Chapter Eight
It was mid-afternoon by the time they arrived back at Remington Ranch. Tanner would have happily kept Everly with him until it was time to go to work tonight. But for the last hour or so, it seemed like she was tired or down, even though she did her best to hide it.
They’d had a great time, and true to her word, she’d stood up for him against anyone who tried to tease him while they were at the barn. She didn’t know that they all teased each other all the time, and it had felt pretty good to him having her there to stand up for him. Not that he needed it, it was all good natured, but still…
He glanced over at her as they approached the lodge. There was something up with her, he could tell that much, he just didn’t know what.
“What’s up?” she asked with a smile.
“I was wondering if I should ask you that same question or not.”
“What do you mean?”
He gave her a stern look. “You know damn well what I mean, darlin’.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “If you’re going to use some pet name for me, would you do me a favor and make up your mind which one it’s going to be?”
He had to laugh; he knew exactly what she meant. In the time since he’d picked her up this morning, he’d called her beautiful, gorgeous, baby, honey, sweetheart, and darlin’. “I’m just trying them all out to see which one suits you best. Do you have a preference?”
He noticed a hint of pink touch her cheeks as she said, “No, not particularly.”
“Yeah, you do. I can tell.”
She smiled through pursed lips. “Okay, so maybe I do, but I’m not proud of it. Why don’t you just decide?”
He parked the truck in one of the spots in front of the lodge and cut the engine before turning in his seat to look at her. “Because I don’t want to choose the wrong one. You should tell me which one you like best.”
She shook her head, looking for all the world like a stubborn little kid. “I’m not telling.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll just have to figure out for myself which one you like. And nice try at avoiding the question, but I know the whole pet name thing was just a diversion tactic. If you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong, that’s fine. But at least say so.”
She blew out a sigh. “Sorry.”
“You apologize too much.”
“Sorr …” She made a face. “I was about to do it again. To answer your question, there’s nothing wrong, not really. I totally enjoyed today with you. Don’t think that I didn’t. It’s just … I let my dad get in my head again. I really thought he might call today to explain why he didn’t show.” She shrugged. “I should know better. I didn’t want to let him spoil today as well. And I thought I’d covered it up pretty well. So, I do want to apologize that I didn’t manage to do that.”
“You did a good job. No one else noticed.” He winked, hoping to make her smile again. “It’s just that I’m paying close attention.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Because I want to see you happy,” he explained.
Instead of making her smile, her eyes filled with tears.
“Aww, shit. What’s wrong, darlin’?”
She chuckled as she swiped her thumbs under her eyes. “Nothing. I was just being stupid. And look at you, when you went with your instincts, you picked out the right name.”
He frowned for a moment before it hit him; she was right, when he’d called her darlin ’, it was what came naturally. “That’s the one you like?”
She nodded.
“But what were the tears for?”
“I don’t think I want to tell you; you’ll think that I’m pathetic.”
“I won’t. Not a chance. I’m not going to judge you; I want to understand you.”
Her eyes filled with tears again, and he made a face. “Okay, so that was the wrong thing to say. You’re going to have to tell me or I’m going to upset the both of us.”
She swiped at her eyes again. “Okay. The first time… Damn. I know how pathetic this sounds. You said that you wanted to see me happy. It just struck me that … That … That’s not something I’m used to.”
“Being happy?” he asked, not sure that he understood.
“No. Having someone who wants to see me happy. And then saying that you want to understand me, too. It’s just not something I’m used to.”
“You should stick with me then, darlin’. You’d get used to it in a hurry.”
She stared into his eyes for a long moment, and he had to wonder what she was thinking.
“I’m not bullshitting you. I’m not…”
“I know. I’m not doubting you. I’m just… I don’t know.” She gave him a small smile. “Thank you. I know you mean it, and it feels good.”
He smiled back. “I wish you lived here.” The words were out before he even thought about them. She looked shocked, but he wasn’t going to take them back – they were true.
He was about to explain that to her but instead, turned to look when a truck pulled up beside them. Shane Remington, who owned the lodge, grinned at him and waved.
Tanner nodded at him, and when he turned back to Everly, she was climbing out of the truck.
“Hey Everly, Tanner. How are you guys?” Shane greeted them.
“Great, thanks,” said Everly.
“Doing great,” Tanner agreed. He was glad that Shane didn’t comment on them being together. He would no doubt jump to the obvious conclusion, and Tanner would hate for Everly to feel embarrassed.
“How’s Cassidy?” he asked, simply because it was the first thing he could think of that wouldn’t bring his presence here into question.
“She’s doing great. She’s up in town this morning.” He turned to Everly. “She’s at the gallery; have you had the chance to stop in there yet?”
