Chapter Ten
The day of the Spring Festival dawned, promising clear blue skies.
Eve felt that promise like a good omen for her on day six of her marriage.
She’d passed her midterm and only had quizzes for the next few weeks.
She and Hayden were getting along well after the whole spying episode with Ted.
It had given a much-needed dose of confidence to Eve.
Hayden might never love her, but he cared enough to be jealous.
And perhaps whatever tender emotion he held for her could be nurtured into love.
On the family front, Katie was adjusting well to their new family dynamic. Irene was still fuzzy about things, but she lit up when Katie was around. And even though they had yet to go out as a family, Eve was looking forward to it. And today was the day.
Only things didn’t go as planned. And it started with Katie.
The T-shirt she was supposed to wear for her preschool performance was too plain.
It lacked sparkles. Thinking fast, Eve put a glittery plastic tiara on Katie’s golden curls.
Then her little girl wanted to take her kitten with her.
There were tears when Eve said no. It took the promise of a cake pop by Hayden to dry those tears.
While that was going on, Hayden was having his own challenges with his grandmother.
Irene didn’t want to go to town. She wanted to feed her chickens, drink her coffee, and ask Hayden why Eve was wearing her wedding ring.
It took Eve explaining the importance of family to her marriage for Irene to stop demanding she take the ring off.
Finally, the four of them were in Hayden’s truck and driving toward town.
No one said a word as they bounced along the rutted dirt road toward the rural highway.
Eve stared out the window, taking in the sparse presence of grazing cattle and a cluster of curious prairie dogs standing sentry as they neared the highway.
Clyde Bennett had become a successful rancher on this property. So successful that he’d purchased three other ranches in the valley over the years and taken over a fourth when his son died. Now, it was Hayden’s job as executor of Clyde’s will to divide his holdings up again.
But this land… This land felt steady. Unchanging. As if it had been here long before her and would remain long after whatever this marriage became.
This is my home.
The thought came unbidden—and immediately frightened her.
After six days of marriage, it still felt foreign. Not unwelcome, exactly. Just…provisional. Like a place she was allowed to stand but not sink her roots into. Hayden had given her safety. Kindness. A careful, deliberate affection that stopped just short of a promise.
And once—only once—his mouth had lingered on hers long enough to make her wonder if she was imagining the love she felt for him could be reciprocated.
Eve wrapped her fingers more tightly around her purse strap, as if holding herself in place. If she believed this was home—truly believed it—she might start wanting things Hayden had already told her he couldn’t give.
So she let the thought fade, even as the ranch land rolled past the window, solid and real and waiting.
“I haven’t had the time to say a proper hello yet this morning.
” Hayden spared Eve a smile when he turned onto the paved road.
No dusty, stained blue jeans for him this morning.
He’d cleaned up for town—crisp denim, polished black boots, a black cowboy hat that had actually been brushed, and a red-and-white-checkered shirt that made her notice his shoulders in a way she absolutely should not. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Eve said, smiling back as she smoothed imaginary wrinkles from her blue denim dress.
She was suddenly too aware of how close they were in the cab of the truck.
How easy it would be to rest her hand on his arm or touch that black fringe of hair beneath his hat. “I’m exhausted already. You?”
“I’m ready for a nap.” Hayden glanced at the rearview mirror. “Our passengers are taking a snooze.”
Eve looked back. Irene’s chin had dipped toward her chest, and Katie was boneless against the wing of her car seat, jaw lax and mouth open.
“I’d tell you to drive slowly,” Eve said, facing forward, “but Katie’s supposed to be on the stage in twenty minutes.” She adjusted the set of her wedding ring.
Hayden’s gaze flicked to her hand. “Sorry about this morning’s ring fiasco.”
“I thought about giving it back to Irene,” Eve admitted, turning her hand slightly so the solitaire caught the light. It was a beautiful ring. Solid. Real. With decades of love behind it. “But without it, Steven would never shut up.”
Hayden’s jaw tightened. “That guy.”
“That guy is the father of my child,” Eve said gently, suppressing a smile at Hayden’s proprietary tone. “He’ll be here today.” Sharp-eyed. Sharp-tongued. Always looking for leverage.
Hayden nodded once. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
The words should have reassured Eve. Instead, they landed like a line drawn in the dirt. Best behavior meant distance. Restraint. The careful kindness she was coming to depend on, and the one thing she was starting to want more than she should—a real marriage.
