Chapter Five
Tanner sipped his coffee and stared out through the kitchen window, willing the sky to get lighter. It wouldn’t do that for a while yet – it was only six fifteen. He hadn’t slept well; he’d tossed and turned all night, thinking about Everly. He didn’t understand the effect she had on him, but he liked it. No, scratch that, he loved it. She was awesome.
He got up from the table and went to refill his mug. What he really wanted to do was head on over to the Remington place, but that was probably a bad idea. If he got there too early, he’d no doubt run into someone he knew, whether it was one of the Remington brothers or one of the wranglers. He didn’t relish the idea of having to explain what he was doing out there at the butt crack of dawn.
It occurred to him that if anyone did see him there early on a Saturday morning, they’d no doubt assume that he’d spent the night with some tourist chick. He’d only done that a handful of times. He didn’t know why, but it seemed wrong. Going up to one of the rooms at Chico with a girl was fine. He couldn’t explain the difference, even to himself, but spending the night at the Remington place like that just didn’t seem right.
“Morning. What are you doing here?”
Tanner turned to greet his brother, Ford, with a rueful smile. “I’m asking myself that same question. Here you go.”
He poured a second mug of coffee and handed it to Ford.
Ford gave him a puzzled smile. “Thanks. Are you telling me that you struck out last night? I find that hard to believe. Are you sick? That seems a more likely explanation.”
Tanner chuckled. “Neither.”
“What then? Oh…” Ford’s eyes grew wide, and he looked up at the ceiling; Tanner’s room was roughly above the kitchen. “Do you have someone up there?” he asked in a lowered tone.
Tanner laughed. “Nope. Come on, that’s the least likely scenario of all.” Even as he said it, it struck him that if Everly had been open to it, he would have brought her home with him in a heartbeat – even though he’d never brought a girl back here.
Ford sipped his coffee and stared at him over the rim of his mug. “What’s the deal, then? I know you don’t hook up and stay out every night you work, but when you come home instead, you usually sleep in. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Ford might be considered the broodiest of the brothers – there was nothing warm or fuzzy about him – but there was no mistaking that he cared. He looked out for the rest of them. Since he and Tanner were now the only ones still living in the big house, they’d grown closer. Tanner was enjoying getting to know his older brother better, and the more time he spent with him, the more he liked him.
“Everything’s great. I … I met a girl.”
Ford took another swig of his coffee. “I don’t get it. You meet a girl pretty much every weekend. That’s usually the explanation for why you’re not here in the morning. Help me out?”
Tanner nodded slowly. “I mean … like, a real girl.”
Ford laughed out loud. “Even though you made it sound that way, I know that doesn’t mean that the girls you usually spend the night with are blowup dolls or something. You’re going to have to explain this better.”
Tanner laughed with him. “I … Her name’s Everly.”
Ford gave him a puzzled smile. “I didn’t realize that you bothered to get their names.”
Tanner made a face, but didn’t comment. “She’s … different.” While he was still struggling to figure out how to explain it, the kitchen door opened, and Ty came hurrying in.
He stopped and grinned when he saw Tanner. “You’re here, then?”
“I am.”
Ford filled a mug and handed it to Ty. “Do you want to explain what’s going on with him? I tried asking but …”
Ty laughed. “He met a girl last night, Everly. She knocked him on his ass.”
Ford swung his head around to look at Tanner. “She punched you?” he asked incredulously.
He laughed. “No. He doesn’t mean like that.”
“Although, to be honest, that would be less surprising,” said Ty.
“What do you mean?” Tanner and Ford asked at the same time.
“It means that it’d be easier to believe that a girl knocked you on your ass by punching you than in the way I meant – that she’s got your head all turned around. That you l-u-r-v-e her,” he added with a laugh.
Ford rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Ty! Grow up.”
Tanner had to laugh at the way Ty scowled. “I’m serious! You should have seen him. All the hot chicks were trying to hit on him as usual, and he barely even noticed them. He was all doe-eyed, too busy mooning over Everly.”
Ford cocked an eyebrow at Tanner, and all he could do was shrug. He didn’t even want to deny it.
“Well, shit!” Ford said. “Another one bites the dust, huh? I thought for sure that it’d be years before you’d leave me as the last bachelor brother of MacFarland Ranch.”
Tanner laughed. “Yeah, don’t go getting ahead of yourself. Everly’s awesome, but…”
“And besides,” added Ty, “You’re not the last man standing. You forgot about Cash.”
Ford made a face. “I try to. Anyway, whatever the reason you’re around this morning, Tan, are you coming to help with the herd? I didn’t ask because I didn’t think you’d be here.”
He shook his head with a smile. “Sorry, no can do. I’m taking Everly out to breakfast.”
He had to laugh when Ty did the same thing that Ford had earlier – he looked up at the kitchen ceiling and asked, “She’s not…?”
