Tess almost spit out her tea and wiped her mouth with her
napkin.
“I didn’t mean
that
kind of position. Jesus. Maybe
you
should
rethink this.” Olivia winked at her and flashed a smile.
She reminded Tess of the classic pretty girl who lived next door.
Dark red hair and a few freckles across her nose. She wore little makeup and
didn’t really need it. And Cade loved Olivia more than anything. His little
family was his entire world.
“My body says I’m a fool if I give up, my mind says don’t be
stupid.” Tess poked the pickle spear on the edge of her plate. “Why can’t I
find someone like Cade? He’s the sweetest guy I know. He always has been.”
“I’m lucky to have him and Ella. You’ll find someone, Tess.
God, you’re what…twenty-two? You’ve got plenty of time. Finish school and enjoy
your freedom. You don’t know what I’d give to go back and change the choices I
made when I was your age.”
Tess knew about Olivia’s past. The abuse she had endured at
the hand of her ex-boyfriend was unimaginable. Tess had never been in a fight
with, let alone hit by a man. If anyone deserved someone like Cade, Olivia did.
Ella dipped a chicken nugget in ketchup and licked it.
“You need to come stay with Aunt Tess soon, my little princess.”
Tess rubbed Ella’s leg.
Ella nodded and smiled before chomping on the chicken
nugget.
Olivia paid for lunch and kissed Tess on the cheek,
promising to bring Ella over.
Tess felt more at ease after talking with Olivia. She was
more than just her sister-in-law, she had become her friend.
Every time Tess’ mind wandered to Shane, she tried to think
of something else. He had called a few times and sent a few text messages,
which she had ignored. He finally stopped. The championship started in a few
days, so surely he was busy prepping. He didn’t need her complicating things
for him.
She missed Tippi, but going to the ranch meant she was sure
to run into Shane or Phoebe and she did not have the want to deal with either
of them.
Her parents would be back in a few days, so she cleaned the house
and changed into shorts and a t-shirt to wash her dad’s truck. The hose was
coiled beside the house and she unwound it and turned the spigot on. She
squirted some dish soap into a bucket and filled it with water. Kicking her
flip flops off, she dipped a sponge into the suds and ran it over the hood of
the truck. Her dad kept his truck meticulous, which was nearly impossible
living out in the countryside. After she finished rinsing and drying the
outside, she pondered vacuuming the inside, but didn’t relish the idea of
dragging the shop vac from the garage and through the house since the garage
door still would not open.
A truck pulled in behind her dad’s and kicked up a cloud of
dust.
“Dammit, Luke. I just washed dad’s truck.”
Her brother grinned. “Sorry, short stuff.”
“I’m not short.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” He moved closer and pulled her
into his arms. “I’m sorry about the other day. I was being an asshole, but I
worry about my baby sister.”
Tess tried not to hug him back, but she couldn’t resist and
wrapped her arms around his torso. “Don’t let it happen again.”
“Promise.” He released her and stepped back. “Nice job.
Wanna wash my truck now?”
Tess stuck her tongue out at him. “No. But, hey, the garage
door won’t open. Can you take a look at it? I’d hate for dad to have to come
home and fix it right after his vacation.”
“You’re home for a couple of weeks and already tearing the
house up.”
“I didn’t break it.”
“I’ll check it out.” Luke disappeared inside the house.
Tess was wiping down the inside of her dad’s truck when the
garage door engaged and slid open.
Luke walked out. “Didn’t check the breaker box, huh?”
“Breaker box? You mean all this time, it was just a tripped
breaker switch?”
He nodded. “Happens sometimes during the storms.”
“I almost called a repairman out.”
“Good thing your big brother looks out for you.”
“Luke, you are both a blessing and a curse.”
After he left, Tess opened a can of soup and sat at the
table with her laptop. She perused her email and dropped goldfish crackers into
her chicken noodle soup. Nothing interesting jumped out. A few jokes from her
roommate back in California and then a message from Dex:
Hey T,
How’s your summer? Kind of miss your smile. Give me a
call sometime.
