Chapter Twenty-Five
By the time Friday rolled around again the following week, Ty was looking forward to going home and spending the evening chilling with Shay. There’d been a large group staying at the lodge, and things had been crazy. Shay had a big assignment that she’d been working on in the evenings and she’d picked Mateo and Maya up from school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He loved that she’d slotted right into life on the ranch. He felt as though she’d always been around. It was hard to believe that they’d only known each other for such a short time.
He ran into Wade on his way out to his truck, and his brother smiled. “Are you headed to the bakery?”
“Nah. I’m going straight home. I want a bit of time with Shay to myself – she needs to study later.”
Wade frowned. “Are we putting too much on her?”
He let out a short laugh. “Maybe, but I’m not blaming you. She’d only find something else to do if she wasn’t doing something for you.”
“Okay, but just say so if you want me to back things down a bit.”
Ty held his hands up. “It’s not my call to make. If it were up to me, she wouldn’t do anything other than her schoolwork.”
Wade nodded slowly. “And she’d be able to get through more of that faster if she wasn’t working so much.”
“Yeah. I hadn’t thought of that.” He smiled. “Thanks, bro. You might just have given me an angle I can work. She’s so used to thinking that it’s going to take her years before she’s done studying that I bet she hasn’t even considered that she could get there faster now.”
Wade grinned. “You should talk to her about it. I love having her around here, but I’d rather she was working toward what she really wants to do. And that reminds me – did Libby get ahold of you yet?”
“No. Why?”
“Just talking about what Shayna really wants to do reminded me – she wants to work with vets, when she’s qualified, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you know Libb’s running that equine therapy program? When the guys were talking about Shay, Libb said that she’d give you guys a call – there might be a good fit there.”
“There might. I’ll tell her. We could give Libb a call tonight. I don’t like the idea of her taking on even more – or of her driving down there to Mav’s place, but I know she’d love to help. All the other jobs that she does are just about surviving – making ends meet. I know she’d love to be able to do something in the line of work she’s aiming for.”
Wade gave him a puzzled look.
“What?”
“Making ends meet?”
Ty shrugged. “That’s how it was for her in Summer Lake – and it’s just what she’s used to. Like I said, if it were up to me, she wouldn’t work at all – she could just focus on her schoolwork.”
“Does she know that?”
“Yeah, we talked about it, but she’s used to doing everything for herself.”
Wade smiled. “I get that – but you guys are together now. Maybe she can learn to let go a bit and let you help.”
“I sure as hell hope so. It’s early days yet, and I know she needs to find her feet and feel like she’s still her own person but …”
“You’ll figure it out.” Wade checked his watch. “Go on, get your ass home to her. I’m just going to check on the kitchen.”
“Christian’s in there. Everything’s already set up for dinner.”
“Thanks, Ty. How about you? I feel bad that we’re not getting you any closer to the kind of work you really want to do.”
He shrugged. “I’m okay to leave that on the back burner for now. I want to see Shay settled and on track first.”
Wade grinned. “She’s good for you, squirt.”
He laughed. “I know – best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
When he got home, he called out, “Hey, Shay!” as he opened the front door. When she didn’t answer, he started to hope that she might be in the shower – like last week. He wouldn’t mind a repeat performance of that!
She wasn’t in the bathroom. He spotted her waving through the window at him from the back porch. She was on the phone.
He grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and waved them at her. He didn’t want to disturb her – but he was pleased when she nodded and beckoned for him to join her. He wanted her to feel free to talk to whoever she wanted about whatever she wanted, but he was still glad that she wanted him with her.
He popped the top off both bottles and handed her one. It was only when she took it that he noticed how worried she looked.
“Promise me, Booker! … I mean it!”
She let out a frustrated sounding laugh.
“If you won’t promise, I’ll just have to come back and make you.”
Ty cocked his head to the side.
“Okay. You get some rest. And text me – let me know how you’re doing, all right?”
Ty took a swig of his beer, wondering if Booker was sick or something.
