Page 66 of The History Between Us

“I’ll talk to my dad, but that should work.”

“Trish has already hounded me more than once to make sure you and Roger come.” He laughs. “She tried to get him to come last Christmas, but he wasn’t having it.”

“Stubborn old man,” I muse.

“Conrad, what’s new with you lately up at the ranch?” Max asks, eyeing him from across the table.

Blowing out a breath, Conrad replies, “Not a whole lot, really. Things have been pretty steady for a while. My nana is coming to visit in a couple months, though.”

My brows raise. “The one that lives in Norway?”

“The one and only.”

“Well, that’ll be nice, right? She hasn’t been back to the states since, what, your parents’ funeral?”

He nods, sighing. “Yup, it’s been a while.”

“Why don’t you look excited?”

Conrad has always had an incredible relationship with his nana. When we were kids, she lived in Copper Lake, but once Conrad’s papa died several years back, she moved to Norway, where she was originally from. Something about a long-lost sister she never knew she had who was still there. Either way, she doesn’t make it back very often, especially now that she’s getting older.

“She doesn’t know Whit and I aren’t together anymore,” he murmurs, brows furrowed.

I nearly choke on my beer. “Excuse me? How is that possible? You guys have been divorced for years.”

Conrad grumbles, the expression on his face telling me he’s over this conversation already. Any time Whit gets brought up, it’s like he can’t get off the topic fast enough. He’s always been a private, closed-off man, but it’s even more so when it comes to Whit and their relationship, or lack thereof now.

“She loves Whit, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the split so soon after my parents died,” he explains grimly.

“And it just never came up?” Max asks.

“We don’t talk on the phone all that often, and when we do, I lie and say Whit’s at work but that he sends his love.”

I can’t help it, I throw my head back and laugh at thepredicament he’s put himself in. “Conrad, what the hell are you going to do when she gets here, and you live very much alone? Whit has a boyfriend, doesn’t he?”

His scowl deepens as he looks across the table at me. “Yes, he does. And I don’t know what I’m going to do. Haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Oh, man. I don’t envy you, my friend.”

Finally giving in to the itch, I reach into my pocket and grab my phone, pulling it out. My chest tightens and my stomach flutters when the screen lights up and I see I have a new text message.

Colt: Howdy, Doc. How’s poker going? About to head to the arena with Whit and Xander.

A picture is attached, and my mouth waters at the sight. Instead of his signature backwards hat, Colt’s wearing a cream-colored cowboy hat, a royal blue patterned pearl-snap shirt, a pair of deliciously form fitting Wranglers, and his boots. Whit’s in the picture with him, an awkward smile on his face as Colt flips the camera off, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He looks sexy.

Me: Remember… mine. ;)

Checking the time stamp of his message, it was sent about a half hour ago, so he probably won’t see my response for a while if he’s already at the arena. I feast my eyes on the picture again, taking in every detail.

“Who’s got you smiling like that?”

My head snaps up, gaze colliding with Max’s smiling face. He looks amused, and my stomach drops as I quickly lock my phone and shove it back into my pocket.

“Oh, no one,” I say.Real fucking smooth, Will.

He chuckles. “You seeing someone and holding out on us?”

As the weeks go by, it’s becoming harder to keep this from him. A large part of me wants to just tell him already and get it over with. He deserves to know. The fact that everyone at this table knows except for him doesn’t help my guilty conscience either. I’ve found myself on more than one occasion almost reaching for Colt, or leaning into him, in front of his parents before I catch myself. It’s only a matter of time before I slip up. Being around Colt feels like we’re magnetically connected. The need to be touching him at all times is overwhelming.

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