“What do you want me to do?” she asked. “Stay in the truck?”
His eyes met hers. He looked so tired, so defeated that something inside her softened. He moved his hand off the wheel, and she thought he would reach for her. But he only picked up his Stetson from the console. “Do what you want,” he said. “I’ll handle my grandmother.”
The tightness in her chest swelled. He hadn’t said it in a mean way, but she still wanted to cry. Just curl up into a little ball like a child and sob until she had no energy left to even think. Grateful she was wearing sunglasses, she watched Tanner embrace the tall, lean man from the barn. He had to be his grandfather, or Pop, as Tanner called him.
The front door slamming made her turn her head. An older blonde woman came hurrying off the porch and went straight to Tanner. He caught her in his arms and lifted her off the ground.
Then he set her on her feet and frowned at both of them. She couldn’t hear what he said.
“Alexis?” The deep voice startled her, and she turned to see a man peering at her through the driver’s open window.
She recognized the hazel eyes and slightly crooked smile. Although he had lighter hair, he resembled Tanner. “You must be Doug.”
He nodded. “Warm day. How about coming inside?”
Hesitating, she swung a glance toward Tanner. He and his grandparents were walking toward the truck. Right away she saw where he got his stubbornness. Grandma had the same determined expression Lexy had seen on Tanner’s face many times.
Wanting to avoid a scene, she went for the door handle. Tanner beat her to it. “You okay with coming inside?” he asked in a low voice, and when she nodded, he helped her step out of the cab.
She sent his grandparents a brief smile, praying this didn’t get messy. She was an outsider and they had some serious talking to do. The horses, she thought, glancing toward the corral. She’d love to go see them.
“Relax,” Tanner whispered, letting go of her arm. “This won’t be as bad as you think.”
“I’m Elizabeth Hill, the boys’ grandmother,” the trim woman said as they all headed to the porch. She had a friendly smile. “And this is Hank, their grandpa.”
He nodded at her, and exchanged a small grin with Tanner.
“Yes, I’m aware I jumped the gun,” Mrs. Hill said with a sigh, climbing the porch stairs after her husband. “But I’m still very upset about all this auction business. I told your grandpa we should’ve explained to you boys what we were doing.”
“This is Alexis,” Tanner said, waiting for Lexy to take the steps ahead of him.
“Of course, Doug told us you were coming. I have some lemonade to offer you, or water, but nothing else. We’ve been packing. But come in.” Her face was flushed and it was clear she truly was upset. Tanner’s boot only made it to the second step when his grandmother took his face in her hands. “How could you have ever thought you’d failed us? It breaks my heart. You’re the best grandson anyone could ask for.”
Doug noisily cleared his throat. Lexy felt for him, and quickly slid him a glance over her shoulder.
He was grinning.
“Oh, you, too, Douglas, you know that.” Mrs. Hill hadn’t released Tanner.
“Can we go inside before they all die of thirst?” It was the first Mr. Hill had spoken. His voice was a bit gruff, but he had a kind, weathered face.
“Yes, yes, come in.” Mrs. Hill moved first and held open the screen door.
Tanner gestured for Lexy to go inside, then waited for his brother to climb the porch steps. “Dammit, Doug, I told you not to cut your vacation short.”
“Hell, I stopped listening to you when I was fourteen.”
“Boys. Language. Please.” Sighing, Mrs. Hill let go of the screen door. “Do you have brothers, Alexis?”
“Um, yes, one.” Lexy pictured Harrison dressed in his custom-tailored suit, looking quite the Harvard man. Even as a child he’d been on the reserved side.
“Well, Hank and I had a girl...the boys’ mother.” She lifted a hand to her mouth as if to impart a secret. “Bless her heart, she was much easier than those two hellions.”
