It was the lawn bag pickup that had done her in.
Madeline had stood firm in her determination to cut ties with Tanner all the way up until the moment he had stopped to gather the rest of the trash bags and carry them from her yard. Who does that after being told, in no uncertain terms, to hit the road?
It had made her feel like a complete jerk. Worse, an ungrateful jerk. He had worked so hard all day long, and even after being kicked to the curb, he’d still followed through with his commitment to help her. Her conscience wouldn’t let her leave things as they were.
An apology was one thing, but jumping into his truck on a whim, sans purse and phone, was another thing altogether. She wasn’t the impulsive or adventurous type—slow and steady won the race, and all that—but here she was, bumping along a dirt road in a truck that was probably older than her preschool diploma, trusting a guy she’d known less than a week with not only her reputation but her well-being.
She pressed her lips together, keeping her eyes on the rugged landscape ahead of them. Even though she didn’t regret it—yet—she had to wonder what had possessed her to do such a thing. His honest eyes? That crooked grin? Perhaps she’d just gone ab-blind after catching glimpses of his impressive bare torso all day, and hadn’t quite regained her senses.
Whatever it was, she couldn’t even bring herself to be chagrined by it. She really did trust him, no matter how illogical that sounded. For all his flirting and sparring with her, he was a good guy. He had a truck bed full of lawn bags and an entire town’s devotion to prove it.
As they crested a small rise, she caught sight of a quaint log cabin up ahead. A pair of rocking chairs sat on the wide covered porch, and flowers spilled from a half barrel at the foot of the stairs. Red-and-white gingham curtains fluttered in the open windows while a few metal whirligigs spun away in the garden. The sweet whimsy of the place made her smile.
Farther past the drive sat a picturesque red barn, with a circular paddock on one side. Wide-open pastureland extended as far as she could see, with a smattering of long-horned cattle grazing the scrubby grasses. The whole place looked timeless, as though it could have been built anywhere from five to a hundred years ago.
Tanner slowed and turned into the driveway, and she couldn’t help but glance at him in surprise. He caught the look and grinned back. “Welcome to Casa Callen.”
“You live here?” She didn’t mean to sound incredulous, but the place was so homey. She pictured a sweet old grandmother baking pies in the kitchen while her suspender-wearing husband tended the garden.
“I live here,” he confirmed as he put the truck into park and killed the engine. Even with the windows down, the quiet was profound. It had been at least five minutes since they’d passed another house.
A wry grin came to her lips as she looked around at the wilderness surrounding them. “No wonder you weren’t concerned for my reputation.”
His chuckle was rough and warm. “Well, the cows can be damn nosy sometimes, but other than that, you could run buck naked for miles and no one would be the wiser.” Tossing her a wicked grin, he added, “So feel free.”
“I’m good, thanks,” she said with a lighthearted roll of her eyes. Normally she’d hate being so far from civilization, but there was something thrilling about being out here with Tanner, completely alone. She swallowed, keeping her thoughts in check. She was here for dinner, nothing more. No matter how sexy the man was, she couldn’t afford to get involved with him. Eventually her fluttering stomach would remember that.
She hoped.
“Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.” He unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out of the truck. By the time she undid her own seat belt, he was at her side, pulling the door open for her. “Careful now,” he said, holding out his hands. “The running board on this side is a little rusted.”
Swallowing, she set her hands on his shoulders and allowed him to lift her. He set her down just a little too close to him, and for a moment she feared—hoped?—that he would steal a kiss. Memories of his hands against her bare skin in her motel room made her breath catch, and she glanced away, afraid he would see the flash of attraction in her eyes.
Thankfully, he was a perfect gentleman, stepping back and sweeping his hand toward the house. “After you.”
They made their way down the flagstone path before climbing the four stairs to the front door. She expected him to pull out his keys to unlock the door, but he simply turned the knob and swung it open. She shook her head. Even a thousand miles from anyone, she would probably still lock her doors. It was as ingrained in her as brushing her teeth or fastening her seat belt.
“Lived here long?” she asked as she followed him inside. It was small by Texas standards, but cozy, with simple, comfortable-looking furniture and plain white walls. The only decorations were several carved wood horses and a few surprisingly lovely oil landscape paintings.
“It was my parents’ place when they married. Mom sold it to me when she moved to Austin a few years back.”
“Oh, so you grew up here,” she said, looking around with renewed interest. It was easy to imagine little booted feet scuffing the wide-plank pine floors while running laps around the connected kitchen, dining, and living rooms.
