In Everly’s world, happy hour used to mean a little black dress, strappy heels, sapphire martinis, and schmoozing with the law firm’s wealthiest clients in a private room at Saison. But she wasn’t in San Francisco anymore, Toto.
Walking into the Tumble Inn, the heels of her worn, thrift-store cowgirl boots crunched against the peanut shells you weren’t supposed to throw on the floor. She paused inside the door. Instead of the clean lines and sleek modern decor of her past, the place was a hodgepodge. Battered metal covered the bar. Concrete floors glistened with a generous coat of sealant. The heavy wooden pub tables bore the scars of endless games of beer pong, and maybe the occasional bar fight.
The place even sounded different than her old life. Instead of glittery laughs and muted tones of classical music and hushed murmurs of gossip, this place was as loud and rowdy as an off-color great-uncle. Country music blared from the speakers, and since happy hour had already started, it was accompanied by echoing laughs and loud chatter.
Okay. Deep breath. She raised her head with shaky confidence and waded into the crowd. Even though she loved it—wanted it to be hers—everything about this life still felt new. Like she couldn’t fully claim it as her own. After being in Topaz Falls for over two years, there were still so many moments she felt like an outsider, a foreigner trapped between two worlds. Though she looked the part of the mountain cowgirl in her simple white sundress and worn leather boots, most of these people who raised their hand in a wave or bumped her shoulder lightly as she passed didn’t truly know her.
That was her fault. Betrayal still lingered on the edges of her ability to trust people. Ever since she’d arrived in this town, she’d filled her life with animals and chores and cooking and baking rather than risk developing deep relationships again. She’d come out of her old life with none of them intact.
Everly made her way closer to the bar, clinging to the outskirts of the crowd along the wall. Now, most nights after getting all the work done around the farm, she was too tired to do anything anyway. Tonight was no different. She would’ve been happy just to curl up in her jammies on the couch. But Darla had stopped by and demanded she meet them for happy hour since Cassidy was back in town after a two-week stint of working as a nurse in Denver.
Obviously, Everly was the last to arrive. From the shadows, she spied Cassidy and Levi; Jessa and her husband, Lance; and Naomi and her husband, Lucas. Not far away, Darla stood in a small huddle with some man she didn’t recognize and Ty Forrester, Charity Stone, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mateo Torres.
Nerves rolled through her before settling heavily in her stomach. Her new landlord had one elbow leaning on the bar top. Everything about him was dark—from his eyes to his clothes to the cowboy hat he wore tipped forward on his head. Mystery wrapped itself in the shadows of his face, hiding secrets she was sure he’d never share. Or maybe he would, but they just might kill her. The tattered jeans he wore hugged his lower body snugly, but somehow he still had room to swagger. And he didn’t have to try. Mateo Torres was a man who could swagger without moving a muscle.
Studying him, she finally understood the Zorro thing. The lustrous dark hair, the tanned skin, and the seductive eyes made him downright dangerous, but his irresistible smile fooled his prey into thinking he was harmless.
Everly had yet to have any real conversation with the man, though she’d noticed that he’d parked his palatial fifth-wheel camper on the hill above the farm’s stables like some kind of overseer. But she couldn’t keep avoiding him. If she wanted to preserve the farm, she needed to win him over as soon as possible.
She smoothed her hands down her dress, wiping off the clammy feel of nerves, and raised her shoulders the same way she had before she’d walked into the courtroom. Whatever she did, she had to show him a capable, savvy professional who could be an asset to him instead of a burden. Maybe she wasn’t yet, but she would be. Eventually.
Smiling like she believed it, she strode across the room to her friends.
“You’re here!” Cassidy untangled herself from her husband’s arms and captured Everly in a hug. “I didn’t know if you’d make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed a chance to say hello.” Everly returned the embrace, feeling that pull again. She wanted this so much. Friends. Community. A place to belong. She pulled back and looked Cassidy over. “You look amazing.” Every time the woman came home for a visit, she looked even rosier, as though she glowed with happiness, especially when Levi happened to be nearby.
It only convinced Everly she’d done the right thing in walking away from her old life and an upcoming marriage that had seemed more like a business arrangement. Since she’d moved to Topaz Falls and met these amazing couples who were so in love, she’d decided that every marriage should be a romantic escapade. She wouldn’t ever settle for anything else.
“How’s work been?” Her smile came more easily with the warmth beaming from her friend.
“Crazy,” Cassidy said. “And wonderful too. I’m busy and running all day, but instead of being exhausted, taking care of those kids energizes me, you know?”
Everly nodded. For the first time in her life, she did know. She knew how it felt to wake up every day and feel like there was purpose in what she was doing. “I’m so glad you love it.”
“What about you?” Concern shadowed her friend’s pristine blue eyes. “I can’t believe Owen sold his land. Owen was such a fixture in this town.”
“Yeah.” And he was pretty much the only one who cared about the farm as much as her. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.” She kept that chipper harmony in her voice. “I mean, once he sees how important the farm is, I think Mateo will leave it alone.”
“Of course he will.” Cass leaned in. “And even if he doesn’t, Levi is one of his best friends, so I may have some influence in that department.” She winked. “You let me know if you have any issues, you hear?”