“No. Corinne told me all about it. I had planned to stop in on my way back from Bozeman but…”
Shane gave her a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, Corinne said you didn’t think that the interview went so well.”
Everly laughed. “That’s an understatement – one of you is being very diplomatic about it. It was awful. The only consolation is that I wouldn’t have wanted to work there even if I got the job.”
“I guess that’s better than feeling like you screwed up an interview for a job you really wanted,” said Shane.
“It is.”
“And you don’t have anything else in the pipeline?”
“No. It was a one-shot deal.”
“And your dad? How did that go?”
Tanner noticed the flash of sadness in her eyes before she answered. He couldn’t help it; he stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she spoke. To his credit, Shane barely reacted; his gaze only flashed to Tanner for a second, and the small smile on his face would have been easy to miss if Tanner wasn’t looking for it.
Everly shot him a grateful look before turning back to Shane. “He didn’t show. And this feels weird, so I’ll just go ahead and name the elephant in the room. Yes, I was supposed to meet my dad at Chico. He didn’t show, and Tanner was a sweetheart about it and helped keep my spirits up.”
Shane grinned. “You don’t need to explain anything to me.”
“I know, but I know that you guys are friends, and I know what you’re probably thinking, so I figured it was best to get it out in the open.”
Tanner tightened his arm around her shoulders. “In case you don’t know, Shane wouldn’t have anything to say even if he thought that you were just some chick that I spent the night with. He used to be just like me before he met Cassidy.”
Everly laughed. “I gathered that much from what I’ve heard already.”
Shane tried to look offended, but he didn’t manage to pull it off with the way that he was smiling. “I want to ask what you’ve heard – and who from – but this isn’t about me. Cassidy keeps reminding me that not everything is, and in this case, I know she’s right,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m more interested to hear what’s going on between the two of you.” He winked at Everly. “I would never have thought that you were just some hookup, that’s not who you are. If I’m surprised about anything, it’s that this guy was smart enough to figure that out for himself.”
Tanner laughed and punched his friend’s shoulder. “Fuck you! You figured things out in a hurry when you met Cassidy. What makes you think that I…” His words trailed off when he realized what he was saying. This morning, he’d made it sound as though he and Everly were the same as Kolby and Callie. Now, he was comparing their situation to Shane and Cassidy – who were married.
To his relief, Everly let him off the hook when she patted his arm, and said, “That’s okay, nobody’s saying that you’re just a pretty face. Although, it is a very pretty face.” With that, she rolled up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to head in now. I’ll see you later.”
His heart pounded. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet, but she was already walking away.
“Hey, Ev! What time do you want me to pick you up?” he called after her.
“You don’t need to; I’ll be there around eight.” The way she met his gaze and held it, reassured him – she wasn’t just running away from him.
“I’ll call you at seven,” he shouted.
She nodded before disappearing through the front door of the lodge.
“Shit. Sorry about that,” said Shane. “I didn’t know what I was getting in the middle of.”
“It’s okay.”
Shane laughed. “You should see your face. It looks so far from okay that it’s not even funny.”
Tanner blew out a sigh. “It’ll be okay. We haven’t made any arrangements for later, yet. I’m not totally convinced that she’ll show.”
“And it’s important to you, isn’t it?”
“Hell yeah, it is. I don’t know what she’s doing to me, but I like it. If she doesn’t show later, I’m not going to be worth a shit behind the bar.”
“I’m guessing that she left her rental there last night?”
“Crap! She must have. When she first came in, she was saying that she could only have one drink because she had to drive back here. I gave her a ride home. Then, I picked her up this morning and we hung out today and…”
“So, how about Cass and I bring her to Chico later. That way, we can deliver her to you, we can hang out for an hour or so, and one of us can drive her rental back here.”
“Thanks, but I don’t know if she’ll go for that.”
“She will. Leave it to me.”
Tanner narrowed his eyes at his friend. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. I’m not sure that Cassidy would, either. I know you used to wrap women around your little finger all the time, but…”
Shane laughed. “Relax, would ya? I’m not saying that I’ll try to persuade her. I’ll just put Cassidy on the job. She was only saying the other day that most of you MacFarland boys have settled down now, and she was wondering when you’d fall.”
Tanner scowled.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just curious. I’m not saying that you’ve fallen already. At the same time, you’re not denying it, are you?”
~ ~ ~
As soon as the front door to the lodge closed behind Everly, she wished she hadn’t rushed away like that. But it was too late now; she could hardly go back out there. She didn’t even know why she’d done it. She’d just have to apologize to him later. In fact, she’d give it a little while and then text him. He’d looked so panicked that she felt bad.
“Hey! There you are. Where have you been all day?”
She was surprised to see Corinne behind the reception desk. “Never mind me, what are you doing here? I thought you didn’t work weekends.”
