Chapter 2
Two
Lily
I shoveled chips and dip into my mouth. The end of the month was in a couple of weeks. I’d done nothing but comb rental properties. Either nothing was open soon enough, the space was too small, or they didn’t take pets. I would not abandon my animals. My deadline loomed. Twice, I’d picked up the phone to call my parents, but Carter’s voice ran through my head. You can’t change your underwear without asking them what pair you should put on next.
I wanted to call my oldest sister. She was the most even-keeled. Violet was logical to the point of being irritating sometimes. But then I’d have to tell her about the trust. She’d feel obligated to tell the others, and the Duke Hotline would light up. The last time that had happened was when I left Carter. I didn’t need to start another text frenzy because of me.
I held out hope I’d find a place to live or meet a nice guy who wanted a quick commitment. The thought of dating made me nauseous. The idea of marrying because I had to? I turned livid. I had a lot of regrets about marrying Carter. The kids weren’t one of them and that was about it.
Time to return to ignoring the issue. Sutton’s house was smaller than my grandma’s place, but she had her garage doors open to house the food. We were outside and surrounded by several quiet acres out of town.
Sutton’s brother-in-law, the one I’d embarrassed myself in front of, was at one of the grills. I’d purposely trekked as far away from the grill as possible. Was it possible he wouldn’t recognize me? The rest of her family was here, along with all of my coworkers.
I sat in a chair next to Sutton on the edge of the concrete pad. I didn’t know my coworkers well enough to intrude on their little groups. Cali had no such reservations. She was running around the yard with Sutton and Wilder’s dog, Oreo, and several other kids. I’d been told their names, but there was no way I could recall them. I didn’t even know the name of the sister-in-law who was holding Kellan so I could eat. She was bouncing with him at the edge of the concrete slab and chatting with a few coworkers.
I had nothing to discuss. I was single and soon to be homeless.
“What do you think so far?” Sutton asked. She had her hands resting on her rounded belly. She frowned. “I suppose that might be hard to answer since I’m your boss.”
“I love it.” That part was easy. I did love my job. Yes, I’d been scatterbrained, but so far, everyone was writing it off as new-person slips. I’d forget to start the washing machine or clean an exam room between patients. When I was in the room with the client and the veterinarian, I was on. Outside of that, I might leave my coffee cup on the bathroom sink. Doc Julio found it in the microwave one weekend from the Friday before.
I was also a little in love with this party. My coworkers made up less than half the people. Sutton’s family was large, just like mine. They had fun together. Kids frolicked. People laughed and talked. My siblings and I had been close growing up, but once we’d finished school, we’d dispersed all over the country. They rarely called to chat, and even though we got together for holidays, it wasn’t often all of us.
I had wanted to invite them out, but Carter had hated their interference. He was used to parents who only cared about how people perceived them.
I loved working for Sutton, and I would be envious of her private life if I had the time to dwell on it.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to work at your clinic.” I pushed some dip around with my chip. “I’ll get better, you know, when I get more sleep.”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve all forgotten to get weights.”
Maybe once. Last Tuesday, I’d gotten one weight on a kitten and had to rush to do every other patient midexam. My mind had been somewhere else since Aunt Linda’s visit. Stupid marriage stipulation. Should I ask to talk to Sutton privately and tell her? Maybe she knew a single guy who was willing to marry a stranger to save her house.
Ugh. No. I wouldn’t ask someone to give up a year of their life for me. I was not irresponsible. I was not impulsive. Marrying a stranger would be both.
A shadow fell over us. I looked up, and my heart skated right into my throat. It was him . The brim of his ball cap was pulled down low, his T-shirt hugged his impressive pecs, and the blue jeans were just porn for women. The way he stood in boots and how his pants draped around his legs—he was all strength and good looks. Add in that I couldn’t forget how he’d looked holding a baby tucked into his arm, and the hot flash was unavoidable and not at all from my postpartum hormones.
His brown gaze was speculative. “How do you ladies want your burgers?”
Sutton screwed her face up. “I guess I have to pick well done for the babies.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up, and he aimed his gaze in my direction. “Lily, right?”
He remembered? My heart skittered sideways like a startled crab. I dug in the depths of my brain. “Yes. Eliot?” Cali had given me the play-by-play of every second with him. He might as well wear a cape in her eyes. I had tucked all the knowledge away. If I dwelled on it, I’d wish for something silly, like an impromptu marriage with a stranger.
“At your service.” God, his voice was pleasingly deep. “How do you like your burger?”
I studied the remaining chips on my plate. He was too painful to look at. “Well done, please.”
“Cheese?” he asked.
I waited for Sutton to answer, and when she didn’t, I peeked over. Her face was tilted to the sun and her eyes were closed.
He gestured his metal spatula toward her. “I already know she wants two slices, fully melted.”
“It makes you the favorite brother,” Sutton murmured.
