by Lori Wilde
Annie stared up at him. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Tyler, but buzz off.”
He laughed and kissed Courtney’s forehead. “Hey there, sweetheart.”
Courtney giggled. “Man Man.”
“See, she does know who I am.” Tapping the toddler on the nose, he said, “Your mama’s really mad at me, but I wasn’t the one who was bad.” He arched one eyebrow and looked at Annie, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. “Or maybe instead, I was very, very good.”
Annie groaned and shoved her way out of his arms. “Bad. You were bad.”
Tyler moved just enough so she could squeeze by him, but she had to brush against him as she went. “It couldn’t have been too bad—you kissed me,” he said so softly only she could hear him.
Annie ignored his comment and headed down the hallway to Courtney’s bathroom. She knew Tyler was trailing after them, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. When she ducked into the bathroom, she shut the door.
The man was almost as opinionated as her two-year-old daughter. And unfortunately, he was right. She had kissed him. There was something about him that brought out the worst in her. She normally was calm and collected. She thought about decisions before she made them.
But one look at Tyler could send her straight into orbit.
She took the toddler in to try using the potty. Then they washed their hands and headed to Courtney’s room. If they were having spaghetti for dinner, Courtney needed to change out of her nice new outfit and into something already spaghetti stained.
When they came out of the bathroom, Tyler was leaning against the wall. “Need any help?”
“No, we’re fine. I just need to put her into something the spaghetti monster has already stained.”
He laughed. “Spaghetti monster. I like that.”
Annie took Courtney to her room, but the toddler kept calling for Man Man, so Tyler stood in the doorway and started singing a silly song about squirrels. Courtney was mesmerized, so Annie took advantage while she was distracted to quickly put the little girl in a worn t-shirt and pants.
“All done,” she announced when Tyler finished his song. “Thank you for the musical accompaniment.”
Courtney was reaching for him, so he swung her up into his arms. “I didn’t do so badly, did I?”
Courtney rewarded him by tapping enthusiastically on his cheek. As it had in the grocery store a few days earlier, the sight of Tyler holding her child did strange things to Annie’s insides. He looked so natural with the little girl propped on his hip, almost like he did it every day.
With effort, Annie yanked her thoughts back to the present. “Thank you. You did a good job.”
As she followed the two of them back to the kitchen, she decided she’d truly lost her mind. Okay, so he knew how to sing a silly children’s song, big deal. That didn’t make him dad material.
She needed to keep things in perspective. Tyler might be a nice guy, but so what? The world had lots of nice guys, and Tyler was the last one she should focus on these days.
Even someone who’d lost her mind knew better than that.
**
“So, do you think she’ll go along with it?” Brett asked.
Tyler glanced up as Brett approached him outside. Dinner had gone better than Tyler had hoped. Of course, the fact that everyone there was on their best behavior had helped.
“I don’t know.” He took a long swallow of his iced tea. He was fairly sure Annie didn’t trust him. Probably didn’t help that he’d been teasing her since he saw her at the grocery store, but he just couldn’t stop himself. The truth was, he was happy to see her, so happy that he’d readily agreed to the plan hatched by both his mother and Annie’s mother. He figured if the two women arranged this dinner, then Annie couldn’t kick him out.
For a few seconds, he’d thought she’d was going to do just that after she’d kissed him. He hadn’t expected things to get out of hand. He certainly hadn’t expected her to kiss him. But she had, and she’d seemed more surprised than he’d been.
The kiss had taught him a few things. One, that Annie wasn’t as unfazed as she wanted him to believe. And two, there was a lot more fire in Annie now than there’d been when they were kids.
And three, his feelings for Annie weren’t as dead as he’d thought.
“I’m not sure how she feels,” he admitted. “I offered to help load the dishwasher, but she and your dad kicked me out of the kitchen.”
Brett dropped into the lawn chair next to Tyler’s. “I don’t think she’s mad at you because she kicked you out of the kitchen. Annie kicks me out all the time. Says I’m a penguin.”
Tyler chuckled. “A what?”
“A penguin. You know, I’m a bird with sort of wings, but I can’t fly. Only swim.”
Tyler shook his head. “What in the blazes are you talking about?”
Brett shrugged. “Her point is that I might look like I’m capable of helping in the kitchen, but when she puts me to work, I only disappoint her. It’s like rooting for the penguin to fly. You might think he could, but he can’t, so you’re wasting your time.”
Tyler couldn’t stop laughing. Leave it to Annie to call her brother a penguin. Then a new thought occurred to him. Hey! She’d also sent him out of the kitchen. Looked like he was a penguin, too.
At least he was watching Courtney. He’d brought her out to the backyard and was now watching her run around, chasing an imaginary bug.
“Does Annie still resent what I did to her?” Tyler asked.
Brett leaned back in his chair. “Don’t think so. That was years ago. I’m sure she’s over it by now.”
As much as he wanted to believe his friend, Tyler wasn’t so sure. Chances were that Brett was being optimistic. Annie might be over the broken heart, but she probably wasn’t about to trust him again.
And he needed her to trust him.
