Page 47 of Bachelor Remedy

“Tag, what I’m trying to tell you is that these days you don’t have to have any dirt for it to be flung on you.”

Shay reached out and took his hand, her golden-brown eyes wide and beseeching. His anger dissipated because, despite his sister’s approach, he knew her concern came from a place of love.

“You’re my brother, but you’re also the best man I know. Along with Jonah, there’s not a man on this planet that I care about more than you. And, just like you, I’m protective of the people I love. When Jonah came back to town, you were afraid he was going to hurt me, and you went into attack mode. Remember?”

Tag chuckled, remembering how he’d fretted and stewed before warning Jonah not to break Shay’s heart again. “Yes, I remember. Are you saying you’re afraid Ally is going to hurt me?”

“Maybe not on purpose. But any way I turn this, I don’t see your hanging out with her being good for you.” She paused, her expression a mix of concern and thoughtfulness. “Or for her, for that matter.”

* * *

TWENTY MINUTES LATER Tag and Ally were back on the road, and Tag was mulling over the conversation with Shay. His sister could be a little dramatic, but she made a good point.

“I’m sorry about that. My sister can be…intense.”

“It’s fine. I get it. She loves you. You don’t need to apologize for her, and she already apologized for herself. I’m not sure how sorry she was, but either way, it’s not on you.”

“Ally, there is one thing that Shay brought up that I’d like to talk about.”

“Sure.”

“I know you’re helping Hannah with her arthritis and that’s great.”

Ally nodded, her face a marble slab. But he could feel her gaze burning into him. He was glad he was driving so he didn’t have to make eye contact. “My, uh, concern is that, well, she implied that you might be seeing other patients—people,” he quickly amended. “And, apparently, other people are talking.”

“Gossiping you mean?” She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t care.”

“Okay.” He paused, trying to decide whether he should drop it. But the fact was that he cared about her—and himself, too, where the election was concerned. “But Shay pointed out that people—the community—might scrutinize you even more because of the election, because of your involvement with me. I mean, assuming this date goes well and we keep…” He glanced at her.

“I understand,” she said. Her tone was serious, but her lips were curling up a little at the corners.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“No.”

Did she mean that? Tag wasn’t sure she understood what being the focus of town gossip could be like. In addition to being young, growing up in such a rural setting meant she’d been sheltered in certain ways.

“I think the real question is whether it bothers you,” she said.

Did it? People talked in Rankins, just like they did in every other small town, but Ally hadn’t committed a crime or done anything terrible. He couldn’t imagine his reputation suffering because of his association with her. So long as her actions didn’t hurt anyone, it didn’t matter. No, his concern was that she was going to hurt herself, and he had a sinking feeling there wasn’t much he could do about that.

“I’ve already voiced my reservations to you, which are about you and the security of your job.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay then,” he agreed. He wasn’t going to allow Shay’s outburst or this topic to ruin their day.

“Moose!” Ally cried and pointed. Tag didn’t see it but slowed the pickup to a crawl. A cow with twin calves stepped out from the brush onto the road. The trio sauntered across and disappeared into the trees along the other side.

“Nice catch.”

She smiled. “My grandfather trained me well. Growing up, I used to go out on house calls with him. As I’m sure you can imagine, that entailed miles of very bad, very remote roads.”

“Teeming with wildlife.”

“Yep. One time when I was a little girl I asked him why wild animals seemed attracted to the road. They had miles and miles of wilderness they could travel on, and the road was so dangerous. He said, ‘Remember, Alsoomse, in some ways animals aren’t so different than people. It’s always tempting to take the easy path, even when we know it might not be the best path.’”

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