Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Maybe she was a glutton for punishment.
Yep, that had to be it.
This was the second time in less than a week that Wendy had shown up at the Sagebrush property. And it was the second time in less than a week that she’d had one person in mind that she wanted to see.
Maybe she had finally lost her mind. She actually wanted to spend time with the man who she’d considered her enemy mere months ago.
She laughed to herself as she climbed out of her car and shut the door. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell anyone her real reason to be here, but she had a plan. And that was why she was headed toward Hallie’s house.
Wendy knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered, she pulled out her phone to call her friend. But at that moment, Hallie materialized.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
Wendy spun around. “Hey! I just wanted to say hi.”
Hallie didn’t bother hiding her smirk. That infuriating brow lifted, and she placed one hand on her hip as she bumped it out. “Really? You just wanted to say hi?”
Heat bloomed beneath her skin. She could feel it spreading faster than a wildfire. There was no point in making excuses. Hallie had seen her speaking with Tripp at the bonfire. Folding her arms, Wendy laughed. “Am I not allowed to come say hi to my friend?”
“Of course not,” Hallie insisted. “But we both know why you’re here. Has Tripp seen you yet?”
“No…” Wendy drawled. “Why would he want to—”
“Oh, enough. You wanted to come say hi to someone else. And that’s totally fine.
” She glanced over her shoulder toward the other side of the property where the barns were located.
“I’m pretty sure he’s here somewhere. He didn’t have to go anywhere today.
” Her smile turned wicked. “But if you don’t want to see him… ”
“Fine. I wanted to see him. But I wanted to see how you were doing, too.” Wendy admitted. “You know… with Jacob?”
Hallie’s hand dropped to her side and her expression shifted to be less readable.
Wendy laughed out loud. “You can’t stand there and tell me that nothing is going on when I saw you with him at the bonfire. Fair is fair. Spill. Are you two finally going to take this somewhere?”
“There’s nothing here to take,” Hallie insisted with a shrug. “He’s busy with work. Traveling a lot. He doesn’t want to deal with a relationship.”
“He said that?” Wendy asked skeptically.
Hallie shrugged again.
Wendy frowned. She headed down the steps of the porch and wrapped her arms around her friend. It was what Hallie wasn’t saying that screamed the loudest. “He’s an idiot,” she muttered.
“It’s fine,” Hallie murmured, but she didn’t pull away from Wendy’s hug. “It’s totally fine.” This time her voice cracked.
Her heart broke for her friend. She’d had a crush on Jacob for years. The worst part was that Jacob was such a nice guy, it was hard to hate him. There was nothing Wendy could say to Hallie to make her feel better.
Relationships were scary.
And risking a broken heart was the bravest thing anyone could do.
They pulled away from one another and Hallie brushed her fingers beneath her eyes. She let out a sad laugh then gave Wendy a light shove. “Your turn. Tell me about you and my cousin.”
“There isn’t anything between Tripp and me,” Wendy insisted.
“Uh huh. Sure. Not even… going slow?”
“Nope. We’ve agreed to be friends.”
Hallie set her with a strange look. “Really didn’t look like you were just friends at the bonfire.”
“Well, we are.”
Her friend let out an exaggerated sigh. “Whatever. Don’t tell me. Just…” She squinted for a moment. “Be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Wendy brushed off her friend’s concerns. “I’m good.”
“Wendy? Fancy seeing you here.”
They both turned to find Tripp standing beside his brother. Hallie scowled at Tripp for a second before she waved a hand through the air. “And that’s my cue.”
Wendy didn’t have a chance to argue before Hallie rushed up the steps and disappeared inside. She faced Tripp with a nervous smile.
How was it that Tripp could make her feel this way with one look? Or maybe it was simply his proximity.
“Me too,” Brent grumbled. “See you later.” Brent headed toward another house, leaving the two alone with each other.
Tripp prowled toward her and her heart stumbled.
She dug her nails into her palms and forced a smile if only to cover the fact that he was making her more nervous than she should reasonably be.
“Please tell me you’re not here just to hang out with Hallie.
” He reached for her hand and traced his thumb over her knuckles before lifting it to his lips.
“And if I was?” she whispered.
He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “You’d be breaking my heart.”
The old Wendy would have snorted at him and thrown a snarky comment in his face. But this Wendy? She was changed. Tripp’s words didn’t seem cheesy. They didn’t seem like a line to win her over.
Those words felt real.
“I guess you’re lucky, then,” she murmured, bringing her hand up to his hair.
She feathered her fingers through the strands near his temple, and he closed his eyes as if her touch was enough to make him fall to his knees.
That was a different kind of power and she had to admit she craved it.
“I was rather hoping that you’d take me for a horse ride. ”
He arched a brow. “A ride, huh?”
She pulled her lips between her teeth and nodded.
“I know the perfect place.”
The temperature was just right for an early evening ride. Tripp kept looking in her direction as they plodded along as if he was worried something would happen to her. It was endearing, really. Wendy hadn’t felt more cherished, and Tripp barely had to make any effort.
“You smell that?”
Wendy glanced at him. “What?”
“Lavender.”
She blinked. “Really?” Taking in a deep breath apparently wasn’t enough because Tripp shook his head.
“Close your eyes.”
