Chapter Twelve
E ventually he fell asleep, only to wake at the usual time when his internal alarm told him it was time to get up. Eva was once again glued to his side like a limpet, something he’d come to enjoy and expect when he stayed overnight. It took him several minutes to extract himself without waking her, and he strode up to the house to get ready for the day.
Sierra was in the kitchen yawning and rubbing her eyes when he entered.
“Pancakes would be great, thanks. That’s an awesome suggestion,” she said.
He smiled and went to the pantry to grab the flour and eggs. Sierra did the lion’s share of cooking, but he was more than up to making pancakes.
“How did Eva sleep? She seemed pretty hyped up last night.”
“She was out like a light pretty quickly,” he said. “Me, not so much.”
Sierra nodded as though she understood. “You’re nervous for her.”
“Yeah.”
Sierra filled a fresh filter with coffee and slotted it into the coffee maker. “Well, her presentation is really impressive. She’s got a good chance.”
“Hope so.”
Sierra started to say something, then clearly thought better of it. Instead, she simply rested a hand on his shoulder briefly before reaching for a couple of mugs.
“You want bananas with your pancakes, or berries?” she asked.
He spent the morning servicing the sickle-bar mower. They were probably still a good three weeks off harvesting the second cut on their alfalfa crop, but he wanted to be ready for all contingencies. A good run of weather, or some unseasonal rain could change everything. If they lost the harvest…
He didn’t want to think about what would happen if they lost the harvest.
At one, he went inside and washed off the grease in the shower and changed into fresh clothes. Then he went to pick up Eva from the trailer.
She was sitting on the step, her head lowered, hands clasped together over the nape of her neck when he found her.
“Hey. You okay?” he asked, lengthening his stride.
“Yes. I think so. Just, you know, a bit shaky.” She offered him a wan smile. “I’ll be fine. I just want this over with now, so I can be on the other side of it all.”
He understood what she meant, and he rested his hand on the center of her back in silent sympathy.
“I love it when you do that,” she said quietly. “You’ve got good hands.”
“We don’t need to head into town just yet, but I thought you might want to get there a little early, just to make sure you’re on time.”
“That’s a great idea. Not that Marietta probably gets a lot of traffic jams, right?”
“Had a logging truck turn over on the highway once. Couldn’t get into town for hours,” he said.
Her eyes widened with alarm and he quickly reassured her.
“That was years ago. We’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Good.”
She stood and dusted the seat of her pants. She was wearing the same tailored black pants she’d worn the first night they were together with a black, silky-looking shirt that had a draped panel across the front that was tied over her hip. Her hair was more refined than usual, smoother and less spiky, and her eyes were carefully made-up, making them look bluer than ever. She looked arty and interesting and stylish, and he felt another surge of pride in her.
“You look great,” he told her. “You’re going to do great.”
She just smiled faintly and shook out her hands. “Let’s do this before I literally wet my pants with nervousness.”
She was silent on the drive into town, and after a few minutes, he reached across and took her hand in his. It was cold and clammy, just like last night, and he brought it over to rest on his thigh and laid his hand over it.
She gave him a grateful look, the frown easing from between her eyebrows briefly.
“You want the radio? Or we can talk?”
“The radio might be good. I need to get out of my own head.”
He flicked the radio on and the sound of Kacey Musgraves filled the truck. He kept shooting glances Eva’s way, wishing he could do something to take away her nerves or reassure her.
“The Whiskey Shots should enter that,” Eva said suddenly, glancing at him.
“Enter what?” he asked.
He’d been so busy thinking about her he hadn’t registered that the song had finished or that the announcer was talking.
“The radio station is running a competition for local bands. I didn’t catch all the details,” she said.
“Already on it. We’ll probably record something this week or next to send in.”
“Really? That’s great,” she said.
He kept his eyes on the road. “The boys are keen. Figured we might as well put our hat in the ring.”
Personally, he still didn’t see the point in putting their hands up for attention they didn’t need or want, but he didn’t want to rain on the other guys’ parade, either, so he was prepared to go along for the ride.
“Don’t be surprised when they love it,” she said.
“We’ll see.”
A few minutes later, they were driving into town and it wasn’t long before he was parking the truck in a spot opposite the library.
“Ten minutes to spare,” he said, and Eva nodded, her gaze fixed on the dash, the intense little frown once again pleating her forehead.
He was about to say more when a group exited the library, their obvious high spirits drawing his gaze across the road. Too late he saw that Dane formed the nucleus of the group, and he shot a look at Eva to see if she’d noticed. Being rattled by her ex was the last thing she needed right now.
