Everly
The wind howled as Everly gave herself a sponge bath. It reminded her she was so incredibly alone in the world. Each gust slipped through the old wooden window panes, reminding her of the rise and fall of a ghost’s call causing her to shiver with a combination of fear and loss.
She hadn’t expected him to stay, of course. The only hospitality she could offer him was a lumpy old couch by the fire. But still. His leaving stung.
Everly blinked back her tears. She was not, not, not going to cry over Zane Dixon. She’d survived her parents leaving her, her grandfather’s death, and her cousin’s betrayal. Zane was not going to be the straw that broke her back.
Somewhere, a branch beat out a pattern against an upstairs window. If it was this cold at the end of September, what would the winter bring? Everly shuddered, refusing to think about the upcoming winter. She would have to figure something out by then.
Everly curled into one corner of the couch. She tried to read a book but the light was too dim, and she was too tired. Darkness surrounded her, the house shook furiously with its emptiness, and loneliness pressed violently around her.
She was almost asleep when the phone in the kitchen began ringing. Everly sighed. It was probably just Fannie again. Her lawyer agreed to pay the phone bill so he could keep in touch with her.
Everly didn’t like even accepting that small gift from him but chose to only because she could pay him back after the sale of the house and property.
She sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was get into another battle with her cousin, but the isolation of the mountains was too much to resist. “Hello?”
“I’ve been calling all afternoon.” Fannie’s voice was rich and strident with determination. “I thought you’d finally called it quits and agreed to let me sell the property.”
“I already told you. I’m not abandoning the property. I had to run into town. Get groceries and stuff.”
“Don’t think my lawyers and I aren’t watching you, Everly.”
“I don’t know why you would be. But if you are, make sure you say hi to the cougars, bears, and bobcats that call the mountain home.”
“I got an email back on that website. He seemed very interested in meeting up. And when we do, we are going to push you out of that shack. And if you think I’ll be so generous with my next offer, you’re crazy.”
“An email is a long way from married, Fannie.” Everly called herself every synonym she could think of for fool. She should not have answered the phone. What had she been thinking?
A stray breeze slipped through the window over the sink, reminding Everly of how alone and vulnerable she was in the house. And the reason she’d picked up the phone.
“My fiancé and I will be by next week to have house and land appraised.”
“Stop, Fannie. Please. Granddad loved us both. Let’s sell the property to someone who will do something responsible with it and split the proceeds. You know that’s what he would want.”
Everly gritted her teeth when Fannie only laughed at her. “If that’s what he wanted, that’s how he should have worded his will, little cuz.”
The darkness of the kitchen lit up as a familiar jeep pulled in. Zane leaped from the driver’s seat and pulled out a backpack. Long legs ate up the real estate between his truck and the front porch. When he got to the door, he paused. Everly walked over to the door and let him into the house.
Their eyes met, and Everly felt her earlier anger dissolve around her.
“Your cousin?” he mouthed. She nodded and held the receiver out to him. They were, somehow, in this situation together and Everly was tired of fighting it.
“If Granddad had wanted us to split the sale of the property, he would have contacted his lawyer before he died. His will was very explicit, and you’re only hurting yourself by clinging to any hope you’ll be married in time to do anything about it.”
“Hey, Cousin Fannie,” Zane said, taking the receiver so he could speak into it while still letting them both hear Fannie’s gasp of surprise.
“This is Zane Dixon. Everly’s husband. Thanks for agreeing to the absolute letter of the will. It makes selling the property much easier. I’ve already spoken with a local realtor. He’ll be up at first light to take a look and will probably give us a fair market offer on the land. Seems he’s trying to secure enough land to keep Silver Fells from being mauled by developers.”
“Zane. The BKB fighter?”
Everly frowned. Did her cousin actually sound aroused? She snorted with disgust. Of course, she would be. “What are you doing?” she mouthed at him.
“Taking over,” he mouthed back. “Yes,” he said, raising his voice for Fannie to hear. “I was a BKB fighter.”
“And you married Everly?” Disbelief and disgust were clear in Fannie’s voice. Everly opened her mouth to defend her honor but decided to hold her tongue. Maybe listening to Fannie was the best way to understand what she wanted.
