Chapter 3
“You know,” Ida says thoughtfully as she reaches for another delicious peanut butter cookie that I swear is laced with an addictive, possibly illegal substance, “I used to be squarely in the Team Evan category.”
“I didn’t realize there were teams.” My voice is dry as I cross my arms over my chest, wondering where she’s going with this.
“Well, he’s a nice kid. Definitely has the tall, dark, and handsome thing down, and he’s so charming. Not to mention, we all know that Evan has political aspirations, and you know all about that life.”
Yeah, and I have no intention of ever being with anyone who reminds me of my father.
“Evan is just a friend,” I remind her. “I’ve never said anything different, especially to him.”
“Oh, I’m not insinuating that you’re a tease, honey,” Ida continues, munching on the delicious cookie. “Not at all. I just like him. But you don’t look at Evan the way that you look at Chase.”
“And how is that?”
“Like he’s a big piece of chocolate cake, and you’d like to eat him alive.”
I smirk and shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
I hope I don’t, anyway, because how embarrassing is that?
“It’s not obvious,” Ida continues, reassuring me. “You’re not all gooey and ridiculous about it, as if you were a teenager, but I see the spark in your eyes when he walks through that door, and that spark definitely isn’t there when you’re talking with Evan.”
“Thank you for the play-by-play,” I retort. I don’t really know what else to say to that, so I start unpacking new plants that just came in.
“And it’s new,” she continues, clearly on a roll. “Not that Chase spends a lot of time in here, but I can’t say that it’s something I’ve noticed before.”
“Ida?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”
“You’re the boss.”
“I need that drink,”I announce to my best friend, Polly, as I sit in the booth across from her at The Wolf Den, our favorite bar in town. “Thanks for ordering ahead.”
I sip the huckleberry margarita and sigh in happiness.
“Bad day?” Polly asks with a laugh.
“Not bad,” I reply and sip again. “But man, it’s been busy. I bet your shop’s busy, too.”
Polly owns the best dress boutique I’ve ever been in. A Pocket Full of Polly continues to grow in popularity, and she’s expanding to online sales, which is super exciting.
“Crazy season,” she confirms and holds her glass up to cheers with mine. “And God bless it; it keeps us afloat in the lean months.”
“I know,” I concede, “but man, I feel like I can’t catch my breath this week.”
A shadow falls over the table, and I look up, surprised to see Evan there.
“Hello, ladies,” he says with a smile.
“Don’t tell me you’re working as a server part time,” Polly says.
“No, ma’am, I’m here with a colleague and thought I’d swing by and say hello. How are you two?”
“Great,” I reply with a smile. “Glad the work day is over.”
“I hear that. You two have fun.” He knocks on the table and then walks away, and I look over at my best friend.
“Don’t tell me that you think I should date Evan.”
Polly scowls. “Hell no. Evan is absolutely not your type.”
“Thank you.” I sigh in relief and have another sip of my drink. “The ladies at work seem to think Evan is my type, and I’ve always made it clear to him that he’s just a friend.”
“I mean, sure, he’s handsome, but knowing your history with politics, I know you don’t want any part of that scene,” Polly says, shaking her head.
“I do have a confession.” I take another sip of my drink, needing the courage.
“Did you sleep with Evan?” she asks, her eyes widening.
“No! Hell no.” I scrunch up my nose. “Just, no. I think I might have a crush on Chase Wild.”
Polly stares at me for five seconds and then busts up laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Of course, you do, honey. Have you seen that man? Holy shit, Summer, he’s hot as the sun, and I think you should chase him down—see what I did there?”
“Har har.”
“Chase that man down and ride him like the cowboy he is.”
“Polly.”
“What? You should. You haven’t dated in five freaking years. It’s time to move on from those assholes and get laid, girlfriend.”
“Hi, Pot, I’m Kettle. I don’t see you dating and getting laid.”
“I’m focusing on my career right now.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Yeah? Me, too.”
“Seriously, Summer,” Polly continues. “You told me that Chase asked you out years ago.”
“He did, but I wasn’t ready for anything then. I was too…numb.”
“I get that. But you’re not numb now.”
