“It’s only twenty-four hours, even if it feels like forever right now. We can do twenty-four hours.”
She nodded, afraid to try to speak for fear of letting loose a flood of tears. She felt silly for wanting to cry over being apart for such a short time, but as she wrapped her arms around Wes, whose strength and comfort had become as familiar as the fingers on her hands, she knew it didn’t matter how silly she felt. She didn’t want to spend one night apart from him or fall asleep without his arms around her. She had to own those feelings as she’d owned her fears over the past few days—and every other emotion Wes had drawn from her heart.
“I’ll be back right after the interviews. Do you still want me to come by the library and pick you up there, or should I pick you up at your place?”
“The library, so I can see you sooner.” She rested her forehead against his chest. “I sound so needy. I’m sorry. I’m just…I miss you already.”
He lifted her chin and smiled. “I miss you already, too. I know I can’t call you at the library, but do you want me to text you when I’m on my way?”
“Yes, and I’ll check it when I get a break. You could try to call me at the library, but they frown upon personal calls, and I’m new, so…”
Wes folded her in his arms and took her in a deep, sensuous kiss that made her head spin and her body hot. Oh God. How could she have become so enraptured with him so fast? She gripped his lapels and saw his eyes dart to the truck.
“Know I love you. I don’t want to cause trouble at your job, so I’ll text when I’m on my way. We shouldn’t keep Kathie waiting any longer.”
“I know. Thank you for the perfect end to the most incredible day of my life. Well, almost the most incredible.” She nibbled on her lower lip.
He arched a brow. “Almost?”
“I think the most incredible moment was our first kiss. But then there was the first time we…you know. And…” She closed her eyes for a second to stop herself from babbling. “This was the perfect end to an amazing few days.”
After another kiss goodbye, Wes opened the door for Callie and she climbed into the truck. Kathie was scribbling in her notebook. She glanced at Callie and smiled.
“Ready?”
“I think so.” She reached for Wes’s hand one last time.
“Drive carefully, Kathie. You’ve got precious cargo.” He gave Callie a quick kiss.
“Don’t worry. She’s safe with me.” Kathie glanced at Callie again. “Buckle up, Belle.”
“Okay, Rapunzel. I’m ready.”
Callie watched Wes head into the lodge with Sweets on his heels as they drove down the long driveway away from the lodge. The light of the lodge disappeared into the darkness, and Callie sucked in air to keep from crying. When they reached the main road a few minutes later, Callie’s heart was still slamming against her ribs as if she’d run the distance.
“Wait.”
Kathie slammed on the brakes. “What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
“Yes. Can we go back?”
“Back?” Kathie wrinkled her brow. “What did you forget?”
My heart. I left it in his hands. “I’m sorry. I know you’re tired, and waiting for me was the last thing you wanted to do, and I appreciate that. But…I just want to say goodbye one more time. Please?” She laced her fingers together and held them up under her chin, pleading for her to go back to the lodge.
Kathie shot a look at the clock. She had a long drive ahead of her after she dropped Callie off.
“Can’t you text him?”
“Our cells don’t work here, remember? I just need to see him one last time. I’ll be really fast. I’ll run in and run out. Just…I’ve never felt like this before about anyone, Kath. My stomach hurts and my heart’s going crazy. Please? I’ll never ask for another favor in my whole life.”
Kathie rolled her eyes as she turned the Cruiser around. “It’s fine, and yes, you will.” She reached over and squeezed Callie’s hand. “I’ve never seen you like this. Is everything okay between you two? Did something happen?”
Yes. I fell in love. “No. I can’t explain it. I just need to see him one last time.”
“Okay. Then you will.”
At the lodge, Callie jumped from the car. “I’ll be fast. One hug, one kiss, and I’ll be back in three minutes. Promise.” She closed the door, then opened it again and leaned in. “Thank you!”
“Go already.” Kathie shooed her out.
Callie ran through the empty lobby looking for Wes. She hurried to the reception desk and gripped the edge.