Relief soothed the nerves stirring in Everly’s stomach. “Thank you. I might have to take you up on that.” Though something told her Mateo did what he wanted. He had that untamed air about him. She glanced over at the man again. Three women had officially invaded his personal space and were giggling with the force of high school cheerleaders at whatever he was saying. Tourists most likely, seeing as how she didn’t recognize them.
“Oh, there’s my mom. I’ll be right back.” Cassidy slipped away, but Everly didn’t have time to feel lonely before the rest of her friends crowded in.
“Everly!” Darla, Jessa, and Naomi drew her attention away from the spectacle currently taking place around Mateo. Seriously, he stood in the center of those women like some mythical god…
“Here. I already ordered your drink.” Darla handed her a dirty martini from the bar. Everly thanked her and threw back a gulp while all of her friends took a sip from their colorful frozen cocktails. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t left San Francisco behind completely.
“I thought you were going to be here an hour ago,” Darla said.
“Leave her alone,” Naomi butted in. “She’s a busy lady. Running a farm, serving breakfast and lunch. It’s not like she has a lot of free time.”
“And yet she still looks like that.” Jessa appraised her with a look of mock jealousy. “Seriously. You look gorgeous.”
“So do you.” Her friends were all beautiful, strong women in their own ways. Darla with her sassy black pixie cut and chic clothes. Naomi with her long red hair and friendly girl-next-door manner. And then there was Jessa with her blond hair and adorably round, innocent face. Lately, Jessa seemed to be even more radiant than usual, too, though no official pregnancy announcement had been made.
Gratitude swelled inside of her, filling up the space her earlier insecurities had occupied. She may not have lived here long, but these women had made it their mission to welcome her into their circle. “I would’ve been here earlier but I got held up.” Walter had broken out of lockdown, and she’d had to chase the duck around the chicken yard, slogging through the mud, which had splattered all the way up to her face, which meant she’d had to shower again. Just another typical day in her life.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Darla leaned in and linked their arms together. “I’ve been dying to hear if you’ve seen your new neighbor in his underwear yet.” Her eyebrows wiggled with hints of dirty thoughts. “Or better yet, without it.”
Everly couldn’t help but laugh. Her friend’s greatest mission in life was to see all of the cowboys in town naked, but she didn’t share that ambition. “When could I have possibly seen him in his underwear? Or without it, for that matter?”
The woman directed her gaze over Everly’s shoulder. “I’m guessing he’s the kind of man who isn’t shy about showing off the goods.”
“Definitely not,” Jessa agreed, openly staring in Mateo’s direction.
“I bet he walks around naked all the time,” Naomi added, suddenly as rapt as everyone else.
As if he needed more attention. If the flirty touching was any indication, Mateo had his hands full at the moment. “I haven’t seen him at all,” Everly said to land their focus back on her. “Clothed or naked.” Not for lack of trying. To see him clothed. All afternoon, she’d found excuses to zip past his trailer, but he hadn’t been around.
“Well, you can see him right now.” Darla slid her glance sideways, but Everly refrained from looking.
“Mateo doesn’t do it for me,” she lied. Actually, he did it for every straight woman. She simply couldn’t let him do it for her.
“Well, he sure seems to be watching you,” Naomi murmured into her margarita glass.
Jessa’s eyes popped open wider. “Totally. Wait…he’s coming over here!”
“What?” Suddenly panicked, Everly whirled around and lost the grip on her martini glass. It flew from her hand in a high arc and sailed right toward Mateo, hitting him square in the forehead before it fell and shattered on the floor.
A collective hush silenced the room.
Shock appeared to ice over Mateo’s gaze as his hand rose to his head.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” Glass crunched underneath her boots as she rushed over to him, vaguely aware of the stares and whispers following behind her. “I didn’t mean to! The glass was a little slippery and it flew out of my hand and…” God, she’d hit her new landlord in the head with a martini glass!
“You’re bleeding…” She snatched a napkin off the table next to her and went to wipe the trickle of blood from his forehead, but he quickly stepped out of reach, his stony expression brushing off her desperate apology. His eyes looked even darker than normal. And the trail of blood had now streaked down over his left eyebrow.
“Cleanup on aisle five,” Darla called over to the bar. Leave it to her friend to deflate the tension in the room. With that one quip, the noise level rose again. A couple of people chuckled as they went back to whatever they had been doing before Everly had humiliated herself. Even without the attention of the room, Everly’s face burned hotter than the heat coils on her commercial stove. Those damn martini glasses. They were too awkward to hold on to.
Gil Wilson, who owned the fine establishment, lumbered over with a broom. “Next time you want to start a bar fight with a cowboy, take it outside.” Judging from the crooked grin on the old man’s face, he said it in jest, but that didn’t make this any better.
“I’m so sorry, Gil,” she mumbled, unable to look up. “I can pay for the glass.”
“Don’t be silly. The look on Torres’s face was worth every penny. He looked as shocked as a fox that had a rabbit swiped right out of his mouth.” He swept up the mess in his slow, methodical way, chuckling the whole time.
It hadn’t looked like shock to her. It’d looked more like anger. Everly took the dustpan from Gil and knelt to help him clean up the mess. Mortification still pulsed in her cheeks, made more potent by her own irritation. She’d apologized to the man and he’d simply looked down on her like she had no business talking to him. Well, that wasn’t going to work for her. He didn’t get to treat her like a second-class citizen because he was her landlord.
Everly rose to her feet to tell him so but Mateo was already gone.