“No, I’m not. He was so sweet when he came to my place on the Fourth, and he pops in now and then to see how I am. He even brought me cookies today because he said his mom made too many.”
“Okay, that’s sweet. And a total excuse to get to see you.”
“You think?”
“Hell yes. If he had extra cookies, he could have taken them to work or something. He wanted to see you. He’s hot, Summer. Do it. Go for it.”
“I don’t know.”
Polly rolls her eyes. “Okay, now you’re annoying me. You don’t have anything to lose. Do the hot Wild brother so you can report back and tell me all about it.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good reason to have sex,” I say, considering. “Also, I didn’t even say anything about sex to begin with. I was thinking about just dating him.”
“Do both,” Polly suggests with a wink. “And tell me all about it.”
“You’ve lived here all your life,” I reply, and lean back when our food is delivered. Polly ordered this for us, too. “God, I love tacos.”
“Me, too,” Polly says. “Sure, I’ve lived here forever. What do you want to know?”
“What do you know about the Wild family as a whole?”
“Aside from the fact that they breed hot men?” She pops a chip into her mouth and shrugs. “They were one of the founding families of Bitterroot Valley, so they go way back. Rem runs the ranch now. Chase is the cop. Brady rides rodeo every chance he gets, and he’s damn good at it.”
“Doesn’t he win awards and stuff?”
“Oh, yeah, that man is damn good on a bull. Ryan’s the second oldest.” She twists her lips before taking a bite of her taco. “He left for a long time, worked in the city. I think he was in New York, but I’m not sure. Something to do with finance.”
“I’ve seen him around town recently.”
“Rumor has it that he’s back for a while. He has a good-sized ranch of his own, and he bought some horses recently. My brother’s been helping him with them. Ryan rescued them from a pretty bad situation.”
“Okay, that’s kind of sexy, a man who rescues horses.”
Polly chuckles and nods.
“Does your brother know him well?”
“Oh, yeah, Mac and Ryan have been best friends since they were kids. And then Millie is the youngest Wild sibling.”
“I love Millie,” I reply and scoop a heap of guac onto my chip and take a bite. “She’s the best.”
“Totally agree.” Polly nods. “Chase is the middle kid. Smack in the middle. I like him.”
“I think I like him, too.” I finish my taco and drain the last of my margarita. “I mean, I already knew that I liked him well enough as a person, but I’m attracted to him. So, I think I’ll consider a date with him.”
“Oh, great,” Polly says with fake enthusiasm. “At the rate you move, you’ll date him when you’re at retirement age.”
“You’re a riot.”
With a smirk, Polly also finishes her meal, and we decide to call it a night. We pay the bill and walk out of the bar to our vehicles.
“Next week, same time, same place?” I ask her.
“Unless you have a hot date with the cop, yes,” she replies and leans in to hug me. “Seriously, go on a date with him.”
“I don’t even know if he wants to,” I remind her.
“He does.” She winks at me and gets into her car. “I’ll wait for you to get in yours before I pull away.”
I wave and then unlock my own car, get inside, and start the engine, and then Polly drives off, headed for home.
After putting the car in reverse, my car starts to move, but I realize immediately that something isn’t right.
“What in the hell?” I put it back in park and get out, circle the car, and realize that I have a flat tire on the passenger side. “Well, shit.”
The door of the bar opens, and Evan strolls out, tilts his head when he sees me, and hurries over. “Are you okay, Summer?”
“Flat tire,” I reply with a sigh. “Just my luck.”
He scowls and walks around to see for himself, and kicks it. “Yep, that’s flat. Come on, I’ll give you a lift home, and we can call Brooks to come take care of this.”
“Thanks.” I follow him over to his BMW and sit in the passenger seat after he holds the door for me. “I’m sorry about this, but I’m grateful for the ride home.”
“It’s definitely not your fault,” he replies immediately and fastens his seat belt. “You probably ran over a nail or something somewhere along the way.”
“I just replaced those tires, too,” I grumble with a huff. “Figures, right?”
“They’ll fix it,” he assures me as he drives us into our neighborhood. “Did you and Polly have fun?”