His mouth tightened a bit as he shook his head. “Not really. It’s a long story,” he added with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Kitchen’s this way.”
Her curiosity flared, but she let it lie as she followed him into the room at the back of the house, which was surprisingly modern. The cabinets were still made of the same warm wood as the rest of the house, but gleaming stainless steel appliances and glittering granite countertops gave it an extra element of style that she had to admire.
“I’m hungry enough to eat a horse. You?” he asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a pair of steaks big enough to each fill a dinner plate on their own. As he turned to rummage in the vegetable drawer, she bit the inside of her lip and grimaced.
“I am, but I should have said earlier that I’m a vegetarian.” She waited for the inevitable mocking comment or look of contempt. He probably had a beef-jerky pacifier as a baby, judging by his surroundings.
But to her surprise, he simply returned one of the steaks to the fridge and grabbed an armload of mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini instead. He paused when he caught a glimpse of her shocked expression and shrugged, a hint of a grin curling the corners of his mouth. “A person’s preferences are his or her own, Madeline. If you’re not offended by my choices, I’m not offended by yours.”
She blinked. Well. How very modern of him. It seemed like people always had something to say about her choice not to eat meat. His response was unexpected, and nice. Really nice.
“Besides,” he added, with an appreciative sweep of her figure, “whatever you are doing is obviously working for you.”
His devilish wink made her laugh, even as it sent a rush of butterflies through her belly. She bit back a grin and went to wash her hands, trying to shrug off the effect he had on her. “Where’s the cutting board?” she asked lightly, as though he hadn’t just made her blush like a schoolgirl.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said, coming up behind her close enough to make her shiver, without actually touching her. He reached over her shoulder and retrieved a wineglass from the cabinet by her shoulder. “You go have a seat and enjoy a little wine.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. After two days of cleaning and unpacking, she wasn’t going to turn down the suggestion. Drying her hands on a dish towel, she turned to face him and offered a wry smile. “Don’t say it unless you mean it.”
“Darlin’,” he said, leaning forward just enough to make her heart pound, “when it comes to me, you can rest assured that I always tell the truth, I never turn down a challenge, and I always say what I mean.”
With that, he held up the glass, his blue eyes sparkling. There was no missing the warm promise in both his gaze and his deep voice, a promise that had nothing to do with wine or dinner.
Lifting her chin, she plucked the glass from his fingers and smiled. “In that case, will you be serving red or white?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? ’Round here, it’s always ladies’ choice.”
By the time dinner was ready, Madeline was thoroughly relaxed and happy. She’d never had a man cook for her before. Where she lived, it was a choice between going out or ordering in, as her tiny kitchen was hardly worth hassling with.
Watching Tanner cook was actually an enjoyable experience. She liked watching his easy, capable movements as he sliced the veggies, prepared the kabobs and salads, and stood guard at the grill. He wasn’t putting on a show; clearly he enjoyed cooking. She’d even missed him when he’d dashed inside for the world’s fastest shower, reappearing less than five minutes later with his hair damp and tousled in order to flip the steak.
As they sat down to eat at the oval-shaped table on the back deck, the two of them on the same side in order to face the view, she gave an appreciative nod at the quality of the meal. “I wouldn’t think there’d be much time to learn to cook on the road as a rodeo star,” she said before taking her first bite of the baked potato. She almost groaned in pleasure at its buttery, cheesy goodness. It was worth every last carb, as far as she was concerned.
He shook his head as he washed down a mouthful of salad with a swig of his beer. “There wasn’t. But my grandmother made sure I knew how to cook a proper spread before I could even drive. I’m grateful to her, since eating out gets old in a hurry. And it’s such a hassle to go out to eat when I’m home, living as far away as I do. Lucky for me, I enjoy cooking.”
She savored a slice of perfectly tender grilled zucchini before murmuring, “Lucky for me, too.”
That made him smile, which in turn made her do the same. The soft evening breeze tugged at his rapidly drying hair while the setting sun made his eyes sparkle. He looked like a model fresh off a shoot for a Country Living magazine. Seriously, the man was ridiculously handsome.
And it was almost too intimate, smiling together on his back deck, nothing but cattle and wilderness around for miles. Suddenly self-conscious, she looked down at her plate. She fumbled around for a new topic of conversation as she chased a cherry tomato around her plate. “So do you work here now? I mean, now that you are a former rodeo star, if office gossip is to be believed.”
