by Amy Vastine
Tyler’s opinion had always mattered. He was her boss and what he thought about her ability to get a job done was imperative to keeping said job. Convincing his family they were in love was her current job, and she was doing everything she could to make it happen.
Tyler cleared his throat. “My family brings out my competitive side. It’s never been easy to stand out in this crowd. When I left, it was so nice not to be compared to any other Blackwell. I swore I’d never worry about one-upping any of them again. Yet, the second they ask me to come back, here I am trying to convince them I am just as good, just as rich, just as smart, just as...almost married.”
Tyler was all of those things, except for the almost-married part. Somehow that seemed to irk him the most. “It bothers you to lie to them.”
“It bothers me that I don’t want to see the way they’d look at me if they knew this wasn’t real. Like, poor Tyler. He’s all alone. There’s nothing wrong with being alone.”
He didn’t have to convince her. Hadley was perfectly content with being single. It didn’t matter so much that all of her college friends were either getting married or already married. Some of them were even starting to have kids. She was only twenty-six. Far from being a spinster.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “There’s no shame in building a successful career first. That’s my goal. I want to be something other than someone’s wife. Is that wrong?”
“Not in my book. And given your performance today, you’re definitely on track to be our brand strategist.” Tyler cracked a smile.
He somehow managed to be even more attractive when he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the edges and softened just enough to make her think less about being a brand strategist and more about being his fiancée.
She turned her head, focusing her gaze on the scenery rather than the man sitting next to her. Her boss. Not her fiancé.
They pulled up to a one-story log cabin that backed up to the tall pines of the forest. It had an expansive front porch that overlooked the horse pasture. Two buffalo-check flannel pillows sat on a wooden bench, the perfect spot to sit and watch the sunset over the mountains.
“We set you two up here. This one is called Heavenly Pines. I like to think of it as the honeymoon suite,” Ethan said with a wink.
Hadley ignored the flutter in her stomach. This was a game. A means to an end. No honeymoon.
Ben and Ethan helped unload the bags from the car. Hadley wasn’t used to having so many strong, handsome gentlemen around to do her bidding. She could get used to the Blackwell Ranch quite quickly if this kept up.
Heavenly Pines was a quaint little cabin. Inside there was a sitting area, a small kitchenette with a microwave and a king-size bed in the bedroom. Two towels were folded on the bed with tiny scented toiletries tucked in the front fold.
“Jon and Lydia invited everyone over for dinner tonight. The twins are excited to see Uncle Tyler and their soon-to-be aunt Hadley,” Ethan said, setting her suitcase down in the bedroom.
“Sounds good,” Tyler said. He glanced at the bed and she saw the same discomfort that Hadley felt looking at it. “Are we going to talk business now or when we’re all together tonight?”
“That depends,” Ethan answered, his gaze jumping back and forth from Tyler to Ben. “We’re wondering how set you are about selling the ranch.”
Tyler’s eyebrows pinched together. “I’m all in. Why wouldn’t we sell?”
“Ethan thinks the ranch should stay in the family,” Ben interjected. “He’s been trying to convince me to do this with him, but I can’t. Rachel and I are focused on keeping Double T afloat. Jon has his ranch to run.”
“So that leaves you and Chance,” Ethan chimed in. “We both know Chance doesn’t care what happens to this place. He sure isn’t going to help run it—”
“But I might?” Tyler interrupted. “Have you lost your mind? I didn’t want to come here in the first place. I’m definitely not going to stay and help you run it. Sorry, man. I don’t know what you thought was going to happen, but I am set on selling.”
“Seriously, Ty. I saw your face when you walked into the old house,” Ethan said.
“That’s all you’ve got?” Ben asked. “Everyone looks sick when they walk in there. Zoe ruined it.”
“It was more than Zoe’s bad taste.”
Hadley knew Ethan was right. She had seen it, too. Tyler had been devastated by what had been done to the house.
