by Lori Wilde
None of that changed the sick feeling in her stomach.
“Um, I have a meeting . . . inside.” Beyond distracted, or maybe just distraught, Erin gestured in the general direction of the house.
“Oh, sure. Let me get the door for you.” Randy took the front steps two at a time, reaching the door long before Erin did on her wobbly legs.
She managed to say, “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” Randy delivered another tip of his hat and a grin, the charm of both lost on Erin in her current state.
In just a blink of an eye everything had changed. Tanner was dating someone. And Erin felt like she could no longer breathe.
Chapter Fourteen
“We need to go out to check on the bulls. The big guy has taken to ramming the fence. I’m afraid he’s gonna bust it and they’ll all get out. We might have to put him on his own and see if that helps.”
Dropping the bale of hay he’d been carrying into the truck bed to be driven out to the horses in the field, Randy spun toward Tanner.
“Fine. I’ll go out and do it now.” The kid had delivered that response with more than his usual dose of attitude and Tanner wanted to know why.
As Randy stalked past him, Tanner grabbed his arm. “Hey. What’s up with you? Something wrong?”
“No.”
That figured. The one day Tanner was in a particularly good mood, Randy was acting pissy. Tanner cocked a brow and waited.
Finally, Randy realized he wasn’t getting away without explaining and said, “I’m just getting tired of you disappearing all the time, and then when I ask where you’ve been, you’re rude to me. We work together every day. We live together in the bunkhouse. But you treat me like some kinda . . . nuisance.”
Maybe the kid was right. Tanner could have handled things better. “You’re not a nuisance. I just like my privacy.”
“You can still have your privacy without being a dick about it . . . no offense.”
Even in the middle of an argument, Randy was polite. He really was a good kid. He worked hard at the ranch and didn’t go out with his friends much at night, which left Tanner in the position of being the kid’s only companion for long stretches.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.”
Randy nodded. “Thanks. That’s all I’m asking. I mean, I don’t need details about whatever you and your new girl did on your date yesterday. Just don’t bite my head off if I ask where you’ve been when you leave work in the middle of the day. You know?”
Tanner laughed. That’s what the kid thought? That he’d been out with a woman? “I wasn’t on a date yesterday. What would make you think that?”
“You got all dressed up again, just like you did that Sunday you took off and came home with a pink hankie in your pocket.”
Tanner rolled his eyes. He was never going to hear the end of that pink hankie. “I had a meeting in the city yesterday. I wanted to look decent for it.”
“A meeting? What kind of meeting?” Randy frowned.
“Don’t push it, a’ight? I told you why I was dressed up and where I was.”
No way in hell was Tanner going to tell Randy that he’d spent most of the cattle drive contemplating his life—or, more specifically, the pros and cons of having Erin in his life. When he finally stopped fighting the fact that he couldn’t get her out of his head, the only thing left to do was make a plan to try to avoid a train wreck.
Maybe that was why his first relationship had gone off the rails—a lack of planning.
He wasn’t going to let that happen this time. When he’d heard the hired hands on the cattle drive with them talking about a nice spread of land just outside the city being up for sale, the wheels in Tanner’s brain had started to turn.
Now all he needed was the approval from the bank for the loan application he’d put in.
Well, that and Erin.
Nope, Tanner wasn’t about to tell Randy any of that, even as the kid scowled when he said, “Fine. Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem.” Time to get this day back on track. “And as for checking on the bulls, how about we drop the hay for the horses and then drive out together?”
Randy looked a bit happier at that prospect as he nodded. “Okay. But we might want to hurry. I don’t like the looks of that sky.”
He turned to follow Randy’s gaze and saw what the kid meant. There was a storm coming. Even the kid had worked the land long enough to recognize the signs.
Tanner’s cell phone began blaring in his pocket with a noise he’d never heard in the half a year he’d had it. Seconds later, Randy’s cell did the same. Tanner didn’t like technology on a good day, but especially not when it was screeching at him.
“What is that?” he asked.
“Emergency alert.” Randy pulled his cell out of his pocket and checked the display. Eyes wide, he looked up. “Tornado.”
Tanner blew out a breath. Things were about to get real hairy, real fast.
* * *
The rest of the week passed in a rushed blur for not only Tanner but also everyone connected with the Cutwright family’s place and the neighboring dude ranch.
The storm had hit Meg’s ranch, catching her out in it. Luckily, she was close enough to take shelter in the storm cellar under the chapel and came out of it unscathed. Unfortunately, the chapel and the surrounding property didn’t fare so well.
It took both Meg and Brady’s crews, Tanner among them, working overtime to get the place back into shape. Come hell or high water—or tornado—Brady was intent on marrying Ellie as planned. The man was in love and he wasn’t about to disappoint his bride.
They’d gotten everything fixed and ready not only for the wedding but in time for the rehearsal dinner.
As a thank you, Brady had invited the crews from both ranches to attend the dinner, so Tanner once again donned his best. His good boots and jacket hadn’t gotten as much use in all the years he’d owned them as they had these past couple of weeks.
