Page 62 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

Laney: What’s the deal? I don’t want to believe that you were just jerking him around. At least give him a call, would you?

Ford: Hi, honey. Hope you’re okay. You guys can work this out, if you want to. I told him what you told me – that you weren’t intentionally lying to him.

Tears filled her eyes as she reread the messages. Her phone mustn’t have connected to the network until she was almost here. All the messages had come in at the same time. She loved that Tanner’s family had reached out to her like that, and that he had them looking out for him.

She wiped her sleeve over her eyes. The trouble was, she wasn’t sure that it made any difference. Of course, she’d ratherleave things with him on a less sour note. But it didn’t change anything. She still lived here in Napa, with Ashton. And Tanner was still a thousand miles, and what felt like a whole world away, on a ranch in Montana.

She traced her finger over his name on the screen, wishing that things were different. She smiled a sad little smile when she realized that she didn’t even have a photo of him. She wished that were different.

She should call him. She owed him that much. She checked her watch. Ashton’s bus would be here soon. It was probably a cowardly excuse, but she took it and decided to text him instead.

~ ~ ~

Tanner ran his hand down the mare’s neck. She was doing much better today. He wished that he could say the same for himself. He still hadn’t heard anything back from Everly. He couldn’t blame her. He’d checked in with Corinne a little while ago, and she hadn’t heard anything, either. There was no reason Everly should do as he requested and at least let her friend know that she’d made it home safe, but he was starting to worry.

Both Laney and Shayna said that they’d texted her, too, and neither of them had received a reply. There was a fair chance that she was just ignoring him, but that didn’t stop his mind from running wild. She might have been in a car wreck. Anything could have happened to her, and it’d be all his fault.

He looked up when a shadow crossed the doorway to the barn. Zeke was the last person he’d expected – or wanted – to see.

“Have you heard anything from her?”

“No. You?”

Zeke shook his head. “I spoke to her mother. Turns out she stayed in Bozeman last night to catch an early flight this morning.”

Tanner took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “Shit! I thought – I assumed – that she’d gone straight to the airport and flown right out of there.” He hated knowing that she’d still been here in Montana last night – within his reach, if only he’d known it.

“I thought the same.”

“If you’ve come to warn me off again, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’ve sent her a bunch of messages, and she hasn’t replied.”

Zeke met his gaze. “I came to apologize.”

Tanner frowned. “Apologize?”

“Yeah. I was wrong to react the way I did. I don’t know if you can understand – maybe you will if you have a kid of your own someday. I’ve let that girl down all her life. I’m not proud of it. I’m trying to do better. But I know how much I’ve hurt her over the years. The one hope that I’ve hung onto is that one day she’ll meet a guy who’ll treat her right – who’ll treat her better than I ever did. When I arrived out here yesterday and saw her with you…” He shook his head. “I know you’re a good man, Tanner. I do. But I also know how you treat women.”

Tanner opened his mouth to protest but stopped when Zeke shook his head.

“I know. I’ve heard it from Ford, and I’ve heard it from Ty. It was different with Everly. I know why – it’s becauseshe’sdifferent. She’s one in a million, that girl.” He pursed his lips. “Idon’t know if you’ll stand a chance with her now. I don’t know if you ever stood a real chance with her before I waded in – especially since she didn’t tell you about Ashton. I just wanted to let you know that if she decides to give you another go, I won’t stand in the way.”

“Thanks. I’m not sure it makes any difference now, but thanks anyway. And from what she told Ford, it wasn’t that she didn’t want me to know about Ashton, just that she hadn’t found the right moment to tell me yet.”

“Okay. So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know that there’s anything Icando. Like I said, I’ve sent her a bunch of messages, and she hasn’t replied.”

As he spoke, his phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he dug it out. A rush of warmth filled his chest when he saw her name.

Everly: Sorry. My phone didn’t get back online when I landed. All my messages came in just now. I wasn’t ignoring you. I’m home safe.

Tanner: Can I call you?

He held his breath as he watched the screen. For all he knew that message might be the last he ever heard from her – she might just be doing the decent thing – because she was a decent person – and letting him know that she was safe. Some of the tension left his shoulders when her reply came in.

Everly: Ashton goes to bed at nine. That’s ten for you. Do you want to talk then?

Tanner: Yes. Whenever works for you. I’ll text you first to make sure that he’s settled.

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