Sure enough, she’d seen them, too, and her mouth pressed into a flat line.
“Looks like they had a good meeting,” she said.
“Doesn’t mean anything. He probably thought he had a great meeting last time, too, and you’d blown them away so completely they had a complete rethink.”
She nodded, but her gaze remained on her ex.
“Want me to walk you in?” he asked.
She blinked, then shook her head. “No. I’d better do this last bit on my own.” She shifted so she was facing him more fully. “Thank you for last night, for organizing the run-through, and for making me laugh so hard afterward. I needed that distraction like you wouldn’t believe.”
He caught her hand and lifted it to his mouth for a brief kiss. “You’re amazing. You’re going to knock their socks off.”
She mustered a smile. “Okay. I’m going to try to hang on to that. I’ll see you in half an hour, I guess.”
She leaned across to plant a quick kiss on his lips, then she turned and opened the door. Her laptop was in her backpack, along with her handouts, and he passed it to her as she got out of the truck.
“I’ll be here,” he told her.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Putting on my big girl panties…now. And here I go.”
She gave him one final shaky smile, then started across the road.
He could see the nervous tension in her body as she walked—the way her shoulders were too stiff, her gait tight and too fast. Again he wished there was something he could do to convey to her his belief in her talent and tenacity. She was brilliant, and the committee had to see that. They had to.
The next half hour crawled by like molasses. Casey checked the clock on the dash so many times he started to think it must be broken. Eventually he got out and paced beside the truck, unable to sit still any longer.
He imagined Eva in her meeting, walking the committee through her vision. He remembered how good her graphics had looked last night, how impressive her studies were.
Come on, man, this has got to be hers. She’s fucking earned it .
He’d never wanted something for another person so fiercely before. It was a little scary, feeling this invested so quickly. Her happiness had very swiftly become his happiness. But there wasn’t much he could do to slow down the charging freight train that was his emotions—and he wasn’t even sure he wanted to. Yes, this was a crazy ride, but so far, it had been the ride of a lifetime and he hoped the best was yet to come.
If she won the commission, she’d be in Marietta for at least another couple of months. It wasn’t long, but it wasn’t nothing, either.
It was three-quarters of an hour when she finally emerged from the library. He could see her relieved smile from across the road and he checked the traffic before dashing across to meet her at the bottom of the steps.
“I didn’t throw up on anyone or fart inappropriately,” she said as she came to a halt in front of him, “so I figure I mostly got away with it.”
He pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head. “Well done. You’re awesome.”
Her arms came around him and she squeezed him fiercely, her fingers digging into his back. “Couldn’t have done it without you,” she said, her voice muffled by his T-shirt.
He let his hand rest on the nape of her neck, wishing he could say even half of the things going through his head. But it was too soon, and her day had been dramatic enough already.
And if she was leaving town in the near future, him spilling his guts would only make things worse, not better, for both of them.
“What do you want to do now? Grab something to eat? Get drunk? Go somewhere private and fuck like bunnies?” he suggested.
“Those are all pretty good options. Can I say D, all of the above?” she said, lifting her head to laugh up at him.
“Eva. I was hoping you’d still be out here.”
They both turned to see Andie and Heath McGregor coming down the library stairs, both of them beaming.
“Hi. Did I forget something?” Eva asked, slipping free from his arms, her face professionally neutral.
Andie looked to Heath, who gestured that she had the floor.
“You blew us away in there,” Andie said. “Your drawings, the care and thought you put into your proposal… But the thing that made it a no-brainer for us was your concept of creating an art trail in the region. We need more reasons for people to discover our great little town, and we think you can be a key part of making that happen. So I’m over the moon to tell you that the Marietta Chamber of Commerce would officially like to offer you the commission to create a mural on the Clarke grain elevator.”
Eva blinked, her eyes wide. Then a slow smile curved her mouth. She looked at Casey, reaching out to grab one of his hands, her grip tight with excitement. He squeezed back, aware of the burn of emotion at the back of his eyes as he registered her success.
She’d done it. All her hard work had paid off. She’d be staying in town, painting her dream in vivid colors, one hundred feet tall.
“Thank you,” Eva said. “I won’t let you down, I swear. This mural is going to be amazing.”
“We don’t doubt it for a second,” Heath said. “Congratulations, Eva.”
He offered her his hand, and Eva shook it, then Andie enveloped her in a hug, and Casey reached into his back pocket to pull out a handkerchief.
“Thanks,” Eva said ruefully as he passed it over so she could dab her eyes dry. “This is such awesome news.”
