Chapter Three
As the evening wore on, Everly realized that she was having the best time she’d had in ages – years. And that wasn’t an exaggeration. She knew exactly how many years, too. She hadn’t had a night out with a bunch of friends like this in over six years. She looked around at them all, wondering what they’d think of her if they knew that.
They were a great group. A mixed bunch, but that tended to be the way with families. At least, that was her understanding. It wasn’t as though she had much first-hand experience of how families worked. No, she wasn’t going to go feeling sorry for herself. It was just how it was. And for tonight at least, she got to enjoy hanging out with these guys and seeing how their big, loving family worked.
She turned when she sensed Tanner on the other side of the bar. He’d been working his ass off – it was crazy busy in here – but he kept coming back to check in with them. Well, she had to be honest, he was coming to check in with her. She didn’t understand it, but she absolutely loved it.
Over the course of the evening, she discovered that there was so much more to him than there first appeared. His siblings and friends might tease him and give him a hard time, but it was obvious that they thought the world of him. He really was a good guy.
He braced his hands on the bar and leaned toward her. “Are you doing okay? Do you want another drink?”
“I’m good, thanks. How are you doing? It’s busy back there.”
“I’m good. It’s not too bad tonight.” He winked at her. “When you come back tomorrow, you’ll see what busy is like.”
She didn’t get the chance to answer – not that she knew what to say. Laney leaned in next to her. “Awesome! You’re coming back tomorrow?” She looked around at the others. “Are we all up for that?”
Everly leaned back in her seat. She’d had no intention of coming in again tomorrow.
Shayna smiled at her. “I’d love to!”
Ty laughed beside her and looked around at the others. “Can’t you tell that Shay’s on a break from her classes? But I’m not complaining; I’ll be happy to cram in as many nights out as we can get before my busy bee’s too busy again.”
Callie looked at Kolby and nodded. “I’m up for that.”
Kolby nodded his agreement. “Yeah, count us in.”
Laney raised an eyebrow at Everly. “What about you? I didn’t give you the chance to say a word.”
Everly looked around at their eager faces, then turned to Tanner, who was grinning at her.
She let out a short laugh. “I can’t exactly say no now, can I?”
“Nope,” Tanner agreed happily.
“Okay, then it looks like I’m coming, too.”
~ ~ ~
“What time do you get off?” The blonde girl he’d been flirting with earlier held Tanner’s gaze and ran her tongue over her bottom lip as he set her drink in front of her.
“It’ll be late,” he told her with a rueful smile.
“That’s okay, I’m a night owl.”
Normally, he’d take her cue and arrange to meet up with her after he finished work. There was nothing normal about this evening, though.
He didn’t even hesitate before he pointed down the bar to where Everly was sitting with his family. “I appreciate the offer, sweetheart, but they’re waiting for me.”
The girl made a big show of looking Everly over before turning back to him with a sly smile. “That’s your girlfriend? Why don’t you tell her to go on home with them; you’ll have more fun with me. I guarantee it.”
He frowned at her. “Like I said, I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested.”
She pouted. “You were interested earlier. I know you were. You shouldn’t let her hold you back, you should live a little – have some fun.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Sweetheart, I’ve had way more than my fair share of fun. Fun’s all well and good, but that girl right there? She’s so much more than that.”
The girl picked up her drink. “Fair enough. To be honest, it’s nice to see a guy who’s willing to stick by his girl. She’s lucky.”
“Thanks.” Tanner moved along the bar to keep serving thirsty customers. The truth was that he’d consider himself to be the lucky one if Everly were his girlfriend.
As he watched the blonde girl flirt with a guy who’d been trying to get her attention earlier, he had to wonder what kind of fool he was. Why was he passing up on a sure thing just so that he could give Everly a ride home? He couldn’t explain his attraction to her, but no matter how he felt, she’d already made it clear that she wasn’t interested. Well, maybe that wasn’t true – but interested or not, she wasn’t available. Not to him, anyway.
He glanced over at her again and was surprised to find her staring back at him with a puzzled expression on her face. He winked and gave her a little wave, and she beckoned for him to come over.
He hurried past the other customers and when he reached her, he leaned over the bar toward her.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, I just… Oh hell, I’m just going to say it.”
