by SJ McCoy
“I wish.” She said it before she thought about it, and Cassidy laughed.
“See. Part of you knows that it’s worth exploring.”
“I do.”
“Then roll with it. Who knows what will happen? Maybe you’ll find out that he’s not what you want or that you’re not what he wants. But you can totally have some fun finding out.”
Sierra’s heart was pounding as she considered the possibility. “What would I even do, though? It’s not like I could ask him out.”
“Of course you can.” Cassidy’s smile faded. “Hmm. Or knowing you, maybe not. But from everything you’ve told me, it sounds like he’s into you, too. Just make it obvious that you like him. Something will happen.”
“How can you know that?”
Cassidy laughed. “I just do. And if it doesn’t, I’ll figure something out that’ll throw the pair of you together.”
“No! You can’t do that.”
“Then you’d better get on it yourself first, hadn’t you?” Cassidy grinned. “In fact, I think I’ll invite everyone over this weekend. It’s been a while since we all got together.”
Sierra raised her eyebrows. “Who’s everyone?”
“All Shane’s brothers and their wives. And shit … you know Hope, don’t you?”
“Hope?”
“Davenport. Well, Malone, now. She lives here. She’s married to Shane’s brother, Chance.”
“She lives here? Oh, wow! I haven’t seen Hope in a few years. Not since she was with Drew.”
Cassidy made a face. “Yeah. Another asshole he was. But on the bright side, she could maybe teach you by example.”
“Teach me what?”
“How to get over being cheated on by an asshole.”
Sierra laughed. “Let me guess – by hooking up with a cowboy?”
Cassidy laughed with her. “For starters, yeah. And then going on to marry him.”
Sierra’s smile faded. She could hardly see that happening.
“Okay. Sorry. I pushed it. I know. But it happens. And if you haven’t figured something out for yourself by the time the weekend rolls around, then I’m going to help you out.”
“Now I’m worried.”
“You should be. I’m going to invite everyone over on Saturday and if you and Wade haven’t figured it out by then, we may need to give you a little push.”
“No, Cassidy! No pushing.”
“Only if you don’t figure it out for yourself first.”
~ ~ ~
Wade checked his watch as he ran up the back steps at the lodge, then stopped when he heard laughter behind him.
“She’s only been gone a couple hours.”
He turned back to see Tyler grinning at him from the bottom of the steps.
“What? Who?”
“You’re not fooling me, bro.” Tyler shook his head as he trotted up the steps and held the door open for Wade to go through. “You’ve been useless since the second you watched Sierra drive away. You should have gone with her. You could have claimed you needed to see Shane or something.”
Wade took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “Can you believe that I actually considered that?”
“Sure, I can. She’s got your head turned right around.”
“Yeah. But I need to get over it. For all I know she might come back and say that Cassidy’s invited her to stay there and she’s going.”
“Nah. Not going to happen.”
“How do you know? It might.”
“Nope.” Tyler walked into the office and took a seat in one of the easy chairs. Wade walked around his desk and sat opposite. “She’s got as much of a thing for you as you do for her.”
Wade pressed his lips together, but couldn’t quite hold his smile in.
Tyler laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. You should ask her out.”
“I can’t! You know what her situation is. She was supposed to get married on Saturday.”
Tyler shrugged. “Yeah, but she didn’t. She even said that she’d figured out that she didn’t love the guy. I say go for it.”
“But she’s only going to be here until she gets things figured out.”
“Exactly. Hurry up before you miss your chance.”
Wade turned his pen over and over. “Wouldn’t it be an asshole move to ask her out right now, with everything that she has going on? What she needs is a friend. Not some guy making a move on her.”
Tyler laughed. “You’re not just some guy and you’re not making a move on her. You’re just going to ask her out. It’s obvious that she’s into you, too. You’re already being a good friend to her – she might appreciate some benefits, too.”
“I dunno, dude. It doesn’t seem right.”
Tyler shrugged. “Up to you. But if it were me … I’d go there.”
Wade scowled at him, but Tyler just laughed. “I don’t mean with Sierra. I mean if I were in this situation with a girl that I liked. I’d be all about it. Women love that shit, you know. The hero to the rescue. The big strong guy to keep her safe in his big strong arms.” He laughed. “They eat that shit up.”
Wade shook his head. “That just seems like preying on her when she’s in a difficult situation.”
“I see it more like giving her what she wants. I mean, it’s not like she’s going to be here for long. After everything that happened with her wedding, she’s probably going to remember this as one of the worst times of her life. If she gets to spend a few nights with her hero cowboy, it might take some of the sting out of it.”
Wade stared at him. Spend a few nights with Sierra? Damn. He’d love to. But he wanted to be there for her as a support, not as some guy swooping in to take advantage of her when she was down. “You reckon?”
Tyler shrugged. “Yeah. If you’re asking me, I’d say let her know that you’re interested. She’ll soon set you straight either way. If she’s not, you haven’t lost anything. And if she is …” He grinned. “Well, it’s like Tanner said; you need to get laid.”
