Texas-Sized Trouble

“No, but she moved to Texas earlier this year. She’s going to school in Austin.”

So, not far. And it was sort of on his way to and from the cattle auction. Sort of. “Could you text me Tessie’s phone number and address?”

That wasn’t a charming look Dylan gave him. It was a suspicious one. “What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m planning on leaving for a cattle-buying trip,” Lawson snapped. He checked his watch, but it was all for show. It was a seven-hour drive, and he had a week to get there and would be gone for well over a month. A calendar would have been better use to him than his watch. “But I was thinking on the way back that I could stop by and see Tessie. You know, just to make sure she’s okay.”

Dylan squinted one eye. “Why?”

For such a simple one-word question, it was plenty hard to answer. Because it was going to make him sound like a toddler again. That’s why he kept it to himself. But if things were patched up between Tessie and Eve, then Eve might not want to live at the ranch. Maybe she’d leave and go back to LA or even to Austin with Tessie.

And maybe, just maybe, she’d take the trail of memories, broken and otherwise, with her.

CHAPTER SIX (#ulink_b782ed30-7613-5a20-92c6-7392803b152c)

WHEN EVE DROVE up in front of her house, the first thing she noticed was a hot cowboy on the porch. Not the hot cowboy, Lawson, but rather his cousin, a hot cowboy from the same sizzling Granger gene pool.

Roman.

The second thing she noticed was the disturbing stuffed horse next to him. It was at least five feet tall, had urine-yellow spots, large black owl eyes and a neck crooked at such an angle that it looked as if someone had strangled it. There was a large purple-wrapped box next to it.

“Wow,” Cassidy murmured. She was in the passenger seat, and with her mouth open, she stared up at the porch.

Eve figured Cassidy’s reaction wasn’t for the horse, and she got confirmation of that when Cassidy made a sound as if she’d just taken a lick of something sinfully delicious.

That was most women’s reaction to Roman.

Since she wasn’t blind, Eve could appreciate Roman’s good looks, but he’d always been too much of a bad boy for her. Plus, in her younger days, she’d never been able to see past Lawson. That hadn’t stopped Roman and her from becoming friends though.

“Please tell me he’s not an actor,” Cassidy said. “Or a mirage brought on by this heat.”

Well, it was hot. August in Texas always was, and the temp was close to triple digits. It was probably hotter, though, around Roman. She suspected the Granger men lit little thermal fires wherever they went.

“And please tell me he’s not married,” Cassidy added. “And that he didn’t bring that god-awful spotted horse.”

The last one was easy. The horse had to be from Kellan. He hadn’t called her or visited Aiden in the past six weeks, but for some reason he kept sending large stuffed animals that were scary enough to provoke nightmares. Eve had been shoving them into one of the guest rooms where they’d be out of sight. And that’s where this latest one would go.

As for the other question, Eve hated to burst the bubble of a naughty fantasy that Cassidy was obviously weaving, but she had to know that Roman was off-limits. “No, he’s not an actor or a mirage, and I doubt he’s clueless about appropriate gifts to send an infant. But yes, he’s married. He’s Roman Granger, Lawson’s cousin. He’s a big-time rodeo promoter, and he’s married to Mila, who owns the bookstore on Main Street.”

Cassidy’s next sound was one of disappointment. “Well, Mila is one lucky woman.”

Yes, she was. But Eve suspected that Roman thought he was the lucky one. According to the gossip—and there was plenty of it—Roman had gone through a string of women before he’d finally fallen hard for his childhood friend.

“Sorry that I didn’t call first, but I was in the area and decided to check on you,” Roman said when she got out of the car. He scooped up the package and started toward them.

“No worries. It’s good to see you.” She kissed Roman’s cheek, made introductions, and when Roman tipped his Stetson in greeting to Cassidy, Eve could have sworn that her friend sighed. A swoony sigh that made Eve smile. Then frown. Too bad there wasn’t a way to make women immune to the Granger charm.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Eve added. She scooped up Aiden from his car seat. “I was in town.”

“I’ve only been here a couple of minutes.” He shifted the gift under his arm and helped her with the diaper bag. “Yeah, and I knew you were in town. For the baby’s six-week checkup. I heard. You and this little man make news wherever you go.”

It was the truth. The reporters and paparazzi had left her alone for the most part. So had the hornies. But the townsfolk still paid attention to her every move. Of course, they did that to plenty of other people, including Lawson.

On her weekly trips into Wrangler’s Creek for groceries and such, nearly everyone who crossed her path had the urge to tell her that Lawson was still on a business trip, one that had no end in sight since he’d been gone for six weeks and had no projected return date.

Beneath the gossip, there was the underlying tone that she was responsible for that, and Eve had no doubts that she was. Lawson didn’t want her here, which meant when he finally did return, they were going to talk. Maybe she could convince him this town was big enough for both of them. Maybe while she was at it, she could convince herself that the old memories in this house were nothing but memories.

“I was out checking on Lawson’s place for him and figured you’d be back soon,” Roman explained. “Wanted to see how you and the baby were doing.” As they went up the steps, he touched his finger to Aiden’s nose, causing the baby to give him a sleepy smile.

“You didn’t have to bring a gift.” Eve tipped her head to the purple box he was holding.

“Oh, it’s not from me. It’s from Dylan. He dropped by, too. Said it was a housewarming present.” Roman paused. “Someone also left a horn by the gate, but he tossed that.”

Good grief. Not another one. At least the person hadn’t gotten onto the grounds, but then, one of the reasons she wanted this house was because of its remote location and the security that the gate offered.

“That’s not from me, either.” Roman motioned toward the horse. “Dylan was at the post office earlier, and the clerk begged him to bring it out to you since it was taking up the whole sorting room and giving folks the willies. He brought it over with the gift. Is it an old prop from Demon High?”

“No, it’s from a dimwit ass,” Cassidy grumbled.

Eve gave Cassidy a scolding glance. Yes, it was true that Kellan was clueless and was frequently ass-like, but he was Aiden’s father, and Eve didn’t want her son to grow up hearing things like that. Not from his nanny and mother, anyway. She was certain Aiden would figure it all out soon enough.

Probably by age two.

Then one day Eve would have to explain that on a troublesome night in her life she, too, had gotten clueless and stupid and slept with someone who was, well, a dimwit ass.

“Come in and I’ll fix you some iced tea or something,” Eve offered Roman when Cassidy unlocked the door, and they went inside.

Roman hauled in the horse and stood it in the foyer. Cassidy also took the baby from Eve so that she in turn could take the gift from Roman.

“Thanks,” Roman said, “but I can’t stay. I need to go to Lawson’s place and chew out the contractor. Apparently, there was some miscommunication that resulted in a green quartz countertop instead of a white one. Lawson didn’t feel he was getting his point across over the phone, so he asked me to go.”

Eve was certain Roman would indeed get the point across. He hadn’t lost that bad-boy edge.

“Plus, I don’t really like hanging around at Heavenly Pastures,” Roman added in a grumble.

“But you came to see Dylan,” she pointed out.

“Lucian’s threatening the lawsuit again, says he’s thinking about bringing in livestock and making this place a full-scale working ranch again. I came out here to attempt a bud-nipping.”

Oh. That. The lawsuit generated a lot of gossip, but from what Eve could tell, it was something Lucian had been threatening for years.

“Did you succeed?” she asked.

“No. If Lucian wins, you could have cattle or horses right in your backyard.”

“Better than horns or paparazzi.”

He smiled at her. “Are you okay?”