“We always have fun,” I reply with a smile. “I feel like we’ve been friends since we were kids. Aunt Paula says we’re two peas in a pod.”
“I like her a lot,” he says with a nod. “She’s a good businesswoman. Her boutique seems to be doing really well.”
“She’s smart about what she brings in to sell,” I agree. “Tourists and locals alike love it, and I think that’s really smart.”
“I agree.”
“You should date her.”
Evan glances my way, an amused look on his handsome face. “I like her, but not like that.”
“Your loss, I guess.” Evan pulls up to my house. “Thanks a lot for the ride. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Do you want me to walk you in?”
“Nah, I’ve had my eye on the security app, and there hasn’t been anything going on. I’m good. Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
“Anytime. Have a good night.” He waves to me, offers me that charming smile, and then drives off toward his own house just down the street.
It’s too bad that Evan isn’t interested in Polly that way because I think they’d make a cute couple.
Lily is excited to see me when I walk in the door. She does her zoomies through the house and then runs out to the yard to do her business as I put a load of laundry into the wash and unload the dishwasher. By the time that’s done, she’s ready to come back in, and I give her dinner.
“I know you hate these evenings when you’re here by yourself.” I scratch her behind the ears. “But I deserve to have a social life, too, you know.”
She doesn’t reply, just leans into my hand as I continue to scratch her in her favorite spot.
“Come on. Let’s go watch some TV.”
“When did you get here?”Sharla asks me with a frown. She glances at her watch. “I thought I was early, and it’s seven in the damn morning.”
“I was here at six,” I reply without looking up from the bridal bouquet I’m working on. “This is a busy weekend.”
“They’re all busy this time of year.” Sharla loops her apron over her head and immediately strides into the cooler to fetch what she needs for the orders she’s working on today. Before long, Ida and Vickie arrive, ready to dig into work.
“Margie’s sick today,” I inform the others, who all pause what they’re doing and stare at me. “That’s all I know. So, Vickie, you’ll be delivering by yourself today. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Vickie says, waving me off. “I’ve got this. Don’t worry about it. If I have to, I can stay late.”
“Thank you,” I reply, relieved that the conversation went way better than expected. Not that Vickie’s ever given me trouble, but I was worried that she’d tell me she couldn’t stay later than scheduled. “I owe you.”
“You owe me nothing,” Vickie says with a wink. “We’ve got this.”
The morning flies by, and when the bell above the door sounds, my eyes are glassy, and my brain is foggy as I look up and see Chase walking through the door.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says with that handsome grin, looking delicious in his uniform.
“Afternoon?” I repeat and check the time. “Wow, I didn’t realize it was so late.”
“I take that to mean that you haven’t eaten,” he guesses and sets a brown paper bag on the glass counter. “One turkey on rye with mustard. Just for you.”
My stomach growls.
“You should go sit outside in the fresh air and eat that,” Ida suggests. “Take twenty minutes.”
“I shouldn’t,” I reply as I untie my apron and pull it over my head. “But I’m going to. Do you have time to join me?”
“You bet.”
I gesture for Chase to follow me, and we walk outside and across the street to the park in the town center. We find a bench and sit, and when I unwrap the sandwich, I sigh in happiness and pass Chase half.
“Eat with me.”
“I won’t pass it up.”
We take a bite in companionable silence, watching people pass by, and I tip my head up as I chew, enjoying the way the sunshine feels on my face.
“I love summertime,” I murmur before I open my eyes and take another bite. “I used to live for it. Every year, I got to come here to Bitterroot Valley and spend a couple of months with Aunt Paula, help her in the shop, and run around her property. I still say that summer here in Bitterroot Valley is the absolute best, but now I can’t help but wonder why she would agree to let me come stay with her every year.”
“Why do you say that?” he asks.
“Because now I know how busy she was. It’s the craziest time of year for the business, yet she never said no to having me underfoot for several months at a time.”
“She probably enjoyed it as much as you did.”
“I think so, too, but she must have been swamped.”
“What did your parents do while you were here for the summer?”
