When he heard his name called, Ryan looked up from where Andy, his farrier, was shoeing one of the horses.
It was Tripp.
The muscles in Ryan’s back tensed. He hadn’t talked to Tess or Tripp in the three days since they’d been back from their trip to Dallas. He could tell by his friend’s expression that Tripp was concerned about something.
Maybe he had come to deliver a much-deserved ass-whipping. After all, Ryan had broken his promise by sleeping with Tess.
“What’s up, Tripp?” Ryan walked over to his friend, still gauging the man’s mood.
“I’m headed to the airport shortly, but I need to ask a favor.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Keep an eye on Tess, will you?”
Ryan hadn’t expected that. “Why, is something wrong?”
“Not exactly.” Tripp removed his Stetson and adjusted it before placing it back on his head. “It’s just that Mom and Dad are still gone, and I’m staying in Des Moines overnight. She’ll be kicking around that big old house by herself mostly. We let a few hands off for the holidays. Plus... I don’t like that Bo and Clem have been sniffing around the last few days. I’m beginning to think that letting Tessa participate in that bachelor auction was a mistake.”
Ryan tugged his baseball cap down on his head, unsettled by the news of Bo and Clem coming around. He’d paid a hefty sum at the auction to ward those two off. Apparently, they hadn’t gotten the hint.
“First, if you think you let your sister participate in that bachelor’s auction, you don’t know your sister very well. Tess has got a mind of her own. Always has. Always will.”
“Guess you’re right about that.” Tripp rubbed the back of his neck. “And I’m not saying that Bo or Clem are bad guys. They’re nice enough, I guess.”
“Just not when they come calling on your sister.” Ryan chuckled. He knew exactly how Tripp felt.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Got a feeling the man you’ll think is good enough for your little sister ain’t been born yet.”
“And probably never will be.” Tripp chuckled. “But as her big brother, it’s my job to give any guy who comes around a hard time. Make him prove he’s worthy.”
“Well, just hold your horses there, buddy. It’s not like she’s considering either of them.” Ryan tried to appear nonchalant about the whole ordeal. Though on the inside he felt like David Banner in the midst of turning into the Incredible Hulk. He wanted to smash both Bo and Clem upside the head and tell them to go sniffing around someone else. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”
“You haven’t been around since you guys got back.” The statement almost sounded accusatory. “Looks like the flower show threw up in our entry hall.”
“Clem and Bo have been sending Tessa flowers?” Ryan tried to keep his tone and his facial expression neutral. He counted backward from ten in his head.
“Clem’s apparently determined to empty out the local florist. Bo, on the other hand, has taken Tessa out to some play and this afternoon they’re out riding.”
Ryan hoped like hell that Tripp didn’t notice the tick in his jaw or the way his fists clenched at his sides.
Tripp flipped his wrist, checking his watch. “Look, I’d better get going. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, but call me if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Ryan tipped the brim of his baseball hat. “Safe travels.”
He watched his friend climb back into his truck and head toward the airport in Dallas.
Jaw clenched, Ryan uncurled his fists and reminded himself to calm down. Then he saddled up Phantom, his black quarter horse stallion, and went for a ride.
For the past few days, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his weekend with Tess. The moments they’d shared replayed again and again in his head. Distracted him from his work. Kept him up staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night.
He knew Tess well. Knew she’d been as affected by their weekend together as he had. So how could she dismiss what they’d shared so easily and go out with Bo, or for God’s sake, Clem?
Phantom’s hooves thundered underneath him as the cold, brisk air slapped him in the face. He’d hoped that his ride would calm him down and help him arrive at the same conclusion Tess had. That it would be better for everyone if they remained friends.
But no matter how hard and fast he’d ridden, it didn’t drive away his desire for Tess. Nor did it ease the fury that rose in his chest at the thought of another man touching her the way he had. The way he wanted to again.
He recognized the validity of Tessa’s concerns that he wasn’t serious and that he’d be chasing after some other skirt in a few months. He couldn’t blame her for feeling that way. After all, as Helene was fond of saying, the proof was in the pudding.
He wouldn’t apologize for his past. Because he’d never lied to or misled any of the women he’d dated. So he certainly wouldn’t give his best friend any sense of false hope that he’d suddenly convert to the romantic suitor he’d been over the course of the weekend, for the sake of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.
Ryan wasn’t that guy any more than Tessa was the kind of woman who preferred a pair of expensive, red-bottomed heels to a hot new pair of sneakers.
So why couldn’t he let go of the idea of the two of them being together?
He’d asked himself that question over and over the past few days, and the same answer kept rising above all the bullshit excuses he’d manufactured.
He craved the intimacy that they shared.
It was the thing that made his heart swell every time he thought of their weekend together. The thing that made it about so much more than just the sex.
He’d even enjoyed planning their weekend. And he’d derived a warm sense of satisfaction from seeing her reaction to each of his little surprises.
Ryan had always believed that people who made a big show of their relationships were desperate to make other people believe they were happy. But despite his romantic gestures being part of a ruse to keep the club from being mired in scandal, they had brought him and Tess closer. Shown her just how much he valued her.
Maybe he didn’t believe that love was rainbows and sugarplums. Or that another person was the key to his happiness. But he knew unquestionably that he would be miserable if Tess got involved with someone else.
He couldn’t promise her that he’d suddenly sweep her off her feet like some counterfeit Prince Charming. But he sure as hell wanted to try, before she walked into the arms of someone else.
Ryan and Phantom returned to the stables, and he handed him off to Andy. Then he hurried into the house to take a shower. He needed to see Tess right away.