“Nope. I was a gentleman. I kept my word and dropped her off at the Remington place like I said I would.”
“Fair enough,” said Ford. “What about you, squirt? Are you here to help?”
“Sorry, bud. If you still need us later, Shay and I can come over and ride, but she’s sleeping in this morning. I’m headed over to check on the restaurant and to have a word with Travis.”
“How’s he doing?” Ford asked. “Are he and Retta coming to lunch tomorrow?”
“They are. I asked if Zeke wanted to come, too, but it doesn’t look like he will.”
“Why’s that?” Tanner asked. He liked Zeke; he was another former SEAL who’d served with their older brother, Cash, and his friends. He hadn’t stuck with the rest of them after they retired from the Navy. From what Tanner had gathered, he’d fought an ongoing battle with booze.
Ty made a face. “He’s not back from Salt Lake yet. Travis is worried about him. You know how he went down there to see Eli? Well, the seeing Eli part was probably a good idea, but Trav hasn’t heard from him since Thursday. He’s worried that Zeke might have fallen off the wagon again while he’s in the city.”
“Damn. I hope not,” said Tanner. “It seemed to me like he was doing well.”
Ford nodded his agreement. “Yeah, whenever I’ve talked with him, he’s been determined to stay away from the bottle this time. Says he has bridges to build with his family.”
“Has Trav checked with Eli? For all we know, Zeke might have been in a car wreck on the way back or something,” Tanner asked.
“I’ll let you know what I find out after I’ve seen Trav. The only reason I know anything is because Trav texted me last night. He knew that we were at Chico, and he wondered if Zeke was there,” said Ty.
Tanner gave him a puzzled look. “I’ve never seen Zeke in there since he arrived.”
Ty shrugged. “I think maybe Trav was worried that he was there drinking. I dunno. He just seemed to think that he might be there. Like I said, I’ll let you know what I find out. I just hope he’s okay.”
“Yeah, me too,” said Tanner.
Ford checked his watch. “Keep me in the loop, would you? I need to get to work.”
After he’d gone, Ty grinned at Tanner. “So?”
Tanner grinned. “She’s awesome!”
“I know that much. But she’s not here? And you’re not there?”
“No. I know; it’s weird, isn’t it?”
Ty laughed. “Yes and no. Yes, it’s totally out of character for you, but at the same time…”
“At the same time what?”
“I get it.”
“What does that mean?”
“Remember when I went to Salt Lake to meet Shay for the first time?”
“Yeah, why?”
Ty gave him a rueful smile. “I made a deal with myself before I went that no matter how things turned out between us, I wasn’t going to sleep with her that first weekend.”
Tanner raised his eyebrows. “No?”
“No. And you have no idea…” Ty laughed. “Although, then again, after last night maybe you do have some idea of how hard it was for me to keep my word to myself.”
Tanner had to laugh with him. “Yeah, I get it. We all know that I’m not used to exercising that kind of restraint. But … I did.” He frowned at his brother. “What I don’t get is why it seemed so important that I shouldn’t even try to sleep with her.”
“I know why.”
“Go on, then – explain it to me. I’m so far out of my depth here that I don’t even mind admitting it.”
“Because Everly’s different. The situation’s different. There’s more to this.”
“Exactly – there’s much more to this, so why did it seem so important that I should … do less than I would with any other woman?”
“Because this matters. You can go out and find a woman to sleep with any night of the week. You only go out and meet a woman like Everly once in a blue moon – maybe only once in a lifetime.”
Tanner swallowed. “Yeah, that whole once-in-a-lifetime thing, that … I mean, that’s like Kolby meeting Callie, or you finding Shay. It’s not…” He didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
Ty just smiled at him. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what it turns out to be, won’t we?” He checked his watch. “For now, I need to get a move on. Let me know how you’re doing, would ya? Shay’s excited to come out again tonight – but only because Everly’s going to be there. And you know, you could always bring her to lunch tomorrow if you want.”
“Maybe,” was all that Tanner could think to say. Yeah, Everly was different. The way he felt about her wasn’t something that he was used to, but that didn’t mean… It didn’t mean… Anything.
He dumped the last of his coffee down the sink and was about to empty the coffee pot the same way when he stopped and smiled. He took a travel mug down from the cabinet and filled it. He had no idea if Everly liked cream or sugar with her coffee – hell, he didn’t even know if she drank coffee. That didn’t stop him from driving by the lodge before he left the ranch. He filled a little baggie with packets of sugar, little pots of cream, and then he threw in some packets of sweetener as well, just in case.
