Chapter Fifteen
Adam let out a sigh and held the door open for Josh, who held up a foil-wrapped plate. “I saw you duck out earlier and figured you’d be hungry.”
His stomach growled at the scent of food as he took the plate and peeled back the foil. Piles of barbequed pulled pork spilled out of a crusty bun. Adam lifted the sandwich to his lips and took a greedy bite. “Thanks. You’re a damn good guy,” he said around a mouthful of pork.
“No problem.”
“So, is she still mad?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Like how mad is she?”
“Pretty mad. Or at least, it seems that way from my limited experience with women. But that tight-lipped, sharp-eyed, wrinkled-forehead look usually spells trouble in my world. And that’s what Skye looked like all through dinner. Cody just sat quietly, picking at his food and sneaking furtive glances at his mom and the girl.”
“Poor kid.” Adam let out a soft chuckle. “I feel for him. How’s his ankle?”
“I think he’s going to be okay. According to him, they just lost track of time. When they were ready to head back, he slipped on the rocks, and that’s when he got hurt. I guess Haylee had found some branches and they were building him a make-shift crutch to use when Skye and Cal rode up.”
“Smart. Are they taking him to the doctor?”
“I guess not. Not tonight, anyway. Apparently Cal used to be a veterinarian, before he retired. He took a look at it and declared it a sprain.”
Adam shook his head. Small towns. What a different world.
“I better get going. Brittany already went back to the cabin, and she’s waiting for me. I just wanted to drop off some food for you. Are you going to that program on bees in the morning?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I think it sounds cool. Hope I see you there. Take it easy, man.” Josh offered him a fist bump as he headed for the door.
Adam didn’t know that was still a thing. But he bumped his fist anyway. The guy had brought him a sandwich, after all.
After Josh left, he finished eating, cleaned up, and camped out on the sofa again, hoping Skye would eventually show up.
He gave up around midnight and finally went to bed, although he spent a restless night tossing and turning as he tried to decide what to do.
Should he send her a note? Show up at her door and demand to talk to her? His first thought had been to send some apology flowers—that was something he could usually accomplish in seconds online with minimal effort. But nothing at Hawkin’s Ridge ever seemed to be accomplished with minimal effort.
He considered picking her a bouquet of wildflowers but wasn’t sure where she’d be in the morning or if that would be considered too cliché.
In the end, he decided that actions spoke louder than words—he was going to follow through on his original plan for the day. He would show her that he cared about her by keeping his word and his end of the bargain.
He was up with the sun, already restless to get started. He showered and dressed in his normal clothes—shorts, T-shirt, and Converse—forgoing the cowboy boots and leaving them in the bedroom closet. He cleaned up the cabin, emptied his bag and his backpack, and took them with him as he locked up and headed out to find Ranger Wade.
Wade was loading his truck as Adam approached and offered him a wave. “Hey Wade, are you still heading down to Cotton Creek this morning? Can I bum a ride into town with you?”
“Sure. Hop in.”
Adam climbed in the truck, wondering if he should have left Skye a note.
“You leaving?” Wade asked, gesturing to his bags.
“No, I had my staff ship some computer equipment to me, and I got an email yesterday saying a bunch of boxes had arrived at the Cotton Creek post office. I just brought these to carry it all in. Do you mind if I catch a ride back to the ranch with you this afternoon?”
“’Course. But what do you need computer equipment for? Aren’t you leaving tomorrow anyway?”
“I hope not. I haven’t cleared it with Skye yet, but I’d like to stay another week or so. And the equipment isn’t for me. It’s for Skye and Cody—new computers and routers to update the ranch’s antiquated system. Have you seen what she’s been using?”
“You mean that huge thing that still takes floppy disks?”
Adam chuckled. “That’s the one. At least she doesn’t have a dial-up modem.”
The truck bounced along the dirt road as Adam detailed his plan to update her system and add wifi to more areas of the camp.
“Sounds awesome. And expensive,” Wade said. “And Skye’s gonna let you do all of that for her? Are you sure?”