“That house means something to all of us,” Ethan continued. “It’s where Mom and Dad tucked us in. Where—”
Tyler put his hand up. “Stop. I don’t need a walk down memory lane. I don’t want to talk about Mom and Dad. I don’t want to rehash the things that happened in that house. I want to help you sell this ranch and go back to Portland. Where I live. Where I work.”
“Where your fiancée lives and works,” Ben added.
Hadley had no place in this discussion. Stuck in the middle of a very private family matter was not where she wanted to be. Tyler’s brothers might have thought she influenced whether Tyler stayed, but the truth was she had no say in what was happening here.
“I’m sorry, Hadley,” Ethan said. “I know what I’m asking impacts you, too. You two have a life together in Portland, but I’m asking you to consider another possibility.”
“It’s never happening,” Tyler said through gritted teeth. “Drop it.”
“Okay...” Ben jumped in. “Ethan and I are going to let you two get settled. We’ll see you at Jon’s for dinner. We can talk about the marketing plans when all of us are in the same room.” Ben guided Ethan toward the door.
Hadley could see the frustration coming off Tyler like steam. His chest rose and fell like he’d been out for a run. She’d seen him upset before at work but not like this. This wasn’t simply anger. This was pain.
“I’m sorry,” she started.
“Go unpack, Hadley,” he snapped.
She didn’t argue. She turned on her heel and headed back to the bedroom. He was the boss. This was a job. They weren’t a real couple. They never would be.
CHAPTER SIX
SLAM!
Hadley had never been so happy to hear a door shut behind someone as he left. After a half hour of silence, Tyler announced that he was going to finish the drive around the ranch. Alone. He’d take some pictures and they could talk about how they want to proceed with things when he got back.
It was a relief to finally be by herself. The tension in the cabin after Tyler’s brothers left was so thick, Hadley felt like she was suffocating back in the bedroom while he brooded in the sitting room.
She wasn’t sure why Tyler hated it here so much, but whatever the reason, it was clear he had no intentions of staying past the two weeks already on his calendar. She would have to play the part of the supportive fiancée tonight at dinner. Let the brothers know she didn’t want to live in Montana either.
Hadley stretched out on the king-size bed and texted Maggie about her day so far. Before she could update her completely, her phone rang. It wasn’t Maggie, though. It was Hadley’s mom.
She suppressed a groan and answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hadley?” For some reason, every time her mother called her, she acted surprised that Hadley was the person on the other end of the line. Who else did she think was going to answer?
“It’s me.”
“Oh, good. It’s your mother.” She also didn’t realize that Hadley always knew it was her calling.
“I know, Mom. How are you?”
“Good, good. Your father and I are driving down to Portland next weekend and thought maybe we could do lunch before we fly out to see your brother. Did you see last night’s episode? That was one of my favorites. I’m so glad they’re replaying episodes over the summer.”
Hadley occasionally watched Asher’s show. It wasn’t on her DVR, bu
t if she remembered, she would have it on in the background while she was surfing the internet at night. She didn’t watch the reruns, though. Her parents, on the other hand, never missed an episode—new or previously aired. They wouldn’t want to miss a second of Asher’s brilliance.
“It’s always great. That’s why it’s getting all that Emmy buzz.”
“Can you imagine if your brother won an Emmy this early in his career? He’s been so fortunate and your dad and I are just so proud.”
So proud. Always so proud when it came to Asher. Even if Hadley could do something worthy of their pride, it wouldn’t make them so proud like her brother always did.
“If he does, it will only be the first of many,” Hadley said, knowing that was what her mom wanted to hear.
“That’s what I was thinking! I can’t wait to see him. He invited us to be there when they announce the nominees. He also said he’s got some good news about a movie. Did I tell you he auditioned for the lead in a movie directed by... Oh, I shouldn’t say. I don’t want to jinx it for him. Let’s just say it rhymes with Hint Leastwood.”
