“Hey, what are you doing up here anyway? Dad’s not making you clean up?” Waylynn asked.
“We’re done. They’re all down there drinking beer before heading up. I wanted to check on Mallory. Has she been having fun?”
Waylynn frowned.
“What? I thought you liked her.”
“I do like her…as the owner of one of my favorite little boutiques, but honestly, Tripp, what do you see in her?”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “She doesn’t seem your type and she doesn’t fit in with this motley crew.”
A long sigh came out of my mouth. “Are you saying that because you and Harley are BFFs again?”
Waylynn shot me a dirty look. “No, but I’m not going to lie. It would be nice to see you two back together.”
“Christ, Waylynn, not now.”
“I’m not pushing you, Tripp. You asked. And back to Mallory. She is fucking boring as hell. Amelia said she acted like she’d never even been in a kitchen before.”
“That’s crazy. Mallory cooks all the time.”
“Well, then, she didn’t want to be bothered with helping. I mean, you’d have thought she would have told Corina to sit down, and she would take over peeling the potatoes, but she just sat there and watched, Amelia said.”
“She probably just didn’t want to get in the way. You know as well as I do that everyone has a role. If Mom needed her to do something, she would have asked.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But Amelia said she hardly spoke two words. Just smiled every now and then and only spoke when someone asked her something. And she sure is private.”
I laughed. “That she is. Did you ever think she’s just shy?”
Sighing, she turned to face me. “You’re right. I’m trying to find reasons to not like her. I’m sorry. If you really like her and see a future with her, than you know we’ll all support you.”
My brows pinched together. It was like she could read my mind and see every doubt floating around my head.
“What’s wrong? Are things not going well with y’all?” The smirk on her face spoke volumes. She wasn’t rooting for Mallory.
“We’ve both been busy and not spending much time with each other. Plus, it’s still hard when Mallory refuses to let me stay the night at her place. I mean, I get it, but I could also sneak out before Laney wakes up.”
“Does she stay the night with you at your place?”
“Sometimes.”
Waylynn crossed her arms over her chest. “So, excuse my frankness, but where do y’all fuck?”
Someone cleared their throat, and we both turned to see an older couple walking by.
“Oh! Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Jacks!” Waylynn called out and then covered her mouth and chuckled. “Ooops.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but either my house or my office. Or her office at the store.”
“Gross! In your office?”
I grinned. “Yep. The desk, chairs, sofa. Even against the door.”
“I sit on that sofa, you sick motherfu…”
Waylynn clamped her mouth shut and looked around before placing both hands on my chest and pushing me back. “Jerk. You’ve ruined your office for me forever.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Mallory walked up to us with Laney trailing behind.
“Nothing. We were just talking about how it’s time for me to redecorate my office.”
“Amen,” Waylynn whispered.
“Why? I love your office,” Mallory said.
Waylynn mumbled under her breath, and I was almost positive she said, “I bet you do.”
“Don’t you have to go back in and help Mom?” I asked as I gave my sister a buzz-off look.
“I’ll take that as a hint to leave.”
“Please do.”
Mallory hit me in the stomach. “That wasn’t nice.”
She motioned for me to kiss her. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “How was your day?”
I picked up Laney and kissed her on the forehead. “Did you have fun with Hemi?”
“Yes! She’s cute!”
“Harley must love animals,” Mallory said.
Tickling Laney, I replied, “Well, she is a vet so…”
“What’s a vet?” Laney asked.
“Someone who works with animals every day,” Mallory said quickly.
“Oh! I want that job,” Laney exclaimed.
“No, you don’t, darling,” Mallory stated.
“Why not?” Laney asked.
“You have to go to school for a long time. Longer than a doctor!” I said.
Laney shook her head. “Ferget it.”
“Seriously, Tripp. A vet cannot be compared to a doctor.” The way she laughed rubbed me the wrong way. She was putting down Harley’s profession. The way Harley had reacted to my earlier comment flashed through my mind. I was just about to comment when I was saved by the bell, literally.
My mother rang the dinner bell on the back porch, and within seconds, people started piling in.
“You ready for some good food?” I asked, forcing a smile and pushing away Mallory’s last comment.
“Bring it on!” she said, with a happy face. I could tell she was over branding day.
“You can’t keep your eyes off of him.”
I turned to Amelia.
“That’s not true. I’m not looking at him now, and I wasn’t looking at him a few seconds ago. Besides, they’re right there in front of us. How do I not look over there?”
She grinned and whispered, “He keeps looking at you too.”
“Stop it!”
I pushed her away with my shoulder.
“I’m okay…honestly. It’s pretty clear that he’s happy with Mallory. I’m ready to move on.”
“Easier said than done. I know,” Corina said.
“Once you get a taste of a Parker brother, you’re done for,” Paxton added.
Amelia held up her hand. “Okay. Yuck. Those are my brothers y’all are talking about.”
Taking my hand in hers, Amelia gave it a light squeeze. “If it’s worth anything, I don’t think he loves her. It doesn’t even seem like he likes her that much anymore. I’ve never seen Tripp look so pained to be sitting and talking to someone.”