“Hello?” she called with great anticipation, and was answered with silence. Callie held her breath and listened to a murmur coming from an office off the reception area.
Wes! She hurried around the desk, then slowed to smooth her dress and wipe the tears from her eyes. She reached up and finger brushed her hair, then closed her eyes for a second so she didn’t fly into Wes’s office looking like a lunatic.
“I can’t wait to see you.” Wes’s voice was thick with emotion. She couldn’t see him from where she stood beside the open door, but his words hit her like a brick in the face. “Yeah, I have to go back tomorrow night,” Wes said. “You sure you can’t come tonight? We’d have all night together.”
Callie’s stomach lurched.
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. You’ll love the surprise I have in store for you.”
Surprise? That didn’t sound like an applicant. She pressed her hand to the wall for support.
“You deserve a little pampering after all you’ve done. Love you, too. Drive carefully.”
Callie leaned her back against the wall, trying to keep her heart from shattering. A little pampering? Love you? Oh God. Is this what he did? Like some wealthy player who wooed women like her into believing they were special? She covered her mouth to keep the pain that gripped her from spewing forth, turned on her heel, and ran back out the front doors and into the truck.
“You okay?” Kathie asked.
No! “Can we go, please? Quick?” How could she have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker?
Kathie drove away from the lodge, stealing glances at Callie. “Hey, you must really love him to be this upset.”
She didn’t want to believe it. Wes couldn’t be like that. He was so sincere, so loving. He was a good, honest man and she loved him.
She must have misunderstood.
Misunderstood, or was I too naive to see the truth?
She thought of the jealousy she’d seen in his eyes when she was with Cutter and wondered if he’d just been reacting to that when he’d reached out to her. Maybe it was a joke at the ranch. Hey, which guest will you bang? The thought nauseated her. Maybe I was just a conquest.
No. He said he loves me, and—oh God—I love him.
“Cal? It’s only a day,” Kathie reminded her.
Callie couldn’t say a word. If she repeated what she’d heard out loud, she would fall to pieces and die right there in Kathie’s truck. Oh God. Is this what Bonnie meant about reality kicking her in the ass? Callie leaned against the window, arms crossed tightly around her burning stomach. Hot tears streaked her cheeks. She refused to talk herself into a tizzy. She’d talk to Wes, and she was sure he’d clear it up.
Wouldn’t he?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TUESDAY MORNING, CALLIE dragged herself from bed, gave a halfhearted effort to her Jillian Michaels workout, hoping it might take away some of her sadness. It didn’t. She went through the motions of getting ready for work as if on autopilot, not bothering to pin up her hair. She called The Woodlands lodge, intending to leave a message for Wes to call her back so she could ask him about what she’d heard, but she lost her nerve and hung up. What if it really was all a big game to him? She didn’t—couldn’t—believe that, but she didn’t have the courage to leave a message if there was even a slight chance that it was true.
She stopped in at the diner for coffee before work to try to inject a modicum of ene
rgy into her morning and stood by the counter, waiting for Margie Holmes, the middle-aged waitress, to fill her to-go cup.
“How was your weekend?” Margie was in a pink waitress uniform with a white apron tied around her waist. She wore her hair in a feathered style left over from the eighties.
“Good,” Callie managed.
Margie handed her the cup. “So I heard.”
How could Callie have forgotten that Margie was the eyes and ears of Trusty? What could she possibly have heard? Callie felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and her body went rigid.
A friendly smile spread across Margie’s lips. Her eyes softened with obvious recognition. “Ross. How’s my favorite Braden?”
“You said that to Pierce when he was in here with me last week,” Ross said.
“A woman can’t limit herself to just one Braden man,” Margie said with a laugh.
Callie wanted to shrivel up and disappear. She wished she’d gone straight to work and didn’t know why she’d put herself through dealing with the heart of Trusty’s grapevine.
“Hey, Callie. Good to see you again.”