Hadley stopped listening. This was so typical. Her mom would call to ask her to lunch and they’d somehow spend the next twenty minutes talking about Asher. It never failed.
“I’m not in Portland,” Hadley said once her mom stopped giving her the latest details of Asher’s fantastic life.
“What do you mean you’re not in Portland?” Her mother actually sounded concerned.
“I’m away on business for the next couple of weeks.”
“Since when do you travel for work?”
“Since now. The boss asked me to help him with a special project, so I’m here in Montana.”
“Montana! What in the world could you be doing there?”
“We’re doing some marketing for a guest ranch out here. It actually belongs to my boss’s family. It’s pretty important to him, so it’s a big deal that I was asked to come help him.”
“You’re on a ranch? Asher’s new movie is a Western. What a coincidence!”
Hadley smacked her forehead. The Amazing Jane Sullivan could turn any conversation into one about Asher in ten seconds flat.
“Well, it was good to catch up.” Talking to her mom was almost as torturous as not talking to Tyler. She needed a good excuse to get off the phone. “I guess we’ll have to do lunch the next time you visit Asher. I’m gonna have to let you go, Mom. Tell Dad I said hello.”
“Oh, okay, sweetheart. I’m going to call your brother and tell him you’re at a ranch. He’ll get a kick out of you following in his footsteps.”
Her mother’s mind was a very strange place. Something told Hadley that when she got the promotion at work, instead of being excited for her, they would somehow make it about Asher.
Maybe Tyler wasn’t the only one who was tired of trying to compete with family when winning was never an option.
* * *
HADLEY SEEMED DISTRACTED. She played with a lock of her hair as she stared out the window of the car. The dress she’d picked out was probably too fancy for dinner at Jon’s, but she had insisted that looking out of place would only help him in the end. A city-girl fiancée would never survive on a ranch. Ethan would have to leave him alone about moving back.
She was so good at this. Bringing her along was the best decision he made even though things had been awkward this afternoon. Tonight might be as bad. Tyler hadn’t been to Jon’s ranch in years and the last time he saw Jon’s twins, they were babies. He had no idea what to expect from his brothers. He could be walking Hadley into a lion’s den.
“You look beautiful, by the way. I should have said that before we left,” he said, breaking the silence.
She turned her head in his direction and suddenly that word didn’t do her justice. Her blond hair had a soft curl in it. It framed her face so perfectly. Her lips were painted pink and the highlighter on her cheeks shimmered in the early-evening sun. She took his breath away.
“Thanks.” She smiled and averted her eyes.
“Only a few more hours of major pretending. Tomorrow, we should be on our own and we can be our normal selves. I’d like to work on the website, get the new one up and running.”
Talking business was easier than thinking about how good she looked and how comfortable he had begun to feel around her. Maybe his feelings were getting muddied because of the lies they had to tell.
Hadley crossed her legs and smoothed out the wrinkles in the skirt of her dress. “We’ll survive dinner and your family. I figure anytime one of them asks me something about you that I don’t know, I’ll say, ‘Oh, you know Tyler.’ And if they really think about it, they’ll know the answer.”
He chuckled at her reasoning. “Too bad I can’t use that when they ask me something about you. Although, you did fill my head with quite a bit of Hadley history. If they need to know which fictional character you would marry instead of me, I know it’s Ron Weasley.”
“Don’t you dare. That was when I was thirteen. I don’t know why I even told you about that.” Her cheeks turned red.
Stunning. It was the new word that kept running through his mind. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and forced all the adjectives he could use to describe Hadley out of his mind as he pulled through the gates to the JB Ranch.
“Welcome!” A smiling brunette answered the door and ushered them inside. Jon’s black-and-white border collie was there to greet the new guests, as well.
“You must be Lydia,” Tyler guessed.
“And you must be Tyler and Hadley. It’s so good to meet you. Please come on in. The rest of the gang is in the living room.”