I tried not to look over at Tripp and Mallory, but my eyes wandered. They were laughing at something Jonathon had said, and I noticed that Amelia was right. Tripp looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was.
“If he’s not happy, why does he stay with her?” I asked.
Amelia shrugged. “Well, I don’t think Mallory is the type of girl to keep Tripp’s interest. She’s boring as hell.”
“Amelia!” Paxton, Corina, and I all said at once.
“What? It’s true. Do you know how many times I tried to strike up a conversation with her today? She sat there with her nose turned up like she was too good to be there. Don’t get me wrong, she is a nice person, but you can tell she clearly comes from a fancy background and is repulsed by what we do on the ranch.”
“But she was here…for Tripp,” I added.
Amelia rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
We got quiet as the reality set in for all of us. No matter what we said, Tripp and Mallory were a couple.
“How are things going with Toby?” Paxton asked.
Shrugging, I replied, “I think he feels like our friendship could lead to something more.”
Corina gave me a sweet smile as she pressed for more information. “And you? How do you feel?”
“Like I only see us being friends. He’s a great guy, and I have to admit he made my stomach drop a time or two and made my libido sit up, but I don’t think I’m interested in going past friendship.”
“Not even for a little friends with benefits kind of thing?” Amelia asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Nope. I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be fair to him. I need to get Tripp completely out of my head and heart before I can even think of moving on wi
th another guy.”
They all nodded like they knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Like you said, Corina, easier said than done. I know Tripp will always hold my heart like no other man could. That will never change, and I have to accept it.”
Three pairs of eyes stared back at me with sympathy. Forcing a smile, I grabbed my plate. “I’m going to go check on Miss Hemi, and a calf that got hurt earlier. I’ll talk to y’all later?”
“Sounds good,” Paxton responded.
I dared to take a quick glance at Tripp and Mallory. Tripp was lost in a conversation with Jonathon and Mallory looked bored as hell. I honestly didn’t know what Tripp saw in her. She seemed like a stick in the mud. Correction, she wouldn’t do mud; that much was obvious.
As I walked down toward the barn, I thought about Tripp and Mallory. She seemed like the perfect woman for a guy who was running for mayor, and I kept telling myself that was why Tripp was with her. But I knew it was more than that. When I overheard Karen telling her friend how she had to leave the office because Mallory came over for those lunch fuck fests, I knew Tripp was into Mallory for the sex. It probably thrilled him taking her in his office.
My hand came up over my mouth to keep me from losing what I had just eaten. The memory of overhearing them made me physically ill.
“Christ above. Why are you even thinking about it again, you idiot?”
A small bark came from inside the barn. Stepping in, I smiled at Hemi running in circles inside her crate.
“You didn’t think I forgot about you, did you?”
She jumped up and whined.
“Settle down, I’m coming to let you out.”
Once I opened the gate, she took off running around me and jumping up.
“That’s a sweet girl. I can see why Chloe dognapped you.”
Picking her up, I held her in front of me. “Hemi. Should we keep that as your name?”
“Yes.”
I let out a shout as I jumped.
“Jesus, Tripp. You scared me.”
He leaned against the doorway looking hot as hell. When he took off his cowboy hat I nearly dropped to the ground. His hair was messy and he had a bit of dirt on his face. Lord, could this man look any finer? I could see his broad chest through the T-shirt he had changed into and my hands shook as I fought the urge to slip my fingers under it and feel his hard muscles. Muscles I had explored years ago but knew would be more defined than ever.
Good Lord, Harley. Stop this.
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
His brow lifted, and he pushed off the doorframe and walked my way.
“This is my parents’ barn.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Right. But why are you here right now?”
He looked down at the puppy in my arms.
“I figured we needed to work out our custody agreement for Hemi.”
My heart soared. I wasn’t sure if he was doing this because I had gotten angry, and he felt guilty, or if he was just doing it for me. I hoped the latter.
“Really?”
With a nod, he scratched under Hemi’s chin. “It only seems fair since it was my niece who got you in this predicament. Besides, I already begged Steed to take the damn thing and he said no. She could go back to Hank.”
I pulled Hemi closer to me, and Tripp laughed.
“He can’t take her back. That would be terrible.”
“That’s what I told him. So what do you propose we do with this mutt?”
My cheeks hurt from smiling so big. It was wrong of me, but I knew if Tripp took Hemi, it would give me an excuse to see him more often.
Yeah, that is a pretty shitty thing to do to Mallory, but right now I don’t care.
“Okay, well, I’ll keep him Friday afternoon until Tuesday morning. I usually use Mondays for surgery so Hemi could come to the vet clinic that day since it’s slow and Julie or Louise can watch over her.”
“So, I’ll have her Tuesday morning through lunchtime on Fridays?”
“Yep, if that works for you. I can get you a crate for your office. She seems to do great in it. If you have to leave or go out or anything you can keep her crated. Just make sure she goes potty first and don’t leave her in there for long periods of time.”
Tripp stared at me for a few moments. When his eyes dropped to my mouth, I instinctively licked my lips.