Adam shrugged. “I’m fairly sure. We worked out a trade, of sorts. This stuff is easy for me to do, and all of the equipment is used, so, though it seems like a lot, it’s really like a tax write-off for me.”
“That’s why you’re going to all the trouble? For a tax write-off of a charitable donation to a dude ranch?”
He picked at a loose seam on the hem of his shorts. “That, and because I’ve apparently fallen for the woman who runs the ranch.”
“Nah, really?”
“Is it that obvious?”
Wade chuckled. “You mean by the way you stare after her like a lovesick pup. Nah. I’m sure nobody noticed.”
Adam let out a heavy sigh. “That’s awesome.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first guy to fall for our Skye. She’s gorgeous, inside and out. But you’re the first one that I’ve seen her interested in. I’ve known Skye since we were kids. We grew up together, and I haven’t seen her like this in a long time. She’s a good person, generous to a fault, but she doesn’t trust easily. Especially when it comes to men.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Adam said with another sigh, then perked up as he realized what Wade had just said. He’d grown up with Skye. “Wait. Could you tell me everything you know about this woman? Because I am going crazy trying to figure her out.”
Wade’s laughter filled the cab of the truck.
…
There turned out to be six boxes in all at the post office, and Wade helped him load them into the truck.
“I need to go, but I’ll meet you back here in a couple of hours.” Wade gestured to the downtown area of Cotton Creek. “Everything’s pretty much in walking distance. Grocery, drugstore, bank, and hardware store on the corner. The diner serves a great cheeseburger, and make sure you get a piece of Anita’s apple pie. It’s to die for.”
“Apple pie sounds good, but what I really need is wifi.”
“They’ve got that, too.”
Adam patted his bag. He’d grabbed his computer on the way out the door. “Then I’m good. I brought my laptop, and I’ve got plenty of work to do. I’ll run a couple of errands here in town, then grab some lunch and wait for you at the diner. Take your time. I’m in no rush.”
Adam wandered down the main street of Cotton Creek. He stopped in at the café and got a pastry and a latte, then walked down to the hardware store and stocked up on all of the cables and accessories he’d need to get Skye’s equipment up and running.
He ducked into the bank to use the ATM and saw Clint Carson in what appeared to be a heated conversation with one of the bank officers.
Hmm. Wonder what that’s all about.
It wouldn’t hurt to get a little closer.
Sitting down in one of the chairs outside the office, he listened in as he leaned forward, pretending to tie his shoe.
“I know the loan is due, Hal,” Clint was saying. “And I told you that I’ve got a plan in place. I just need a little more time.”
“I wouldn’t call waiting for Skye Hawkins to marry you and combine your properties much of a plan, Clint.”
Marry him? What the hell?
“It’s gonna happen. It makes perfect sense. We’ve known each other since we were kids, and our dads always wanted this. I just need a little more time to get her to come around to my way of thinking. The Hawkins land covers that whole ridge. Once we combine our properties, we could easily sell off several hundred acres and still have plenty for ourselves. And that’s just one idea I have. She doesn’t have a clue what kind of a cash cow she’s sitting on. It makes good business sense for us to merge our assets, and Skye isn’t stupid. She’ll listen to reason. I know for a fact that dude ranch of hers is in dire financial straits. The last few ‘accidents’ around the ranch have cost her a pretty penny, and she won’t be able to dig herself out if another setback was to accidentally occur.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Clint chuckled, but in an “evil villain rubbing his hands together” way. “She’s getting close to breaking, Hal. I can feel it. It won’t be long before she comes running to me to save her.”
“Yeah, little does she know that she’ll be the one saving you.”
“Can I help you with something, sir?”
Adam looked up to see one of the bank tellers standing in front of him. “Uh, no. I already used the ATM. I just had a knot in my shoelace, but I’m good. Thanks.” He grabbed his bags and hurried out of the bank, hoping that Clint hadn’t seen him.
That prick.
He knew that guy was up to no good.
Unfortunately, Clint had Skye completely fooled. She really believed that guy was her friend. With friends like him, she didn’t need enemies.