“I’m more than a little sure she’s going to go through the roof when she hears our plans,” he said.
Brett’s smile faded. “Yeah, I know. But there isn’t much she can do about it, and this deal will be great for all of us—especially Dad and Mom.”
“I guess I’ll have to figure out how to earn her trust again,” Tyler admitted.
Brett nodded. “Do whatever you have to do. Too much depends on this. Without your help, this idea won’t work.”
Brett wasn’t telling Tyler anything he didn’t already know, but it wasn’t that easy. He couldn’t just tell Annie to trust him. She needed time. And just because he was at the point where he was considering changing his life didn’t mean she was going to be happy he was getting involved with her family’s business.
It was getting dark, and watching Courtney was becoming more difficult. He stood and looked at Brett. “I’ll do what I can do. It just may take some time for Annie to adjust to the idea. I think we should’ve brought her in on the discussion from the start. I don’t like going behind her back.”
“If we’d told her up front, she would have tried to talk Dad out of it. Now that he and Mom are for it, there’s not much Annie can do but accept our plans,” Brett said. “Dad deserves this. He’s worked hard all his life. Annie can’t let old disappointments ruin our chance at saving the business.”
Tyler nodded slowly. Brett was right. All Annie could do now was accept that he’d pulled her father and brother into his ranch’s business. Still, he felt bad knowing this deal would upset her.
With a final wave to Brett, Tyler headed across the yard to lead Courtney back inside. Once he had her hand, he slowed his steps to let the little girl keep up with him.
Boy, it felt wonderful being back in Falling Star, seeing his friends and his family. Everything seemed cleaner here and felt more real. Tyler glanced down at Courtney, who was concentrating on her walking. How could he have been so wrong for so many years? It seemed like he spent all his time these days defending wealthy people who often were guilty as sin. Some of the things they’d done had simply been misdeme
anors, but over the last few years, their crimes had seemed to grow worse until he’d thought he’d lost his soul along the way.
But now he knew he still had his soul. He stopped for a moment and looked at Annie framed in the kitchen window. She laughed at something her father said, and Tyler couldn’t remember ever seeing such a wonderful sight.
He’d missed this town. And deep down, he knew he’d missed this woman too. But his father may have been right. Maybe if he’d married Annie all those years ago, they wouldn’t have been able to make that love last. Teenage infatuation often faded under the harsh reality of life. But he’d always liked Annie, long before he’d loved her, and he missed her friendship.
Tyler reached down and hoisted Courtney up on his hip. “I really like your mama,” he told her.
She regarded him with a serious gaze. Then she stuck three fingers in her mouth.
Tyler laughed. “I really like you too.”
Courtney nodded. “Man Man,” she said around her fingers.
Still laughing, he headed up the back stairs and into the kitchen. Annie turned and watched him walk in. He couldn’t tell from her expression whether she was still annoyed at him, but if he had to guess, he’d say yes.
Truthfully, he couldn’t blame her. Okay, sure, his mother and her mother had arranged this evening, but he knew that wasn’t what was bothering her. Annie seemed to have enjoyed herself tonight.
He knew if anything was bothering her, it was the kiss.
**
Annie heard her parents and brother talking with Judith and Tyler in the living room. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about this evening and the oh-so-obvious plan her mother had concocted. After she’d given Courtney her bath, she ran into Tyler standing at the end of the hall, looking too handsome for her equilibrium.
“She looks like you,” he said.
Annie made a snorting noise. “No, she doesn’t. But Mom says she has my temper.”
When she noticed him looking at her, she rubbed her hands on her jeans. He made her nervous.
“So when are you going home?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Probably around nine. It’s up to you. When are you going to tell us all to get lost?”
She smiled. “I meant back to New York. You can’t stay in Falling Star forever.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “Trying to get rid of me?”
If she was to remain sane, yes, she needed to get rid of him. “Absolutely.”
Courtney ran over to him and started a conversation. Annie was all set to tell him that her daughter was talking about brushing her teeth when Tyler said, “Courtney wants me to help her brush her teeth.”
Annie just looked at him, dumbfounded. Almost no one understood what Courtney was saying. “How do you know that?”
He blew out a loud breath. “Please. It’s clear that’s what she said. What else could ‘mud eff do’ mean?”
Once again, Annie found herself laughing. She stood and watched as Tyler led Courtney into the bathroom and helped her climb the small white stool. The whole time, the little girl regaled him with all sorts of tales, the vast majority of which were unintelligible and made no sense.
But Tyler paid attention. More than that, he responded to her, which made Courtney look at him like he’d hung the moon.
“I take it the little toothbrush with the bear on the handle is hers?”
Annie nodded. “Yes.”
He helped Courtney brush her teeth, then he combed her hair. When he’d finished, he beamed at Annie.
“So? Did I do okay?”
After a brief hesitation, Annie smiled at him. “Yes.”
He helped Courtney step down from the stool, then looked at her. “Did I do okay?”
“Man man,” she said. Then she ran down the hallway to her bedroom.
“Thank you,” Annie said as they both headed down the hallway after Courtney.