That was okay. He’d get all gussied up without complaint because tonight he was sure to see Erin and could put his plan into motion.
If all went well, it would be as easy as one, two, three.
Step one—ask her out on a real date, just the two of them. No relatives.
Step two—give her a nice, long good night kiss. The kind he’d always wanted to.
Step three—hope she agreed that his working his own place not far outside the city was the perfect compromise. They could have the best of both worlds. His and hers.
Thanks to the loan approval that had just come through today and the decision to go for it with Erin, Tanner was practically walking on air.
When he got a look at Erin directing a waiter who was setting up the buffet inside Meg’s barn, Tanner’s spirits rose even higher . . . until she caught sight of him and her eyes narrowed.
Frowning, he moved toward her. That look on her face couldn’t be for him. He hadn’t seen or talked to her since her sister’s wedding and that had ended pretty well, in his opinion.
Hell, he’d been too busy moving the herd and cleaning up the storm damage to do much of anything, let alone piss off a woman he hadn’t seen.
There must be some issue with the dinner she was dealing with.
Confident, he closed the distance between them and smiled. “Hey. Fancy seeing you here.”
Her glare told him he might have misjudged his innocence in causing her foul mood.
“Yeah. What a surprise. Are you here alone?” She lifted a brow.
“Uh, no. Actually, Randy drove over with me.” Was she mad he wasn’t technically on the guest list? The groom had invited them, but maybe nobody had told Erin. He should be able to straighten out the mix-up easily enough. “Brady said we should come over to eat, but if there’s not enough—”
“That’s fine. There’s plenty of food.”
There was also plenty of chill in the air and all of it radiated off Erin and directly at him. Why, he didn’t know.
Frowning, Tanner took a step closer. “Um, is everything a’ight?”
“Fine. Perfectly fine.”
Three fines in as many sentences. Tanner might be a confirmed bachelor—as Brady had dubbed him—but he knew enough about the opposite sex to realize the word fine rarely meant what the dictionary said it did when it came out of an angry woman’s mouth.
Grasping at one more straw with the hope there was something wrong with the event and not between them, Tanner said, “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help with this shindig—”
“Nope. I’m good. Got it covered all on my own.”
“Okay. That’s good. I’ll let you get back to it then.”
“Yup. Thanks.”
With his head still spinning from her complete turnaround, Tanner watched Erin stalk off and blew out a long, low whistle.
“What has her looking so angry?”
Tanner turned at the question and saw Erin’s assistant, Jessica, standing next to him, watching the departure.
“No idea. I was hoping you knew. Is something going on behind the scenes here with the dinner? Did you guys run out of ice or something?”
Jessica laughed. “Um, no. Everything is running smoothly, as usual. And if we did run out of ice, we could just run out and buy some.”
What did Tanner know about throwing a party? He lifted one shoulder. “Then I got nothing to explain it.”
“Me either, but I suppose it’s my job to find out.” Jessica shot him a pretty smile. “See ya, cowboy.”
“Yeah. See ya.” At least Erin’s assistant still liked him. That was something, he supposed.
Meanwhile, he had an offer in on a ranch and a loan pending, all for a woman who for some unknown reason wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Tanner felt like that twister had come back around again, only this time instead of knocking down trees and taking out fences, it had turned his whole life upside down.
Chapter Fifteen
Erin was more than happy when she noticed the guests begin to thin. It was time for this night to be over.
Keeping the event running smoothly was job enough, especially after Brady had magnanimously invited all the workers who’d saved the wedding by clearing the storm damage. But to have to manage it under Tanner’s close scrutiny made the night even more difficult.
Not to mention the twinge of pain she felt in the vicinity of her heart every time she caught him watching her.
She had been a fool to even think twice about him. He was a player, juggling as many women as his week would allow, apparently. And he did it while wearing the same outfit on all his dates, according to Randy.
If she found out he’d used her pocket square on his other date, she might blow her top. Erin’s jaw clenched at that thought as her gaze swept the converted barn and searched for the tall, dark, womanizing cowboy.
When she didn’t see him, she was hit with a strange sensation. Disappointment. Bad taste in men was par for the course for her, sadly. She always had gravitated toward the wrong sort. Tanner was just one more in that line of bad choices.
“Erin.”
She turned at the sound of her name and saw Brady striding toward her. She forced a smile. “Here’s the groom-to-be. I think everyone really enjoyed the dinner, don’t you?”
“I know they did. You got a lot of compliments.”
“Me? All I did was oversee.” Erin laughed. “Meg and the caterers deserve the compliments. It’s a beautiful venue and the food was excellent.”
“Yes, but you tied it all together. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.” Brady glanced around the room. “Hey, this thing is wrapping up. Why don’t you head out?”
It was a tempting offer. She was exhausted, and tomorrow was going to be a big day. But she’d wanted to start some of the setup for the reception before she called it quits for the night. “I don’t know.”