“I’ll, um, give you food and everything.”
“I can buy the food.” He stepped closer to me, or to Hemi, I wasn’t sure.
My gaze drifted down to the dog. If I kept staring into Tripp’s baby blues I was going to combust.
“O-okay. I’ll get her some toys.”
Hemi was now looking back and forth between me and Tripp.
“Anything else I should know?” Tripp whispered, reaching a hand toward me…or the dog, surely.
I love you more than life itself.
“No, I can’t think of anything.”
Lifting my gaze, our eyes met once again. It felt like a secret moment between the two of us. I could feel the intensity we’d always had. Swallowing hard, I took a step back to break the heat between us.
“Hurry, Mommy! Here she is.”
I looked past Tripp to see Laney pulling Mallory into the barn. When I turned back to Tripp, he was no longer looking at me. The ache in my chest grew stronger.
“Laney! You are pulling my arm out of my socket.”
“Harley! Can I hold Hemi?”
“No!” Mallory stated, just as I said, “Sure!”
I stopped handing the puppy to Laney.
Tears built in her eyes. “Mommy, why?”
“His fur will get on you.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I really wasn’t sure if she had an allergy or not. “I can brush any hair off of her if you’d like.”
She shot me a fake smile. “I don’t want her getting attached because she won’t be seeing Hemi again.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said. “With Tripp watching Hemi for me during the week, I’m sure Laney will get to see her.”
“What?” Mallory glared at Tripp. He had his eyes closed for a few seconds before popping them open and sending me death rays.
Oops. Looks like Mallory doesn’t know about Tripp’s new house guest.
“You’re taking the dog?”
Tripp walked closer to Mallory. “Not permanently, just for a few weeks.”
Her mouth fell open. “Weeks? How many weeks?”
When Tripp didn’t answer, I did. “Only about six or so.”
I had to admit it, I was smiling inside, and I knew it was so wrong. I may or may not have done a mental fist pump at the look on her face.
So. Wrong. But it feels so right.
“Six weeks!” Mallory shrieked as Laney jumped up and down in excitement.
“Or so,” Tripp added with a smirk.
“Tripp, we cannot deal with a puppy for six weeks.”
He cleared his throat and moved closer to Mallory. “We’re not dealing with her, I am. She won’t ever be at your house.”
“Damn right she won’t!” Mallory whispered. “You know I don’t like dogs and am allergic.”
“Yep. I know.”
Mallory’s death stare was now on me.
“Was this your idea?”
“Yes. Considering I don’t even want another dog, it was only fair that Tripp help me out with her.”
“If you don’t want a dog, why are you keeping her? Take her to the pound.”
My blood burned hot. “The pound? Are you seriously telling a vet to take an animal to the pound?”
“Yes! Unless this is your way of spending more time with Tripp!”
I wanted to smile at her. I knew it was wrong, but damn it all to hell. I was starting to dislike this woman even more as the seconds ticked by.
“Okay, let’s just calm down here. Mallory, I owe it to Harley.”
I could see the anger in her eyes, but she pushed it down and g
ave Tripp a smile that screamed fake. Then she looked at me. “You know what? It’s fine. I’m sure Laney will love going over to your house to play with her.”
Ouch. That was a sucker punch in the gut.
“So, we have it worked out then?” Tripp asked.
I forced a grin. “Great. Well, I’m exhausted, and I think Hemi and I are going to head home. I have to stop at the clinic to pick her up some food.”
“I was going to buy her food.”
“I’ll get it this time. You can get the next one.”
“Isn’t that cute, you have a little custody agreement…for a dog,” Mallory snickered.
I winked and whispered under my breath. “Better a dog than a kid!”
Mallory’s smile faded.
Clearing my throat, I bent over and let Laney pet Hemi. “Laney, say goodbye to Hemi. She needs to go potty and then off to home.”
“Bye bye, Hemi! See you soon!”
“Mallory, I’m going to help Harley take the crate back to her car. Give me a few minutes?”
“Can I take her to go potty with you?” Laney asked as she reached up for my hand.
“Sure! If your mommy is okay with that.”
“Of course, you can, sweetie.”
Laney and I started for the barn exit.
“Laney’s new nanny starts tonight, so I can pay you a late-night visit,” Mallory said, louder than she needed to.
I swallowed the bile in my throat as I picked up my pace and turned the corner, heading to a large oak tree. The last thing I wanted to hear about was Tripp and Mallory making plans to have a midnight rendezvous.
Mallory reached up and ran her finger down my chest.
“So? What do you say? You in the mood for a visit later?”
“You know what, Mallory, I’m exhausted. Today has been a long fucking day, and all I want to do is fall into a bed and crash.”
“Well, the things I want to do to you require you to be in a bed, so that makes it easy.”
I forced a smile. “Sounds nice, but honestly, I’m barely keeping my eyes open as it is. I’m probably just gonna crash here at my folks’ place.”
“Oh,” she said with disappointment in her voice. “Well, that sucks for both of us. You can make it up to me tomorrow night after the benefit dinner.”