She looked up just in time to catch his boyish, tilted grin. “Who you callin’ ‘former’? Being a rodeo champion is like being a triathlete: once you’ve done the deed, the title is yours for keeps.”
He was clearly teasing, and she found herself smiling back at him all over again. “I stand corrected. So is the retired champion resting on his laurels now?”
“Naw. I spend most days helping out on my grandfather’s ranch. You can see the property line, just over that ridge.” He tipped his chin toward the sunset, where a narrow footpath disappeared over a rise. She hadn’t noticed the barbed wire fence cutting across the land there before.
She frowned. “You walk to work?” It seemed like everyone drove everywhere in Texas, including to the mailbox.
He shook his head, amused. “I ride to work. I’d spend half the day commuting if I had to walk.”
“Like, on a horse?” Did people actually do that? Outside of a movie set, that was. It seemed to her like a fast way to break a neck.
That made him laugh out loud. “Yes, on a horse. The cattle would have me on my ass if I ever tried to ride them. That’s the life I’ve left behind,” he added with a good-natured wink.
“Well, how should I know?” she asked, wrinkling her nose at his teasing. “It’s not like this is the Wild West. People use cars and bikes now. You do know we’ve put a man on the moon, yes?”
“Have we, now?” he asked, pretending to be impressed with the idea. “What’ll they think of next?”
It was her turn to laugh. He definitely didn’t take himself too seriously. “Skyscrapers. Taxis. Chinese food delivery.”
“You don’t say,” he drawled before taking a bite of steak. “Tell me more.”
She sat back in her chair and sighed. She missed the city so much. Just thinking about the place she considered to be home made her heart ache. “Have you ever been to New York?”
He shook his head.
“Now that is a travesty. It’s especially gorgeous this time of year, with the trees still holding onto a little color before winter sets in. The sky is never bluer than it is in autumn, too. There’s so much life there. So much noise and bustle. You’re never alone when you’re in the city.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Which is why I’ve never been. Y’all are packed in that city like sardines. Give me the wide-open spaces and solitude any day of the week.”
His answer didn’t surprise her, but it was still unfair. She leaned forward, wanting him to open his mind and listen. “You only think that because you’ve never given the city a chance. There’s so much culture there. So many amazing restaurants and random, fun little stores. If you can’t find something in New York, it doesn’t exist.”
“What about peace and quiet?”
She rolled her eyes. “I should have said, if you can’t find it in New York, you don’t need it.”
“Yet you had to come all the way to Texas to find a date.”
He laughed when she swatted at him. She shook her head even as she suppressed a grin. “Very funny. And this is not a date.”
“’Course not,” he said easily, his rough velvet voice nearly a caress.
She wondered if he really did think of this as a date, even if he wouldn’t call it that. It was so strange, sitting here with a man who knew her body as well as he did, trying to act as if she didn’t find him as attractive as hell. She didn’t want to. She’d only agreed to come with him out of guilt for her rude behavior toward him…hadn’t she?
She swallowed, refusing to admit otherwise.
Leaning forward, he casually swiped a finger over her chin, causing her to pause mid-chew. “Potato,” he said by way of explanation before settling back in his chair. “So if everything you need in the world is in New York City, why are you sitting on my deck in Sunnybell?”
She resisted the desire to shiver from his small touch. “Merely a means to an end.” She took a quick, bracing drink of wine before expounding. “I’d been at the company for five years, slowly working my way up, when six weeks ago my immediate boss quit unexpectedly. We had already been working on the merger for months, and the CEO of the entire company called me into his gorgeous corner office to ask if I could take over Marcus’s job.”
She shook her head, still marveling at the lucky break. “I’ve never jumped at something so fast in my life. One minute I’m running numbers and doing research, and the next I’m packing for a move to the middle of nowhere, Texas.”
“You gave up the city you love and all your friends for your career?” He sounded genuinely taken aback. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you miss home like a lost calf misses his mama’s teat.”
She straightened, feeling a little defensive. “I didn’t give them up long-term. I’ll only be here for a year, possibly two, before I’ll be transferred back. Corporate only needs someone here through the transition and restructuring phases.”
He nodded slowly, setting his fork down. “So what exactly do you do?”
“I’m Calvin Aviation Supply’s youngest-ever acquisitions division manager. It’s my job to keep things running smoothly during mergers.”