Andie checked her watch. “You know, it’s pretty close to the end of the day. I feel like we should go to the Graff and buy something with bubbles to celebrate. What do you say?”
Eva looked to him for his response and he smiled. “Of course we need to celebrate,” he said.
“You don’t need to get back to the ranch? I don’t want to keep you from your work,” she said.
“The mower will still be there tomorrow. Let’s go party,” he said.
“We’ll meet you over there,” Heath said. “My truck’s gonna get towed if I leave it near the Courthouse.”
Casey slipped his arm around Eva’s shoulders as they walked back to his truck.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
Her face was glowing when she lifted it to his. “Like this is a dream. Please don’t wake me if it is.”
“It’s not a dream, and you earned this, babe. You worked your ass off for this.”
They stopped on the sidewalk beside his truck and she slipped out from beneath his arm.
“You realize this means I’m going to be around for at least another seven or eight weeks? Think you can handle that?”
“What do you think?”
She searched his face, then she smiled and reached for his hand.
“I think we need to go celebrate.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.”
*
Eva was still feeling a little seedy the following afternoon when she walked the short distance from the trailer to the house.
Last night had been huge. She’d lost track of how many rounds of drinks she’d bought, and she only had cloudy memories of Casey putting her to bed in the small hours, but she knew that it had been good to know that all her hard work and persistence had paid off.
She’d woken to an empty bed and a headache, Casey having slipped out hours earlier to start work for the day. After lying there wallowing in her triumph for a good half hour, she’d made a feeble attempt to think past the cotton wool in her brain and had eventually given herself permission to have the day off.
She’d been running on adrenaline, hope, and fear for weeks now. She could afford to have a rest day.
She used the time to tidy up the trailer and do her laundry, puttering around in a happy daze. Somehow the day had slipped through her fingers, and she’d been surprised to see it was nearly four when Casey dropped to remind her he had band practice tonight.
He’d promised he’d be back in time for dinner, and she kissed him goodbye and waited until the sound of his truck had well and truly faded before heading for the house.
Now she paused on the porch, torn between whether to enter via the kitchen or the front door. All the Carmodys had urged her to make herself at home and take advantage of the kitchen, larger bathroom, and laundry room in the main house whenever she felt the need, but there had been a certain… distance in Sierra’s attitude toward her lately that made Eva inclined to use the front door today.
It wasn’t obvious, and it definitely wasn’t malicious, but it was there, and Eva didn’t want to step on any toes. Listening to her gut, she knocked on the weather-beaten door and waited.
It didn’t take long for it to swing open, revealing Sierra’s surprised face.
“Hi. You don’t have to knock, you idiot,” the other woman said, gesturing for Eva to come inside.
“I didn’t want to assume anything,” Eva said lightly.
“Don’t be silly. If you wanted to do more laundry, I’m just about finished with the machine,” Sierra said, heading back into the kitchen.
Eva trailed after her, admiring the other woman’s dark wavy hair and long legs. Most of the time Eva didn’t have a problem being short, but there was no denying that Sierra had an awesome set of pins that looked nothing short of sensational in well-worn denim.
“Actually, I want to pick your brain, if that’s okay. I want to take Casey out for dinner tonight to thank him for being so amazing through this whole crazy process, and I was wondering if you could steer me in the right direction.”
“Oh. Okay,” Sierra said, her eyebrows meeting in a frown.
“Hopefully it’ll only take a moment or two, if you’re not too busy,” Eva said brightly.
“Sure. Of course. If you want recommendations for places in town, you can’t go wrong with Rocco’s. Or if you want somewhere fancier, there’s always the Graff. I haven’t been there for a while, but I’ve heard good things.”
“I wanted to do something a bit more personal,” Eva said. “I was thinking of picking up some things from town and doing a sort of picnic-style dinner. So I was hoping for some pointers on what Casey’s all-time favorite treats are, and if there’s a good picnic spot around here somewhere where I could take him?”
“Sounds very romantic,” Sierra said, her frown deepening. Her gaze darted around the kitchen, and she rubbed her palms down the sides of her jeans. “Um. Let me think. Casey loves meatloaf, and he’d crawl over broken glass for pecan pie. Flo could hook you up with both of those at the diner. His favorite drink is Dalton’s cider—you can get that in town, too.”
She still hadn’t made real eye contact and Eva’s heart sank.
It definitely hadn’t been her imagination—there was something going on with Sierra.
“Hey, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Eva said. “I don’t want to step on any toes or make you uncomfortable.”