Lexy couldn’t help smiling. They entered the kitchen, and behind them Doug asked if his grandmother was telling tales about them. Lexy let the chatter go on around her as she took in the well-lit, airy kitchen. The Formica counters were mostly clear, everything packed away. She imagined there’d been a table sitting in the middle of the hardwood floor, before the furniture had been moved out. Something sturdy and old, maybe oak or cherry, perhaps passed down from earlier generations.
Mrs. Hill asked Doug to bring in two folding chairs then apologized to Lexy for serving lemonade in paper cups. The four of them chatted as if she weren’t there, or more accurately, as if she’d been part of the family for years. Tanner didn’t speak as much as the other three. Mostly he listened and watched her.
She tried to avoid eye contact with him. It was crazy how relieved she felt once she heard the real reason for the auction. The whole thing was a cooperative effort among several aging ranchers who wanted a little money to retire on and pass down. Cashing in had nothing to do with faltering mortgages or unpaid taxes, and more to do with love and respect for the next generation. The spreads were small, unable to compete with the larger ranches. By banding together they hoped to attract a bigger buyer and a better price. These people didn’t want to burden their children and grandchildren, or hold them back from migrating to cities. They were looking out for their families.
Exhaustion combined with a mess of emotions over Tanner made it hard to sit still. Even worse, Lexy felt like one wrong word and she’d burst into tears. She looked up and found Tanner watching her shred the rim of her cup. He’d been so quiet, it bothered her. He should be happy, enjoying this time with the people who loved him, but he couldn’t because of her.
He slid off his perch on the counter. “I have to get Lexy to the airstrip. I’ve got someone flying her to Houston.”
“Oh, no, we’ve just met you.” Mrs. Hill seemed genuinely disappointed. “I thought you were both staying. Not here, of course, we have no beds, but there’s a nice motel—”
“Sorry, Nana. Lexy’s on the clock. She’s got business in Houston. I’ll be joining her there tomorrow.”
Lexy hated that her gaze shot to his. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find there. He’d said all along he’d make it to the photo shoot. So now that he didn’t have to go to the auction, why not drive with her? If they left now, they could stop someplace for the night...
Her body responded as if he’d touched her. She immediately stood. “So nice meeting all of you, Doug, Mr. and Mrs. Hill, and thank you for the lemonade,” she said, unsure what to do with the cup.
Tanner took it from her nervous hands.
“Oh, heavens, call us Elizabeth and Hank. Although I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you didn’t want to speak to us again. Dragging all of you down here for nothing.”
Hank slid an arm around his wife. “Who’s flying her? Potter?” he asked, and Tanner nodded. “Good man. He’ll get you to Houston in one piece.”
Everyone walked them to the door, though Doug hung back, looking troubled. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he asked to go for the ride, but she navigated the porch steps while silently praying he wouldn’t.
Turned out it didn’t matter. The ride to the airstrip was brief and mostly silent, though long enough that she had time to think about how she’d almost told Tanner she loved him. How foolish could she be? What did she know about love? Her parents’ relationship wasn’t exactly filled with sunshine and hearts, yet they weren’t a bad match. Maybe love and marriage meant making the best deal possible and living with it.
Her phone buzzed. She sighed when she saw it was Harrison, and let it go to voice mail. What a bastard. Actually, she was shocked
he’d been willing to call and hadn’t texted her, instead. Perhaps he had more bad news to deliver, like she’d completely missed the photo shoot.
Tanner glanced over but didn’t ask.
“I’m so sorry, Lexy,” he said as soon as the airstrip came into view. “For all of this. I can’t be mad at my grandparents—”
“Of course not.” She resisted the urge to touch his arm. “They’re nice people.”
“Yeah, they are.” He pulled up next to a building smaller than Betsy. “For their sake I won’t strangle Archie Crawford, the neighbor who called. He is ninety, so...” Tanner shrugged.
It hurt that he let the engine run, but then she saw a short, stocky man signal to him. Tanner nodded and looked past the man toward the small plane. “I hate seeing you go up in that sucker.”
Lexy smiled. “I’m safer in that plane than this truck.”
