Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rylee blew on the strand of hair in her face but it did nothing to dislodge it. So, she brushed at it with her arm and continued painting the wall. The house was coming along. There were definitely some updates she’d like to make to the place—but that would only happen if she decided to stay.
If.
That was the word of the year at this point.
So far, she was leaning in that direction and the thought absolutely terrified her—but in the most delicious way.
She didn’t feel like she was losing herself when she was with Tate.
On the contrary, she felt like she was discovering parts of herself that had gone dormant when she’d been a little girl.
Since she’d arrived at the farm, she’d been remembering what it was like to feel connected to a place so thoroughly that she couldn’t fathom living anywhere else.
And what if Tate decided he wasn’t interested?
While that idea weighed on her like no other, she couldn’t deny that she might be able to stick around—for herself and no one else.
That had to be a good sign.
A firm knocking on her door had her startling and a splatter of paint dripped to the drop cloth on the floor.
She huffed, placing the paintbrush in a holder before she headed for the door.
There were only a few people around here who would show up without calling.
And one of them was Tate. If she had to guess, he’d come to visit.
Her smile grew before she reached the door and then her face changed to confusion. “Lydia?”
Tate’s sister stood on the porch with both arms wrapped around a huge glass vase. Lovely pink and yellow summer flowers with a few white roses scattered in. The whole arrangement was nearly as wide as she was.
“Before you say one word,” Lydia said, “this is not from me and I want that on the record.”
“What in the world?”
“A delivery van sat at the end of our drive a good while because he couldn’t figure out which one was yours.
So I agreed to bring them over to you.” She shouldered past Rylee, set the flowers on the drop cloth covering a table, and shook out her arms. “That monstrosity came from a shop in Billings that doesn’t deliver this far.
No idea why whoever sent these wouldn’t have looked for the local florist. This must have cost a fortune. ”
There was a card. Rylee could see the corner of it from where she stood, sitting up out of the stems in a little plastic prong.
“There’s a card,” Lydia said.
“I see it.”
“I didn’t read it.” A beat. “I did hold it up to the window, though, but I couldn’t see through it.”
Rylee gave her a side glance as she pulled the card free. She read it and immediately felt uncomfortable.
I’ll be here when you’re ready to come home. —Alexander
She read it twice. The second time, her stomach turned over.
“That bad?” Lydia asked.
“Take them.”
Lydia’s brows went up. “Take them where?”
“Anywhere. Take them home. Put them on your mother’s table.
Give them to Christine Brickell down at Salon 406 and she’ll get a week of conversation out of them.
” Rylee held out the card too, then thought better of it and closed her fist around it.
“I’m not keeping flowers from a man I’ve brushed off more than once.
If I keep them, he’ll think my heart has softened. ”
Lydia looked at the roses. Then at Rylee. Then a grin took over her whole face, slow and delighted. “Oh, I like you.”
“Great. Thanks. But please just take them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She put her arms back around the vase and boosted it up onto her hip. Halfway down the porch steps she turned around. “Oh, by the way… There’s been a man in town wearing a suit. Do you know him?”
Rylee’s hand tightened on the doorframe. “Why?”
“You know a man in an expensive suit gets attention around here. Christine’s had him in her chair twice, which I didn’t know a man could manage with hair that short.
” Lydia adjusted her hold on the vase. “He asked her how long the Dennisons have been out on this road. He asked whether my brother had a girl. He asked what Tate does for money.”
The paint smell in the house went sharp in the back of Rylee’s throat.
“He asked Marla Dailey the same at the market,” Lydia said. “Marla thought he was a banker.”
“He’s not a banker.”
“No.” There was nothing funny left in Lydia’s face. “I didn’t think so either.”
Lydia went down the path with the roses, and Rylee stayed in the doorway until the rise took her out of sight. Then she shut the door harder than it needed shutting.
After wiping her hands on her coveralls, she grabbed her phone and called her aunt.
“Rylee, darling—”
“Did you send Alexander down here to get me to come home early?”
“What?” Well, at least Roxy sounded surprised.
“Alexander King. Were you aware that he showed up in Rocky Ridge out of nowhere? He didn’t tell me he was coming. He just… poof… showed up expecting that he would sweep me off my feet with his supposedly romantic gesture.”