Love,
D
Tess sighed. Sometimes she missed Dex. They’d had fun
together. He had a wicked sense of humor, but could not keep his dick in his
pants and couldn’t tell the truth to save his own life. She hadn’t been able to
find anyone who was happy with just her. They all had to have someone else, even
Shane. She wondered if she would ever be enough for anyone. Her appetite wasn’t
great and she finished about half of her soup before giving up.
She shut her laptop down and put her dishes away. She poured
a little bit of cat food into Gypsy’s bowl and went upstairs to get her purse. Despite
her misgivings, she needed to go see Tippi and spend some time with her. If she
ran into Shane or Phoebe, she’d just have to deal with it.
The radio played country songs that all sounded the same,
like stories out of some teenage love confession magazine. There was the girl
with a broken heart who threw her engagement ring into the river and some
cowboy who was tired of playing the field and looking for a nice girl. Tess’ mind
was preoccupied with revenge fantasies of what she might say to Phoebe or Shane
or both if she happened upon them, especially if they were together. She
imagined turning her nose up at them and telling them they deserved each other.
Of course, she wouldn’t do that. She’d be nice because
that’s who she was. Sweet Tess. She parked her truck in the empty lot. With the
big competition starting in a few days, she figured no one would be here.
They’d be off at the arena in Little Rock.
Tucking her phone into her back pocket, she headed for Tippi’s
stall. The horse poked her nose out as if she heard Tess approaching. Tess
smiled and petted the mare’s head, rubbing the course hair between her ears.
“Hey, girlfriend. Miss me?”
She saddled the horse and led her out to the pasture.
Climbing up, she held onto the reins and gave Tippi a gentle kick. The sun was
warm on her back as she trotted around the grounds and along the path through
the woods. Tess inhaled deeply, appreciating the scents of pine and cedar. An
orange butterfly flitted beside her. She watched it for a moment before
returning her attention to the path before her.
Two squirrels ran up a tree, circling the trunk and jumping
onto the limbs. She envied their freedom. If only her biggest worries involved
finding pecans and avoiding cats.
After an hour in the woods, Tess headed back to the stables.
Once she entered the clearing, she saw Shane’s truck parked next to hers, and
Phoebe’s car sat a couple spaces over.
Great.
She dismounted and walked Tippi
back to her stall. She unbuckled the saddle and put it on its perch. She shook
out the blanket and hung it over the stall gate. She brushed Tippi quickly with
the intent of getting out of there before she ran into Phoebe or Shane. She
kissed the horse on the face and walked out and right into Phoebe.
They stared at each other. “Excuse me,” Tess said, breaking
eye contact and attempting to move past Phoebe.
Phoebe grabbed her arm. “He doesn’t love you.”
Tess yanked her arm away. “Are you insane?”
Phoebe put her hand on her hip. “I just want you to know
that.”
The nerve of this woman pushed Tess to the edge and she bit
her tongue.
Phoebe smiled. “You’re nothing special, sweetheart. Just
another piece of ass looking for a rodeo ride. And, he’s a fun ride. I don’t
blame you for wanting some of that. Just know he’ll never take you home to
mama.”
“There’s nothing between Shane and I. He’s all yours,
ma’am
.”
Tess shouldered past Phoebe and jogged to her truck. She climbed inside and
gunned the engine, kicking up a cloud of dust as she drove off.
Tess hated that woman. How dare she talk to her that way? And
Phoebe did not own Shane. Tess’ temper got the best of her and she skidded to a
halt on the side of the road. She checked traffic and made a U-turn. As she
pulled back into the ranch parking lot, she saw Phoebe and Shane. Based on the
angry look on Shane’s face and the flailing of Phoebe’s arms, they were arguing.
Shane stepped back, his fists clenched. Tess didn’t believe for a minute that
he would hit Phoebe but she knew that woman was capable of pushing people
beyond their breaking points.
Tess jumped out of the truck and stormed over to the pair.
Phoebe was screaming at Shane and he was standing there tight-lipped.
Tess stepped in front of Phoebe. “Would you shut up for once
in your life?”
Shane touched her shoulder. “Come with me, Tess. I want to
talk to you.”
Phoebe started yelling again. “Tell her I’m the one you
love.”
Shane shook his head. “Phoebe. Not now.”
Tess spun around and hitched her thumb toward Phoebe. “Do
you love her? Is what she said true?”
