Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
MATTHEW
M ario’s been gone two weeks, and Tandy and I are managing fairly well. I’m hoping my daughter will be able to come down soon because there are things we need to discuss as a family. I’m ready to downsize, but I want everyone on board when making plans for what happens to the ranch. It’s been in the family for years and years.
Tandy wipes down the counters as I tuck leftovers in the fridge. “Dallas says he needs to chat. So, I’m leaving in a bit to meet him at Stargazer Springs. No sense in making him drive when I’m out this way.”
“Everything okay? Want me to come along?”
She rinses out the rag and hangs it next to the sink. “You’re welcome to come along. He didn’t give me any clues, but he did say he was still planning to be foreman.”
“That’s good news.” I start toward the door. “Let me grab a clean shirt. I spilled a bit of dinner on this one.”
She follows me into the hall, grinning. “Go ahead and take off your shirt. Don’t mind me.”
I know my shirtless chest isn’t going to make anyone’s heart go flip-flop, but it doesn’t make the flirting any less fun. So I play along. I stop and unbutton the shirt, holding her gaze. Then I toss her the shirt. “Happy?”
Holding the shirt to her chest, she crosses her arms and leans against the wall. “I am. Really, really happy.”
I close the distance between us and give her a quick kiss. “Me too.”
She taps my chest. “Go get a shirt. We have somewhere to be. We can do more of that later.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I stride down the hall, hoping that after she talks to Dallas she’ll be just as happy. But his urgent need to talk has me concerned.
By the time I’m out of my room, Tandy has her purse on her shoulder and is standing near the door. “Let’s go. I need to know what’s got him stirred up. He’s only been responding to my texts with one or two words.”
“He always does that.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t always need to talk to me. Hurry.” Her hips wiggle as she hurries out the door. There are some things I want to talk to my family about that Tandy needs to hear first, which is what I planned to discuss after dinner.
But there’s always tomorrow.
When we walk into the mess hall, Dallas walks out of the game room. Voices can be heard, laughing and chatting.
I lean down and give Tandy’s hand a squeeze. “Unless you want me to stay for the conversation, I’m going to head in there and say hello.”
“Go visit. I’ll scream if I need you.” She winks.
Dallas extends his hand. “Good to see you, and I don’t mind if you stay.”
“Nah. Y’all talk.” I’m sure Tandy will fill me in if I need to know.
But my interest is piqued as I leave the room and hear Dallas say, “You’ve probably heard that I’m engaged.”
I know for a fact Tandy has not been informed of that development because there is no way she’d be able to keep it to herself. At least I don’t think. Just weeks ago, Dallas was dead set on staying single. Whatever changed has got to be one interesting story.
His house is move-in ready. Maybe that’s what he’s talking to Tandy about.
Clint nods toward the pool cues. “Want to shoot? We just finished a game.”
Tyler shakes his head. “I’m not sure that even qualified as a game. You wiped the table with me.”
Clint flashes a half smile. “I got lucky.”
I grab a cue and let him shoot first. This will help pass the time until I learn about Dallas’s love life.
Tandy is rubbing off on me, I suppose. Eager for updates on someone’s relationship status—other than my own—is fairly new. Even now, it’s not so much that I want to hear the nitty-gritty details. I want to see her reaction to those details.
Experiencing life through Tandy’s eyes has added sunshine to mine.
As I sink the last ball, the door creaks open, and Tandy walks in. “Howdy. Y’all behaving?”
Clint laughs. “Mostly, but you can take this guy home. He messed up my winning streak.”
She grins and tips her head toward the door. “That’s why I came in. We do need to get going.”
I drop the stick into the rack and say my goodbyes. Then as soon as we get to the truck, I help Tandy in, then run around to my side. As I’m pulling away from the main house, I ask, “How long are you going to make me wait? I thought I heard him say he was engaged.”
“Fake.” She grins. “But I can work with that.”
“You sure he wants you interfering?”
“He brought it up. But that’s all beside the point. His fiancée—that word has such a lovely ring to it—needs a place to live, and Dallas knows that I’m going to rent out my house in town. He was asking how long it will be before my place is done.”
“It’ll be easily a month or two before you can move in. It’s not anywhere near ready in its current state.”
“Oh, I know. But I told him that I’d be out of my place by the end of the month. I’ll just put stuff in storage and stay in a hotel or something.”
“A hotel? No. The only places along the highway this far out aren’t great. You didn’t even want Colt living there. Are you really going to put your poor cats in that kind of a place?”
Her eyes go wide. “Chip and Dale! What am I going to do with them?”
“You need a place that’s close to Matchmaker Ranch. Some place where the cats have ample space to do cat things.”
“Dallas already told Beau that he’s moving out, and since Dallas and his fiancée barely know each other, it would be awkward for them to share his house, even though he has more than one bedroom. And I get that. I’m not going to move in with Colt. His dog would stress out my cats. And I’m not going to live with Dallas because he might end up quitting.” She grins. “I can be hard to live with.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
Her smile falls away. “What?”
I pull over so I can look at her without worrying about the road. “You can move into my house until yours is finished.”
“I don’t…” She shakes her head. “That sounds like a really bad—” She slaps a hand over her mouth, then turns to look out the window.
It’s obvious her wheels are turning, and I wait until she’s figured out what she wants to say.
After a minute, she looks at me again. “Live with you how?”
“The house has four bedrooms. I sleep in one of them. You get your pick of the other three. I don’t have any dogs that will stress out your cats. You spend so much time there. Why not sleep there?”
Her shoulders visibly relax. “Maybe that’s not a bad idea.”
“It makes sense, Tandy.”
“You’re right.” She nods and worries her bottom lip. “If you want to check with your family, I understand.”
“I don’t. It’s my house.” I hold out my hand. “Nothing else has to change.”
“Good.” She laces her fingers with mine. “But if I get to be too much, tell me before you hate me, okay?”
“Deal.” I kiss her hand before easing back onto the road. “I’ll work on hiring some help for my place temporarily so that we can get you packed up.”
She waves her hand. “I’ll just hire people to do that. But if you can find someone to help with chores at your place, you should. You’re tired, Matthew. You aren’t as young as you once were.”
“My joints remind me every day about my age.”
The conversation I wanted to have with Tandy can wait. I can’t imagine living out the rest of my years without her. But I know better than to say that right before she moves in. She may have forgiven me for crawling out the window years ago, but there is still part of her that’s walled off because of it.
While I love the companionship and the Tandy who shows up decked out in sparkles, I find myself craving more. I want all of her. But seeing how flustered she got with the idea of moving in tells me she’s not ready to hear me say that.
So I don’t.