I clear my throat and shrug a shoulder. “The same thing they did when I was home. My parents are in politics, so they traveled a lot. It felt like they were constantly campaigning and running off somewhere. When Dad was in DC, Mom would go with him. I swear, they’re attached at the hip. He’s retired now, but they still like to schmooze with the who’s who of politics. They weren’t thrilled that I didn’t follow in their footsteps.”
“They wanted you to?”
“Of course. I was supposed to be the first woman governor of Montana. But I did not want to go to law school, and the political life didn’t interest me. They supported me through college, but once I’d graduated, I told them to stop sending money. I just wanted to be separate from them, in every way.”
“That’s a very different family life than what I grew up with,” he considers and watches and someone jaywalk across the street.
“Is that really illegal?” I shield my eyes from the sun with my hand.
“Yep,” he says with a sigh. “Walking outside of a designated crosswalk is a violation, and I can write a ticket for it.”
“Do you?”
“Not often,” he says with a shrug. “I don’t have time. But I have in the past, and I likely will again. Usually when it’s dangerous and the jaywalker is being stupid.”
“Makes sense.” I nod and can’t help but smile, remembering all the times I’ve done it myself. “I have to confess, I’m guilty of jaywalking.”
“I’ll cuff you and take you in.”
The idea of Chase cuffing me makes my mouth go dry, and I can’t help but look over at his mouth. It’s full and sexy, and he’s likely good at using it.
“For the first time in my life, I wish I could read minds.”
That pulls me right out of my reverie, and I laugh nervously. “And I’m glad that you can’t. Thank you for lunch. It was really nice of you.”
“I feel bad that I ate half of it.”
“Don’t. I offered.” I smile over at him, and he reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear.
“I think we should hang out sometime, Blondie.”
“You do? Also, did you just call me Blondie?”
“It suits you.” His lips twitch with humor. “And yes, I do. What do you say? I mean, we’re friends, right? And friends hang out together.”
As friends.Well, that’s disappointing, but I nod slowly. “Sure. They do. That would be fun. How are things going out at the ranch for the wedding?”
“It’s busy out there,” he says. “In fact, I’ll be headed there in a little while when I get off work. I’m building the arbor, bar, and a few other things for Erin, and I spend my days off out at the ranch, working on those projects.”
“I didn’t know that you built stuff.”
“It’s a hobby.” He lifts a shoulder. “It takes my mind off things.”
“That’s how I feel when I’m designing flowers,” I agree. “I can just zone out. It’s my favorite part of the business.”
“Not all the taxes and math?”
“No. That’s definitely not my favorite. What else have you built?”
“All kinds of things. My dining room table, a chair for my mom, a wishing well birdbath that a friend asked me to make his wife for her birthday.”
“That sounds super cool. Do you have a picture?”
“As a matter of fact.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through photos, then turns it to me, and I feel my jaw drop.
“Chase, that’s gorgeous.”
“It turned out sharp,” he agrees. “Here’s hoping everything that Erin wants works out, as well. Some of the wood from the old barn is too rotten, so it’s been a pain in the ass. What are some of your hobbies?”
“I like to paint. I don’t do it often, but I enjoy it. Mostly watercolors, but sometimes I’ll draw with charcoal.” I watch a little boy riding his bike on the sidewalk alongside his mom, who’s pushing a stroller. “I should do more of that. Paint, that is.”
“If it makes you happy, then yeah, you should.” The radio on Chase’s belt signals, and he grins over at me ruefully. “I have to get back to work.”
“Me, too,” I say as we stand. “Thanks again for lunch and the break. It was nice.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he says, but stays put.
“Don’t you have to go?”
“Not until you’re safely back inside your shop.”
I frown and glance around. “It’s the middle of the day. I’ll be fine.”
Chase crosses his arms over his chest, showing off sculpted biceps, and doesn’t move, waiting for me to go inside. “I’ll make sure you’re back safely, Blondie.”
“Okay, stubborn man, I’m going. Don’t work too hard.”
“Take your own advice,” he suggests with a wink before I turn to walk away. I can feel his eyes on me as I cross the street and even as I walk back into my shop.
Yeah, I would spend more time with Chase, even if it is just as friends.