His eyes crinkled with his smile. “I’m going to tell Cody and Austen.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. “No, Cody’s my favorite when he checks the books for the clinic and Austen’s my favorite when he gets Vienne to make her bacon ranch salad for my cravings. Ansen is my favorite when he gives me his training expertise free of charge.”
“Someday, I’ll get everyone’s names down,” I said, ignoring the way my pulse wanted to kick up around Eliot.
Sutton smiled. “The Knights are all named after classic female authors. And Aggie is a Barron now since she married Ansen. You’ll start meeting his relatives.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, you probably have. The goats from a week ago were Ansen’s sister-in-law’s. Anyway, Agatha Christie Barron is her full name.”
The rest started clicking in place. “Austen is Jane Austen?”
“Cody cheats,” Eliot added. “His real name is Alcott.”
“Louisa May Alcott.” I summoned more names. “Laura Ingalls Wilder. And Mary Anne Evans, writing as George Eliot.”
Surprise brightened his eyes. “No one’s ever gotten that.”
For once, I didn’t feel like a failure. “My mom’s shelves are filled with women authors. She writes kids’ books. Cali’s her number one fan.”
“Eliot,” Wilder called from the grill. “I’m going to touch your meat if you don’t get back here.”
“You’d better not,” Eliot growled. Shivers erupted over my skin from his voice. Pleasing and deep, with no hint of a whine like my ex. “Cheese?”
“No, thanks. Dairy gives Kellan gas.” Mortification swept through me like a pasture fire. I worked with a lot of women and moms. My verbal filter was off. Wasn’t leaking in front of him enough?
“No cheese it is.” He spun on his heel and was gone.
“I’ll never quit embarrassing myself around that man,” I muttered.
“Don’t worry. The dog incident didn’t faze him. I’m sure he doesn’t know what you meant.”
She didn’t know about the milk stains on my top. “Hope not.”
“It’s fine. Eliot’s a good one. I’m so glad he could come down again for this. It’s so weird having him in Buffalo Gully while the rest of us have moved here. You’ve lived in Montana too, right?”
“Billings.” When I interviewed, I told her my family used to live in Coal Haven. I didn’t remember much of the area. I was pretty young when we moved, but I’d shamelessly used the connection to help land the job.
“Eliot’s a good one. A little grumpy sometimes. You ever need anything, just holler. All of us will help out, and when Eliot’s around, he will too. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of all my family.”
Unless Eliot had a friend who needed to marry someone immediately and wasn’t a creep, I wasn’t so sure. Her family might be around more, but I wasn’t sure where I’d be at the end of next week.
Eliot
Cody stopped next to me by the grill. He and his second wife, Tova, hadn’t been married for that long, but it was nice to see him looking like the brother I’d grown up with. His jeans were a little nicer than mine and he wore a polo instead of a T-shirt, but it fit him better than a suit and tie.
“You’re staying away from Sutton’s new hire, aren’t you?” he asked in a quiet tone.
I glared at him. I wasn’t a horned-up teen anymore, and sometimes he forgot that. “I’m not hitting on Lily.”
She was cute. The way she flushed when she saw me and then avoided me hadn’t gone unnoticed. The dark circles were still there, but there was a heaviness in her eyes that hadn’t been there when I’d first seen her.
“Just making sure,” Cody said easily. “I saw you talking to her, and she looked like she was going to light on fire from her blush. I wasn’t sure if you knew that she’s got a lot going on.”
“Like what?” I made it sound challenging, but I really wanted to know. I could tell immediately her life wasn’t easy. She had to bring her kids to work, and she clearly hadn’t asked Sutton to forgo being on call. Sutton would’ve done it.
“Weston’s talked about her a little.”
I shoved burgers around on the grill. Everyone had their first serving and I was cooking seconds. I searched my brain for Weston. Cody had mentioned the guy. Weston Duke did business with Cody for Knight’s Oil Wells. Weston was her dad? “Wilder never said she’s a Duke.”
Cody shrugged like this small of a world was no big deal. “One time, Weston grumbled about his youngest’s pathetic husband, said it seemed like he was keeping her away from her family, but that she was also hardheaded and did her own thing.”
Good thing she was away from that pathetic husband, but I steered clear of stubborn women.
“Ruiz hasn’t talked to you about downsizing?” Cody asked.
My mind rerouted at the subject change from Lily’s family to our family lawyer. Lorenzo Ruiz had been our father’s lawyer, but thanks to the way he’d kept the trust from being ironclad, he was ours.
I shook my head. “I told him I was selling another five mares this year and only breeding five.”
Cody’s brows lifted. “Five?”
My brothers and I couldn’t sell the land, and we had to keep the three portions of the Knights’ businesses going—the oil wells, breeding purebred Arabians, and the cattle ranch. But our father, Barnaby Knight, had never said we couldn’t downsize the numbers we ranched or sold.
I nodded. “I can’t keep good help for long enough to care for the horses. The cattle make more money and require less travel and marketing.”
