Tyler was protecting himself and his private life. He didn’t want to be used or have fake people in his life. She could understand and appreciate that. Smiling at Clara, she watched as the elderly woman delicately cut her meal up into tiny bites. Calling her lady-like barely scratched the surface. She could easily picture her with a chiffon scarf over her perfectly coiffed hair or with gloves on and a small satchel bag of a purse. Timeless and classy.
Rachel felt perfectly uncouth around her and tried to put on her ‘work face’ that she had practiced several times over for the office. She wanted to be as serene, composed and proper as Clara was. The woman made it look effortless. Unfurling her napkin quietly, she lay it in her lap and took up her fork to try the homemade meal. She felt a light kick under the table that made her jump guiltily. It all smelled so good, weren’t they supposed to eat yet? She glanced up at Clara and Tyler, only to see his dancing eyes watching her.
What, she mouthed silently? He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled to himself as he began to dig in to his own dinner plate. Could it be that the man was simply playing around with her at the dinner table like a young boy? She felt his eyes watching her and took a bite. An explosion of savory herbs made her practically moan in happiness.
“Clara, this is simply amazing,” Rachel praised. “You will have to teach me someday because my roast is terribly bland compared to yours. I think it might be better than anything I’ve ever had,” she said genuinely. The older woman preened under the compliment and then abruptly swatted Tyler’s hand gently, making Rachel burst out laughing at the shocked look on his handsome face.
“Chew with your mouth closed, son,” Clara scolded gently.
“Yes ma’am,” Tyler quickly said and grinned at Rachel. It was comical how she treated him like he was still a young boy and how he snapped to attention when she called him out on it. Rachel listened fascinated as Clara began to discuss how her mother used to prepare the roast and people would come from all around when they had a Sunday picnic at the church because they knew she’d be cooking. The distant fondness is her gaze told so much, she could see those times and missed them greatly.
“I imagine she was wonderful,” Rachel said compassionately as his mother dabbed her eyes and smiled.
“I must be getting sentimental in my old age,” Clara said with a smile. “You remind me of her, something in the way you carry yourself – all proper, like a lady should be.”
“That means a lot coming from you,”
“We girls do the best we can, don’t we?”
“Yes, ma’am we do,” Rachel agreed conspiratorially at her and slid a sly glance at Tyler. His dark eyes watched her and she wished she could read his mind right now based off the expression on his face. He looked intense…almost pleased. “Sometimes it’s tough when you are pushed to the limit, but that’s when you shine or find a way to let that frustration out the right way.”
“What do you do, dear, to let out your aggravations?” Clara asked. “I personally find crosswords are soothing.”
“I like to go hunting or shooting,” Rachel said simply, looking directly at Clara’s approving gaze and ignoring Tyler’s choked sip on his drink. He began to cough into his napkin softly, his face surprised. “It’s not very ladylike but my daddy insisted that I learn in case I ever needed to be able to support myself or run off some man.”
“You hunt?”
“I’m not crazy about the field cleaning, but yes -I’ve been several times. I haven’t been since I’ve moved here yet. The last time was with my cousins in Kansas.”
“Let’s not discuss cleaning the kill at the table,” Clara chided and Rachel instantly felt embarrassed. Hunting was not elegant nor graceful, it was instinctive or guttural and that was what appealed to her. The peace, the silence, it was you and the wild. No interruptions, just finding your Zen out in the open air.
“Of course, my apologies,” Rachel said quickly and looked down at her plate to finish her meal. She felt like she was nine years old again and had cut her own hair. Her mother had been distraught and ashamed that her girl had done something so foolish. She knew better now and it wasn’t ladylike to fire a rifle. She was pretty sure that Clara never had.
“Don’t apologize,” Tyler said softly, causing Rachel to look up from her plate. She saw Clara was watching him intently with a smile on her face. “Come with me next Saturday and we’ll go together. Just us. I haven’t been in a while and rifle season opens this weekend- or do you prefer bow?”
“Rifle, please – and I’d like that,” Rachel admitted, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. His mother might not approve heartily of it, but it was obvious that Tyler certainly did. His eyes were approving and he watched her with a new respect, like he was seeing her for the first time.
8
Rachel was truly excited for their hunting trip. She hadn’t gotten many details from Tyler, only that he claimed she didn’t need to worry about a thing. That was good because she didn’t bring her rifle down from Kansas. It had been her father’s and she’d left it with her mother for protection at the farm. She only had her small gun she’d kept hidden in her apartment. She hadn’t even realized the season was here because temperatures were still in the 50’s and 60’s. When she’d called her mother, she’d heard all about the hard frost they’d gotten and remembered sitting in the stand trying to keep warm.
This would be different – a lot different.
She’d be spending almost twenty-four hours with a man she was trying to get to know better so she could design/decorate a house for him. A man she was highly attracted to, and she felt like it was the same for him. Just then her phone rang and she quickly answered it. It was incredibly early and she was running on caffeine.
“Good morning. Are you ready?”
“Very.”
“Great – I will be there shortly to pick you up. We have about an hour ride to the lot I rented. I hunted there last year and did well. That was the roast we had the other night.”
