.” Mack said it so quiet she wasn’t sure anyone else heard.
She shot him a warning look, and he held up his hands before backing up a step to allow her passage. Lacey glanced to Caleb. “If you’re okay with it.”
“It’s fine,” Caleb assured her as he waved a hand through the air. “Mack and I played a lot as children. It’ll be fun to toss a ball around again.” He guided her toward the door, pressing his hand to the small of her back.
Lacey shot one more look at Mack as Caleb nudged her inside. There was nothing she could do to stop it.
And she wasn’t sure she wanted to.