by Elle Thorpe
“What, Summer? Really? Did you enjoy your little party for one last night? I can’t believe you stole all the beer from my parents’ refrigerator and drank yourself into oblivion!”
“You’re the one who said I shouldn’t drive home.”
“So you didn’t kill yourself, or worse, somebody else! Not so you could binge drink on my front lawn!”
The rumble of one of our ranch trucks on the driveway had me jerking back. I’d been so busy yelling at Austin I hadn’t even heard it approaching until it was practically right on top of me. It stopped beside me, and I peered through the window, squinting to see who was behind the wheel, praying it wasn’t my dad. He already wasn’t Austin’s biggest fan, and seeing him passed out in his car after drinking all his beer wasn’t going to do Austin any favors.
The window dropped, and Dominic leaned out. “What’s going on?” He glanced between me and Austin with concern, before focusing on me. “You okay?”
I was just grateful he wasn’t my father. I threw my hands up in the air. “He’s hungover. Or still drunk? I’ve no idea.”
Austin’s snores permeated the air again.
Dominic frowned. “Wait, he drove like this last night? What the hell, Summer? Why did you get in the car with him?”
“I didn’t know!” I protested, “And he wasn’t this drunk last night. He added to it after we argued, and I told him to sleep it off in his car.” Hot, angry tears pricked the backs of my eyes. This was so mortifying. I hadn’t seen Dom in over twelve months, and in the space of less than twenty-four hours, Austin had embarrassed me multiple times.
“I know what you must be thinking,” I said to Dom, heat flushing my cheeks.
Dom studied me quietly for a moment, and I just waited for him to start lecturing me on what a dickhead Austin was, just like Hallie had done time and time again. Or maybe he’d just frown disapprovingly, like my dad did every time Austin ran his mouth.
But Dom’s eyes were kind. “So you’ll know I’m thinking about going into town then? I need breakfast and some things at the store.”
I sighed a little in relief. I just couldn’t deal with another lecture this morning. I’d already laid in bed all night, staring at the ceiling, lecturing myself for even getting in the car with Austin in the first place. I shouldn’t have just assumed he was sober. I shouldn’t have trusted him.
“Do you want to come?”
I blinked. “Me?”
Dom’s lips morphed into a grin, showing off his white teeth. “Yeah, you. I don’t think Austin is up for any sort of traveling right now.”
I cast an eye over my fiancé again. “I should probably try to move him inside.”
Dom shrugged. “Ain’t nothing going to hurt him where he is. We’ll leave the car door open for fresh air. He’ll still be there when we get back, judging by the number of empties.” His gaze flickered over my face. “Come on, get in.”
I didn’t want to deal with the mess that Austin had made. I might have been his fiancée, but I wasn’t his mother. I dumped the beer bottles I’d picked up in his car. Let him lie there until my dad found him. He could try to worm his way out of that one himself. I was more than happy to be well away from the ranch when that happened. I doubted Dad would be happy that he didn’t have a single beer left, because his future son-in-law couldn’t control himself.
Plus, I really did like the sound of a proper breakfast. My Froot Loops were probably a soggy mess by now.
I ran around to the passenger seat and jumped in beside Dom. “I know a great place. Best pancakes in the world. Let’s go.”
The main strip in town was always busiest on Saturday mornings. The street bustled with cars and trucks, and we had to drive well past Ruth-Ann’s Diner in order to get a parking spot. But the morning was bright and warm, and Dom and I strolled side by side with me showing him where the grocery store and pharmacy were and stopping every five feet so someone could stop me and congratulate me on my engagement again.
Once we got within eyesight of Ruth-Ann’s cute pink-and-yellow-striped umbrellas that sat above her outdoor seating, I pointed them out to Dom. “It’s just that place down there. You’ll love it. Even if you go there for dinner sometime, I highly recommend ordering from the all-day breakfast menu.”
I’d been walking eagerly, my stomach growling, but I slowed my pace when I noticed we were in front of the bridal shop. In the window, a stunning white satin gown hung from a headless mannequin. The bodice sparkled with hundreds or maybe even thousands of delicate glass beads and flared into a skirt that was the width of the large window.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I’d completely stopped.
Dom cleared his throat. “Uh, if you want to go in, you can. I can wait out here for you.”
I blinked, startled out of my daydream. “Huh? Oh no. That’s the last thing I want to do.”
Dom cocked his head to one side, staring at the dress behind the glass. “Why not? It’s pretty. You’d be beautiful in it.”
I glanced over at him, smiling at the pink in his cheeks. “That’s nice of you to say. But that dress is not me. Not even a little bit.” I screwed my nose up at it. It was a perfectly nice dress. But it did nothing for me. I got none of the thrill other women talked of when shopping for wedding dresses. It definitely didn’t scream, “Try me on and love me.”
More like it whispered, “Run the hell away and don’t turn back.”
But I knew that was just residual Austin anger talking.
I wandered to the door and peered in through the glass panel. There were three other wedding dresses in view, but I was as meh about those as I was about anchovies in my Caesar salad. “I just can’t imagine myself wearing any of these.” I started walking again, eager to get away from the reminder of Austin and what had happened last night.