Eve folded her hands in her lap, the ring cool against her skin. She told herself the marriage bargain they’d made was enough. She told herself loving Hayden at a distance was enough. It had to be. He didn’t want more.
In what felt like no time, they were in town, waking up the back seat passengers and pulling into a parking spot.
“Why don’t you and Katie head to the stage?” Hayden hooked his arm through his grandmother’s while Eve lifted Katie to her hip. “I see a coffee cart close by. We’ll get drinks and meet you in the audience.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Eve set off in one direction and Hayden in the other.
Central Park was crowded. Eve had to wend her way slowly to the stage and the cluster of preschoolers wearing plain red T-shirts. Adults were being told to pick up their children at the end of the performance.
Katie squirmed free of Eve’s arms and joined her best friend, Meggie, a freckled redhead with a broad smile. Katie’s teacher, Miss Parsons, was passing out green pipe cleaners topped with paper bumblebees. Almost immediately, two boys began poking each other with them.
“Boys, no stinging.” Miss Parsons squelched that activity right away.
Reassured that Katie was in good hands, Eve went to find seats in the rows of folding chairs on the grass. Empty seats were hard to find. Not surprising, given that several groups of children were performing this morning. The audience was filled with multigenerational familes.
“Eve! Over here!” Steven’s voice cut through the crowd noise. He stood near a row close to the front, khakis and a white polo marking him as an outsider among boots and denim.
Eve was tempted to pretend she hadn’t seen him. But Mom and Violet stood with him, waving. She made her way over, not missing the way Steven’s gaze hunted down the wedding ring on her finger.
“I saved you two seats,” Steven said, gesturing to a pair of empty folding chairs before settling himself beside Eve’s mother.
Eve drew up short, relieved to realize she didn’t have to sit with Steven. “I need one more seat for Irene.”
“No worries, honey.” Hayden’s voice came from behind her, warm and unhurried. He carried two coffees and smiled easily, as if he belonged by her side and was unbothered by the presence of her ex. “You can sit on my lap.”
Hayden didn’t look at Steven. Didn’t wait for Eve’s answer.
He simply made it happen as if Eve had sat on his lap hundreds of times.
Then he handed her a cup of coffee. Hayden’s arm came around Eve’s waist, solid and sure.
The scent of coffee and clean cotton wrapped around her, his presence steady in a way that made it suddenly difficult to remember he didn’t love her.
From the corner of her eye, Eve caught Steven’s expression shift from surprise to calculation.
Irene sat down next to them, eyes wide, clearly overwhelmed by the crowd.
Mom smiled, looking reassured by Eve and Hayden’s coziness.
Vi’s expression weighed and measured. She was in overprotective, big sister mode. Still very much unconvinced that Eve and Hayden loved each other.
I never could lie to her.
Eve’s breath caught, snagged by a barb of unexpected guilt. She was letting very important information slip through the cracks in her relationship with her sister.
It wouldn’t be a lie if Hayden fell in love with me.
“Take your seats.” The command came through the loudspeaker. “Please take your seats. We’re about to start.”
Eve kept her gaze forward, pulse skittering, painfully aware of how real her marriage suddenly felt. That hadn’t come from the marriage license. Not the ring on her finger. But it came now from Hayden’s arm around her.
And that feeling elbowed aside the guilt she’d been feeling about lying to her family.
*
“What’s the purpose of this festival?” Steven asked Hayden in a low voice as Katie’s preschool class took the stage. “The school kids are performing, there are food vendors out the wazoo, and there’s an obstacle course competition.”
“We’re at a higher elevation than Missoula.
” Hayden put both arms around Evie’s waist. She was talking to his grandmother, leaning into Hayden as if comfortable in his lap.
And he was comfortable having her there.
“After being snowed in all winter, Bentwood Creek needs to blow off steam.” Those who weren’t working, of which Hayden should have been one.
And would have been if Katie hadn’t been performing.
She took the stage like a pro, beaming at the audience.
“The kids do their thing on stage and those who are competitive take to the obstacle course.”
“We should give it a go,” Steven said with that slick smile.
Hayden stared at him, hard. “It’s a couple’s competition. One guy and one girl.”
“I could do it with Katie.” Steven grinned.