“Say what?”
“Don’t let me cramp your style. It was obvious even from this distance what that chick was after. I know you said you’d give me a ride home, but I’m sure one of these guys wouldn’t mind dropping me off so that you don’t have to.”
He scowled and rested his elbows on the bar, trying to get as close to her as he could. “But I want to.”
She let out a short laugh. “It’s okay, I believed what you said about being a good guy – a great guy even – but you don’t need to pass up on your chances just to prove it.”
“I’m not trying to prove anything. I want to take you home.”
He bit the inside of his cheek as a slow flush crept over her cheeks. The way she blushed gave him hope. She wouldn’t react that way if she wasn’t thinking the same way he was – thinking about the scenarios that taking her home implied.
He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not going to lie to you – she was offering. But I told her I’m not interested, because I’m not.” He smirked. “Want to know what she said?”
“I’m not sure, do I?” Everly asked with a half-smile.
“Yeah, I think you do. She said that it’s nice to see a guy stand by his girl.”
“But… I … I’m not … I’m not your girl.”
He held her gaze and waited for her to stop sputtering before he said, “But you could be.”
She just stared at him; he could see the wheels turning inside her head. She didn’t know how to take his words, and it wasn’t as though he could explain himself. He needed to get back to work; he could feel Brody glowering at him from the other end of the bar.
He was relieved when Laney leaned in beside Everly and waved a hand at him. “Get back to work, Tan. Stop hogging her. She’s not just your new friend – she’s ours, too. Isn’t that right, Ev?”
Everly had pulled herself back together and shot him a quick smile before nodding at Laney. “It is, thanks.”
Laney spun Everly’s stool around so that she had her back to him and could chat with the others again. Luke had watched the whole exchange and raised his eyebrows at Tanner.
All Tanner could do was shrug and get back to work.
~ ~ ~
Everly watched Kolby wrap his arm around Callie’s shoulders after they’d said their goodbyes. She liked them a lot, there was something so familiar about Callie, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
Callie grinned at her. “It was so nice to meet you. And you’re really going to come tomorrow night, right?”
She was already starting to wonder if it was such a good idea. Perhaps her dad would get in touch. He might want to meet up tomorrow night. Even if he didn’t, why would she …
Kolby interrupted her thoughts. “If you don’t want to, would you do me a favor and say so now?” His smile softened his words as he added, “Callie still isn’t a hundred percent comfortable about coming in here. If you’re not coming, we won’t.”
She looked from him to Callie and back again, wondering why Callie would have a problem … And then it hit her. Callie looked so familiar because she wasn’t just Callie, she was Calypso Rayne – the country singer!
Ty leaned in next to Everly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he addressed his brother, “Don’t put her under pressure like that.” He turned to Everly with a smile. “You don’t have to make your mind up right now. You can see how you feel.”
Shayna reached out and touched Callie’s arm. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
Callie met Everly’s gaze. “You’ll get used to these guys,” she said with a laugh. “They’re awesome at looking out for you, but you’ll have to stand up and speak up for what you want.” She looked around at them. “And as much as I appreciate you thinking of me, I want to come. In fact … Why don’t I give you my number?”
Everly could only stare at her for a moment. She quickly came to her senses and handed over her phone. It was kind of surreal to watch Calypso Rayne, the country music superstar, tap her number into Everly’s phone, before handing it back with a grin.
“Thanks.”
Callie laughed. “No, thank you! This way we can cut out all these middlemen. Just give me a call and let me know when you decide if you’re coming tomorrow night. I hope you will.”
With that, Kolby steered Callie away, and the others started making noises about leaving, too. Shayna took Everly’s phone to save her number in there, and Laney and Janey did the same.
She was grateful to them all, but she was also starting to feel a little uncomfortable about holding them up when they wanted to go home. Just as she was wondering if she should ask someone – maybe Ty and Shayna – to drop her off at Remington Ranch on their way home, Tanner appeared through the crowd on this side of the bar.
“Are you finished?” Luke asked.
Tanner grinned. “Yeah. All done.”
“I hope you’re not going to get yourself in trouble just so that you can give me a ride home,” said Everly.