Dom jogged a few steps to catch up with me, then fell into an easy gait at my side. “Okay, fair enough. You don’t like the traditional puffy white meringue-type dresses. So wear black. Or green.”
“Can I wear my jeans?”
He laughed and eyed the pair I was wearing. “Maybe a washed pair?”
I swatted him with the back of my hand. “Get lost, these are clean!” Though when I looked down, I saw what he did. These jeans were ancient and had seen everything from the dirt of our training arenas, to blood from injuries, to cowshit. They weren’t exactly pristine, even if they were straight out of the dryer. “Fine, a new pair. But you know what I mean. I don’t want dresses and ballrooms.”
Dom shrugged. “Who says you have to?”
I clammed up, but Dominic was quicker than that. “Austin wants a big wedding?”
We reached the café, and he pulled a chair out for me. I glanced at him in surprise, but he was just waiting for me to sit.
I realized then that Austin had never pulled a chair out for me. And I hadn’t noticed because I’d never needed a man to do that.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t nice that Dom had gone and done it like it was an everyday occurrence and not at all an odd thing to do for a friend.
I answered Dom’s question as he got himself settled opposite me. “To be fair, we’ve never spoken about it. So I don’t know for sure. But knowing him? He’ll book a grand ballroom in some swanky hotel in the city, and invite everyone we’ve ever met, and probably a few dozen we haven’t. It’ll turn into some sort of networking opportunity for him.”
Dom screwed up his nose then widened his eyes, like he’d only realized he’d been grimacing after the fact. “Sorry. My face isn’t as tactful as my mouth. I’m sure a hotel wedding will be nice.”
I laughed. “I think I agree with your face. It sounds awful.”
He fingered the edges of the laminated menu without actually looking at it. “Okay, fine, so you don’t want a typical wedding. What do you want?”
“To get married at the ranch,” I said without even stopping for a breath. “There’s a creek down in the back pasture, that’s shaded by the tre
es. We’d have to shoo all the cows out of course, but it’d be the perfect spot to get married.” I grinned. “And my stained jeans would probably fit right in with the cow pies.”
“Nothing like the smell of shit to start married life off right.”
I picked up a menu and busied myself, pretending to read it, even though I already knew exactly what I wanted, because I ordered the same thing every time we came here. Austin and I already hadn’t exactly started off this new direction in our lives all that well, considering we weren’t even speaking to each other the morning after our engagement. Dom’s offhand comment about shit and married life jabbed at me uncomfortably. “Okay, enough talk about my wedding. What about you? Married anyone in the last twelve months?”
His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Oh yeah, been married several times since I last visited.”
“Didn’t like any of them enough to bring them out here with you, though?” I teased.
“Nah, thought I’d leave my options open for wifey number four.” He winked.
I balled up a napkin and threw it at him. “Seriously, though. Girlfriend?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged, studying me. “Nobody caught my eye.”
His gaze lingered on me just a fraction of a second too long, and I grabbed a menu, suddenly feeling the tiniest bit weird.
Last year when Dominic had visited, Hallie had teased me mercilessly about Dom having a crush on me. I’d completely brushed her comments off as ridiculous.
But something in that fraction of a second made me think that maybe she hadn’t been completely off the mark.
Which was awkward, because I was with Austin, and I was never going to be the girl who cheated. It was highly unlikely he had a crush, anyway. He was just a bit of a flirt. Preston was, too, and that had never been an issue. We messed around and had a good time, but at the end of the day, we were friends.
I loved Austin.
At least I did when he wasn’t being an asshole.
Which wasn’t all that often lately.
When Ruth-Ann’s teenage granddaughter came to take our orders, I was grateful for the distraction. I ordered the pancake stack, and despite my urging for Dom to do the same, he ordered a bacon and egg sandwich with a side of hash browns.
Our waitress left, so to fill the silence, I asked the one thing I’d been wondering ever since he’d arrived. “So, why are you here?”
He immediately looked down at the table, avoiding my gaze. “Needed a job. Your dad had one available.”
“Bullshit.”
His head jerked up at that, and he raised an eyebrow. “Blunt, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I just call it like I see it. And don’t tell me your dad doesn’t want you working out at his place.”
He sighed. “I forget that you know more about me than most people do.”
I blinked in surprise. That was a little bit sad. Yeah, we were friends. We had some shared childhood memories from the times our families had made trips out to see each other. But we didn’t see each other regularly. Hell, we hadn’t even spoken since my accident, and I hadn’t really noticed.
I was a bitch. I wished now I’d taken the time to call him. “Did you have a fight with your dad?”
He shook his head hard. “No, nothing like that. My dad is the best. My mom too. They’re devastated I’m here.” He gazed toward the kitchen like he was hoping our food might arrive and save him from finishing his story. But there was no sign of our waitress.
He sighed. “Did you know I’m adopted?”
I shrugged, racking my brain, searching for a vague idea of a memory from long ago. “Yeah, maybe. I think I heard our parents talking once when we were kids, but then I promptly forgot about it. You kind of look like your parents. You all have the same coloring.”