He thought back to the day they’d repaired the fence. He’d thought it had been cut. Had Clint been responsible for that? Was that another one of his attempts to sabotage the ranch?
Who knew what this guy was capable of?
He did know that he wasn’t going to let him hurt Skye again. Not on his watch.
Fuming, he crossed the street and pushed through the doors of the diner. A waitress showed him to a booth in the back where he ordered a cheeseburger and fries, then set up his laptop and got to work.
…
Skye nonchalantly walked past Adam’s cabin for the third time that morning. Where was he?
He hadn’t shown up for breakfast, and he hadn’t been at Wade’s program—not that she was looking for him.
Who was she kidding? Of course she was looking for him.
She’d lain awake half the night rehearsing what she’d say to him. But now, she couldn’t find the guy to tell him what she’d planned.
Although, at this point, she still hadn’t decided which speech she was going to give him. The one where she told him they were just too different, that although this had been fun, they should just part as friends now before one of them got hurt? Or the one where she told him that it didn’t matter that they came from two different worlds, because she was in love with him and they’d figure out a way to make it work.
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to deliver that second one. She’d only just admitted to herself that she was in love with the guy—she didn’t know if she was ready to admit it to him, too.
Although, as it turned out, she wouldn’t have to.
Because after she’d finally worked up the nerve to knock on his door, he hadn’t answered.
“I hope you’re not lookin’ for Adam,” Cal said as he walked by with a load of firewood for one of the other cabins.
“Why not?”
“Because he already left?”
“Left? What do you mean? How could he have left?”
“I saw him get in the truck with Wade this morning. He had his bags with him, so I figured he must have checked out early. I thought you knew.”
“No, I didn’t know.” Her heart sank as she bent to look through the windows of his cabin. She didn’t see any of his stuff—his paperback wasn’t tossed on the sofa or sitting on the edge of the coffee table and his sneakers weren’t lying by the door.
He left?
How could he have left?
Without even saying good-bye? Without even trying to work out what had happened with them the night before?
This didn’t make sense. Not after everything he’d said to her. Not after all the promises he’d made.
But she’d heard promises before. And in her experience, promises were made to be broken.
Maybe he left a message with someone at the lodge.
She hurried back and checked in with everyone on the staff, discreetly inquiring if anyone had left her a note, but there was nothing.
He’d really left.
Just like she knew he would. Like she’d been afraid of, since the day she’d let herself get involved with him.
She sucked in her breath as she hurried to the barn. She needed to go for a ride, needed to get the hell out of there before anyone saw her break.
Cinching the saddle, she yanked the stirrup down then climbed on her horse and took off across the pasture at a gallop.
Holding in a sob, she pushed the horse harder, faster. The wind dried the tears that streamed down her face.
Her heart was broken. Not just broken, but shattered into a million tiny pieces.
How could she have trusted him? Believed in him?
He was just like every other man in her life, cutting and running as soon as things got tough. It was true, they’d had a fight. She might have said some hurtful things, but she didn’t think he’d leave.
Or did she?
In her heart of hearts, had she suspected this would happen all along? Is that why she got so mad? So he’d have the out he needed to leave?
Or had she been unwittingly testing him? Trying to get him to go, but secretly wishing he’d stay.
She leaned forward on her horse, holding on as it navigated up the steep path. She trusted the animal to be there for her, to stay sure-footed and keep her secure—all the things that she’d trusted Adam to do.
At least she knew the horse wouldn’t let her down.
…
Adam passed Cody another cable. “Plug that one into the back of that router box,” he instructed from under Skye’s desk.
The two had been hard at work setting up the new system for the last few hours.
Adam had hoped to find Skye as soon as he and Wade returned to the ranch, but she wasn’t anywhere around.
He found Cody in the barn, who’d told him that he’d seen Skye ride off about fifteen minutes before. Her horse was still missing, so Adam had enlisted Cody’s help in getting the computers carried in and the new equipment in place.
He told himself that maybe it was good she hadn’t been there. That this way, he could surprise her when she got back.