His brows drew together in a frown. He’d taken it wrong. She didn’t bother pointing out she’d meant statistically speaking. She hated the awkwardness between them.
“Ah, before I forget.” He leaned sideways to dig into his jeans’ pocket. “I’ll take care of Potter’s fee, but here’s some cash for when you arrive.”
“No, it’s okay.” She tried to pull her hand away but he caught her wrist and shoved a wad of bills at her.
“Let’s not argue about this.” His hand lingered on her wrist as he searched her face. “How about I put it on your tab?”
She smiled, nodded, turned away. The pilot was signaling again. She heard the driver’s door open.
Tanner got out, grabbed her bag from the back and came around to her side. “I’ll see you in Houston.”
“Okay,” she said, not believing it. Still, a part of her had hope or else she would just ask why he wouldn’t leave now. “Look, I have something to tell you.” She hoped she was doing the right thing. Yes, she was. No more secrets left between them. “Your father threw the game, that last hand. He folded but he had aces. I saw his cards.”
“No. No way.” Tanner’s stricken expression chilled her. “You’re telling me this now?”
“We gotta go, ma’am.”
She turned to the pilot, then back to Tanner.
“Go,” he said, and handed her the bag.
She hesitated. “I’ll see you in Houston?”
“Be safe,” he murmured absently, and got in his truck.
* * *
THE AUCTION HAD taken a total of ten minutes. Someone grumbled about setting up the table and chairs taking longer than the main event.
“I still can’t believe the old man threw the game.” Doug shook his head. “Hell, I can’t believe what you just did.”
Tanner signed the last of the paperwork his brother had reviewed for him. “Does that change how you feel about him?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Same here.” Tanner had been angry when Lexy had first told him about J.D. for two reasons. It upset Tanner’s sense of fairness. And she should’ve told him on the spot.
But in the end, it had been the old man’s decision to fold or take the pot. Yeah, Tanner had broken his father’s lucky streak for nothing, but maybe J.D. could sleep better now. As for Lexy, it couldn’t have been easy deciding what to do with the information. He understood that quandary all too well. Ultimately, she did what she thought was right, just like when she’d offered her watch. He knew she cared about him. He just wasn’t sure how much.
They’d both been prideful and foolish, made choices they regretted, no matter that they’d sprung from good intentions.
Doug had done the same thing when he’d had Tanner take the Sundowner deal. That should’ve been Tanner’s call. But he still loved his brother.
And dammit, he loved Lexy, too.
“You having buyer’s remorse yet?” Doug asked as they walked out of the recreation building. “Not much fishing around here.”
Tanner smiled, staring at the horizon. The morning sun had just risen above a thicket of mesquite. “Can you see me sitting around waiting for a damn nibble?”
“No.” Doug laughed. “But you’ve stuck to that story for three years.”
“I guess I figured Pop and Nana would live here forever. Mom grew up here. So did we, really. Thinking someone else would own the place got to me.” Every pleasant memory he had was tied to his grandparents and the ranch, horses and rodeoing. When it had come down to the wire, he couldn’t see himself doing anything else. He slid on his sunglasses and eyed Doug. “Call me old and sentimental, I don’t care.”
Doug shook his head. “Nope. I had that twinge, too,” he said, a fist to his chest. “Right here. Only thing worries me is that you’ve made a big decision that ties you up here. You’re in love with that woman, and I think she feels the same way.”
Tanner’s heart lurched. They hadn’t talked about Lexy much. “If it’s meant to be, Oklahoma City is less than a day’s drive.”
“Hey, you didn’t tell me to screw off. You have changed.”
He smiled. “It happens.” Sometime last night he’d realized he’d been looking so hard at what he hadn’t done right that he’d failed to give his future its proper due. Who cared if he quit rodeoing on a downslide? If he lost in the arena, it didn’t make him a loser in life. That was his father’s thinking, not his. Pride and poor choices had already kicked one Tanner male in the teeth.