He gave a low, appreciative whistle. “Sounds pretty highfalutin. No wonder you’re so keen to command your coworkers’ respect. I imagine there’s a lot riding on your job performance, what with being the youngest and all.”
That was an understatement.
Just talking about it made her shoulders tense up. She had so much to prove with this project. Normally, they never would have promoted her without a lengthy hiring process, but Marcus had left them in the lurch, and she was the person in the company who knew the project best.
She had to be on her game, since technically the job wouldn’t be considered permanent until a three-month probation period was up. Legal was handling most of the details of the actual merger at this point, but it was up to her to see that the transition went smoothly.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin and smiled. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“I don’t doubt it. So what does a normal day look like for an acquisitions division manager?”
She waved a hand. “Nothing terribly exciting. I oversee the blending of companies while making sure Calvin maximizes profits. Lots of paperwork and boring phone calls involved.”
“So no flying around in fancy corporate jets, showing off the company’s products?”
Shuddering, she shook her head. “God, no. I hate flying. I’ll do it if I have to, but I’d rather drive any day of the week.” It was why she’d bought her car before leaving New York. She’d much rather drive for hours than be crammed into a metal tube and launched into thin air without any control.
He looked momentarily incredulous before giving a small laugh. “You work for an aviation company and hate flying? Well, don’t that beat all.”
She shrugged. “It’s a sensible career, given my schooling. I have no doubt I’ll reach the top of the corporate ladder in time.” It was a carefully planned goal that had been laid out since she was young. Do well in school, choose a prudent career with plenty of room for advancement, and eventually retire with a tidy nest egg.
Turning the conversation back to him, she said, “What about you? What’s your new title?”
For some reason, the question amused him. He wolfed down another bite of his steak and grinned. “Stall mucker. Hay bale mover. Supply getter. Vendor negotiator. Hand manager. Basically, if it needs doing, I’m the man to do it.”
She paused in scraping out the last of her potato from the skin to look askance at him. “That’s a lot of responsibility. And this is your grandfather’s ranch?”
The pride that shone in his blue gaze was almost defiant. “On paper. Grandpa Jack had a heart attack a few months back, so I’m doing what I can to take the weight from his shoulders. Old codger’s been trying to lure me back from the rodeo for years. I just didn’t realize how far he’d go to get me to quit.” He winked as he made the joke, but there was real concern behind his lighthearted smile.
Something inside her chest squeezed. “You gave up your rodeo career for him?” She had thought of him as the sort of devil-may-care drifter type, doing whatever he wanted in life, but she clearly hadn’t given him enough credit.
“Yes. And I’d give up a lot more for the man. I owe him my life.”
She blinked in surprise at the vehemence of his words. “Oh.”
She lifted her wineglass but didn’t take a sip. Rolling the stem between her fingers, she considered the situation. It was hard to imagine the kind of devotion she could see in his eyes. She loved her parents, but they had their own lives. The idea of giving up all she had worked for in order to be at their beck and call was so foreign, she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Moreover, she couldn’t imagine them ever asking.
Curiosity tugged at her. She didn’t want to pry, but…actually, that was a lie. She really, really did want to pry. What had his grandfather done to inspire such dedication? How had he saved Tanner’s life?
Attempting to sound nonchalant, she said, “Is this your mother’s parents?”
He shook his head. “My father’s.” He concentrated on cutting another piece of steak. He didn’t seem to want to talk about the subject, but she couldn’t shake her curiosity.
“Ah. And what does your dad do?”
Tanner looked up then, and she knew before he said it what he was going to say. “He’s dead. Died when I was nine.”
Her heart sank low in her chest, and she reached out and put a hand over his. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” His skin was warm against her fingers. He didn’t pull away, and she let the touch linger.
“It was a long time ago.”
For a whole ten seconds, she held her tongue. When she couldn’t take the suspense, she asked, “What happened? He must have been very young.”
“He was twenty-eight,” he said, almost matter-of-factly. He set down his fork, crossed his arms, and looked her straight in the eye. “And he died of a broken neck.”
Madeline’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s horrible!” Her heart went out to the little boy who had lost his father so young, especially in such an awful way. “How did it happen?”
The breeze ruffled the hair at his temple, and he lifted a hand to brush it away. His beautiful eyes seemed to shutter as he gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Just a stupid accident,” he said at last, shaking his head.
“A car accident?”
“Nope.” He blew out a breath and sat forward. “He was riding his horse when the mare spooked. She threw him, he hit wrong, and unfortunately, that was that.”