Chapter One
Ten years later…
Lawyers, accountants, taxmen.
My head hurts.
After speaking to all three today, Hayden Bennett needed a drink. Considering it was mid-afternoon on a Tuesday; he’d settle for a strong coffee.
Hayden stood in line at the Coffee Corner in Bentwood Creek, wondering at the turn his life had taken. A month ago, he’d been working for a rodeo stock distributor in Oklahoma and saving for a ranch of his own. And then came the news: Grandpa was dead.
At his grandmother’s request, Hayden returned home to Bentwood Creek after a decade’s long absence. There’d been a lot to do—a funeral to plan, four brothers to contact, Gran to comfort, a large ranch to manage.
So much for telling Grandpa I’d never come back.
And it looked like Hayden had to stay in Bentwood Creek several months more since his grandfather had made him executor of the will and Gran had suffered a stroke which had poked holes in her memory and the ability to care for herself, holes Doc hoped would fill over time.
But that doesn’t mean I plan to stay.
There were too many memories at the Bennett Ranch he preferred to forget.
Hayden looked around the small coffee shop, taking in the bright yellow picnic tables, bright green benches, and the colorful mural on the wall of a cowboy roping a steer.
The Coffee Corner was rustic and welcoming, one of the few businesses in Bentwood Creek that was new.
Most everywhere else Hayden went; the town was trapped in time.
The way I would have been had I forgiven Grandpa and Violet ten years ago.
Old memories crept up his throat with bitter claws.
An attractive blonde wearing a tan dress entered the coffee shop and scanned the room. Her blue-eyed gaze landed on him with a start. “Hayden Bennett?” She charged forward; arms open wider than her wide smile. “Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes.”
The woman launched herself into his arms, smelling of flowers and long-forgotten memories.
Those memories clicked in Hayden’s head. A name. “Evie?” A person. “Evie Fisher?” A past. “Violet’s kid sister?”
“You sound surprised.” Evie eased out of that hug and took a playful swipe at his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me?”
He’d tried, although admittedly, he’d tried harder to forget his former fiancée, Violet.
Evie pouted. But it was a quickly disappearing pout. She glanced over her shoulder and eased closer to Hayden. Then her serious gaze found his, and this time, he experienced a shock of recognition, one that sent him back in time. Back to more carefree times…
Evie’s perky ponytail, her unwavering energy, her staunch defense of her family and friends, him included.
Even so, she’d tease Hayden about being the tall, silent, brooding type until he felt compelled to speak up for himself and tease her about being a troublesome chatterbox, one who thought she could fix anything.
Of course, Evie hadn’t been able to stop her sister from eloping with another man on the day she was supposed to marry Hayden. Even she couldn’t fix that fiasco.
“Listen, Hayden.” Evie’s voice had a desperate tone that cut through his reverie. “Do you remember how you’d always ask me for a favor and tell me you owed me one?”
“No.” Hayden’s guard went up, shoving nostalgia involving the Fisher sisters back where it belonged—in the dark recesses of his mind.
Evie’s nose wrinkled. “There were lots of times, believe me.”
“Can’t say as I remember any.”
“Seriously?” Evie’s frown deepened. “I was your alibi when you wanted alone time with Violet.”
Now that, Hayden remembered. But he didn’t let Evie know that. The last thing Hayden needed was to be tangled up with the Fisher sisters again.
Evie glanced toward the plate glass windows up front once more, as if expecting someone to join her.
Outside, the April sun was trying hard to break through the gray cloud cover. Spring was having a hard time taking hold this year.
“Shoot. There he is.” Evie tugged Hayden’s arm over her shoulders, placed her arm around his waist, and maneuvered him out of the ordering line. “Play along. I’m in trouble. Don’t argue. You owe me.”
A blond man wearing a white dress shirt, conservative slacks, and fancy city shoes entered and approached them.
“You found him.” He was out of place, too slick to be from Bentwood Creek and too cocky to be anyone Hayden would call a friend.
The man offered his hand for Hayden to shake. “I’m Steven.”
“Hayden.” He gave the man’s hand a good pump.
Steven flexed his fingers as if Hayden had shaken his hand too hard. Then he ran that hand through his crisply cut blond hair, fixing Hayden with a frown. “I’m Eve’s husband.”
Evie’s married?
“Ex-husband,” Evie ground out.
Hayden glanced down at her, trying to reconcile this fine-looking, put-together woman with the spunky eighteen-year-old that used to wheedle ice cream out of him. Not only had Evie grown up. She’d gotten married.
And, apparently, divorced.
“Steven,” Evie continued in a firm voice. “Hayden is my fiancé.”