“Well, did it work?”
“Roxy!”
She let loose a quiet laugh. “No, dear. I didn’t send him there. He asked for your address. Said he had something he wanted to send to you. So I gave it to him.”
“Roxy!” Rylee groaned again. “Well, he’s here. And he’s causing problems.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that. He comes from good breeding. I’m sure he’s been nothing but on his best behavior.
” A pause followed, half a beat too long.
“Though his mother did skip the Children’s Hospital fundraiser gala at The Plaza this spring.
The Kings never miss any event at The Plaza.
” Before Rylee could ask what that had to do with anything, her aunt breezed on.
“Never mind, dear. Best behavior. I’d stake my name on it. ”
“Best behavior.” Rylee looked at the wet ring the vase had left on the drop cloth. “He sent flowers this afternoon, Roxy. An arrangement the size of a small child.”
“Well. That’s rather sweet.”
“The card said, he’s waiting for me to come home.”
Nothing came down the line for a moment, which out of Roxy was a great deal.
“He isn’t asking me for anything,” Rylee said. “He’s waiting me out. He’s decided how this ends, and he’s letting me tire myself out getting there.”
Her aunt let that sail on past, graceful as ever about the inconvenient ones. “And did you put them in water?”
“Of course not. Tate’s sister took them with her when she left.”
“Rylee Margaret.”
“I have told that man I’m not interested more than enough for him to get the message.” Rylee shook her head, pacing as her fury continued to mount. “He’s asking around town about me and—”
“And?” Roxy pressed.
“And Tate.”
“Who’s Tate?”
Squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath, Rylee prepared herself for the formal inquisition. “He’s my neighbor.”
“Was he one of those little boys you followed around when you were a little girl?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I liked him.”
Yeah, Rylee did, too. And those feelings had grown with increasing fervor.
But this conversation was not about Tate.
This was about trying to get Alexander to leave her alone.
“The point is, I came to Rocky Ridge to get my head on straight. It was your idea, for Pete’s sake!
And now you’ve sent someone down here I needed space from. ”
“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”
She sighed. “Not really. I want to be able to make the right decision and that’s not going to happen if I have people trying to influence me.”
Her aunt was quiet for a long moment then she huffed, resigned and irritated all at once. “Well, perhaps this is for the best.”
“How do you figure?” Rylee ground out. “This isn’t what was supposed to happen.”
“Sometimes it’s best to compare things when they’re side by side. You’ve been gone long enough. Now that Alexander is there, you won’t forget what you’d be missing if you stayed in Montana.”
Why couldn’t her aunt see how much this was bothering her? Was it because she didn’t know about Rylee’s relationship? Would she feel the same way if she were here and could see how pushy Alex had become?
Or would she take Alexander’s side?
Something told Rylee that her aunt would do just that. Hadn’t Roxy left a life of near poverty to marry a wealthy businessman? She loved her life in the city, and she’d spun it to suit her wild personality. Perhaps she’d expected that Rylee would want the same.
Except nothing could be further from the truth. Being here, in the country, had only made Rylee’s feelings for this place intensify.
“Don’t be too hard on him, dear,” her aunt’s voice broke through her thoughts, dragging her back to their conversation.
“Alexander feels a great deal for you. I think it’s admirable that he’d be willing to cross the country to fight for you.
He’s a fish out of water there. Perhaps you could give him a chance. ”
Yeah, right.
And yet the guilt over dismissing her aunt’s request was already bothering Rylee. But before she could say anything, her aunt changed the subject. “So, tell me dear, what else has been going on in your little corner of the universe?”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Roxy, I’m actually really busy right now. I don’t have time for a long talk. I need to get back to work.”
“Back to work—”
“I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Well, okay, but are you sure—”
“Bye. Love you.” Rylee hung up the phone just as someone knocked on the door.
She growled as she stomped toward the door and yanked it open. “What!” she snapped. But then her face burned as she realized who had come to call. “Oh, it’s you.”
“And you were expecting…” Tate drawled, a concerned smile on his face. It was the strangest combination. Had Lydia said something to him on her way home? Now that she was looking closer at him, the worry lines around his face were deeper.