“Meg’s crew can handle things. I promise. She’s set you up in one of the guest rooms, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then you can get back at it bright and early if you really want to.” When she hesitated, Brady took her by both shoulders and turned her toward the main building. “Go get some rest. These guys could be here drinking half the night. There’s no use in your waiting up for them to leave.”
Erin glanced over her shoulder. “Okay, but you should get some rest yourself, you know.”
“Oh, I plan to. Believe me. I’m right behind you. Don’t want to be hung over for my big day.”
For lack of energy to argue, Erin nodded. “Okay. ’Night, Brady.”
“’Night. And great job.”
“Thanks.” Relieved to have the decision taken out of her hands, Erin headed for the house.
Meg had given her a small but charming room. After the day she’d had, that four-poster bed would feel like heaven.
Considering how many guests were staying at the ranch, Erin had been surprised when Meg had offered her accommodations at all. She hadn’t thought there’d be room.
Being on-site would help enormously. Brady was right. Erin could be up and at ’em at the crack of dawn without having to worry about the drive from the city. And she could do the setup in casual clothes with the convenience of having her own room where she could clean up and change into her wedding outfit.
The stone walkway to the house was lit but not brightly. Erin was concentrating so hard on trying to walk on her toes so her heels didn’t sink into the gravel, she didn’t notice she wasn’t alone until a shadow fell across her path.
She managed to squelch her scream in time. She pressed her hand to her chest over her racing heart. “Tanner. You scared me.”
“Sorry. Can we talk?”
“About what?” Her heart sped, partly from fright but mostly from being so near Tanner.
“About why you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder all night.”
Erin didn’t have the energy to fight both him and her feelings. “I’m not—”
“Cut the bull, Erin. You are and you know it. So how about you tell me what I did to piss you off so we can talk about it like adults.”
Like adults? Was he calling her childish? She pressed her lips together as her anger rose. Suddenly no longer weary, Erin narrowed her gaze. “Okay, fine. Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about how after what I thought was a pretty nice night together, I hear nothing from you. Not a call. Not a text. Nothing.”
He opened his mouth, but she held up her hand to stop him.
“I’m not done. You wanted me to talk, I’m talking. Let’s also talk about how you kissed me not once but twice and then I found out from Randy that you’re off on a date, probably kissing who knows how many other women, too. Huh? How about that?”
Tanner mouthed a foul curse. “Randy told you I was dating other women?”
“Yes. When I was there on Tuesday to meet with Brady and Ellie. You left work early all dressed up in your date clothes, according to him.”
“I wasn’t on a date.” He shook his head. “Those are my only clothes that don’t have stains and holes in ’em. I wore them on Tuesday because I had a meeting at a bank about getting a loan to buy a property closer to the city.”
Erin was confused. “I thought you hate the city.”
“I do. But I like you and you like the city.” He took a step closer and planted his hands on her shoulders. “And I didn’t call or text after your sister’s wedding because I was on a cattle drive and pretty occupied trying to talk myself out of the idea of you and me.”
She understood without asking him why he’d try to talk himself out of liking her because she’d done the same with him. It was funny how much the same they were, considering they were complete opposites. The two of them together didn’t make any sense.
Sometimes making sense was overrated.
Erin took a step closer and pressed her palms against his chest, intensely relieved he’d been meeting a banker and not a date. “So it didn’t work, then?
You talking yourself out of the idea of us.”
Us. The word sent a thrill through her.
“Nope.” He tipped her head back with a thumb and forefinger under her chin. “You think you could maybe give being with a cowboy a shot?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. It depends.” Erin pursed her lips. “Is this cowboy in question a good kisser?”
“He sure is, but maybe you need a reminder?” Tanner asked in a husky voice.
“Maybe I do.”
He wasted no time. His lips were on hers immediately. Erin didn’t hesitate either. She leaned into him and relished the feel of his hard body pressed tight to hers.
She couldn’t stop her groan of satisfaction.
Tanner’s lips tipped up at the sound before he plunged his tongue against hers. Then she was really a goner. She was breathless by the time he pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers.
He let out a sigh. “We probably shouldn’t be doing this right here.”
“Definitely not.” Erin considered for barely a second before she said, “We should be doing this in my room.”
Tanner leaned back and gazed down at her. “You’re inviting me to your room?”
Erin’s heart thundered. Tanner was a virile, adult man. She knew if they went to her room, it wouldn’t be to talk or for a make-out session like a couple of teenagers.
If they went to her room, this relationship they’d both tried to talk themselves out of would take a giant, irreversible leap forward. Even so, she said, “Yes. Unless you don’t want to—”
“Oh, I want to.” He pressed a hard, quick kiss to her mouth before grabbing her hand. “Come on.”
She laughed as he pulled her inside the guest entrance and stood in the hallway, unsure of which way to turn. She helped them both get there sooner by saying, “To the right. Last room. Past the laundry.”
“Good. Far away from all the other guests.” He grinned.
Knowing exactly why he’d said that, Erin felt her cheeks heat. Given her reaction to just Tanner’s kisses, things could get loud.
He reached the door with a few long, fast strides. “Key?”