And with her gone, it gave him time to hang out with Cody, and to run all of the ideas he’d been working on by him. The boy’s face had lit with excitement over Adam’s plans.
“That sounds so cool. I can’t wait. And I know it will help the ranch. Mom is gonna freak,” Cody said.
“Yeah, I’m a little worried about that. I don’t want her to think I’m overstepping.”
“What? No way. We came up with a lot of this stuff together, so if she’s going to be upset, she’ll have to be mad at me, too. But dude, she’s not gonna be mad. We worked out these cool ideas to help all of us—you, me, and Mom. We’ll all get something out of it.”
He loved that Cody took ownership of their ideas and saw their new plans as something they’d both contributed to. That was the idea. “I just don’t want it to feel like I’m steamrolling over your mom, or you. I don’t want her to feel like I’m taking over.”
“You’re not. I helped come up with some of this stuff, and I want to help you put it together. I want us to work on it all together—Mom, too.”
Skye would love that.
The kid’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Adam’s heart warmed. He really liked Cody. The boy was funny and smart, and they had a good time just hanging out together.
He was often uncomfortable around other people’s kids, not quite knowing what to say or do. But he didn’t feel like that with Cody. He was totally at ease, comfortable talking or just working next to him in companionable silence.
He knew that any future he might have with Skye included Cody, and that was fine with him. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about what he wanted his future to look like, how he could configure a life split between two states that would make them all happy.
The plans he and Cody had come up with concerning the ranch and the new game could do just that.
But he also didn’t want either Skye or her son to see his plans as self-serving. He wasn’t just thinking of how his ideas would help him and his company. He truly had Skye and Cody’s best interests at heart. He really wanted this thing to succeed for them.
Thinking about it now, he realized he wanted this for Skye, wanted to help her, regardless of whether she wanted him in her life.
He wanted to be there—wanted that more than anything he’d ever wanted before—but he also wanted her to be happy. And he wanted Cody to be taken care of.
If Skye agreed and let him implement the plans that he and Cody had come up with, it could set them up financially for a long time. And that made it all worth it.
He just wanted this woman—this wonderful woman that had blown into his life and thrown his whole world upside down—to be happy.
Whether she wanted him or not.
But he sure as hell hoped she did. He hoped his selfless efforts showed through, that she could see that he was willing to do whatever it took to secure a future for them.
“You know, if we do this thing, I’m going to be around a lot more,” he said, testing the waters to see how Cody felt about that. He didn’t want to completely jump the gun. Just because he liked the kid, that didn’t necessarily mean those feelings were reciprocated.
The boy picked up a set of cords and strapped them together the way Adam had taught him. “I know. That’s cool with me.”
Well, there you go. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he turned away so the kid wouldn’t see him grinning like a fool and think he was an idiot.
The gnawing feeling in his gut eased. He’d crossed the first hurdle.
Cody loved his ideas and wanted him around. Now he just had to get Skye’s approval. He could only hope she’d buy in to all of their ideas.
In fact, he was a little worried that she wouldn’t go for all the electronics they had set up. He hadn’t realized how much stuff there was until he started unpacking it all. He’d fired off an email to his assistant with a quick layout of the ranch, telling her to go into the stockroom and just send what she thought they would need.
And his assistant hadn’t left anything out. She’d sent up a couple of PC’s for Skye’s office and the reception area, and included laptops for both Cody and Skye. She’d even thrown in a few desk organizers.
With Cody’s tools and his eager willingness to help, they spent the next few hours running cable and Ethernet cords and installing wireless routers. Now, Skye’s apartment, the reception desk, and the main guest areas of the lodge all had access to wifi.
Adam was cleaning up the boxes in Skye’s office when she walked in the door.
“What’s all this?”
“Isn’t it awesome?” Cody said. “We’ve been working all afternoon. Wait till you see all the new cool stuff.”
“Who’s we? Cody, where did all of this stuff come from?”
“From Adam.”
“Surprise,” he said, as he stepped out of her office. But the surprise was on him. Instead of excited shock and enthusiasm, he was met with chilly indifference.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m setting up the computer equipment. Like we talked about.” He spoke slowly, sensing that a firestorm was simmering behind her narrowed eyes.