“I …”
“You need to either go for it or forget about it. Simple as that. Get on it or let it go. But I didn’t come to talk to you about that. I wanted to ask you about the big cabin. Have you decided what you want to do about it? I like the idea of using it as an event space. It has the room.”
Wade blew out a sigh. The big cabin was supposed to be one of their biggest moneymakers. A family from California had booked it for the entire summer and he’d been thrilled. Until they’d gone and canceled late last week. They’d paid a whole month’s rent as a cancelation fee. But that still left him with another couple of months to fill. He hadn’t marked it as available on the website again yet because Tyler had suggested that they could rent it out for events – weddings and private parties. Wade liked the idea, but it’d be a lot of work to market it and then to cater any events that came in. He knew Tyler wanted to do them. He was a godsend at the lodge, but he was destined for bigger things.
“I was wondering if we should put it up on a few of the rental sites first. It’d bring in more money and be less hassle if we could get another booking for a couple of months. I was kind of looking forward to it being one less headache. If we get one set of renters in there for the summer, it’s guaranteed income and a lot less hassle than short term rentals – or events.”
Tyler blew out a sigh. “You’re right. I’m just being selfish. I want to try my hand at some big events.”
“I know. And I hate taking the possibility away from you. You deserve it. And I feel like if we don’t let you challenge yourself here, you’ll go off and find somewhere else. And I wouldn’t blame you. But we need you.”
Tyler shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere. I committed to doing the summer with you and it’s great to be back. But I need my own thing. I feel like I’m just tagging along on your thing. You know, the lodge is your baby. Ford’s always been the cattleman. Tanner came back and stepped right in at the stud – and that’s as it should
be. It’s taken a load off your plate, and he is the stud anyway.”
Wade chuckled. “Yeah. In every sense. I know you need your own thing. And I feel like a shit not just giving you the cabin. But I think even if we go that route, it’s not going to be ideal. It’s not going to be enough. It’s not a purpose-built event space. So, there’d be lots of compromises we’d need to make.”
Tyler let out a short laugh. “It’s not like we’ll ever have a purpose-built space though, is it?”
“Never say never.”
“No? What you thinking?”
“Well, I probably shouldn’t say anything yet. I don’t want to dangle the carrot. But the lodge has done way better than I projected. I’ve been playing with the numbers, and I think we could build a restaurant.”
“A restaurant?” Tyler looked skeptical. “For the number of guests …”
“No. I don’t mean just for the guests. I mean separate. There are enough tourists coming through the valley over the summer that every place is crowded. There aren’t that many options right around here. I mean, there’s Chico and the Valley Lodge, but other than that, if people want anything more than a burger, they have to drive up to Livingston or down to Gardiner.”
Tyler grinned. “So, you’re talking about something upscale?”
Wade grinned back at him. “Yeah. The kind of place that’d be worthy of having you as the head chef.”
“Damn! Well, that’d be worth sticking around for.”
“Yeah. If I can swing it. And I don’t want to lead you on and tell you that it’s a definite until I know for sure.”
“That’s fair. I know how it goes. How about we give it a couple weeks to see if you can find a seasonal renter for the big cabin? If you can, great. I’ll just keep doing my thing at the lodge and bide my time. If not, I’ll take it on as an event space – and I mean, I’ll take on all the headaches and the marketing and everything else. How about that?”
“Okay. You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Although, if you think it’ll bring in more money as a rental, I might just stick with that plan and try to find you a renter.”
Wade cocked an eyebrow.
“I want to do whatever will bring in the most money – to go toward my restaurant.”
Wade chuckled. “We’ll see what we can do.”
They both turned to look when a vehicle passed the office window, heading to the cabins beyond the lodge. Wade’s pulse quickened when he recognized Sierra’s SUV.
Tyler winked at him. “I don’t think there’s anything around here that’s so important that you couldn’t take the afternoon off.”
Wade swallowed. He couldn’t. That wouldn’t be like him.
“I say go for it. Remember, you’re doing a good thing – helping her through a tough time.”
Wade ran his hand through his hair and then got to his feet. Why not? Tyler was right – she needed a friend. As for the rest – well, he’d just have to play that by ear.
Chapter Nine
Sierra parked the SUV in front of the cabin and sat there for a few moments. She’d stayed at the big house last night and she probably should have gone straight back there now. But it felt weird. They’d all been so good to her. But she didn’t feel like she could just waltz into their home.
This cabin had felt like a safe place. She pursed her lips – probably because it was Wade’s place. It had felt like a little cocoon of safety that he’d welcomed her into on Saturday night. She wanted that feeling back again. If she were honest, she wanted him back. Wanted to be alone with him again.
Cassidy had told her she should make it obvious that she liked him. But how was she even supposed to do that? She’d never been the kind of girl who knew what she was doing when it came to men. It was easy for Cassidy to say it. She’d always been the girl who guys flocked around, eager to impress her. Sierra supposed that there’d been plenty of guys who tried to impress her, too. But that was different. It wasn’t about her as a woman. It was about her being a Hartford.
She jumped when someone tapped on the window. Wade was standing there, smiling at her. Well, wasn’t she a fool, sitting there outside the cabin lost in her thoughts?