“I’m not. It’s not a problem. The way we work it, someone always skips out early and we take turns staying until the end to take care of cleanup and shut down. I don’t usually skip out, so Brody didn’t have a problem with it tonight.”
“In that case, are you ready to go, sweetheart?” Ty asked Shayna.
Shayna considered her answer for a moment before she smiled and said, “Almost. I need to run to the ladies’ room first. Want to come with me, Everly?”
“Yes, I think I will.” It wasn’t that she needed to go to the bathroom, she doubted that Shayna did either. She got down from her stool and followed the other girl to the bathroom.
“Do you need to go?” Shayna asked once the bathroom door closed behind them.
“Not really. Do you?”
Shayna laughed. “No. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. I didn’t want you to feel like you’re stranded all by yourself with Tanner if you don’t want to be. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’ve got nothing to worry about. But there’s no way that you can know that for certain, is there? I haven’t exactly been in the same situation that you are, but I can imagine. I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know how to say it, but you know what I mean, don’t you?”
“I do, thanks. I appreciate it.”
“So, it’s totally up to you. If you’re happy to go with Tanner, I’ll shut up and let you go. If you’d rather come with Ty and me, we’ll take you. Or if you want a kind of middle ground, we could follow you.”
Everly smiled. “That’s so sweet of you, thanks. I think I’ll be fine. It’s weird – I don’t think of myself as the kind of girl who’d just drive off into the night with a guy who she’s only known for a couple of hours, but I know I’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“You really don’t. Tanner’s good people.” Shayna bounced up and down on her toes. “And I have to tell you, I’m excited about this. I mean, you can tell what he’s like – he’s usually only interested in hooking up. It’s kind of cool to see him so smitten by you.”
Everly swallowed. “Smitten?”
Shayna nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah. He is one smitten kitten. And what makes it even better is that he still feels that way even though he thinks that you’re hung up on the love of your life.”
“But I… Oh, shit! I told you guys that the guy I was supposed to meet tonight was my dad, but I didn’t tell Tanner that yet, did I?”
Shayna grinned. “Nope. And he’s not given up even though he doesn’t think he stands a chance. That’s pretty cool, if you ask me.” She frowned and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Aw, Ty’s checking to make sure that you’re okay.”
Everly laughed. “You should tell him that I’m fine, and we should get back out there.”
Shayna tapped out a quick text. “I told him he should put Tanner out of his misery – that we’ll be right out, and you haven’t climbed out the window and fled.”
Everly had to laugh. “I doubt that possibility would have occurred to him. He probably has more of a problem with women trying to reel him in than trying to flee from him.”
“Yeah, normally. But it seems to me that nothing about this whole deal with you is normal for him.”
As she followed Shayna back out into the bar, Everly tried to catch up with herself. Sure, she was flattered that Tanner was attracted to her, and of course she felt the same way about him, but that didn’t mean… anything. Her heart started to pound in her chest. Unless… She was well aware that one-night stands were the norm for him. What if…?
He and Ty were waiting for them just outside the bathrooms. Laney and Luke came over to join them.
“How are we going to work this?” asked Laney. “Are you comfortable riding with Tanner? It’s totally up to you, Ev.”
Everly had to laugh. She appreciated that Shayna had taken her aside to make sure that she was okay, but Laney was a very different person, and Everly liked her forthright approach perhaps even better.
“I’m good with it, thanks for checking.”
Tanner made a face at his sister. “I want to be mad at you, but I’m not.” He turned to Everly. “Are you ready to go, then?”
“Sure.”
They all walked out to the parking lot together. Everly really wasn’t worried, and when they reached the trucks, she felt even more reassured to see that they both bore a logo that declared them to be the property of MacFarland Ranch.
After they’d all said their goodbyes, Shayna and Ty, and Laney and Luke climbed into one truck. Tanner walked Everly to the passenger side of the second truck and held the door open for her.
He gave her a rueful smile and said, “They said they’re going to follow us.”
She chuckled as she climbed in. “That’s sweet of them.”
He came around to the driver’s side and got in. “I guess it is. I mean, I know that you’re perfectly safe with me, and so do they, but it’s not about us, is it? You can’t know for sure, so it’s about reassuring you.”
She waited until he backed out of the parking spot and pulled away from the lot. “Is it weird if I say that I do know?”