~ ~ ~
Everly pulled her coat tighter around her. She’d been pleasantly surprised by the mild temperatures since she arrived, but it was cold this morning. Then again, she hadn’t been outside this early before. She probably should have waited inside, but she was too antsy. She was sitting on one of the rockers on the front porch of the lodge. Maybe she should go back inside and grab another cup of coffee from the breakfast area. The coffee in her room wasn’t bad but two little pods were only enough to get her started.
She checked her watch, wondering if she should run inside and grab a cup to go. It was five minutes before seven, so she decided against it. She didn’t even know for sure that Tanner would show. Maybe he’d think better of it this morning. That wouldn’t surprise her – she wouldn’t blame him. It’d suck, but maybe it would be for the best. So far, nothing about this trip to Montana had gone in the way she hoped it might. The interview had been awful – the only good thing about that was that she wouldn’t have taken the job even if they offered it. And her dad not showing…? That shouldn’t surprise her.
He swore that he’d changed. Even her mom was convinced that he had. Her mom was the one who’d encouraged her to see how things might go with him. As Everly lay in bed last night, staring out the window at the inky black sky full of stars, she’d alternated between berating herself for daring to hope yet again, and trying to convince herself that he’d get in touch today with some plausible explanation for why he hadn’t shown last night.
Well, she hadn’t solely been thinking about her dad. She’d spent just as much time, if not more, thinking about Tanner. Even now, electric tingles shot through her veins as she remembered that kiss. Wow! There was no other word for it.
She didn’t want to set herself up for disappointment, they’d talked about being friends. Tanner might have talked about wanting more than that, but… But nothing. She wasn’t going to try and talk herself out of anything. If he were offering more of those kisses, then she was all about it.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket when it beeped with a text. Her heart sank; she fully expected it to be Tanner letting her know that he wasn’t coming.
It wasn’t him.
Mom: How did it go with your dad?
Everly blew out a sigh. It was ridiculous for her to feel bad, but she did. She knew that her mom honestly believed that her dad had changed. She’d been so convinced that Everly had started to believe her. After all, he must have put on a good show to be able to convince her mom. They’d never been married – her mom had always been honest with her that as much as she loved him, her dad just wasn’t the kind of man you could depend on.
Everly: It didn’t. He didn’t show. How are you guys? How’s Ashton?
Mom: Really? Damn. I’m sorry, sweetie. I really thought he would. Have you heard anything from him at all? And don’t worry, little man’s just fine. He’s still sleeping. I may have let him stay up too late last night.
Everly had to smile at that part. Her mom always let him stay up too late on Friday nights. It was their thing. Her mom tried to make out that she was breaking the rules, but Everly knew the real reason – she was trying to make sure that Everly would be able to sleep in on Saturday mornings.
Everly: I haven’t heard a peep from him. I’m kind of resigned to the fact that I probably won’t. Don’t worry, I half expected it. It is what it is. I won’t be taking that job even if they offer it, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
Mom: I’m sorry. I thought that this was going to be the answer for you. We’ll figure something out. I wish you’d reconsider coming with Joe and me.
Everly: We’ll be fine. You’ve already gone way above and beyond for us. I love you for it, Mom. I’m going to miss you like crazy, but you and Joe need to get on with your lives.
She stared at her phone. There was so much she needed to figure out. Maybe she should just give up and accept her mom and Joe’s generous offer to move to Hawaii with them. But she really didn’t want to go. Joe was a great guy, her mom had married him a few years ago. He was from the Big Island, and between his father’s Alzheimer’s, and his mom’s diabetes, his family needed him back there.
Since Everly’s mom helped out with Ashton while Everly worked, they thought that she and Ashton should go with them. As much as she loved them, she wanted to make a life of her own. When Corinne had told her about the possible job opening up here, so close to where her dad was now living, Everly had thought that perhaps the stars were aligning.
Mom: We’ll talk more when you get home. And don’t you dare come home early. You need this break. Ashton’s fine with us. And you never know, maybe your dad will still come through.
Everly: Maybe. Love you, Mom. Give my little man a hug for me, tell him Mommy loves him.
Mom: Love you, too, sweetie. I’ll tell him, but he knows – that’s the one thing in his life he’s never had to doubt.
Everly slid her phone back into her pocket. She was tempted to see if she could change her flight and just go home. She missed Ashton. She hated being away from him. That little boy was her whole world. She’d thought that she was doing this for him – that maybe she’d be able to find a good job and start to build a life of their own here in Montana – a life where he might even get to know his grandpa. Since it didn’t look like any of that was going to happen, she’d rather go back to him and start figuring out what other alternatives they had.
She jumped at the sound of a horn honking and smiled when she saw the big, black MacFarland Ranch truck pulling into one of the spots in front of the lodge. Tanner grinned at her through the windshield and waggled his fingers in a cute little wave. She laughed and waved back; if she had to guess, she’d say that wave was another one of his charming mannerisms that he did so often that he wasn’t even aware of it anymore.