Shane exhaled and glared at Phoebe. “What did she say to you
back in the stable?”
Tess glared at Phoebe. “She said that I’m just a piece of
ass. If that’s the case, tell me now and I’m gone. If she’s a liar, then we
have something to talk about.”
Phoebe huffed. “I’m not a liar.”
Shane addressed Phoebe. “Since you’ve seen fit to discuss
our personal business with Tess, let’s not keep any secrets. Is that fair,
darlin’?”
Phoebe pursed her lips.
Shane took Tess’ hand. “Okay then. I’m not in love with
Phoebe and I haven’t slept with her since I slept with you. And I have no
intention of sleeping with her again. You’re not just a piece of ass as Phoebe
so nicely put it. I care.”
Tess fought the urge to stick her tongue out at Phoebe and
call her a lying bitch, but the crestfallen look on Phoebe’s face gave her
pause. She looked like she definitely had not anticipated what Shane just said
to her.
He tugged on Tess’ hand. “Come on. We need to talk.”
Phoebe didn’t say a word and got into her car as Shane and
Tess walked toward his apartment.
He opened the door and stepped aside to let her enter first.
A burst of cool air hit her face and she realized she’d been
sweating.
Shane pointed to the sofa. “Have a seat. You want a beer?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” She sat on the couch and rolled her head
to stretch her neck muscles. The intensity of her anger made itself known
through the trembling of her hands. That always gave her away when she
pretended not to be upset.
Shane handed her the bottle of beer and sat down beside her
like that first night she had visited. “First, I want to say I’m sorry about
Phoebe and this whole mess. I don’t love her. Not like she wants me to. That’s
part of the problem we had. She needs a level of attention and adoration that I
couldn’t give her. And, realistically, there was no future with her. It was
just supposed to be a fun fling type thing.”
He paused and knitted his brows. “I never meant to hurt her
feelings. And I never lied to her. I never made promises. I mean, she’s in her
forties. I’m twenty-five. I want a family someday. She’s past that already. She
wants to play and travel and hang on my arm in front of her friends. If I could
go back, I never would have done anything with her. She turned into this big
bitchy nightmare and pretty much pissed on my leg whenever I talked to other
girls. She definitely didn’t want me hanging around you, pretty young blonde.
And she knew I was interested in you. She kept trying to stake a claim with me
even though I had ended it with her already.”
“We all make mistakes.” Tess sympathized with his situation
and Phoebe was beautiful and had money and her type was probably hard for a
young guy to resist.
“I don’t want you to be another mistake. I have a proposal.”
She took a pull on beer. “I’m listening.”
“I was thinking about how this has all played out. We
skipped some steps in the process. So, let me start over. Let me court you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”
He tilted his head. “Yes. I am. I think we need to back up a
little and get to know each other better. That means no sex, no matter how much
you beg for it.”
She almost spit her drink out and managed to swallow it
before bursting into laughter. “I don’t beg for sex.”
He leaned in closer and kissed her on the nose. “We’ll see
about that, sweetheart.” He drained the last of his beer. “Are you okay to
drive?”
Tess held up her half empty bottle. “Yeah, takes more than
half of a light beer to tank me.”
He took the bottle from her hand. “Good. Go home. Get ready.
I’ll pick you up at seven tonight.”
“What makes you think I’m going to go out with you.”
He squeezed her thigh and smiled. “Because I’m
irresistible.”
She tried not to laugh. “I hate you. I’ll see you at seven.”
The hot air blasted in her face as he held her hand and walked
her out.
Tess was relieved that Phoebe’s car was gone. Shane kissed
her on the cheek and patted her on the ass. “Drive safe.”
She drove like a maniac to get back home. It was already
four. She had to shower and figure out what to wear and she had no idea where
he was taking her, but she was excited. She liked the idea of being courted. Oddly,
things felt all right again. Shane had a way of making her feel okay. That both
intrigued and scared the daylights out of her. This guy could sell her
rainwater.
Tess was grimy from sweat and dirt at the ranch and relished
the cool shower spray. She took her time and shaved her legs and washed her
hair. She dried off and smoothed sweet smelling lotion over her skin.