CHAPTER FIVE
At The Pop Stand, they sat on one of the brightly painted picnic tables arranged around a firepit. Theirs was lavender. Others were pink, yellow and turquoise.
Taylor patted the tabletop. “Usually this place is packed with kids, but since it’s Sunday we lucked out and got a prime spot.”
“I hope I don’t get food poisoning,” Wade grumped.
“You won’t.” Taylor frowned at him. “I’ve eaten here a gazillion times and never had a problem.”
“Don’t let his mood fool you,” Waylon said. “He’s just hungry, which makes him grouchy. My brother’s eaten stuff at cow camp that would turn your stomach.”
Taylor arched her brows. “Such as?”
“Rocky mountain oysters, for one.”
Marin’s eyes grew wide. “You mean—?”
“Yup. Bull calf testicles. You still want to kiss him?” Waylon grinned at his brother, who in turn glared at him.
“Sold at any high-dollar restaurant,” Wade countered. “And no worse than snails or fish eggs, also sold at expensive places.”
Marin stuck out her tongue. “Yuck.”
“Not for me either.” Taylor glanced at Waylon. “And you?”
He faked a shudder. “Nope. Not my thing.” He grinned at her. “It’s safe to kiss me all you want.”
Taylor’s tummy tightened at the thought. She used a dry tone. “Good to know. I’ll be sure to let all the girls know.”
“I only care about what you think.” The look in his eyes went intense.
To avoid the heat there, she turned to watch the teenage waitress carrying their order toward them. “Here comes dinner.”
The teen passed out three chili dogs and a Philly steak sandwich for Wade. All of them with onion rings on the side.
Taylor picked one up and crunched it between her teeth. “Nobody’s kissing me tonight.”
Waylon frowned at her and popped a small onion ring into his mouth. “Your loss.
It was her loss. But falling in love with him wasn’t an option and the more kissing they did, the more entangled her heart became with his. Or, she could spend a few days with him, and then go on with her life.
Could she?
No.
She wasn’t made that way. She’d gone completely out of character to sleep with him, and she could blame a lot of that on too much alcohol. But a no-strings affair would leave her bruised and bloodied.
“Excuse me.” She pushed away her food. “I need to powder my nose.”
Marin stood. “Me, too.”
They walked around the back of the building to the restrooms. At the washbasin, they washed their hands, and then Taylor touched up her Pink Promise lipstick.
“I like that color,” Marin said.
“Thanks.” Taylor closed the tube and dropped it in her bag. “I guess we need to head back to the guys.”
“Did you just meet Waylon?” Marin’s brown eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Last night at the wedding.” Taylor dug around in her bag and found her lavender body spray. She opened it and spritzed a bit on her wrist. “Want some?” At Marin’s nod, she sprayed a bit on her, too. “What about you and Wade? You’re in a new relationship, right?”
“Yes. We only met about a week ago.” Marin’s smile was shy. “But I’m crazy about him. In fact, I’m thinking about moving to Montana to be with him.”
“Wow.” Taylor turned to face the petite brunette. “That’s so fast.”
“Are you and Waylon falling in love?” Marin asked bluntly.
“I don’t know,” Taylor told her. “I like him a lot, but he’s leaving soon. I don’t want a long-distance relationship, and I doubt he does either.”
“That was exactly what Wade and I said, but the heart wants what the heart wants.” Marin tapped her fingers over her chest. “And mine wants Wade. What does yours tell you?”
Taylor hesitated. It was far too soon to declare any kind of feelings for Waylon. But this woman was standing in front of her, affirming she’d fallen in love in a week and talking about moving two states away to be with him. “I’m not sure,” she said finally.
“Understandable,” Marin said. “It takes a huge leap of faith to trust if you’ve ever been hurt by a man.” A hint of bitterness seeped into her voice.
“It’s not so much that,” Taylor said. “In fact, I’ve always been cautious with my heart. I’ve had boyfriends, but no one I grieved for when we broke up.”
“Could this be different? The real thing?”
“Maybe. I like him a lot.” The truth was it was the complete opposite than any other relationship she’d ever embarked on. If it weren’t, she would have blamed their night together on too much alcohol and sent Waylon packing. Not spent the entire night, next day and evening with him.
“You didn’t ask my advice,” Marin said. “But I’ll give you some anyway. Just go with the flow. If it’s right, things’ll work out.”
Her advice sounded so simple. If only it were so easy. With a sigh, Taylor adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “I guess.”
They walked back to the men, Taylor’s mind whirling.
~*~
After the women walked away, Wade pinned a stare on him until Waylon squirmed. “What?”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Waylon held up his chili dog. “Eating.”
“With this girl, brother. What are you thinking?” Leave it to Wade to play big, bad brother.
With a shrug, Waylon said, “Enjoying her company for a few days.”
“What about Logan?” Waylon took off the lid of his drink and tipped up the cup to get the last drops of cola in the bottom.
“What about her? She wanted to move, remember? A lot like Suzanne.” Wade winced at the mention of his ex-wife who had divorced him to find herself.
“Logan still loves you,” Wade said. “And I thought you loved her.”
“I do and always will, but I’m not going to hang around waiting until she comes back.” Waylon crumpled his used paper food boat in his fist. “She made it clear she didn’t want that.”
“So you’re using Taylor to fill the gap?” Scorn filled Wade’s voice.
“Not at all. Why are you pushing this?” Waylon swirled his cup to have something to do with his free hand other than make a fist.
“Because she seems like a nice girl and I don’t like watching you use her,” Wade said.