She did as she was told. Cutting out her sense of sight only enhanced the sounds and smells surrounding them. Wind whistled through the pine boughs off to the side of their trail. The scent of their needles mingled with something more floral. The two smells tantalized her olfactory nerves.
It was heavenly.
Wendy sensed Tripp’s gaze the longer she kept her eyes shut but he didn’t rush her. She couldn’t remember a time when she was more at ease than in this moment.
When her eyes opened, she turned to him. “It really is magical out here, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “I’ve always liked it.”
“I don’t know why you don’t just live out here all day every day.”
He smirked. “Then when would I get a chance to see you?”
“Oh, I’d visit. How could I not?”
“Nah. If you came out here to visit, I might not let you go. Then we’d both be stuck out here.”
She laughed. “I could think of worse things.”
Tripp sobered. “Really?”
“Sure. I’m not much of a city girl if you haven’t noticed. We live in a small town. I came from a small town in Georgia. I think I might have lived in the mountains in a cabin in a prior life because I can’t think of a better sanctuary than that.”
He cocked his head slightly. “Not a house on the beach? Or a penthouse in the city, huh?”
Wendy wrinkled her nose. “Hardly. What about you?”
Tripp glanced around them as if he needed to consider what she was asking. Then he nodded. “I think you might be right. A beach isn’t the same as something out here surrounded by greenery. I don’t think I could live anywhere that it didn’t snow. And the city is just so…”
“Loud?”
He grinned. “Exactly. We moved here from the city and I have to say, I don’t miss it.”
“Okay, so we covered a dream place to settle down. We know about our dream jobs. What else can we discuss?”
“How many kids do you want?”
She nearly choked when she sucked in a sharp breath. “That was unexpected.”
“How so? You either want them, or you don’t.”
Wendy gaped at him. “I’d rather talk about my issues writing than how many kids I want.”
“Okay, then let’s talk about that.”
She stiffened.
“Wendy,” he sighed, “we’ve tiptoed around it and I really want to help.”
“You want to help,” she said evenly, the skepticism dripping from her voice.
“Of course I do.” He pulled his horse to a stop and she did the same.
Fiddling with the reins in his hands, he murmured, “I’m still researching programs to get certified in equine dentistry.
It’s going to take more effort to find something that will work with my schedule, but I’m going to make it happen. ”
“That’s great! I’m so happy for you.”
“Like I said, it’s not a done deal or anything. But I’m taking the first step. I think you need to figure out your first step.”
“I’ve already—”
“I’m not talking about the prep work. I’m talking about the first step in accepting what’s holding you back.”
She frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He finally met her gaze and she shivered at the way he seemed to be able to stare right through her. “I’m talking about realizing that you’re scared.”
Her jaw tightened. This wasn’t what she wanted to discuss. It felt like beating a dead horse. She just wanted to drop it and move on. But then what good would that do?
It wouldn’t do any good at all.
Wendy blew out a heavy breath. “I am scared,” she admitted quietly. “I’m terrified. I don’t know that I want to put my heart and soul into something and have people rip it apart or judge me based on the content I write.”
He nodded but he didn’t interrupt.
“And you know what? There’s no way to get past that. Every time I try to start the story, I end up deleting everything. Nothing sticks. I get too much into my head and…” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to do.”
Silence permeated the air around them. Even the critters seemed to be giving them a moment to digest her confession.
Then she continued. “And don’t get me started on the fact that I worry my failed relationships will bleed into my stories and people will be able to tell that I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Because you’re supposed to write about what you know, right?
But what do I know? I’ve never had a really serious relationship. ”
Then Tripp urged his horse forward. “I’m sorry.”
Her head whipped up and she frowned. “What do you have to be sorry about?”
“What I said about you being picky—”
She sliced her hand through the air dismissively. “Don’t.”
“But—”
“Seriously. Honestly, you were probably right. Everything I’ve read has been romanticized for good reason.
Those romance novels are fantasies. That’s why people love to escape into them.
They want to believe there is a man out there who will love only them and once they get past the first hurdle, everything will be easy as pie.
But that’s not how life goes. There will be several hard days.
Over several hard years. Makes me wonder if that’s why divorce rates are up so high. ”
He continued to listen to her. Just listen. It was exactly what she’d needed. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized that he might just be perfect for her. Was it possible that she could overlook the things that made her nervous to begin with?
Perhaps.
Because Tripp was showing her nothing but proof that he wasn’t exactly what she’d expected.
Far from it, actually.
She opened her mouth, tempted to ask him out on an official date even though she’d been so insistent that they couldn’t do anything more than be casual. But then that fear gripped her throat and she couldn’t find the words.
Tripp might have been showing her attention lately, but that didn’t mean he was a changed man. She’d told him that he could keep dating other people. It would allow him to scratch the itch he more than likely had.
He’d said himself that he was scared to settle down. Not once had he told her that he was brave enough to try with her.
Would it have even mattered?
She couldn’t say.
Wendy offered him a small smile. “Thank you for listening to me, Tripp. I really needed it.”
“Anytime,” he assured her. “Ready?” He motioned toward the trail. “We can head back, or we can keep going. Whatever you’re up for.”
She peered in the direction they’d been going. Then over her shoulder. Then back to him. “I want to see the lavender fields. They have to be close, right?”
He nodded. “Close enough.”
“Then let’s do it.”