“Brandy wasn’t feeling great; she had a migraine. I told her to go home, and I’d cover this afternoon. It’s only a few hours, and Beau’s taken the kids to see his folks.” Corinne peered out through the window.
“Is that Shane out there?”
“It is.”
Corinne looked back outside. “That’s Tanner MacFarland he’s talking to.” Her eyes grew wide. “Everly?”
She had to laugh. “Yes, Corinne?”
“Is that why you didn’t answer me when I asked where you’ve been all day?”
“Maybe, why?”
“Because Tanner’s… Crap! I don’t know how to say this. I hope you had a good time last night, but I know you, you don’t usually do one-nighters. And I hate to tell you this, but Tanner doesn’t do anything else.”
“It’s okay. I know. I know what he’s like.” She glanced out through the window at him, and a rush of warmth filled her chest as she watched him laugh with Shane. “And believe it or not, we didn’t spend the night together.”
Corinne gave her a puzzled look.
“Honestly, we didn’t. I was sitting at the bar at Chico last night, and he was working. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that my dad didn’t show.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. I’m not surprised – and neither are you. I’m disappointed, but not surprised. Anyway, Tanner and I got to talking. His brothers and sisters were there, too. They invited me to sit with them, and we all hung out. Tanner brought me back here at the end of the night. But he just dropped me off.”
“He just dropped you off?” Corinne looked far from convinced. “That’s all? Forgive me, but I’m having a hard time believing this,” she said with a laugh. “And don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging you – well, if I am, it’s for turning him away. Because there’s no way that Tanner MacFarland would give a girl a ride home if he wasn’t at least hoping.”
Everly grinned. “If you want to know the truth, I’m kind of judging myself for saying no, too. And… He didn’t just drop me off. We may have taken a little walk. And there may have been… a kiss.”
Corinne grinned at her. “Okay, that’s more like it. And…?”
Everly let out a little squeal. “And it was perfect, Corinne! It was… Wow! And don’t worry, I know that I must sound like a complete idiot. But you know how things have been for me. And Tanner’s not only gorgeous, but he’s such a great guy. I know what he’s like, it’s totally obvious to anyone with eyes in their head – and I don’t mean the way he looks, I mean the way he flirts. But once you get beyond that, he’s just so sweet.”
“Sweet? That’s the last word I expected to hear. Then again, I don’t really know him. Actually, I shouldn’t be so surprised. He and his brothers come over every now and then when we all get together. I haven’t talked with him much, but Ruby adores him. He’s her favorite cowboy of all.”
That made Everly smile. “And Ruby’s tough to win over. In fact, he did mention that he knows her and from the way he talked, he adores her, too. What? What are you thinking?” she asked when she saw the way that Corinne was looking at her.
“What have you told him about Ashton?”
She made a face. “Nothing. I’m not trying to hide it or anything. There have been a few times when I was about to tell him, but something else came up. I … I don’t suppose it really matters, anyway. I’m only here for a week at the most, and Ashton’s not here.” She checked her watch. “And now that I’ve said that, I miss him again. I think I’ll go up and give him a call.”
“Okay. I’ll be here on the desk until six if you want to come down and hang out. And what do you think? Since the interview was a bust, I started putting out feelers to see if we can find you something else. Do you still want to do that or does the deal with your dad change things?”
Everly shrugged. “Right now, I don’t even know what to think. I’ve been hoping all day that he’d get in touch. At first, I was mad at him. Now, I’m kind of worried. Wouldn’t it be awful if I was all angry at him and he didn’t show because something happened to him?”
Corinne frowned. “You can’t go thinking like that. He’ll be fine. I’m sure he will. Have you tried getting in touch with him?”
“No. I wanted to wait – I know it’s stupid, but I really wanted him to reach out to me.”
“It’s not stupid, I get it. But maybe you should try calling him – to put your mind at ease if nothing else.”
“Yeah, I think I will. I’ll call Ashton first, then I’ll give him a try.” She glanced out the window again. Tanner was still there, talking to Shane. He turned to look up at the lodge as if he somehow sensed that she was watching him. It made her smile.
“And I take it you’re seeing him again later?” Corinne asked.
She smiled. “I am. I’m going to hang out at Chico again with his family while he works.”
Corinne chuckled. “I like where this is going.”
“Don’t be crazy. It’s not going anywhere – it can’t. You know that – you know my deal, and you know his. You of all people should know better.”
Corinne shrugged happily. “I’m not such a practical soul as people make me out to be. I’m a closet romantic at heart.” Her smile faded. “If you want my advice – and I know you didn’t ask for it – you should tell him about Ashton sooner rather than later.”
“You’re right. I should. But only because it’ll be good to talk about him. I miss him. And on that note, I’m going to run up to my room and call him.”
“You do that, I’ll see you in a little while.”