Rylee reached for his hand and pulled him inside. “Are you okay?”
Tate allowed her to pull him into the living room and down onto the couch that was also covered by a drop cloth. He watched her like he was expecting her to drop a bomb.
“Is this about Alexander? Because he’s been asking questions all over town, and if somebody’s repeated one of them to you—”
Tate squeezed her hand with a shake of his head. “No, it’s not about him.” His eyes grew distant and he pulled in a breath before releasing it. “Jason seems… off.”
“Off? How?”
He withdrew from her and paced what little space there was after she’d pushed all the furniture together.
“I don’t know. Everything about him is calm and steady.
He soaks in his surroundings like a sponge.
But lately… I don’t know. Antsy? Like something is going on in his life that he doesn’t want me to know about. ”
“You think he’s hiding something from you.”
“Yeah? Maybe? But it’s more than that. He’s…” Tate closed his eyes and turned his face toward the ceiling. “He brought up that he wants to quit.”
She remained silent. Her own questions swirled in her mind, but they wouldn’t do Tate any good when he was trying to make sense of this on his own.
“Okay, that’s not entirely accurate,” he muttered after a beat as he brought his focus to meet hers. “He said he’d still be okay working with me, but he’s been considering starting another business.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound all bad…” she hedged.
“I’m not sure he understands the time and energy it takes to start a new business. It’s not just about getting the materials and the space. There’s more to consider. Licensing. Capital. Hiring employees. Finding clients. The list goes on and on and—”
Rylee placed a hand on his forearm. “Jason is an adult, Tate. I’m sure he’s well aware of what he’ll need to do if he wants to get a new business off the ground. But I think you’re forgetting the most important thing he will need.”
Tate’s brows furrowed. “What’s that?”
“You. Just like you need him.”
He scoffed but she shook her head and gave his arm a squeeze.
“I’m not kidding. He’s going to need your support.
He needs to feel comfortable coming to you and asking for advice because you’re the one who’s been running your business from the start.
” She could see his demeanor softening slightly, so she pushed forward.
“Maybe it’s time for you to stop worrying about your brother. ”
And just like that, his walls shot sky-high.
“What?”
She withdrew, frowning.
“I know you probably don’t understand what it’s like to be the oldest because you don’t have any siblings.
But I’ll tell you anyway. There are more responsibilities than you could even dream of.
I will never stop worrying about my brother.
Not because he can’t handle himself. He handles himself better than I do most days.
I worry because that’s the job. Do you think for even one second that starting a business from nothing goes smoothly?
Because I don’t. He’s got to win over folks who are set in their ways and already have a trainer they like.
That’s a hard road for anybody. And he’ll walk it without complaining once, which means nobody will know when it gets heavy. Except me. That’s the part I’m for.”
His chest heaved as he spoke. His eyes were wild and his cheeks turned ruddy.
“I will never stop worrying about my brother. He’s one of the most important people in my life.
I’d lay down everything for him if it means securing his happiness.
So don’t stand there and tell me that he’ll manage.
If this new venture is what’s going to make him happy, I’m going to guarantee it works.
The problem is that he’s not talking to me about it. ” Tate’s voice rose through his speech.
From his stance and the way his fists kept clenching, Rylee had overstepped. She’d wanted to comfort him, but that wasn’t what he needed. “You’re right,” she whispered.
His eyes cut to hers but then his expression softened. “Rylee, I’m—”
She held up a hand. “It’s fine. I understand.
You will always be his protector. You’re always going to want to be there for your family.
It’s part of who you are. I wasn’t trying to say you should step back and let Jason have at it.
I just…” Rylee closed her eyes and sighed.
“I’m a fixer. I was trying to offer advice rather than reassurance.
I have no doubt that you won’t hold back when it comes to helping him succeed.
And as for him having a hard time talking to you, perhaps you should find some time for just the two of you so you can offer your support in a way he can’t turn down. ”
Tate remained still. The way his eyes searched hers was more than a little unnerving. But then he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the crown of her head. “Thank you.”
“What for?” she said with a breathless laugh.
“Talking me off the ledge. I didn’t realize how much I needed it.”
She smiled into his chest. “Anytime, Tater.”