“We’ll talk soon. Love you, little bruv. And in case I didn’t say it – I love you for doing it. If I sounded mad, it’s only because I’m worried. I just love you and I want you to be safe, okay? … Okay. Talk to you soon.”
She ended the call and took a long drink of her beer before she looked at Ty.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Booker got beat up this morning at the barn.”
Ty took a step forward. “Do you know who …?”
She nodded. “It sounds like it was him – Carey. Some guy showed up asking about me and when I’d be back from my vacation. Booker got suspicious and started asking some questions of his own. It sounds like he lost his temper and told Carey what he thought of him. Sounds like he beat him up pretty bad. It’s all my fault!”
She took another drink, and Ty went to her when he saw the tears silently streaming down her face. He brushed them away with his thumbs.
“It’s not your fault, sweetheart. You’re not responsible for anything that asshole does.”
She sniffed.
“Did Booker tell you what he said to him?”
She gave him a sad smile. “Don’t worry. He’s a smart kid – he didn’t tell him that he can’t get to me because I’m in Montana, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
That was exactly what he’d been concerned about.
“He’s way smarter than that. He told him he can’t get to me because I moved away to go to college.” She let out a short laugh. “At Stanford.”
“Why’s that funny?”
She rolled her eyes. “Stanford has the best psychology program in the country. I told Booker once that would be my dream school – not that I’d ever get in. But that’s how he is, he remembered – he even said just now, that if he was in charge, I’d get to go to Stanford.”
“Did he think the guy believed him?”
“He thinks so. Apparently, it made him mad enough to punch Booker again.” She inhaled deeply then blew it out slowly. “That poor kid, Ty. It is my fault. He was trying to protect me.”
Ty closed his arms around her. “Because he loves you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Which confirms that he’s a smart kid.”
She sighed. “I talked to Alexis first – she stayed home with Booker while Davin and Adam went out looking for him – for Carey.”
Ty was surprised to hear that; Shayna must have understood what he was thinking.
“It seems that she was more concerned with taking care of Booker than with exacting revenge. Although, I hate to think what will happen to Carey if she gets hold of him before the police do.”
Ty’s lips twitched; he didn’t want to smile, but the thought of Alexis being the one to take the asshole down was an appealing one.
~ ~ ~
When Shayna woke up on Sunday morning, she lay staring out the window at the mountains. She couldn’t help thinking about Booker. She hated that he’d gotten hurt because of her. She’d spent most of yesterday texting back and forth with him. He insisted that he was enjoying a couple of days off – Alexis was keeping him home from the barn and from his other job at the restaurant. She was so glad that he had her and Davin looking out for him.
Apparently, Davin and Adam’s attempt to track this Carey person down hadn’t come to anything. Booker was mad at himself that he hadn’t thought to try and get a photograph so that they would at least know who they were looking for. Carey hadn’t used any photos on his dating profile and the only ones that Amelia had managed to dig up were mugshots from years ago.
Shayna had talked to Alexis and Davin and they’d both tried to reassure her that what happened to Booker wasn’t her fault. She knew it was, though.
Ty’s arm tightened around her waist, and he kissed the back of her neck.
“I figured you were awake. Are you ready to stop tormenting yourself yet?”
She rolled over so that she could see his face and sighed. “No.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I wish you would.”
She shrugged.
He curled his arm around her and held her closer to him. “It’s only a matter of time until Alexis and Davin hunt him down, you know that, right?”
She shrugged again. “I hope so, but …”
“If I can’t convince you that it’s all going to be all right, is there anything I can do to distract you?”
She smiled and pressed closer to him. “I’m sure you could think of something.”
He smiled through pursed lips. “I didn’t mean that – although I ain’t going to say no. But what do you want to do today?”
“It’s Sunday – isn’t everyone coming for lunch?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we have to stick around. If you want to take off, we can go somewhere – anywhere. We can go to the park if you want to see it – I’ve kept saying that I’ll take you. We could go for a ride – in the truck, or go saddle up a couple of horses and hit the trails.”
She ran her fingers through his beard. “What did I do to deserve you?”
He chuckled. “I reckon all you needed to do was be born.”
