Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
W hoever would have guessed the hours would fly by the way they had? Not Weston. He took any excuse to get away by himself on Ranger, of course. And, yeah, he’d been annoyed when Paisley bulldozed her way into his private excursion, but she’d been okay company.
Now she and Enchantment stepped up the pace in front of him as they reconnected with the regular trail system close to the stables, like she couldn’t wait to be rid of him.
Weston urged Ranger up beside Enchantment, and Paisley glanced his way without a word. “What, cat got your tongue?”
“I thought you appreciated quiet.”
“I do.” Wow, that was awkward. Was he supposed to say more? Someone had to fill the silence, right? How had that fallen on him?
She arched a brow as she looked over. “You couldn’t possibly admit we had a nice time, could you? That you might have enjoyed my company? ”
“Uh…” Would it kill him? But it seemed a momentous question. Admitting anything of that nature meant opening the door, and he didn’t want that. Right, because he didn’t want to be happy. Didn’t want to be cared for. Didn’t want to think of anyone but himself.
She shook her head. “Never mind.”
“Would it be the end of the world for you to admit you liked the cowboy coffee?” Sheesh, was that the best he could do? Volley it back at her?
“I’d be lying.”
It was on the tip of Weston’s tongue to say that went for her question, too, if he agreed. But just as he didn’t want her to lie, he didn’t want to do it, either. “Yeah, thanks. It was a good day.”
Paisley cupped her hand behind her ear and leaned toward him, still staring down the trail. “Pardon me? I couldn’t quite hear you, cowboy.”
Horse pocky, she couldn’t. He leaned toward her. “I had a good day, Paisley. How was that for enunciation?”
Her startled gaze met his as Enchantment shied away from something Weston couldn’t see. Paisley began to slide off the saddle, but Weston was close. He pressed against her arm enough that she kept her balance.
When she sat tall in her saddle again, she gave him three slow claps. “Excellent job with the big word, cowboy.”
“I rescued you from landing on your duff on the trail.” And the tingle on his palm might never go away.
“And you want thanks for that?” Paisley lifted her chin.
“If I have to thank you for a not excessively horrible day, then, yes, I do. ”
“Thank you for saving my life,” she said primly.
“You’re welcome, drama queen.” The smirk on his face refused to dissipate.
Paisley feigned shock as she looked at him. “Why, cowboy, I think that’s the third time today you’ve smiled for at least two seconds. I consider today a success.”
Weston considered the day a success, too. Not only had they found a suitable site for the tween backcountry trip next week, but he’d felt a camaraderie with Paisley that had made the hours zip by. It was a different affinity than he experienced hanging out with Jude, the only person who’d ever tried to understand him… before Paisley.
That didn’t make her a good idea.
But why did it make her a bad idea?
Because once she saw what a loser he really was, she’d bug out as quickly as Rayna had.
So… why not hurry that along? Why not reveal his ugly heart sooner rather than later so that they’d both get through this more quickly?
There were only two reasons he hadn’t managed to repel her completely already. One, it was kind of nice to have someone’s undivided attention, even when — especially when — he didn’t deserve it. Two, if he put his deep problems on display, he’d likely find himself without a home, without a job, and without a family. The Sullivans would drop him like a hot potato, and Mom was so enthralled with her newfound father that she’d side with her birth family. His brother? Jude wanted those pilot lessons. He’d cross to the Sullivans, too.
Weston would be alone. Which he totally deserved, but that didn’t mean he actually wanted it. At Sweet River Ranch, he could pretend to be a lone wolf while enjoying being in the shadows of a functioning family unit. He could watch and get a little peace by seeing the peace in others.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
He startled. Right. Paisley was beside him as their horses plodded toward the corrals, bathed in the late day sun.
Weston shook his head. “They’re not worth a red cent.” He squeezed Ranger’s flanks and the gelding shifted into a trot, pulling ahead of Enchantment. A moment later, he swung out of the saddle and led Ranger into the stable, pausing so his eyes could adjust to the semi darkness.