“I’m not uncomfortable,” Sierra said. Then she laughed, the sound odd and tinny and profoundly uneasy.
They were both silent for a moment, then Sierra sighed and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears.
“Okay. That was a little uncomfortable,” she admitted.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you aren’t exactly thrilled about me and Casey being together…?” Eva said.
“No. That’s not it,” Sierra said quickly. “Well, not exactly. I really like you, Eva. I think you’re awesome. And I can see how much Casey likes you, and normally I would be over the moon that he’s got such good taste.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming,” Eva said.
“That’s because you’re going to go back to LA in a few weeks. I don’t know you that well, I have no idea what your life is like, but I do know Casey, and I know his feelings run deep. Like I said to you when we were driving in to see the Shots that night, he doesn’t do casual.”
“You think I’m using him? Is that what you’re trying to say?” Eva asked, feeling a little offended at being cast as the easy-come, easy-go vixen who was going to break Casey’s heart.
“Honestly? I have no idea. I hope not.” Sierra sighed again. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that if this is just a few weeks of fun for you, part of the whole rural Montana experience, don’t make it worse by taking Casey on picnics and feeding him his favorite foods and generally being as romantic as all get-out. Don’t make him think this is something it isn’t.”
“I wouldn’t do that to him,” Eva said, stung. “I wouldn’t play with his feelings like that. You think I don’t see him? You think I don’t understand how beautiful he is, inside and out? Yes, this started out as a fling. Hell, it was only ever meant to be a one-night stand, but it quickly turned into something else and I am just as deeply invested as Casey is. Very much so.”
She was out of breath when she finished, and her eyes were hot, and she looked away, blinking rapidly.
“Shit, Eva, I’m sorry,” Sierra said, her face puckered with concern. “I wasn’t trying to offend you, I swear. I’m just worried. I never should have said anything.”
Eva nodded, still not trusting herself to speak, and Sierra’s mouth flattened into an unhappy line.
“I really didn’t mean to upset you. Can I give you a hug, please?” she asked.
Eva nodded again, and Sierra wrapped her arms around her.
“Like I said to Casey, you’re probably the coolest person I know and I’m really glad you two are on the same page,” Sierra said. “That’s all I was really worried about—that Casey was getting too invested in something he shouldn’t.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not going to get messy,” Eva said, her voice muffled by the other woman’s shoulder. “I have no idea what’s going to happen when I have to go back to LA.”
“Well, no one really knows anything in life, do they?” Sierra said, letting her arms fall to her sides and stepping back from their embrace. “Anything could happen to anyone. That’s no reason not to be with someone, not if it feels right.”
“This is the last thing I expected when I came to Marietta,” Eva admitted. “The absolute last thing. I swear to you I hadn’t even thought about sex for months until I saw your brother.”
“Okay, we may have just reached the part of the conversation where I need to tap out before my gag reflex kicks in,” Sierra said, and Eva laughed.
“I wasn’t about to get graphic, don’t worry.”
“Good.” Sierra considered her for a beat. “Are we cool? Or have I just become the hideously protective sister you’re now going to go out of your way to avoid?”
“You’re allowed to be protective. I have a sister, and I’d do anything for her. And Syd would totally throat punch Dane if she could. In fact, he should probably worry about accidentally running into her in LA, because I honestly don’t know what she might do if she had the chance to physically hurt him.”
Sierra snort-laughed. “God, I almost hope it happens.”
“Me, too, a little bit. But only if there are no witnesses.”
Sierra smiled, then glanced at the clock. “If you’re planning on doing this picnic thing tonight, you’d better get your skates on. Casey will be home from band practice in another hour or so.”
“Good point.”
“Come on,” Sierra said, leaning across to grab her car keys. “I’ll drive you in to town so you can hit Flo up for Casey’s favorites, and I’ll show you where there’s an awesome picnic spot on the way.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want to steal your afternoon.”
“I was just doing laundry. This is much more fun. Come on,” Sierra said, heading for the door.
Eva half suspected Sierra’s generosity sprang from the impulse to make up for her earlier censure, but Eva had meant it when she’d said she understood where the other woman was coming from. It was actually pretty nice that Sierra loved her brother enough to want to guard him from hurt, and it wasn’t as though she’d barged into the trailer and imposed her point of view on Eva.
In fact, Eva suspected if she hadn’t pushed the issue, Sierra would have gone on being friendly and lovely, albeit just a degree or two cooler than previously.
So even though she didn’t really need an escort, she followed Sierra out into the yard and climbed into her truck and did her bit to put their moment of tension behind them.