He glanced over at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, it’s weird?” she asked.
He laughed. “No, I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t saying yeah, it’s weird, I was asking – yeah, you know? That you’re safe with me?”
“I do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the habit of letting guys I don’t know drive me home, but…”
He glanced over at her. “Is that because you usually go home with your boyfriend – the one who didn’t show tonight?”
She leaned her head back against the headrest and stared up through the sunroof at the stars. She was going to have to come clean with him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You didn’t. At least, not in the way you think. I feel bad because I wasn’t completely honest with you earlier.”
“No? How so? Oh, shit! Are you married?”
She laughed out loud at that. “No! I’m not. Never have been.”
“So, this ex of yours…”
“He isn’t my ex.”
“But you said…”
“You asked if he was an ex, and I said that he was something like that .”
Tanner brought the truck to a stop before turning out onto the highway. He rested his forearm on top of the steering wheel as he turned to face her. His confused expression made her feel bad.
“I’m sorry. All I can say in my defense is that I didn’t feel like spilling my troubles to the bartender. I mean, come on, I thought I was doing you a favor. I didn’t want to take up your time by telling you my tale of woe when you obviously had a couple of girls vying for your time and attention.”
“Well, I hope by now you can see that you have all my attention.”
A shiver ran down her spine. She could see it. She didn’t understand it, but there was no denying that she liked it. “Yeah, so that’s why I want to explain. The guy I was supposed to meet tonight?”
Tanner cringed. “Is it maybe better if we just don’t talk about him?”
“Probably, but we don’t need to talk about him, I just want to explain who he is. He’s my dad.”
It was almost comical to watch Tanner’s expression morph from confusion to understanding to something that looked like … excitement maybe?
When the meaning of her words sank in, he grinned. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
His smile faded. “Shit, sorry. I don’t mean to be an asshole. For my sake, I’m relieved – over the moon – that he’s not some boyfriend. But damn, I’m sorry. That has to suck. You said that he’s the love of your life, but also that you should be used to him letting you down. Are you really going to give up on him this time?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. When he didn’t show, and your family was so kind to let me hang out with them like that, I decided that I might as well put him out of my mind until tomorrow. I’ll see if he gets in touch. If he does – or if he doesn’t – I’ll deal with it then.”
Tanner nodded, and they rode in silence for a little while. She had to wonder what he was thinking. She didn’t think he was mad at her for giving him the wrong idea, but she didn’t want him feeling sorry for her either.
“Did you come to Montana to see him?” he asked eventually. “And where are you from? I didn’t even ask you that yet.”
“I live in Napa.” She answered the easier question first. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to explain the real reason she was in Montana.
He glanced over at her and opened his mouth to speak but laughed instead when the other truck blew past them, horn honking as it went.
Everly waved to Shayna and Laney, and Tanner slowed the truck before turning into the driveway at Remington Ranch.
“Are you staying in the lodge or one of the cabins?”
“The lodge.”
He took the left fork in the driveway. “What made you pick this place instead of MacFarland Ranch?”
She chuckled. “The MacFarland one was fully booked. I didn’t have any choice.”
He brought the truck to a stop in front of the lodge and turned in his seat to face her.
“That’s a shame.”
“Yeah.”
She felt nervous all of a sudden. She should probably thank him for the ride – for the evening – and get out, but she didn’t want to.
He tipped the brim of his hat back and winked at her. “You’re not going to run out on me, are you?”
“I … Don’t … I …”
He chuckled and reached across to touch her arm. “I’m only asking if we can sit here and talk for a while. My whole family got to hang out with you tonight – I missed out.”
She relaxed. “Okay.”
His gorgeous smile made her wonder for one crazy moment if she should ask him to come inside with her. But no. She was looking forward to seeing the others again tomorrow night and if she and Tanner … Well, it could get awkward. If he spent the night with her, he probably wouldn’t want her hanging around again.
“So, Everly from Napa, since it seems like you don’t want to tell me why you’re here, tell me something else.”
There were so many things that she didn’t want to share, she couldn’t even think of any safe and neutral details. “What do you want to know?”
Her tummy flipped over when he flashed his gorgeous smile at her and said, “Everything.”