Hadley handed her the bottle of wine they had bought in town beforehand. “It’s nice to know there’s someone else here who hasn’t known the Blackwells forever.”
Lydia beamed, her blue eyes shining almost as bright as Hadley’s. “Oh, that’s exactly how I feel!”
The two of them hugged like they were longtime friends. Women had a way of bonding over the strangest things. Tyler didn’t get it, but he did appreciate the smell of some good home cooking.
“Is that chili I smell?” he asked, stepping farther in the house.
“It’s an old family recipe. We’re going to have chili with all the fixings and my famous jalapeño corn bread. I hope you’re hungry.”
“He didn’t sweat all day out in the fields like the rest of us, but maybe all his traveling helped him work up an appetite.” Jon, tall and lean like their father had been, folded his arms across his chest. “Welcome home, Ty.”
Home. That’s what everyone wanted to call Falcon Creek, but it hadn’t been Tyler’s home for a long time.
“It’s good to see you, old man,” Tyler said, knowing it would bug his eldest brother. Five years wasn’t that big of an age gap, yet Jon had always seemed so much older than the rest of them. Maybe it was because he had been fifteen when their parents died—right on the cusp of being grown. Without them around, Jon had to become a man earlier than most.
“Hadley and Tyler brought some wine,” Lydia announced. “Wasn’t that thoughtful?”
“Hadley Sullivan, meet my brother, Jonathan. Don’t let his serious face fool you. He’s actually very... Wait, his serious face is the real deal. Jon is always very serious. I don’t think he knows how to smile.”
One side of Jon’s mouth inched upward. A half of a smile was progress. “It’s nice to meet you, Hadley. I’m sorry you settled for this guy. I’m sure you could have done much better.”
“Oh, he’s not that bad. He has excellent taste in just about everything—food, wine, movies—”
“And women,” Tyler added. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. Hadley stiffened but kept a smile on her face. “We both love Portland and our jobs. We’re completely simpatico.”
“Sim
patico?” Jon raised an eyebrow.
“That’s so great,” Lydia said. “There’s nothing better than marrying someone who can also be your friend. Someone who gets you.” She put her arms around Jon. “I know I feel very fortunate to have found that.”
Jon grinned bigger than Tyler had ever seen before and pressed his lips to hers. “I’m the lucky one.”
“I just realized we have another thing in common,” Lydia said to Hadley. “We both fell for our boss. I don’t know about you, but that made things real awkward at first.”
“Awkward is the perfect way to describe it,” Hadley replied.
“Well, Lydia doesn’t work for me anymore. We’re partners now.” Jon took her hand and kissed the back of it like he thought he was Prince Charming. “Why don’t we find a corkscrew and join the party. The girls are champing at the bit to see Uncle Ty and Aunt Hadley.”
Tyler could feel Hadley tense. She tucked some hair behind her ear and fidgeted with her earring. He prayed she’d be able to pull this off. They were in so deep. No going back now without humiliating himself. None of his brothers would ever let him live this down.
“Come on, Trout,” Jon said to the dog as he led the group back to the rest of the family.
“One more time!” Abby shouted as she held on to Ethan’s hands and climbed up his legs before flipping herself over.
“It’s my turn,” Genevieve insisted. “Daddy, Abby keeps taking my turn.”
“Abby, you can’t monopolize Uncle Ethan,” Jon scolded.
The sweet girl titled her head to the side. “What’s mononolize?”
“It means you have to give your sister a turn,” Jon explained.
“Hey, Gen, I bet Uncle Tyler would love to flip one of you around,” Ben said from the couch. He had an arm wrapped around Rachel’s shoulders while her sweet baby girl sat on her lap. On the other side of Rachel sat Grace and her baby bump. Tyler watched as both women gave Hadley a good once-over.
“Can you help me flip?” Gen stood in front of Tyler and stared up at him with her big blue eyes.