“I mean what are you doing here? At the ranch. I was told that you left.”
“I did leave. I hitched a ride into town with Wade to pick all of this up. I got an email yesterday saying that it had been delivered to the Cotton Creek post office.”
Damn. He knew he should have left a note.
“But Cal said he saw you take your bags. And I looked in the cabin and your stuff was gone.”
“Well then, you didn’t look very hard. Because my clothes are still in the dresser and my toothbrush is sitting on the sink. I emptied out my bags and took them with me so I’d have something to carry all of these boxes in.”
Her brows knit together, as if she was having trouble processing all of this information. “Then you didn’t leave?” she said softly, almost as if asking herself.
“No, of course not. I wouldn’t do that.” He crossed the room and held out his arms to give her a hug, but she took a step back. Just like she’d done the night before.
Patience.
He didn’t know a lot about animals, but he knew enough to understand that you had to use caution when approaching a particularly skittish one. And Skye was acting as skittish as a caged dog. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and she kept shaking her head slowly, as if engaging in some internal debate.
“Cody, would you mind giving me and your mom a few minutes?”
The boy looked to his mom for confirmation. When she nodded, he shrugged, then went into his room and shut the door.
Even though he wanted to pull her into his arms, Adam leaned on the corner of the sofa, trying to give her the space she needed. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I thought you were gone—that you’d left. I’ve spent the afternoon nursing my broken heart and writing you out of my life.”
Yeah, he really should have left a note.
“Skye, I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But you are. You already said you were going back to California. I thought I could do this. I thought I was strong enough. But I’m just not. This afternoon, I thought I might actually be having a heart attack, the pain in my chest hurt that bad. I was so sure that you’d left, because that’s what the men in my life do, and this afternoon, I suffered as if you had left. I don’t think I can go through that again. I don’t think I want to.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I can’t handle losing you again. That I can’t risk putting my heart out there again. I can’t take it. I’d rather be alone.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” Her voice was soft and held so much misery that it tore at his own heart. “I think you should just go. The camp ends tomorrow anyway, so you can go back to California and forget that we ever met.”
“I could not and will not ever forget you. And I don’t want to.” He took a step toward her, but she cringed, hugging her arms around her middle, and his heart broke in two.
“Just go,” she whispered.
Bewildered and heartbroken, he crossed the room. She just needed some time. That was all. He just needed to give her some space.
He pulled open the door, but then turned back. “I need to tell you something before I go. I was in the bank today, and I overheard Clint talking to the banker about a loan Clint had coming due. Clint assured him that he was working on a plan—a plan to marry you and merge your properties, then sell off a portion of your land.”
She shook her head. “Marry me? Sell off my land? What are you talking about?”
“That’s what Clint said. And he also mentioned that some of the financial setbacks you’ve had lately might not have been ‘accidents.’ He told the banker that he had plans for another one, something that would send you running straight to him to rescue you. It sounds to me like he’s in even more financial trouble than you are.”
“You’re wrong. You must not have heard him correctly. I don’t need anyone to rescue me. And there’s no way Clint would do that to me. He’s my friend.”
“Skye. I know what I heard. You may think he’s your friend, but he’s not. He’s using the friendship between your fathers and the fact that you grew up together to get you to turn to him. But believe me when I tell you, he doesn’t care about you, or Cody. He’s only interested in getting his hands on your property. He told the banker that he had other plans for this place.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t believe you. Why are you saying these things? I’ve known Clint all of my life. I’ve known you less than a week. Why should I believe you?”
He took a deep breath, his chest aching, terrified at what he was about to say, but unable to stop himself. “Because I love you, and he doesn’t.”
A sob tore from her throat, and she sunk to the floor, her knees collapsing under her.
He reached for her, but she shook her head. “Just go.”
He hesitated. His heart ached to pick her up, cradle her in his lap, brush back the tendrils of hair that were clinging to the tears on her face.
“GO!” she yelled.
Emotion clogging his throat, he turned and pulled the door shut behind him.