“Sounds good. Are you sure I don’t need to bring anything?”
“Nope. I’ve got it all.”
“Okay, I will see you in a few,” she said lightly, hanging up the phone. She had texted her address to him the other day when he asked about picking her up and riding together. She peeked out the window to watch for the truck in the quiet apartment complex and moments later, he arrived. She saw that there was not a lot of gear in the back of the truck, and that was a good thing. If they got a deer, the gear had to fit neatly in the back seat of the cab. Running down the stairs, she climbed in the truck and buckled, only to see him watching her with a smirk on his face.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you in camo or jeans.” Her jacket was a hunting coat that her father had given her a few years back. It was warm and had pockets for thermal handwarmers on the inside to keep you all toasty on a cold morning.
“No, of course not. I can’t wear this to work.”
“I know, but you look great in it and I like the different side of you.”
“I’m glad I have your approval,” she quipped and stuck out her tongue, causing him to smile. “So, you brought everything?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, putting the truck into gear and pulling out of the apartment complex. “Guns, sleeping bags, a tent and a cooler full of stuff – everything we might need. If you don’t want to camp in a tent, you can take the bench seat in the truck.”
“No, I’m okay with camping as long as we clear the ground. No sticks in the kidneys at 2 AM.”
“No ma’am, no sticks,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m glad you are coming out with me.” Rachel looked at his profile trying to get a read on him. Goodness he looked so good in his t-shirt and camouflage cargo pants. His shirt was faded but stretched nicely over his shoulders and showed off his biceps. She saw the camo sweatshirt between them and assumed he’d be putting it over the t-shirt when he got chilly.
“I’m glad you invited me and
a little surprised,” she admitted. “Usually a bunch of guys will get together, or at least that is what my cousins used to do. I was always the third wheel of our group, being a girl.”
“I used to go with some friends but winning showed me who my real friends were and it turns out I didn’t have hardly any. That’s why I was a jerk about being honest with me. I’d rather hear the truth than find out later I was being used.”
“I am using this trip to get to know you better – I’m not lying there,” she quickly reminded him, “and it’s for purely selfish reasons, so I can design your place a bit better than what I’ve come up with so far.”
“I know, and here I thought it was because you couldn’t stay away from my good looks after that little peck you gifted me with on our first date.” Rachel didn’t answer; instead she sat there quietly. She’d felt extremely guilty for being so forward as to go out with a client, much less kiss him – and now she was going hunting with him?
“Do you ever wish things were different, ever wish you hadn’t won?” she asked, suddenly curious.
“Oh no, because I was struggling to take care of my mother at the time and killing myself working two jobs – one of which I had just gotten fired from.”
“How come?”
“My boss thought I stole a candy bar since I didn’t have a receipt.” She saw him glance at her in surprise. “You aren’t going to ask if I did it?”
“No,” she admitted. “I may not know the in’s and out’s of what you like, but I know enough about you to trust you and that you are a genuinely honest man.” She saw him watching her from the corner of his eyes, almost waiting for some sort of disappointment from her. Instead, she found herself filled with curiosity. There had to be more to the story because she couldn’t see him stealing home base in a baseball game – much less a candy bar.
“Thank you,” Tyler said simply. “I’ve often thought about buying that store I worked at so I had a steady income later on when the money is dwindling away. I worry a lot about money because I haven’t forgotten what it was like to have nothing. It stays in the forefront of your mind when you lived check to check for so long. It would be a way for me to give back to the community, providing jobs too.”
“Would you fire the man that let you go?”
“No, because Mr. Singleton did exactly what I would do if the shoe was on the other foot. I’m not into retaliation and I believe everything happens for a reason.”
“God, Country and Mama,” she teased, “Your mother told me you said that often.”
“It’s true. God, because he’s the one that gave me this life, country because I believe in having pride in your land and mama…well, because she’s my mother and the only one I’ll ever have that has raised me and loved me unconditionally.”
“I understand. I need to get back home to visit my mother sometime.”
“They are important,” he agreed sagely, but that telltale smirk was there on his lips and she realized it wasn’t because he was teasing her, rather he was simply happy to be there. The truck pulled off the road sometime later and then turned onto another gravel road. They were out in the country with no buildings around them. Checking her phone, she saw that she’d lost signal. She dropped it into her purse without a second thought, relishing the idea of being alone with Tyler in the woods.
Rachel was trying so hard not to think of this as a date, but every time she met Tyler or saw him, she couldn’t help but remember how attracted she was to him. It was quickly becoming a bad habit of hers to sit there and daydream about his smile, laugh, or the way he looked at her. She was infatuated and it was interfering with her being able to distance herself from him. He wasn’t just a client anymore, she considered him a friend…teetering on ‘boyfriend’ status, if she didn’t watch out. Something like that could create quite a mess for her career.
They stopped the truck in a very picturesque part of the woods and she was struck by the beauty. Back home when they went hunting it wasn’t like this. The land was flat with trees, grasses and fields to watch, but this was heavenly. Sparse green treetops of mesquite and pecan trees dotted the landscape allowing beams of sunlight to dart through the branches. As she stepped out of the truck, she heard a creek nearby and let out a sigh. This had to be paradise, she thought.