Voices from somewhere in the building caught his ears, and he stood still, the gelding blocking the doorway. Who was in here? Why? The dinner bell must have rung, and the day’s rides should be over. Darrell might be around, currying a horse or checking a hoof, but that wasn’t Darrell’s voice.
“I told you; I’m leaving. Dad needs me… and he needs me with David.”
Weston cocked his head. He knew that female voice.
“Heather, please. I can’t do this without you.”
Heather… and Maxwell.
“Sure, you can. Good help isn’t that hard to find. Jordan can do everything I’ve been doing.”
“Heather…”
There was silence for a long moment. Was this where they’d fall into each other’s arms and admit they loved each other? Because everyone seemed able to see it but them.
Weston rolled his eyes and waited for the sounds of smooching. Instead, he felt Enchantment’s breath on his neck. He stretched his hand back and touched Paisley for the second time today. “Shh.”
“I made a promise, Max. Some of us take promises seriously.”
Maxwell guffawed. “What you’re talking about was a contingency clause between kids.”
Weston blinked, aware of Paisley pressed against his shoulder. She was obviously listening, too.
“David doesn’t see it like you do.”
“He doesn’t love you. You’re just convenient for him.”
“Thanks for that.” Bitter sarcasm oozed from Heather’s voice.
Ouch. Weston was not the smoothest guy himself. But man, couldn’t Maxwell have found better words?
“You know what I mean.”
Nope, the dude needed to do a better take-back job than that.
“My mind is made up, Maxwell. I’ve given my two-week notice at the office. I’ll be working for Dad in Gilead.”
“Doing what? Something appropriate for a delicate female?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It won’t be as much fun as renovating houses with me.”
“It will be fine.”
Max lowered his voice, and Weston strained to hear. “Don’t go, Heather. I’ll give you a raise. Whatever you want.”
“You can’t give me what I need. What Dad needs.”
Weston might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but Heather sounded a bit sad. What did she want from Max, anyway? A pledge of undying love?
Huh. Maybe.
“You mean David.”
Ugh, Maxwell was hitting below the belt, and guilt for eavesdropping was starting to get the better of Weston. It was time to make a noisy entrance.
Weston cleared his throat and spoke loudly. “Hey, Paisley, I won. I got here first.”
Silence came from the box stall at the other end.
“Get out of my way, cowboy. I’m starving.”
“I didn’t hear ‘please’.”
“With all due respect, dearest cowboy,” she said with a simper, “please do let me pass before I fall faint from hunger.”
“That’ll do.” Weston let a smirk cross his face for what was the fourth time today, not that she could see. He led Ranger into his stall and began the process of untacking. He could hear Paisley doing the same in Enchantment’s pen. The faint swish of the stable door closing caught his attentive ear.
He’d likely had a better day than Maxwell Sullivan.
There was a first for everything.
“What was going on in there?” Paisley asked quietly as she fell into step beside Weston on the way to the dining hall.
“Sounded like Max and Heather were having a fight.”
“Oh, no! I always thought they’d become a couple one of these days.”
Weston scoffed, though he’d thought it himself. “Women see romance everywhere.”
Heather zigged as he zagged, and somehow her shoulder brushed his arm. She caught her breath, reveling in that slight touch. He wasn’t completely wrong about female tendencies. “Maybe because our biological clocks are ticking.”
“Your what?”
“Women aren’t of childbearing age forever, you know. If I’m going to have those half-dozen kids I want, I should be getting started soon. First, I need to find the right guy and nail him down.”
Too forward? Maybe, but Weston seemed to need a kick in the rear to point him in the right direction.
“Anyway, that’s probably somewhere in Heather’s mind, too.”
“She’s the one who’s leaving Sweet River for some guy named David.”
“What all did you hear?”
He hesitated. “Isn’t that gossip?”
“Maybe it’s a heads-up.”
“Well, she’s going home to Gilead. Isn’t that where Maxwell grew up? In Kansas? They must have known each other for a long time.”
“Your aunt Maribel still lives there from what Cadence told me. And yeah, all her boys graduated from high school there before moving to Chicago to work for their grandfather.”
“Max said something about a dumb promise she’d made to that guy. David.”