She gave him a puzzled look.
“I mean we were meant to be, you and me. No question in my mind. If April hadn’t sent me that message, we would have met some other way, somehow. I just know it.”
“Aww. I like that idea.”
“I believe it’s true. But that’s not helping us decide what we’re going to do with the day.”
“Are you saying that you don’t want to cook lunch for everyone?”
“No. I don’t mind doing it, but making you happy is more important to me than feeding all of them.”
“I am happy, Ty. I’m happy just being with you – you don’t need to do anything. I’m happy to spend the day here. See your family, eat with them. I do feel bad that you do all the work, though. I can help.”
“You don’t need to, sweetheart. The brothers help. You work hard enough all week; you deserve a break.”
“I’m not doing nearly as much here as I used to do at the lake.”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I know, my sneaky plan is working.”
She laughed. “And what sneaky plan is that?”
“The one where I slowly convince you that you don’t need to work so much – and that if you don’t, you’ll be able to devote more time to your studies – which will get you to where you want to be faster.”
“Oh!”
He nodded happily. “Think about it.”
She frowned. “I still need to pay tuition though, and …”
He silenced her with a kiss that soon had her writhing against him.
“I’d pay your tuition if you’d let me,” he said when he lifted his head.
“No, I couldn’t let you …”
“I figured you’d say that. But I can cover all our other expenses. I’m not saying I want to make you dependent on me, but … Shit, I’m going to say it. As far as I’m concerned, we’re in this for the long haul, Shay. We’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of us. I don’t mind carrying the load to help you get to where you want to be with your career. Couples do that all the time.” He grinned. “We might need you to shoulder the load later if I’m going to stay home with the kids.”
She held his gaze. “I want to laugh, but you’re serious, aren’t you? Big, tough cowboy Ty would really stay home to take care of kids?”
He nodded solemnly. “I would – I will, if that’s what works out to be best for us. So, think about it, Shay.”
“Okay.” Her heart was pounding, and her mind was racing. He was right – if she were to work less and take more classes, she could shave years off the time it would take her to get qualified. She pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Have I told you yet today how much I love you?”
He grinned as he rolled onto his back, holding her tight so that he took her with him until she was sitting astride him. He held her hips, and his hard length pressed into her heat as he said, “Not yet, but you could show me.”
She planted her hands on the pillow on either side of his head and leaned down to kiss him. “I’ll show you, but I want to tell you one more time, first. I love you, Ty. This has all happened so fast, but it feels so right.”
“That’s because it is right, Shay. I told you – you were made for me; we were meant to be. You’re my MacFarland Rose.” He chuckled. “And now I’ll stop talking so you can screw my brains out!”
She had to laugh. “You have such a way with words!”
He shrugged happily. “I never promised to shower you with pretty words, but I’ll always love you and protect you. You have my heart and soul.”
“And you have mine, Ty. And that’s worth more than all the pretty words in the world.”
“So, let’s quit with the words and get to the good stuff.” He laughed and squeezed her ass as he said it.
She slapped his arm, but she wasn’t mad about it. She agreed with him that words didn’t mean all that much – and the way he loved her meant everything.
~ ~ ~
Ty looked around for Shayna when he came back outside after making sure that the kitchen was all taken care of. He was glad now that she’d wanted to spend the afternoon here at the big house with everyone rather than going off by themselves. He loved hanging out with his family like this – and if they hadn’t come, they would have missed Cash and Trav’s flying visit.
Cash was standing just outside the kitchen door. When he handed Ty a beer, he took it with a nod of thanks and started toward the steps that led down from the deck.
Cash caught his shoulder and spun him around, making him laugh.
“Where are you off to, squirt? I got you a beer and I want a minute.”
“Okay. Be right with you. I’m on my way to check on Shay first.”
Cash chuckled. “Right, I should have known. Looks like she’s settled right in. Everyone loves her.”
Ty grinned. “Why wouldn’t they? She’s awesome.”
“She is, I’m glad you found her.”
Ty met his gaze. “You okay?”
“Me?” Cash laughed. “When am I not okay?”