“It was my pleasure,” he said. “Courtney’s a great little person.” Then he grinned and winked at her. “Man Man has had a lovely evening.”
Annie wanted to refuse to let his charm get to her, but she couldn’t. The man could charm the stars from the sky.
Courtney ran over to Tyler and shoved her favorite book at him. The story concerned a lost cat and the friends she made as she found her way back home. Without hesitation, Tyler sat on the floor next to the little girl and patiently read the book. Several times, he stopped and asked Courtney questions. Each time, the little girl would launch into her own interpretation of the fate befalling the poor animal.
“Cat, cat,” Courtney said when Tyler finished the book.
“Now it’s time to sleep,” he said.
Annie braced herself. Courtney hated going to bed, and usually, the routine took a long time to accomplish.
Not tonight, though. Tonight, her daughter climbed into her small bed and snuggled under the covers. When she started singing what sounded like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” Tyler joined in with her. The two sang the song several times, each time getting quieter. Finally, only one person was singing—Tyler.
He stood and carefully made his way over to Annie. “Shh,” he said, leading them both out of the room.
She wanted to say something, anything, but nothing occurred to her. His behavior had her stumped. He’d been kind and helpful and sweet.
And she felt confused and attracted at the same time. What in the world was she going to do about him?
Chapter Four
Something was wrong; Annie could sense it. All morning, her brother and father had been jumpy and distracted. Every time she got near them, they looked so guilty she would have thought they were planning something for her birthday if it hadn’t been three months ago.
Plus, there was last night. When she and Tyler had finally gotten Courtney to sleep, they’d walked out into the living room and found the crowd gone, everyone except Judith. With a quick goodbye, Tyler and his mother had rushed off, too. Her own parents and brother had left without even saying goodbye, which wasn’t like them at all. Just like showing up at her house with plans for a big dinner party wasn’t like them or laughing at Tyler’s jokes wasn’t like them.
So Annie knew without a doubt that something was wrong. And whatever it was, she had a feeling Tyler was the cause of it. In fact, she was positive.
Finally, at a little after ten p.m., she decided she’d had enough. One way or another, she was going to find out what was going on. She was in the large stable where her family tended the couple of horses they were currently breeding. In addition to housing the horses, the building had three small offices—one for her father, her brother, and her.
Her job was to handle the financials. She did the billing, taxes, payroll, everything having to do with money. In addition to working for her family, she did a little bookkeeping for a few other businesses, both in Falling Star and in Amarillo.
Today, though, her focus was on her family. Things were starting to look bleak, and money was getting tight. She’d already stopped drawing a salary from the family business since she made money working for other small businesses. But her father and her brother weren’t that lucky. The only extra money they could pick up was from shoeing horses, which didn’t bring in a lot.
That meant they needed to sell more horses if they wanted to survive. To do that, something needed to change. The problem was she wasn’t sure what they could change and how they could change it. She’d tried thinking of possibilities, but nothing realistic came to her, which was upsetting. She hated letting her father and her brother down.
Not sure what she was going to say, she walked to her father’s office. A middle-aged man sat in her father’s chair, and as much as he looked like Herb Lee, he couldn’t be. The man behind the desk was humming, and her father never hummed.
“Okay, what’s up?” Annie sat across the desk from her father, determined to get to the bottom of this.
“Hi, Cupcake. It’s funny you should ask because I’ve been
wanting to tell you something.” He fiddled with some pencils on his desk. Her father was a stocky man who always spoke his mind. His philosophy was to face the snake head-on before it caught him off guard and bit him. But he didn’t seem too interested in facing this snake.
Annie’s stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. “What?”
Herb smiled. It wasn’t a normal smile. Rather, it was one of those too-happy smiles people had when they wanted to convince someone that something bad was actually good. Annie used that smile plenty of times when she needed to convince Courtney to eat something the little girl hated.
“I have some news,” her dad said. “Nothing bad. Actually, it’s good, very good. For all of us.” He scratched the side of his face and avoided looking at Annie.
When he didn’t say anything else after a few heart-stopping seconds, Annie said, “What? Tell me.”
The pencils absorbed her father’s attention again. “I think it’s time for the business to expand.”
“Expand?” She didn’t like the nervous tremor in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Her father was taking so long to get to the point that she felt like she’d explode.
“Um . . . Yes. We have such a good reputation that I think we could raise and sell a lot more horses. Quarter horses, sure, but maybe some other ones, too.”
This was the big secret? “Dad, expanding will stretch the company too thin. I just finished the books for last month, and I don’t think you have the financial ability to take on more. You’d need capital, which is risky. Do you and Brett think a bank will give you a loan? I can work up the financials for you to show them, but things aren’t very encouraging.”
Her father cleared his throat, then looked away. “Well, there might be another solution.”
Annie hadn’t a clue what he meant. “What other solution?” she asked. She started to ask more questions, when a cold sense of dread crept up her spine.
“Well, it’s the funniest thing,” her father said. “Here I was thinking of expanding the business, and what do you know—Tyler’s looking for a business to buy into. We’d be perfect partners who could—”