Callie kept her eyes on her coffee as she turned to greet Ross. “Hey.” It took all her strength not to bolt for the door.
“We’ll see you at Luke’s this weekend, right?” Ross asked.
“Sure.” Clutching her cup, she chanced a glance at Ross and her heart ached and softened at the same time. He had the same honest eyes as Wes. I’m such an idiot. Of course there’s a good explanation for what I heard.
By the time she reached the library, she was second-guessing herself again. She was going to drive herself batty. She needed to concentrate on work, not fall apart because she’d overheard a conversation that might, or—more likely—might not mean something. This was not like her at all. She never jumped to conclusions. Then again, she’d never been in love before.
She was still fretting a few hours later, when she ducked into the ladies’ room and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyelids were heavy with fatigue, and the plain beige shift she wore made her look dowdy. The outfit had matched her feelings when she’d dressed that morning, hoping to remain insignificant and invisible and just make it through the day.
She leaned closer to the mirror.
“This whole thing is crazy,” she said to her reflection.
“I love him. He loves me.”
“More importantly, I trust him.”
With that, she drew her shoulders back, scowled at herself one last time for being such a jealous idiot, and headed for the women’s fiction aisle, hoping to find her next escape.
She came face-to-face with Tiffany Dempsey. This…was not…her day.
“Callie, I heard you had quite a weekend.” Tiffany twisted a lock of her blond hair around her finger.
Callie’s stomach knotted. She wished she’d worn something besides the plain and shapeless beige shift she’d chosen. It was bad enough that her heart was breaking into pieces and she had no chance at salvation until she could reach Wes, but to be faced with Tiffany Dempsey while her chips were down was just too much.
“Mm-hm.” She walked farther down the aisle and pretended to look for a book, when in reality she was trying to figure out if she could dart out of the aisle fast enough to lose Tiffany.
Tiffany leaned against the bookshelf, watching her.
“Do you need help?” Callie kept her eyes trained on the books.
“Nah.”
Then what the heck do you want?
Callie pulled two books from the shelf and walked past Tiffany. She heard Tiffany following her, and when she reached the next aisle, she clutched the books to her chest, gritted her teeth, and mustered her courage.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Callie asked without turning to face her.
“Oh, I need help, all right, but not with books,” Tiffany said with an edge of humor.
The smile in her voice drew Callie’s attention. She turned and faced Tiffany, and even though she’d heard the smile in her tone, she was surprised to see it in her eyes.
“I make you nervous, don’t I?” Tiffany asked.
Tiffany was a few inches taller than Callie, with a small waist and large, full breasts. With long blond hair and blue eyes, and confidence that rivaled that of a supermodel, she could make Jennifer Aniston nervous. Callie’s chest tightened under her steady gaze. The longer they stared at each other, the more Callie’s discomfort turned to anger. She’d scaled a mountain carrying a dog, fished by a rushing river, slept in a goddamn tent, and now…Now, while she mentally battled jealousy—an unfamiliar and horribly uncomfortable emotion for her—she had to deal with this? If she could face all of that, she sure as hell could talk to some woman who wanted the only man she’d ever loved.
Or at least she hoped she could.
“You’ve never said two words to me. If you have something to say, just say it.” Callie pressed her mouth into a firm line to keep Tiffany from seeing her trembling lower lip.
“You’re right.” Tiffany unwound her finger from her beautiful golden lock of hair. “When you moved into town and Wes started coming in to see you, everyone was talking about the two of you, and I thought, no way. You were nothing like the women he’s been with.” Her eyes softened as she said the hurtful words.
Tears sprang to Callie’s eyes. She couldn’t take another hit to her heart. Not today. Maybe not ever. She stumbled backward a step and grabbed the shelf for stability.
Tiffany narrowed her blue eyes. “But I watched the way he was with you. He was…different.”
She smiled, and it took Callie by surprise. Callie wasn’t sure if it was a sincere smile or a ruse for the claws that were about to come out.