“I’m not using anyone. I’m single, she’s single. We’re having a good time.” Waylon took a breath. “I like her, a lot. Maybe we can make something here, just like you and Marin. You fell in love in less than a week. Who says the same thing can’t happen to me?”
“There’s a big difference between us,” Wade said. “I’m not using someone to forget the love of my life. You and Logan were soulmates. Not only next-door-neighbors, but first lovers, too. You’re on the rebound. Taylor’s a good-looking girl, and she obviously likes you. But you’re not serious about her. Admit it.”
“Yes, Waylon. Admit it.”
They spun around to face Taylor and Marin, who stood next to the corner of the building. Tears formed in Taylor’s eyes and she blinked them away.
Marin stood open-mouthed and in apparent shock. “Oh, Wade—”
Wade stood and went to his girl. He took her hands and looked into his eyes. “Baby, that was between me and Waylon. I’m sorry you overheard it, but it needed said.”
Taylor turned and fled.
For a moment, Waylon sat in shock. They’d been having a good time until his brother had to ruin everything by voicing his unasked-for opinion. He raced around the corner of the building, but Taylor was nowhere in sight. Where had she gone? He looked both directions, but no sign of her. She wasn’t in the ladies’ room or the locked truck.
He circled the building and spotted his brother and Marin. “Have you seen her?”
They both shook their heads.
“Great going, Wade. Happy now?” Waylon fought to keep anger out of his voice.
“Maybe it was better she heard the truth,” Wade countered. “Before you led her on any more than you already have.”
“Taylor told me she really likes you.” Censure filled Marin’s soft voice.
“I like her, too. And I’m not leading her on. Logan and I are through.” He sighed in exasperation. He loved Logan, he always would care for her as his first girlfriend and his first lover, but she’d left him, not the other way around. No matter how much their families might want them to marry and add their combined holdings, they were done. He was into Taylor and she was into him. Or she had been before Wade opened his big mouth.
Where was she?
Damn it.
He hadn’t expected to go to his brother’s wedding and find the girl who made his heart happy for the first time since Logan broke it, but that’s exactly what happened. The sex had been spectacular, but it was more than physical. He’d connected with her on a deeper level. If all they’d done was screw, he’d have been on the highway to Montana before first light. Instead, he’d spent the day picking apples to be near Taylor. His cowboy buddies back home would die laughing at him, but he didn’t care. She was worth it.
He had to find her and tell her so.
“Take me to her house, please.” It wasn’t a request.
“You think that’s a good idea?” Even as he asked, Wade stood and grabbed their trash from the table.
“I do,” Waylon said quietly. He’d deal with his brother later, when Marin wasn’t within hearing range because the language would be salty.
“Let’s go,” Wade said.
In silence, they drove to Taylor’s house. Waylon jumped out before the truck came to a complete stop and slammed the door.
Without a wave, or looking back, he walked to the door. The place was darker than midnight in the mountains. Not even a glimmer came from inside. But, he knew she was there. He could feel her.
“Taylor, open up. I know you’re here.” He pounded on the door.
No response.
He tried the doorknob. Locked tight.
She was hiding from him. That could only mean one thing—she cared about him. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t care what his dumbass brother had said. He’d love to go punch Wade in the mouth, but he’d save that pleasure for later. Right now, he wanted to talk to Taylor. Tell her he and Logan were over. He’d already told her, but he wanted to make sure she understood what they’d done wasn’t just a one-night-rodeo for him.
“Taylor, let me in.” He hit the door with his fist.
The door opened a fraction. “Go away, Waylon.”
His heart pounded so hard he figured she could hear it. “I need to talk to you.”
“About what, Waylon?”
He could tell she’d been crying. “Logan. You. Me.”
“Why?” Her voice was muffled behind the door.
“Because my brother’s a dick.”
After a moment more of silence, she opened the door. Her face was red and puffy. “We can agree on that at least.”
His heart twisted at the pain on her pretty face. “May I come in?”
The door creaked open one inch at a time. After it opened about half a foot, she waved him in. She faced him with arms crossed over her breasts. “Have your say, then hit the road, Jack.”
“What Wade said, it’s not true.” He sighed and removed his Stetson. “Well, some of it. Logan was my first everything. Girlfriend. Lover.” He paused when she flinched. “I’ll always care about her, but we’re over.”
“Because she left town. If she came back—”
“We’d still be over,” he said. “Listen, Taylor. We were complacent. Logan recognized it first, but she was right. We’ll always love each other, but we’re not in love anymore. My family doesn’t want to admit it because if I married Logan, we would merge several hundred thousand acres of land. It would benefit both our families, but I don’t want to marry for convenience. Neither does Logan.”
Her stance softened a fraction. “Really? That sounds so medieval.”
“In a way, I guess,” he admitted.
“I’m your rebound fling then.” Bitterness filled her voice.
“You’re not.” He took a step toward her, then stopped when she held up a hand.
“Don’t lie to me, Waylon. I can deal with being a one-night-fling, but I can’t stand being lied to. Just tell me the truth and we’ll part friends.” Her shaky voice belied her brave words.
He ran a hand over his head. “Look. I didn’t go to my brother’s wedding looking to hook up with a horny bridesmaid I saw you and was instantly intrigued. I wanted to get to know the woman behind the beautiful face. I could blame too much booze, but the truth is sleeping with you wasn’t something I was going to say no to, drunk or sober. I’m glad it happened.” He took another step. “And I won’t deny wanting to do it again.”
She lifted her chin. “If you came here for another hookup—”
He moved close, slipped a hand behind her neck and kissed her hard.