“You don’t have to train cattle to be ridden,” Cody agreed.
I couldn’t work with the horses like they needed while overseeing the cattle. I was in the middle of nowhere in eastern Montana. The location didn’t have the draw the western side of the state did. The guys I hired to work for the ranch were transitory at best. If they wanted to work long term, there was usually a reason they preferred to stay off the grid, and they weren’t always the people you wanted around. Sometimes, I found a real one, but the physical demand of the work often limited their career.
My phone started vibrating. I groaned. My family was with me. If I was getting a call, then something was wrong.
Cody waved his hand. I gave him the spatula and went farther into the garage to take the call.
“Knight,” I answered.
“Eliot.” My bookkeeper Chambers’s voice cracked on my name. Adrenaline pulsed into my veins. I paced the garage. “Silas nailed the corner of the barn with the Kubota.”
“What?” I turned my back to the open doors and lowered my voice. “He’s fine, right?”
“He’s, uh…drunk.”
“Fuck.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. Chambers wasn’t in charge. He’d never ranched on his own, just grew up in the life, but he was the honorary second-in-command while I was gone. He worked from the house and liked to be in everyone’s business. I trusted his wisdom, probably because he’d been my history teacher and football coach. He shouldn’t have to deal with this. “He’s fired.”
“I gathered as much. I think he did, too, because he quit. I told Alexander to watch him pack and drive his truck to the motel where he can sleep it off. I’m heading out to follow him and pick Alexander up. Are you going to press charges?”
Silas was a guy whose wife left him, his kids didn’t want to speak to him because he fucked around on their mom, and he didn’t know how to handle a life without a wife doing everything for him. He probably tried calling his ex, hit the bottle, then decided to be useful…by fucking up my barn and tractor and making the other guys work extra.
I would probably be more pissed if I was there. Silas was a sad sack on his best days, but involving the police would only give us all headaches. “Nah. We’ll file with the insurance company. Make sure to charge me for the extra time and mileage.”
Chambers only grunted. “I’ll start the insurance paperwork when I get back, but…I’m not sure about the barn.”
Goddammit . “That bad?”
“It’s not good. We’ve moved the bottle calves to the pasture between the older barn and the stables, and we moved those foals to the stables.”
Thank fuck it was summer. We could play musical pastures. Chambers didn’t need the headache. He wasn’t supposed to be full-time, and this weekend would be double time for him. I looked around at everyone. Over half the guests were my family. I’d been gone too much and this was my consequence. A drunk employee. “Fine. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“You don’t have to cut your weekend short.”
And he didn’t have to do my job on his days off during what should be his retirement. The bookkeeping job was to keep him out of his wife Roxie’s hair. “Talk to you soon.”
I tucked my phone away. When I turned, all the burgers were off the grill and Cody had shut it off. My appetite was shit after that news, but I’d grab some food to go.
“Trouble in paradise?” he asked.
“Chambers is handling it, but he shouldn’t have to.”
“He’s a good guy. What happened?”
“A little tractor meets barn after a few beers.”
He whistled low under his breath. “Need help with anything?”
“I’m just gonna tell everyone bye and head out.”
“This looks serious.” Tova sauntered toward her husband. Her dark hair was gathered in a bouncy ponytail, and she wore a loose yellow sundress. She walked right under Cody’s arm. A perfect pair. No one could tell by looking at them that she had been a burlesque dancer when he’d been an uptight widower. “Cody’s running the grill. What’s wrong?”
“I’ve gotta get going,” I answered.
She patted her husband’s stomach. “Let’s send some food with him. Are you coming back next week to help finish the clinic before Sutton’s office party at the end of the month?”
Another night away? I’d never been gone from home this often unless it included transporting horses.
“Remember, we’re doing the Fourth of July picnic early since it’s on a weekday,” Cody added.
I loved spending the Fourth with them. Sutton had hosted a big family picnic, but this one would be at Cody’s and would be within the window to shoot off fireworks.
But this was my second time in Crocus Valley in a month. I was the boss. The ranch needed my presence. “I don’t know.”
“You’re cutting this weekend short,” Cody said. “Come on down. The ranch will still be there and then you can stay for our Fourth of July party.”
“We’ll see.” I tabled the decision for later, once I knew how much damage was done to the barn.
I found the rest of my siblings, told them a quick version of what was going on, eased their concerns, then walked toward Sutton. Cali ran up to Lily, gave her a batch of wildflowers she’d picked from the property, then ran away.
Lily was grinning when she glanced up at me. Need punched me in the dead center of my chest. What would it be like to be at one of these family gatherings and have a woman smile at me that way? What would it be like if that was one of my kids who ran up to my wife? To not have to watch the clock for when I should leave, or worse, worry that I shouldn’t have been gone in the first place?
She dropped her gaze, a flush darkening her cheeks. The smile wasn’t for me. She wasn’t mine. And neither were her kids. I had to leave, and I couldn’t see my situation changing anytime soon.