“He was definitely interested in a way he never was with me,” Tiffany admitted. “Maybe different than he was with anyone.”
“Tiffany, please.” Callie’s voice was shaky.
“Let me finish. I didn’t want to see you as the woman that you are. You’re so petite and pretty, and you’re obviously smart. That’s tough competition.”
Callie could hardly believe her ears. She had the urge to look around to see if she was being punked.
“Then I hear that you guys are like, really together. And I’m thinking, Wes has never been really together with anyone.”
Wes has never been really together with anyone. Callie knew that, of course, from what Wes had told her, but the way Tiffany said it, like it meant something more, made Callie feel like a heel for doubting his fidelity.
“He’s a good man, Callie. He deserves a good woman. I’m glad it’s you. You’re not petty and jealous like everyone else in this town. You never gave me dirty looks or said snotty things when I tried to get his attention.” She nodded, and a genuine smile crossed her lips, making her entire appearance morph from vixen to something softer, friendlier. Nicer.
If you only knew what I’ve been thinking.
Tiffany leaned in and hugged Callie, but Callie was too shocked to reciprocate. She stood rigid beneath a cloud of shame for having judged Tiffany so hastily. And though she still didn’t want to believe what she’d heard Wes say back at the lodge, she didn’t know what to do with the worry—or how to escape it.
“Thank you,” she finally eked out.
Tiffany waved her hand in the air. “Tsk. You need someone to have your back around here. Ever since his brother Luke went off the market, Wes has had twice as many eyes on him. Keep your chin up, and the gossip will turn to how cute of a couple you are, and then eventually it’ll settle on someone else.”
How cute of a couple we are?
Callie needed to get a grip on her emotions. After Tiffany left, Callie went into the back office, where her purse was stowed in her desk, and she grabbed her cell phone before heading into the bathroom to call Wes.
She listened to her voice mails while she paced the bathroom floor. The first was from Bonnie.
Hey, Cal. I emailed you the pics this morning. Had a great time, and
I’m so happy for you and Wes. Call or text me tonight.
She deleted the message and listened to the next one, which was from Wes.
Hey, babe. I miss you. His warm, caring voice brought tears to her eyes again. A group of twenty just registered for a day trip tomorrow. I need to stay for another night. The pit of her stomach sank. Call me at the lodge. I’ll be here until three. Love you, and I’m sorry.
She checked her watch. It was four o’clock. She called the lodge anyway.
Please be there. Please be there.
“Good afternoon, The Woodlands,” a cheery voice greeted her.
“Hi, this is Callie Barnes. I’d like to speak with Wes Braden, please?” She slammed her eyes shut. Please be there.
“Hi, Callie. He’s not here right now. Can I take a message for him?”
Yes. No. Oh crap. “Um. Yes, please. Can you ask him to call me when he gets a chance?” She gave the receptionist the library’s phone number since she couldn’t exactly carry her cell phone around. After she ended the call, she tried to talk her mind out of going down a crazy path of piecing together him staying another night at the lodge with the I love you she’d heard him say while he was on the phone.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
WES CROSSED THE property with Sweets trotting along beside him toward the barn. He wished he had heard back from Callie before leaving the lodge, but he didn’t want to waste any more time after having spent so many hours interviewing applicants who seemed neither trustworthy nor experienced enough to fill Ray’s position. None of them had the knowledge that Cutter had, and they were strangers. He had worked too hard to bring on a stranger who might take off right after they trained him. Then they’d be right back where they started. He pushed the thought away, stewing over the real issue that had the muscles in his neck and shoulders working overtime. He should have been leaving to go back home to Trusty, and instead he was hamstrung by the last-minute group that had scheduled an outing for the next day.
He walked by the barn office and saw Cutter working on the financial reports for the inventory. He went in search of Chip and was cursing under his breath about the inconvenience of the morning when Chip rode up on horseback, causing Sweets to run back and forth between the horse and Wes.
Fated for Love Page 23