“Yeah, everyone says that. It’s just a coincidence, though. They adopted me when I was a baby.”
“So you don’t remember any of it?”
“Nope. But they told me young. So I feel like I’ve always known.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “I feel really shitty about how I left. They’ve done everything for me. Never treated me as anything less than their son.”
“Come on, spill the beans. What did you do? Wreck their car? Lose their prize bull?”
His lips widened into a smile. “No, nothing that disastrous. I wouldn’t even be standing here right now if I’d lost Bucking Billy.”
I sniggered. “Did you pick that name?”
“Shut up, what’s your best bull called?”
“Grave Digger.”
He chuckled. “Dark.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of our waitress, and we both spent a few minutes in silence, digging into our food. As usual, my pancakes were amazing, thick and fluffy and dripping with syrup, just how I liked them. But as I chewed, I didn’t stop thinking about the reason Dominic had effectively run away from home, even though he was twenty-four.
“Did something happen with your adoptive parents?”
He chewed and swallowed. “Was kinda hoping the food had made you forget about that. Yeah, something happened. Me. I had a friend who’s good with computers find my birth parents. Well, my mom at least. And she lives not far from my place.”
“Wow,” I murmured, putting my fork down. “That’s huge, Dom. Are you going to try to meet her?”
He grimaced, pain morphing his features.
It hit me in the gut. “Shit, I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about this. I can go back to teasing you about your four wives.”
The lame joke broke a little of the tension that had cropped up between us, and Dom stabbed at his hash browns with a small smile. “No, it’s fine. I just haven’t told anyone yet because I feel like such a dumbass. I went to her house, the morning before I came here. She doesn’t want to know me.”
I swore underneath my breath. “Are you sure? Maybe she was just surprised and got a little tongue-tied.”
“She threatened to call the cops.”
“Yikes. Okay. Her loss then, right?”
Dom took another bite of his food and chewed slowly, mulling that over. “I want to believe that. I do. I wish I could be angry at her. But I’m not. I’m just…”
“Burying your head in the sand?”
“Yeah, maybe. Is that bad?”
“Normally, I’d say yes, but I think you’re completely allowed to handle this in any way that you need to. If you need to take some time away and put a bit of space between you and Wyoming, then you’re allowed to.”
He looked so sad, and so broken, that I added, “I for one am glad you’re here, even if I wasn’t exactly one-hundred-percent welcoming yesterday.”
He glanced at me in surprise, and I realized my words could have been easily construed as something more than the way I’d meant them. It was true, I was glad he was here. But this breakfast had also made me keenly aware that I needed to set firm boundaries with Dom. I didn’t want to lead him on in any way.
“I really need a friend right now,” I said softly. Because it was the truth. Hallie was always busy lately, either with Nate or work or the B&B. I couldn’t blame her. Those things were all important, and things were really starting to take off for her. But it felt like her life was moving on without me. I had Preston, but he wasn’t the sort of guy you could have a serious conversation with. He was all fun and games, and pranks and practical jokes.
Dom was more than that. Dom and I were similar in a lot of ways, both being the eldest child of pro bull riders. He got what it was like growing up with a father in the spotlight. And how that spotlight then shined on you and every move you made, big or small, good or bad.
He watched me over his meal, his gaze suddenly morphing into something that sent a tingle down my spine.
“Is that all you need from me, Summer? Just friendship?”
My stomach sank, and I played dumb, stalling for time. “What do you mean?”
&nbs
p; He eyed me, indecision and longing flickering across his features. “I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything, but fuck it. I swear, it’s the only time I’m going to ask. Does he make you happy? If you tell me you’re happy, then that’s all I need.”
“I’m happy with Austin,” I confirmed quickly.
A little voice in the back of my head called me a liar.
But then Dom nodded, and the smolder was gone from his expression. He went straight back into his normal, friendly, smiley self. “Okay. Good, then. Because I could use a friend, too.”
I smiled awkwardly. “So we’re on the same page?”
He waved a hand around in the air like the last few minutes hadn’t even happened. “Yeah, we’re good. Should we get going, though? I need to get groceries still.”
I put my hands on the tabletop and pushed myself up. “Let’s do it.” I followed him out of the diner, wondering how he’d gone from friend zone, to fire in his eyes, and back to friend zone in the space of minutes.
My head reeled.
And not in a good way.
7
SUMMER
Austin’s car was gone by the time Dominic and I got back the ranch, and I was glad for it. I spent the rest of the day watching old rides from before my injury, something I’d always done if I was upset or annoyed and needed to refocus. Concentrating on my form and working out what I could have done better was something my dad had taught me, and it normally put me in an almost meditative state.
Only today, it had the opposite effect. I’d watched until I was angrier than I’d started, and then given up, flopping back on my bed to stare at the ceiling aimlessly while my brain ran a million miles an hour. Every now and then I glanced at my phone, but every time I did, it was still blank.
By late Saturday night, I gave up, realizing it was going to have to be me who was the bigger person. I grabbed my car keys from the table by the front door and drove myself over to Austin’s parents’ place. This would be the only good thing about moving to the city. It was well and truly time for the both of us to get out of our parents’ houses.