“I dunno, I just thought …”
“Yeah, well don’t. I’m good. Go check on your girl and then come find me. I won’t keep you long.”
It didn’t take Ty long to make sure that Shayna was okay. She and Callie were playing with Mateo and Maya. She only stopped briefly to kiss him in passing before running off squealing when Mateo came after her.
He grinned at Mateo, who stopped when he saw him. “You having fun with Shay?”
Mateo nodded solemnly. “She’s good to us. I like her.”
Ty gave him a puzzled look. Everyone was good to Mateo and Maya – it seemed like a strange thing to say.
Mateo’s eyebrows drew together, as if he’d realized that too. After a few moments, he smiled. “She’s the same as us,” he explained.
“How’s that?”
“Her family died, and she found a new family who loves her and makes her feel happy again.”
Ty grinned, glad that Shay must have told him that. “She sure has.”
Mateo nodded and then looked around for her before chasing after her again.
Ty took a swig of his beer as he headed back to where he’d left Cash. It only hit him then that the family that Shay had told Mateo about might be Davin and Alexis, rather than his own.
“What’s up?” Cash asked when he reached him.
“Nothing, it’s all good. What do you need me for?”
“Ask not what you can do for you brother, but what your brother can do for you.”
Ty had to laugh. “Don’t you have that a bit messed up?”
Cash shrugged. “Nope. I’ve been working my magic behind the scenes and I wanted to talk to you about it.”
“Fire away – I’m all ears.”
“Trav should be here soon – he’s gone looking at some property with Trip.”
“Right. I wondered why you guys were here.”
“Well, there’s that and I wanted to see Libby as well.”
Ty raised his eyebrows. “Is she all right?”
Cash blew out a sigh. “Yeah, she’s a good as she can be. I’m taking a break from trying to play mediator between her and Mav. I wanted to talk to her about the program she runs for the vets.”
“And Mav knows this?”
Cash laughed. “Yep. I’m not going to hide anything from him. If he refuses to get his head out of his ass and make things right with her, then he has no right to whine like a little girl about her spending time with vets.”
“I guess, but …”
Cash shrugged. “Seriously. She’s doing good work. And you know what Trav’s planning, right?”
“He wants to provide a place where vets can come and stay to decompress for a while.”
“Yep. It makes sense for him and Libby to get together and see if they can join forces.”
“I can see that but … oh, I was going to ask what’s it got to do with me, but it doesn’t – you mean Shay?”
“I do. Sounds like she’s doing a bunch of odd jobs around here. I was thinking that if she had one job – doing the kind of work that she wants to do – she’d have more time to study and …”
“We were talking about that this morning, but it’ll be a while before they put anything together, won’t it?”
“It might be, if they were left to their own devices but …”
“But you’re about to intervene and help things along?”
“You know me. Trav found out that the old Woodfield place is for sale.”
“Oh, wow! You mean the one that butts up against our southern boundary?”
“Yep. The one that the out-of-staters tried to turn into a resort.”
“That’s perfect! I heard that some church had bought it and wanted to …”
Cash laughed. “I heard the same and I didn’t think they were the kind of people who’d make good neighbors.”
“Shit! What did you do?”
“Who says I did anything?” Cash asked with a grin. “All I know is that they backed out of the deal, and considering that they’d managed to talk old man Woodfield into a accepting a lowball offer, Trav’s going to look like a hero when he comes in with something a bit more realistic – and he’ll still be getting a good deal. You know I love a win-win.”
Ty had to laugh. “I do. So, you’re saying that Shay might be able to work with him right there on our doorstep?” His smile faded. “Are you saying that Libb would move the horses up here, too? How’s Mav going to feel about that?”
Cash shrugged. “None of us can afford to worry about that. And …. Get this … drumroll, please.”
“Go on – spit it out!”
“I’ve been talking to Eli as well. He’d be interested in moving out here, too. He set up in Salt Lake because he felt like he needed to be in a big city to be accessible, but if guys are going to be coming to Trav’s place anyway … And he said that he’d need an assistant, so …”
Ty couldn’t stop smiling. “Are you telling me that you’ve been going around rearranging people’s lives so that Shay can …?”