“Yes, your lovely cousin is my wife.” Zane’s grey eyes met hers, and Everly felt her core melt in response.
Oh, this man was dangerous, she decided. As dangerous as he was sexy.
“I don’t believe you. Why would you want her? Put Everly back on.” Everly was sure her neighbor’s dogs could hear Fannie’s shrill screeching.
“No, I think you’ve said enough.” Zane placed the receiver down with gentle firmness.
Everly rounded on him. “We aren’t married.”
“We will be once you say yes.”
“Proposal much?” Everly deflected. She didn’t want to admit it, to herself or Zane, but Fannie’s disbelief stung harder than it should have.
Zane surprised her by dropping to one knee and pulling a small item out of his back pocket. “Marry me, Everly.”
Mouth agape, Everly took the little plastic bauble from him. Frowning, she opened it. Inside was a cheaply glittering ring from a gumball machine. She glanced from the ring to Zane, confused.
He shrugged. “It was spur of the moment. We’ll get you a real one, I promise. I needed a prop to get us through. To convince you I was for real.”
Everly felt her eyes fill with tears as she considered the seriousness of his proposal. She had never considered her dream proposal, but somehow, in her grandfather’s dark house, Zane had come as close to perfect as humanly possible.
It both was sweet and heartfelt. “Zane. We hardly know each other. I mean, yeah, from work. But that was just some fun flirting.” Everly held the ring aloft. “It wasn’t marriage stuff.”
“It is now.” Zane was adamant.
“I’m alone in the world. No money. No savings. I don’t have anything…”
Zane took her hands in his. “I wanted to get to know you better, but life kept getting in the way. You stopped coming to work. You pushed me away.”
“My granddad was dying. I needed to be here.”
“I get that, Ev. But I still want to know you. I want to know where this road is supposed to lead. Together. We got nothing but time.”
Everly chuckled. “As long as I decide by the eight tomorrow morning?” She wiped at her cheeks, still staring at the plastic. “I don’t mean to be uptight. But, despite Granddad’s best efforts, I’ve been hurt, Zane.” She bit her lip. “I’m scared.”
“You know me. Maybe not for twenty years but you know my heart, Everly.” His brown eyes beseeched hers. He picked up her empty hand and placed it over his chest. His heart thudded with powerful regularity beneath her palm. “Trust yourself. Get in and take a ride with me.”
Could she do it? Could she trust this too handsome, too wonderful man who was offering to make all her dreams come true? But what were her alternatives?
She broke her gaze to look back at the ring, a small smile playing on her face. “This is going to be a heckuva story to tell our kids.”
Zane stood, lifting her with him. “They’ll get a kick out of it. I promise.”
Everly nodded, making her decision as she went along. “As long as you're right next to me when we tell them, everything is going to be alright.”
Zane
“We got this, Ev.”
Zane closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer that Everly could grow to love him. This wasn’t quite how he envisioned proposing to the woman of his dreams, but it would have to do.
“How, Zane? I didn’t like what Fannie was threatening to do to me. It doesn’t feel right to stick it to her back.”
“You don’t want revenge?”
A little smile played around Everly’s mouth. Zane dearly wanted to know what she was thinking. “What?” he prodded.
“Okay. Dark Everly would love to stick it to Fannie. I am only human.”
“But?”
“But it would be wrong.” Everly grinned. “But it would be a lot of fun to see her squirm.”
“Tell Dark Everly to put those thoughts on a back burner. After we’re married, we’ll see a lawyer and find out what our options are.”
Damn, that sounded good, Zane thought. Married.
“How are you going to do that? I don’t have any money, and I don’t want to risk selling to someone who will put up condos or a new Walmart.”
“I’ve given it some thought.”
“When? You only literally found out about this situation hours ago, Zane. When did you have time to think it through?”
“While I was taking care of the horses I’m a multi-tasker. Get used to it.”
Zane ignored her sassy eye roll.
“I’ll buy her out.”
“How? With what money? Last I checked, you were an aging unemployed BKB fighter with only a few endorsement deals.”
“Ouch. Jeeze, woman, nothing like sticking it to a man where it hurts.”
Everly had the grace to look a little chagrined. “I’m sorry. Am I wrong?