Paisley grabbed Weston’s arm and stopped in the middle of Pegasus Lane. “A marriage pact? Did Heather promise to marry that other guy? That’s crazy!”
Weston scratched his neck. “I don’t know if that’s what she meant, but your idea sounds stupid. Nobody does that.”
Paisley’s brain raced around the fascinating puzzle, studying it from various angles. She should talk to Heather before she left. Or… not, because that would mean she was admitting to having overheard part of her fight with Maxwell.
She was still clutching Weston’s arm. She should either drop her hand or pretend he was her escort to the dining hall. The latter, of course. She pulled on his arm. “Come on. I’m hungry.”
“So you say.” But he went along with it.
“I’ve heard a marriage pact is between two kids who are afraid of being left high and dry at some imagined ancient age, like thirty—” a number Paisley would be staring down the barrel of in a couple of years “— and they decide that if they’re both still single then, they’ll marry each other.”
“Even stupider than I thought.”
Paisley put a ton of emotion into her sigh. “It sounds sweet to me.”
“To have a backup boyfriend in case you can’t find one in real life.”
She laughed. “When you put it that way… but Heather did find someone who would love her. Maxwell.” The main lodge was now in sight, and suddenly, Paisley wasn’t in an all-fired hurry to get there. “Every woman just wants to be loved.”
Weston shifted away, and her hand dropped to her side. “Oh, yeah?”
Paisley still had a captive audience, though the minutes were numbered. “I’m sure that’s what Heather wants from Maxwell. They’d make such a great couple if they got over themselves.”
Oops, had she said that out loud? Because she kind of felt the same about her and Weston. Maybe after today, he did, too?
A few feet up the trail, Weston pivoted and stared at her, thumbs hooked in his belt loops. “Are you quite done rhapsodizing? Mom will only hold dinner so long.”
So much for thinking he’d see any romance in this conversation. “Okay, fine, I’m done.” She hooked her hand around his arm again and looked up at him. “For now. But you need to know that I believe in romance. I believe that God brings people together. I believe He blesses relationships and helps them love each other even when it’s hard.”
Even when her mouth ran off, which it had done a dozen times today and was doing again right now. Sheesh, girl, shut up a minute.
“You’re wrong.”
Oh, boy. Paisley tipped up her chin and met Weston’s gaze. “Hmm?”
“I didn’t need to know what you think about romance.” He pulled away from her grasp and strode toward the lodge.
She stood in the middle of the junction of Pegasus Lane and Hummingbird Lane. Which way to go? Up Hummingbird to the staff duplex she shared with Cadence? Or down to the dining hall where everyone was gathered to share food together?
Away from Weston? Or toward him?
That’d be the day she let him see how much his continued rejection hammered at her defenses. It was mealtime. She was hungry. Everyone was there. She didn’t need to acknowledge Weston in a room filled with their coworkers. He certainly wouldn’t acknowledge her presence any more than he had for the previous year.
She should make like Heather and get out while the getting was good. Before her heart was shattered in so many pieces that even a vacuum cleaner couldn’t suck up all the fragments.
On the other hand, she wasn’t a quitter. She liked her job here. She liked the ranch, the kids, the variety of activities, the family atmosphere. The only negative was that Weston Kline refused to see how wonderful they could be together.
Paisley took a deep, resolute breath and turned to face the lodge. “Dear Lord, is it just me being stubborn? Am I determined to see what I want to see, a future with that grumpy cowboy? Or is he supposed to be part of my story as I am part of his?”
She waited, but no voice from heaven replied. That was fine. She wasn’t used to hearing from God quite that promptly or directly. But He always did speak eventually if she only listened.
“I want to do Your will.” She lifted her gaze to the view, where sunlight had faded except for glinting off the peaks across the peaceful little lake.
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Yes, that’s what she needed to remember. Her help and purpose came from God alone. It didn’t depend on whether Weston saw her or not. God saw her. Knew her. Loved her.
Could that be enough? Could He satisfy that deep part of her that yearned for a cowboy’s love?
He could. She was sure of it… but she didn’t want to test it.