He adjusted his hat and pulled out his keys. “Well, better get going.”
“You gonna make it to Houston in time?”
“Damn straight. I gave Lexy my word.”
* * *
THE HOTEL THE company had booked for everyone was first class, her room divine, boasting a mattress made in heaven. Lexy hadn’t slept in a bed like that in ages. Too bad she’d gotten so little sleep last night.
Despite the rumbling in her stomach, she wasn’t hungry. As she walked past the lobby, not even the smell of waffles and bacon coming from the restaurant tempted her. The photo shoot would begin in two hours. Tanner hadn’t shown up. No surprise there, so that wasn’t what had her tied in knots.
She knew for sure Harrison had sabotaged her by waiting until the last moment to give her an update. And if that wasn’t hurtful enough, their father would be arriving soon to gloat over the damage he’d done to his children. Oh, he was pretending interest in the calendar. That was crap. He didn’t sully his hands with that sort of thing.
He’d done a spectacular job with the company. Profits had soared under his leadership and the extended family members were all fat and happy. No one would argue Marshall Worthington had keen instincts and was a great CEO. As a father and head of his own family, he was an abysmal failure. She couldn’t help wondering if he was proud of turning his two children against each other. But she didn’t hate Harrison. She only hated what he’d done.
In a way she felt bad for him. He’d spent his life pedaling too fast, trying so hard to please, that he had no clarity. Even with all her debts, she wouldn’t change anything.
Across the lobby the man himself walked out of the elevator. Harrison had been standing tête-à-tête with Karina, but quickly stepped away from her. Lexy thought of Tanner and how he would race through hell to help his family. Doug had cut short the only vacation he’d ever had. Even J.D. had come through in the end. Her own screwed-up family wouldn’t cross the street for her. Or apparently, each other.
Her father spotted her and lifted a hand to get her attention. She knew the moment he noticed her suit was the same one she’d worn to his office last week, and she smiled.
“I heard you found your man,” he said, adjusting his tie, then his gold cuff links.
“My...” She tensed, looking into her father’s stern face, wondering how he’d found out about Tanner. Oh, for God’s sake, now she understood.
�
��Yes, I did,” she murmured, wondering was she really that far gone? Beyond hope? No, after a long night of soul searching she wouldn’t change her mind about what she needed to do. Tanner was a little old-fashioned, and if she begged hard enough, and if he was willing to give her another chance, he’d probably make decisions for her again. But never out of malice, only from the best of intentions. She couldn’t say the same for her own manipulative father. “Why are you here?”
Her brother had walked over to join them. At her abruptness, both men looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Harrison, aren’t you wondering why Dad would come to a photo shoot for a line of products he doesn’t want?”
“What do you mean?” Harrison looked worried. “He approves.”
“Come on. You don’t believe that. You’re too smart.”
“Alexis, what’s gotten into you?” Her father’s icy glare raked her face, then drifted behind her.
Harrison was looking, as well, so she had to turn around.
“Tanner?” Her heart swelled at the sight of him in brand-new jeans with a crease, starched white shirt and a new brown Stetson. “God, Tanner.” She headed toward him, blinking fast, trying to hold back tears. “You came.”
He seemed pale. “I tell you what...” As if he just remembered, he yanked his hat off. “No way that puddle jumper is safer than my truck.”
“Oh. No.” She put a hand to her mouth. “You didn’t.”
“I promised you I’d be here.”
“Your timing is perfect.” She looked into his dark, hazel eyes. “It couldn’t be more perfect. I know you might still be mad, and I hope...” She swallowed. “Will you kiss me?”
“Now?” His gaze went toward her father and Harrison.
“Yes.”
“Um...”
“They’re watching. I know.” She moved closer and put her hands on his chest. “The hell with them. All I care about is you, and whether you’ll give me another chance.”
Tanner’s slow smile made her melt. “I was gonna ask you the same thing. Right after the photo shoot.”
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