“First, twenty-nine isn’t aging. I’m a retired BKB fighter, not unemployed. And I’ve still got plenty of endorsement deals.”
“Enough to buy out my cousin if I don’t want to sell?”
“If need be. But my manager wants me back in the ring. If I agree, the prize will be enough to easily pay her share or buy us the time to sell the property and make a plan B.”
A ghost of a smile played around Everly’s lips. “Plan B? I think I’m up to Plan J now.”
Zane touched his forehead to hers, struggling to keep their interaction light. Playful. Let her say yes in front of the judge tomorrow, and then he’d begin his courtship in earnest. “Still plenty of letters left in the alphabet, Ev.”
Everly looked down at the cheap little ring he’d gotten from the gumball machine a few hours ago and then back up at him. “I don’t want you fighting anymore. You retired on top. That’s how you should stay.”
“And that’s why the prize is so high. Everyone will want to see me defend my title. Besides, what’s the alternative? Your cousin finds some sap to marry her and she sells the land to developers? That will ruin Silver Fells. Ruin Rafe’s idea for an animal sanctuary. Ruin the quiet communities the shifters have established here.”
“There are other shifter towns, though, right?”
Zane nodded slowly. “I don’t want to leave, Ev. Not when it’s in my power to make it right.”
“What about injuries? I’ve seen those cage matches, Zane. They’re brutal.”
“You’ve watched me fight?”
“At the Leopard. The Friday night crowd likes it. Cree says happy customers drink more beer.”
“Yeah? What did you think of the cage matches?” Zane held his breath as he waited on her answer.
Everly lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “You’re good. You spot your enemy’s weaknesses and exploit them. Your ground game is good, but your kicks need some work.”
Zane frowned at her. “Funny. That sounds like you’re not just a casual fan.” He crowded her body space, inching until her back came up against the kitchen wall. “As a matter of fact, that sounds a lot like one of the color commentators from my last fight.”
Everly raised her chin, the light of challenger in her green eyes. “Maybe,” she said.
“Sassy girl,” Zane said with a growl. Oh, how he looked forward to hearing her cheeky comments for the rest of his life.
“Besides, it’s too late. You’d never get in shape by that date.”
Zane snorted, leaning down until his lips hovered over hers. His hands were braced on either side of her head. “Are you saying I’m out of fighting shape, sassy?”
Everly giggled and darted out beneath one of his arms. “If the shoe fits, wear it Cinderella.”
He followed her into the living room. It was dark other than a kerosene lamp flickering on the coffee table. “Do you sleep here?”
Everly shrugged. “I have been, yeah. It’s too dark upstairs. Besides, if there’s a fire, I can get out easier from down here. Safer, too.”
Zane closed his eyes. He hated the idea of her living like this. “C’mon. Let’s go upstairs and get some sleep. We’re getting married in the morning.”
“You think I’m sleeping with you?” she challenged, but she picked up the lamp. “Pretty confident in yourself, aren’t you?”
Zane took her hand in his and led her towards the stairs. “I can see well enough to get us out of here if there’s a fire. Which there won’t be.”
He followed her into her bedroom and groaned to himself. Of course, she only had a full-sized bed. He thought longingly of his own king-sized bed and wondered again why they weren’t sleeping there.
Oh, that’s right. A cousin, a will, and squatter’s rights. All of which will be taken care of in the morning.
Everly put the lamp on the bedside table and sat on the edge of her bed. “So, tomorrow, huh?”
“We’ll get up first thing in the morning. You can take a shower at my place and then we’ll head into town. If the judge won’t marry us, I’m sure Mayor Holt will.”
After cleaning up, Everly settled stiffly on the bed as though she’d never shared it with anyone. Zane paused. As though she’d never…
Ohhh.
“Relax,” he ordered folding into the too-small bed. “Nothing is happening tonight, Sassy. You’re safe with me.”
Everly accepted his arm around her waist but stiffened when her back came up against his chest. “Zane?”
“I know, okay. Now get some sleep. You’ll need it.”
She resisted at first, laying stiffly in his arms. And then, like turning off a switch, she tumbled sweetly into sleep. Zane rose on one elbow to peer down at her in the dark house.
She was exquisite. And so help him, Zane was going to spend the rest of his life convincing her of that.