Cash laughed. “Nah. I’m good – but even I’m not that good. I could see that a few stars were starting to align so I’m doing what I can to help ‘em along. It’s not just for Shay – everyone will benefit if we can pull this off. Yeah, Shay, Trav, Libby’, and Eli – but also the guys who come to stay. Some of ‘em will benefit from Libb’s work and the horses, some of ‘em will want to work with Eli. Either way, Shay can help until she finds her feet and figures out what her own special brand of help looks like.”
“Thanks, Cash.”
“Yeah. Anyway, that’s that. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is this Carey Duncan guy. I spoke to Alexis, and she told me about Booker.”
Ty scowled. “They haven’t found him yet, and I know Booker was trying to send him on a wild goose chase by saying that Shay went to Stanford, but if he’s gone there to look for her, we might never find him.”
Cash pursed his lips. “The kid was only trying to help.”
“I know, I’m not mad at him.”
“Good. Amelia’s still digging, but she’s been slammed with our own work the last couple of weeks. In fact …” Cash narrowed his eyes when he saw Ford come out of the house. “I should go have a word with him.”
Ty hated the tension that filled the air whenever Cash and Ford were around each other.
“Don’t look like that,” said Cash. “I’m talking about extending an olive branch. Maybe I’m going soft in my old age, but I like seeing all you guys getting coupled up. There’s only him and Tan left now. I’m not going to hold my breath on seeing Tanner settle down anytime soon, but I know for a fact that Ford and Amelia took a shine to each other when she was here.”
“I’d love it if you and Ford could find a way to bury the hatchet, but … I dunno, Cash. He’s not keen on talking about her even to the rest of us – I don’t think he’d want to hear about her from you.”
Cash chuckled. “I reckon you’re right – but I told myself I’d try while I’m here. Here goes nothing.”
Ty watched him go, hoping that their conversation wouldn’t deteriorate into a fight. When he turned to look for Shay, he laughed when little Maya went running by him. Rocket came thundering after her with a big smile on his face.
It spoke volumes about the big man that instead of being afraid of him, Maya was giggling like crazy. She spotted Travis, who had just arrived, and headed straight to him.
“Travis! Rocket’s coming after me!”
Travis scooped her up. “You need me to save you from him?” he asked.
“No! You need to save him , too! He’s running behind me so that the monsters can’t get me!”
Ty shook his head with a smile. That figured. Rocket hated anything that scared Maya and her brother.
He left them to it and went to join Shay, who was sitting with Callie. He loved that – she got along with all the girls, and she saw most of them during the week for one reason or another. When she had time to just be, it seemed that she and Callie gravitated toward each other.
Kolby greeted him with a smile that indicated he felt the same way Ty did.
When he reached them, he hauled Shay up out of her seat and spun around before sitting down with her in his lap.
She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Smooth move – I like it.”
He was about to answer, but Travis arrived and pulled the same move with Callie. Once he was seated, with her on his lap, he grinned at Kolby. “I’m not making a move on your girl, it’s just that she’s as close as I can get to her mama!”
Kolby laughed. “I know.” He raised his eyebrows at Callie. “Are you any closer to getting her out here to visit?”
Callie blew out a sigh. “She said maybe when the school year’s over.”
“She works too hard, she should come up here and take it easy – with me,” said Travis.
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know. If you can help me persuade her to come, I’ll love you for it.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Once I’m back here, it’ll be easier.”
Ty grinned at him. “Are you coming back soon? Did you make the deal?”
Travis grinned. “I sure did.” He turned to Shayna. “And I’d like to set up a meeting with you, little lady. If you’re interested.”
“I’m more than interested!”
Kolby laughed. “I think we need to watch ourselves around this guy, Ty. He’s got my girl on his lap and yours eating out of his hand.”
Ty laughed with him, but he loved the way that Shay tightened her arm around his shoulders. He wasn’t worried about Travis, or anyone else, stealing her away from him.