“I’d like to know what you are thinking,” he asked, opening the bed of the truck. “That was an awfully big sigh for a slip of a woman.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any place more beautiful in my life.”
“Right?” he agreed, “This would be the country part in that phrase: God, country and mama. I love this land and I’m extremely proud to be a Texan. This state has mountains, valleys, desert areas, forests, you name it, and it’s here within a day’s drive from almost any direction.”
“I can certainly see why. Now, where do you want me to clear the ground for the tents?”
“Tent, singular – and you don’t have to clear the ground. I promised no sticks in the side and I meant it. I found a snake in my tent one year and immediately bought a tent that ratchets to the trees putting us above the ground. So, if you are okay sharing, you are welcome to it or the truck. You’ll be safe from me, I promise.”
Keen disappointment and relief washed through her. Rachel wasn’t sure if she wanted to be safe from him or if she wanted another kiss from him…maybe a little of both?
“Let’s set up the tent. I’m curious to see it.” Rachel was impressed by the ingenuity of the contraption he unfurled. Sure enough, it tethered to three different trees and had bamboo poles that lifted the ceiling off the bottom of the suspended tent. You climbed into the tent from the bottom if you were high off the ground, or simply ducked and stood up in the opening to climb inside. They suspended the tent about five to six feet off the ground to keep them clear of any small mammals, snakes or spiders that hadn’t gone dormant yet. Tyler unzipped the hatch and tossed his bag up inside and gave a pointed look to her.
“Are you sleeping inside the tent or inside the truck?”
“Do you snore?”
“No, do you?”
“Of course not,” she countered. “Tent please.” It would be far easier to get some rest tonight if she didn’t have to worry about falling onto the floorboard, leaning back a seat or a buckle under her lower back. Tyler nodded and tossed a second rolled sleeping bag into the tent before zipping it closed.
“I put corn out last week so we should have some deer in the area. You aren’t wearing perfume, are you?”
“No, this isn’t my first time…hunting,” she teased and flushed as she thought about him kissing her. That had been her first kiss in years. Her last kiss was a stolen kiss after school in tenth grade and was picked on mercilessly for it. She’d avoided relationships for the longest time simply because she wanted to focus on her, not the drama that came with finding the right person. Unfortunately, she was craving the idea of it now.
The deer stand was barely out of sight of where they’d parked the truck. The idea was to hike down to it, climb inside and wait. That was the part she enjoyed, the peace and oneness with nature. Squirrels, birds, the sound of a nice breeze, those all appealed to her. Tyler grabbed a tiny cooler out of the truck and two rifle cases. “Can you carry the ammo?” he asked politely.
“Of course, do you need help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
She grabbed the bag with the ammunition and followed him through the woods as silently as possible. The man barely made a sound and she felt like she was a charging elephant as she walked. She knew to be quiet but seemed to find every twig and every crunchy leaf there was on the ground. As they got to the deer blind, he pointed at himself and then upwards. She nodded and watched as he began to climb aloft. Once he got up in the blind, she saw his head peek outwards as he waved her up. Rachel grabbed the rungs and pulled herself upwards to see that he had another bouquet of wildflowers waiting at the top and a cushion for her to sit on.
“What’s this?” she whispered quietly
“I have beautiful company for the first time ever out here and I wanted to impress you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“But I wanted to.”
“Well, consider me impressed and flattered, but we probably should stop talking if we are going to get a deer.” He nodded and grinned, tapping his forehead appreciatively. Smart girl, he mouthed and moved to set up. He unzipped the rifle cases and handed her one, his eyebrow upraised in a silent challenge to her. She unlatched it with ease, loaded two bullets in it, cocked it, and set it aside before glancing back at him to see his appreciative gaze. She knew her stuff and was more than just a pretty face. She hoped he could see that.
They sat there silently for some time and Rachel could feel his eyes watching her as she stared out at the woods. It was like he wasn’t sure how to read her and she understood, because she felt the same. One moment, he was approachable and talkative – the next, he was abrupt, or so she felt. Could she play second fiddle to a man that worshiped the ground his mother walked upon, even if she was a lovely woman? Would it always be like that or was she kidding herself?
Just then, she saw a flurry of movement in the brush not far away and caught her breath. It must have been enough because Tyler stealthily moved from where he sat on the wooden planks to pick up his gun and peer through the slots. Rachel saw the doe and baby deer and quickly lay her hand on Tyler’s shoulder not a second before he also realized it wasn’t a good shot. They looked at each other and nodded. Neither wanted that on their hands.
As the day wore on, Rachel felt herself getting stiff and was thankful for the pillow he’d thought to bring her. She knew he must be aching because the cool temps were seeping into the small deer blind. Eventually, she saw him open the cooler and hold a sandwich out towards her. Grateful, she took a bite and shut her eyes happily. It was so nice to just be here…with him. She heard him open a Ziploc bag and the flare of a lighter igniting. Rachel opened her eyes in shock. Tyler had lit a candle and was roasting a marshmallow over it with a fork, grinning like a mischievous young boy.
Winning the Billionaire Page 7