by Lauren Dane
When they’d got about halfway to the ranch, Natalie looked up from her phone. “I got an email from the owners of the house. We’re good to go on the trip.”
“Yay.” Tuesday’s birthday was approaching and they’d rented a house up in the mountains. There was a big hot tub, and decks wrapping around the entire first and second floor with fantastic views. They’d rented it a few times before and loved to go up on birthdays and the like because it was pretty and quiet and there was no shortage of activities like hiking and kayaking.
“Are you sure it’s okay? Asking Paddy to come, I mean.”
Their group of friends usually rented the place. All six of them. But this year everyone’s schedule had been so crazy with work or family stuff that it had dwindled down from their usual six to two. They’d rescheduled their group thing for later in the summer but Tuesday had figured it would be nice to keep the reservation and take a trip anyway.
“Why not? It’s just going to be me and you in that great big house? You’ll hate it when there aren’t enough people to go out to play with me. You’re too nice to say no if I’d do it alone and it’s not fun if I have to guilt you into hiking. Especially when you’re on vacation.”
Natalie tried not to look relieved and Tuesday loved her for it.
“I like hiking well enough. Just not every day.”
Tuesday snorted. It was true. When she was up there she liked to spend as much time as she could outside. The house was right on a lake so she’d kayak and if it didn’t rain really hard she’d canoe, too.
“Mary and Damien are staying home. They’re going up to see her friends and family the following week so Damien wants her to hang out so he can make her rest. She’s pretending like she doesn’t know he’s managing her. They’re pretty adorable.”
“They are. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the quiet, though I bet Sharon likes to pop in.”
Natalie laughed. “The whole family dotes on Mary and it drives her crazy. But it’s so sweet she doesn’t complain.”
And liked it, too, Tuesday wagered. The Hurleys had a lot of love for each other and Mary definitely loved them all right back.
“I was thinking.”
Tuesday gave Natalie a quick look. “Uh-oh.”
“Shut up. You should invite Ezra to the mountains.”
“He’s got the ranch to look after. He can’t be gone all the time.”
“According to Paddy, Ezra rarely takes time off. He might be gone a day or so here and there, but the last vacation he took of more than a single night away was before all the bad stuff went down.”
Tuesday wasn’t actually surprised at all. She bet Ezra had a hard time letting go enough to take an actual vacation.
“I’ll leave it up to him.” It was a matter of whether or not she wanted to make the movie and ask him to go away with her or not. He’d say no, or yes, either way.
And what she’d decided, as they finally came around that last bend in the road leading up to Ezra’s, was she’d wait and see how he was. She knew it was time, time to take some risks if she wanted more with Ezra.
* * *
THE GATES WERE closed as they approached Sweet Hollow Ranch.
“Weird.”
“Oh yeah, Bob has been trying to contact me so they’ve been keeping the gates here locked.” Bob was Natalie’s father. A total piece of crap and though Natalie had told him repeatedly that she wanted nothing more to do with him, he kept showing up and causing trouble.
“I hate him.” And boy did Tuesday hate him. He was selfish and awful. He didn’t care about anyone but himself and he’d never be satisfied until he’d bled Natalie dry of money and attention.
Natalie gave her the code and the gates slowly slid open.
“She allowed him to sell the house in Whittier but that was trust money so he can’t get to it. So he moved in with her. I can’t imagine what that must be like for her.”
“No.” Tuesday bore to the left around a bend and pulled into Paddy’s driveway. She turned to her friend. “Do not get yourself entangled in that mess again. They’ll use you up and toss you away and you know it. Neither of them has any sense of moderation. They’ll wreck you and not even think about it.”
“She’s old.” Part of Natalie’s beauty was how big her heart truly was. Even after all her family had done to her, Nat would still feel for them.
So it fell to Tuesday to remind her best friend and protect her from them the best she could. “She’s manipulative, cold, vindictive and abusive. She raised a shitty kid and he tried to raise one, too. But you survived. You’re better than that. You built a life. Every time you let them back in they tear you apart. You can’t fix either of them. It’s not your job and even if it was, you couldn’t. They’re poisonous. I wish I could say anything else, but baby, your grandmother and your father are horrible human beings. Move on because you have so much good ahead and they represent nothing but pain for you.”
Natalie leaned over and hugged Tuesday tight. “I needed that. Thank you for being my friend.”
“Back at you. I’ll see you later. Either for movies or tomorrow.”
* * *
EZRA CAUGHT SIGHT of Paddy approaching when he and his horse were still a bit away. The alfalfa spread out all around them would be ready for harvest in another month or so. It would be a pretty good year.
He waved at Paddy once he’d reached where Ezra had been looking over a section of the field where they’d had some problems with mold.
“I went by your place but the pig and the dog were gone so I figured you were out there.”
Violet had found herself a shady spot to eat bugs and keep an eye on Loopy and everything else nearby. The pig thought she was a dog and Ezra had no inclination to spoil her little fantasy. Who was he to tell her she couldn’t think she was a dog?
“Got back from town a few minutes ago and I wanted to come out here and check these rows.” Tuesday would be coming over soon and he was on his way back to the house.