Fiancé? I swore off love ten years ago!
The floor beneath Hayden’s feet seemed to pitch.
Hayden brought Evie closer, leaning on her for balance.
A few deep breaths…
A glance exchanged with Evie…
And finally, the floor stopped moving.
What is this little minx up to?
“I have to admit,” Steven said, watching them closely while Hayden’s brain considered escape routes. “I didn’t think you really existed, Hayden. And I certainly didn’t picture you being so…”
“Tall?” Evie asked, staring up at Hayden with a brazen smile.
She’s enjoying this.
“No.” Steven chuckled. “I was going to say old.”
Old?
One little word. Three little letters. They struck their target with much stronger force than expected. Hayden felt as if a gauntlet had been tossed to the ground by Steven.
Thirty-eight isn’t old.
Hayden’s pride protested, sprinting through his veins at a fighting man’s pace.
“Steven,” Eve hissed. “You’re thirty-two. You’re not exactly a spring chicken either.”
Either? She thinks I’m old too?
Blood pounded at Hayden’s temples.
At least I’m not too old to be her fake fiancé.
That was little consolation. Evie needed some payback.
“Listen up, Steven,” Hayden began coolly, choosing to fight one battle at a time. “You’re only as old as you feel. And with Evie by my side, I feel young.” At least, that wasn’t a lie. Evie had made him laugh back in the day, bringing sunshine wherever she went.
Sunshine Hayden had appreciated when his grandfather knuckled down on him that last year he’d been home.
“Hayden, are you searching for the Fountain of Youth for your second marriage?” Steven laughed, seeking Evie’s approval with a slick smile.
Hayden frowned. This dude was like a gnat, buzzing around without a purpose other than to annoy.
Meanwhile, Evie clutched an odd little heart-shaped pendant to her chest. “That’s enough, Steven. Wish us well and go back to Missoula.”
Not yet. I’m not done with Steven.
“Hang on, Steven. This is my first marriage.” Hayden pressed a kiss to the top of Evie’s head instead of popping a fist in Steven’s face the way he might have in his teenage years. “And this will be my last marriage. You can bet on that.”
Evie’s cheeks turned an attractive shade of pink. Hayden may not be interested in love, but he was still a man with eyes in his head. She’d grown up to be a looker.
“You see, Steven,” Hayden carried on, warming to his topic. “Evie and I are old friends. We have a long-standing bond. A ten-year age difference doesn’t matter to us.”
“Definitely,” Evie echoed, smiling wanly and staring at a display of cake pops in the pastry case.
This probably wasn’t going as she’d planned. But then again, when did one of Evie’s plans go off without a hitch?
Steven crossed his arms over his chest and tried to intimidate Hayden with an icy stare. “You should know I’m not buying this whole engagement thing. Eve isn’t wearing a ring.”
Who is this guy? The marital police?
“We’d have a ring if Evie could make up her mind,” Hayden fibbed. “We’ve been to every store between here and Missoula. She wants the ring to be perfect. Right, snuggle bug?” Hayden gave Evie a series of punishing side hugs. She was lucky he was playing along.
She’s lucky I took an instant dislike to her ex and take issue with being called old.
Steven’s eyes narrowed. “Do you live in Bentwood Creek?”
“Yes,” Evie said quickly. “He owns a ranch. He’s got roots here.”
Evie’s ex-husband frowned, casting his gaze around the coffee shop as if searching for another pin to pop their fib-filled balloon. “When did you say you were getting married?”
“Soon,” Evie assured him.
Soon?
The floor pitched beneath Hayden’s cowboy boots once more.
“Congratulations.” Steven’s well wishes didn’t sound sincere. He gave Evie a forlorn look.
He still loves her.
Steven seemed to search for words, taking a step back before saying, “If this marriage happens, don’t forget you need to provide the court with your marriage certificate.
I know how you get, Eve. You let the important stuff slip through the cracks.
Be careful.” And with that, Steven turned and headed for the exit, moving slowly, like a man who’d received bad news and needed time to process it.
As soon as the door swung closed behind him, Hayden removed his arm from Evie’s shoulders and faced her. “Start talking, Evie. And don’t let anything important slip through the cracks.”
*
“Um…” Eve had no idea what to say.
But Hayden did. “I’m going to order a coffee. Be ready to talk when I return.”
Heart pounding, Eve went to the nearest bench and sat down, dropping her head into her hands.
What a mess.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
She hadn’t just lied to her ex-husband about marrying again. She’d lied to Judge McKee in family court this morning about marrying again.
And there was no way Eve’s teenage crush was going to marry her to cover for that lie, as much as she wished he would. Hayden was still her romantic ideal.