She opened the door and smiled back at him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry.”
He held her gaze as he smiled. “You really don’t need to keep apologizing.”
“Sorry. I … Well, shoot!” She let out an embarrassed laugh. “I did it again. Didn’t I?”
She loved the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. There were well worn lines that said he smiled a lot. “It’s okay. I came to see what you’re doing.”
“Oh. Well, I came back from Cassidy’s, and I didn’t like to just go into the big house. I came back here because …” If she was going to try out Cassidy’s advice, this was the moment to do it. “Well, because I thought you might be here.”
His smile grew bigger at that. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t such a terrible idea to be honest with him, then.
“And here I am.”
“You are. I didn’t know if you’d still be working. But I feel more comfortable in your space than anywhere else.”
He held her gaze for a moment, as if he wanted to check that he understood what she was saying.
She nodded. As if that might help. “I don’t want to bother you, though. Or hold you up if you’re busy.” Darn! And there went her manners – or possibly her nerves – trying to let him off the hook.
“You’re not bothering me.” He smiled and held the door open for her. She slid down and when her feet hit the ground, she looked up into his eyes. He put his hand on her shoulder, and this time the feelings it sent coursing through her felt as though they were laced with something more than friendly support. He held her gaze when he spoke. “I was working. But when I saw you come back, I wanted to come see you.”
“Thanks. I’m okay. I made it.” He was just checking on her after all. She shouldn’t let herself get carried away.
“I’m glad. But I didn’t just want to check how you were doing. I mean … I wanted to see you.”
“Oh.” She really didn’t know how to do this. She could imagine Cassidy laughing and tossing her hair and saying something flirty. But all Sierra could do was look up into his kind eyes.
“I decided that I’m done for the day. Do you want to do anything?”
She sucked in a deep breath, but there was no way he was suggesting that they should do the kind of things she was thinking about.
One side of his mouth quirked up, and she felt her cheeks flush, hoping that he hadn’t read her mind. “Do you want to go up to town? We could buy you some clothes. Or …?” He shrugged. “Whatever you want. Name it. I’m in.”
She only just managed not to laugh at the thought of naming what she wanted. “I’m okay for clothes. Thank you. Cassidy gave me a bunch.” Cassidy had also taken her to a cute boutique where she’d been able to stock up on underwear, but she didn’t see the need to tell him that. She frowned. “I hope Janey won’t be offended.”
“She won’t.”
“Okay.” She half wished that she’d said yes to going to town with him, instead of shutting him down.
“Well, we have a few options. I can show you around the ranch. We could go for a drive, and I’ll show you the valley, or we could go up to town anyway and get whatever else you might need.” His smile disappeared. “You are going to stay, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Sorry. That should have been the first thing I said. I should have asked if it’s still okay. Cassidy said she thought I’d be better here than at her place – since her husband’s at work, and she is much of the time, too.” She dropped her gaze, not wanting to look him in the eye while she thought about the other reasons Cassidy thought she should stay here – because she thought Sierra should sleep with him!
“Of course it’s okay.” He looked at her, then glanced at the cabin. “Would you rather stay here than at the house?”
&n
bsp; She swallowed. She would. But she wasn’t sure that she should say so. After spending last night at the big house, how could she come back here? And how would it be okay for Wade to come back here with her?
She held his gaze, feeling like she’d been caught but unable to tell the truth.
A slow smile spread across his face. Had he read her mind? “How about we take a ride up to town? We can stop at the grocery store and stock up.” He chuckled. “You’re probably going to want something other than beer and frozen pizza, and that’s all I have in.”
“Okay. Let’s do that. But you must let me buy. If you’re going to be kind enough to let me share your space, the least I can do is feed you.” She smiled, feeling more relaxed since he seemed to understand her answer even though she hadn’t said so. “I can cook for you. It won’t be as good as Tyler, but I’m not a bad cook.”
“Well, alrighty then. I won’t say no to that. Do you want to go right now? Do you need to do anything first?”
“I’m good to go.” She turned to get back into the car, but his hand came down on her shoulder again, sending shivers racing down her spine.
“I’ve got my truck here. We can take that.”
“Okay.”
He walked her to the passenger door and held it open for her. He could give the guys at the country club lessons in how to treat a lady. She had to grab for the handle inside the door to haul herself up. His hand on her elbow helped. Once she was seated, she turned to smile at him. “I think I might need a rope ladder to get down.”
He chuckled. “Nope, you’re good. I’ll be right here to catch you.”
She laughed with him, but her heart melted a little bit at his words. He was the kind of man who would be there to catch his girl and never let her fall. It was just a pity that no matter what little infatuation she had going for him, she wasn’t ever going to be his girl. They were from different worlds, and she’d have to go back and face her own world all too soon.
~ ~ ~
Wade paused at the cabin door and took a deep breath. Ford was right. He must be crazy to want to play house with Sierra. But crazy or not, he was doing it. They’d had fun this afternoon. He’d driven up the valley and loved her wide-eyed appreciation of how beautiful it was. She’d fallen in love with the place as he watched.