“We doing okay? On track for harvest?”
“I think so, yes. We’ve got about three to five weeks to go until it’s ready. I’d been worried because we had snow and frost so late, but it’s looking like we’ll have a decent profit this year.”
“Good. I’m around so I’ll be out helping you every day. Damien, too. At least until the baby comes. He drives Mary crazy with all his hovering so she’ll probably kick him out to get some peace and quiet.”
Ezra laughed as they walked the horses farther north. “Probably. Appreciate the help. Since Vaughan is in Gresham, the extra hands are even more necessary. I do have a big enough crew for harvest, but if you’re around I can chase Dad away from heavy stuff.”
Their father was a rancher. He was in excellent physical shape but he was getting older and he couldn’t do all the stuff he had before. He had trouble hearing that. So Ezra and his brothers tried to take on the heaviest parts to keep their dad occupied with important tasks that weren’t as physically taxing.
“I’m sorry you have to do all this on your own when we’re out on tour.”
Ezra did what he was supposed to be doing. Ranching kept him tired. Used up all the energy burning through his muscles every moment. He planted things, they grew and then he harvested and they started the next cycle.
He made a difference he could see. After destroying so much and being such a disappointment, it was Ezra’s way to make things right. To reset the balance he’d destroyed with his addiction.
“Nothing to be sorry about. This is my job and my life. I made the choice to be here.”
“Don’t you resent it? Being here when we’re out there?”
“We’ve talked about this before.” And he didn’t want to do it again.
“No, I asked and you blew me off.”
Ezra swung off his horse, Paddy following, not letting go. “Do you think we don’t know how much you do and never complain about? You’re meant for more than this.”
Ezra rested on hi
s heels as he bent to look at a patch where there was growth, but much slower than most of the rest. “I like this. I like working the land. I like that we’re taking this ranch into the next generation. These things satisfy me.”
“That’s not the same as making you happy.”
“It doesn’t have to be. It’s not always about that.”
“You’ve already proven yourself. You’re clean. Yes, you were a goddamn mess once. But you were a junkie for what, a year and a half, two years? You’ve been clean longer than that. How long are you going to punish yourself? Didn’t you feel it out there on that stage with us? We have a foreman. We can afford to hire more people to do this so you can make music again.”
“I make music right now. I produce every damned album, all the singles, oversee the remixes. I’m in a lot of the videos. I write the music.” Ezra shrugged. “Yes, I felt it up there onstage. I miss it. But I don’t know how to feel about missing it.” He didn’t want to think about it for a while. He needed some distance. “Touring is a small part of what we do as Sweet Hollow Ranch. I like what I’m doing.”
“Is this your forever?”
Ezra stood, brushing his hands on the legs of his jeans. “It’s my right now. Which is enough.”
Paddy looked like he planned to argue but then decided against it. “All right. Nat and I are watching a movie tonight. We haven’t hung out with you and Tuesday in a while. Come early and have dinner with us.”
“I have dinner planned and that doesn’t include anyone else. After, yeah, we’ll wander down to your place.”
“We should all have dinner together. Maybe go to Mary and Damien’s. I bet she’d like the company.”
Part of him wanted to accept. If they had dinner with a group it would keep a more casual tone. He was already antsy after this stupid conversation with his brother. He wasn’t good company for a date.
But he shook that off. He wanted to have her all to himself for a while.
“Fuck off, Patrick. Mary is lovely, but I’ve seen her today.”
Paddy shrugged. “Okay then. We’ll start screening the first movie at nine, which gives you time to eat and whatever else you might be doing with the supergorgeous Tuesday Eastwood.”
“Well, enough time is a relative concept when you’re discussing a woman like Tuesday. Anyway, it’s enough time to eat.” And for part one of whatever else they’d be doing when they were alone and naked but he didn’t need to share that with Paddy.
They parted ways behind the stables as Violet and Loopy followed Ezra, and Paddy went back toward his place.
His house was quiet but it had started to smell really good from the dinner he’d put in the oven before he headed out to the fields.
“You guys are on notice,” he said as Violet trotted happily back into her pen. She went over to be sure Big Hoss, the first rescue pig Ezra had adopted, was all right. Assured of this, Violet got herself a snack.
“I’ll bring her out here to meet you, but only if you can behave and not try to take up all her attention, which I am not willing to share.”
She just stared at him. She’d do whatever she wanted; the damned creature was as headstrong as everything else female in his life. He tossed her some apples and she grunted before crunching into them.
Loopy followed him inside and headed to her bed. Ezra pointed her way. “You, too. I know she’s pretty and she smells good but she’s mine so back off.”
The cats pushed through the cat flap on the back door and he repeated his warning, which they ignored while cleaning their paws.
He needed to shower quickly so he checked the chicken and mushrooms, which were coming along nicely and then he jogged to the bathroom.
CHAPTER TEN
SHE LOOKED AT the screen of the phone in her hand. HEYWOOD flashed in capital letters. Tuesday’s heart sank.
Tuesday considered letting it go to voice mail. It was best, when it came to her former mother-in-law, to not give her a chance to engage.
But she’d discovered a way to manipulate Tuesday even more was to call her family to see where she might be.
Rather than risk exposing her loved ones to the horror that was Tina Heywood, she answered.
“Hello?”
“You haven’t let us know when you’ll be arriving next weekend.”
The Heywoods held a luncheon once a year and called it a memorial for Eric. But they held it on Tina’s birthday. Which was a pretty standard mood for a narcissist like her.
It was really about getting more attention for a woman who could scarcely be bothered to acknowledge the existence of her two oldest children from her first marriage once she’d got remarried and had children with her new husband.
At six and eight, Eric and his brother had their names changed when their biological father died and their stepfather officially adopted them. But over time Eric and his brother were treated more like lodgers than members of the family.
Sammy, Eric’s older brother, joined the Navy right after he graduated from high school and was a pilot living in San Diego and then Eric had run to college.
Tina was cutting and could be cruel, even though Eric wanted so much for his mom to love him and accept him. There were times she’d be unbelievably kind and then she’d turn right back around and hurt Eric. It made Tuesday come to hate her over the time she’d been with Eric.
She wore Eric’s death around her neck like a fucking trophy and it made Tuesday’s skin crawl.
“I’m not going to be there.” She’d hoped after Eric died that at least they could have understood what they were missing. That once and for all his mom would admit her son was a better man than she ever gave him credit for.
But they’d been just as horrible as ever. Worse in some ways, badgering her about money and insurance policies. She hadn’t returned since.
“What could you possibly be doing that is more important than spending a day dedicated to Eric?”
She held her tongue until the urge to shout superbad stuff at her dead husband’s mother wore off a little.
But that didn’t mean she was playing games. “I told you after the first time that I wasn’t coming back. You ask me every year—I say no every year.”
“You never loved my precious boy. You’re spoiled and selfish.”
“What is this about? Do you want me to send you a present? Is that it? You don’t like me. You’ve never liked me. I tried for many years until I got to know you and realized it would never happen. So, you have a happy birthday, but I’ll be remembering Eric in other ways besides eating cake and watching you open presents.”
“Raised wrong. Those parents of yours. Trash. That’s why Eric sniffed after you and not a respectable girl.”
She knew her buttons were being pushed, but Tuesday sat straight up, nearly honking the horn. Raised wrong? Oh. No. “Shall I have my mother give you a call? I know how much you love chatting with her.”
Something had happened between Tina and Tuesday’s mother at a holiday dinner. Diana wouldn’t ever say what it was, but it was bad enough that Di threw a drink in Tina’s face and there was a scuffle. Tina tried to punch Tuesday’s mom, who stepped to one side, reached out to grab Tina by the hair to shove her out of the way and avoid getting punched. But she’d been wearing a wig and it came free, along with patches of her real hair, too.
And her mom got a free-from-Tina-for-life card and clearly, given the way Tina sputtered at that threat, she was still afraid of Diana.
“I’m not coming. Happy birthday.” She hung up and tried to get her breath back and her heart rate to a normal place.
She looked up at Ezra’s house, glad she hadn’t actually honked when the call came in.
Time to get her shit in order. She had a date for dinner with a handsome man. That was way better than being upset by a woman she didn’t even like.
Slipping her phone into a pocket of her bag, she got out and headed to his door. Ready to be happy for a while.
* * *
SHE
HADN’T EVEN finished raising her hand to knock when he opened the door, smiling.
“Wow, that’s some service.”
He took her hand and pulled her close as he shut the door at her back. “I have a lot more services to provide when you’re ready.” He kissed her and she let herself relax into his touch. He tasted good and he smelled like he’d just got out of the shower, which he must have done because his hair was still wet.
“Come through. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes or so. It’s a chicken-mushroom thing a friend taught me to make a few years ago. It looks and tastes like it was way harder to make.”
“Those are the best kinds of recipes to have. I brought some fresh lemon curd cookies. I made them yesterday. They’re nearly all gone but I managed to fight Nat off to hold these aside.”
She thrust a bag his way and he took it with a smile as they reached his kitchen. “I love lemon curd. After dinner we’ve been invited to Paddy’s to watch movies with him and Nat.”
“I just dropped her off at Paddy’s. I said probably to a movie but that you might have plans I didn’t know about.”
“Nice. Leaving an escape.”
She laughed, sneaking a piece of cucumber he’d been slicing for a salad. “Well, I love hanging out with my family, but I don’t know if I’d want to be with my brother and his girlfriend all the time. I figured if you’d had your fill it would be easy to beg off.”
“I told him we’d show up at nine or so. Which means we have time for dinner and whatever else we want to get up to between now and then.”
“Oh? Do you have plans for me?”
He hooked a finger in one of her belt loops and brought her to him again. “I do.” This wasn’t a kiss of greeting, though—what he laid on her mouth was a promise and she liked it.
Loopy barked a greeting as she came in through the doggie door, startling them both apart like they’d been caught in the gym at a seventh-grade dance.
“We talked about this, Loop,” Ezra said to the dog, who head butted Tuesday’s leg until she gave in and scratched the dog behind the ear.
“Did you now? And what did you talk about? Did she tell you about the birds and the bees?”