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C-A-R-P-E-D-I-E-M
Fiancé? Engaged? Ryder, you’ve hit an all-time low. It was all about image, and something told her he’d started telling people they were engaged to get a leg up on some gig.
Claire pulled her coat tighter around her. Not that she was cold. Actually, her body temperature must have risen a solid five degrees after the near-kiss with Grady. But angry chills ran down her spine, thanks to Ryder.
One stupid trip. That’s all she’d planned to re-kindle whatever spark that had existed between them. Within a day, that spark had been stomped on and she couldn’t even remember what it looked like.
It was painfully clear that they were over. They’d been a convenient match, but they didn’t have a damn thing in common.
Yeah, she was lusting after Grady, big time, but there was something more. Convenience and lust had driven her to hook up with Ryder. When lust fizzled, what remained? What if this was just lust with Grady? She’d dump her boyfriend... fiancé, apparently, and be left with the same drab fizzle as the dust settled?
No, something told her it was more than just lust. Sure, her nipples perked up and her ovaries danced in elation at the wallop of testosterone when he walked into a room. But there was something else.
Practically: She’d already invested two long years with Ryder, and her frontal lobe was settling on staying the course. Biologically: Her uterus declared either Mallory would make beautiful babies. Orgasmically: Many, many parts of her were hooting and hollering for her to give Grady a chance.
Hell, on the flight up, she’d debated calling it quits with Ryder after they’d butted heads on every detail along the way. Then, he’d been sweet and swapped spots with her so she could have the window seat and see the Cascades and Seattle as they landed. He’d even held her hand for no reason, but she couldn’t help but feel the affection was his way of making an effort, rather than simply craving the connection.
Tonight. No problem. A romantic dinner for two. And then? Was it really ever okay to have The Talk on a trip to meet his family? If she talked to him now, she wouldn’t feel comfortable staying any longer, not that she was comfortable staying now, but it would get super awkward. And she wouldn’t get to see more of those gorgeous horses.
Or Grady. But, if she waited and had the talk when they got back home, she’d have to spend a miserable vacation being ignored by Ryder, subtly criticized by his crazy parents, and heartbroken with every minute she couldn’t do anything about Grady.
No, she was an honest person. She wasn’t going to wait around on this one. Maybe she could stay at a hotel in town and meet with local vet clinics. Who knows, maybe she’d find a job here? And find an excuse to explore where things went with Grady?
Impressed with her own problem solving in sixty-seconds-or-less, Claire nodded in satisfaction.
Dump Ryder. Why wait until dinner?
Explore this beautiful town.
Find her dream job.
Seduce her nearly brother-in-law.
She swung open the door and strolled inside. Nothing was better than a good plan.
In the mudroom, she kicked off her boots and hung her jacket on the tidy hook. Despite Ryder’s comments on her over packing, she couldn’t have spared much. Layers were key. Plus, she needed work boots and cute boots and sexy dress shoes.
Claire hiked up her oversized wool socks that had loosened when she tugged off her work boots and made for the kitchen to grab another cup of coffee before she dumped Ryder. That term always sounded so crass. Before she declared her intention to discontinue their relationship.
Patricia’s voice twittered from the kitchen, stalling Claire in her tracks. Ducking back out of sight, she pinned herself to the wall between the kitchen and the mudroom. She couldn’t handle the woman right now.
“You won’t miss the gala?” Did Patricia always use that snooty tone, or was it just for show? “Wonderful. Ryder is engaged, so I want everyone to meet Claire... She’s stunning, just wait until you meet her... She’s a veterinarian. A little rough around the edges, as one would expect for someone in her line of work and from a modest background, but she’s quite lovely... Don’t repeat that yet, I’m hoping to announce it at the gala and turn it into an impromptu engagement party.”
Huh. Take offense? Or focus on the possible compliment wedged in there? Claire pondered which to choose. She searched for a subtle exit. Nope, she had to wait it out here until Patricia left—hopefully out the other door. Go back out to the stables and risk jumping Grady? Or chance Patricia catching her eavesdropping? Rock and a hard place.
A giggle rattled her throat as she visualized being stuck between Grady’s hard place and a... well, anything, as long as one side was Grady... dammit, Claire. A few more hours. Then a reasonable amount of time so you don’t look like a slut.
Pinned against the wall, she went with eavesdropping. Safest choice all around.
She leapt out of her socks when the mudroom door opened and Grady came strolling in. He hopped on one foot to pull up his loose wool sock before he saw Claire. Her heart thunked peculiarly in her chest when she felt his eyes on her. His look, pinched and angry when he’d entered, softened, and his breathing shallowed.
Nope, she was not alone in this crush. Was it a crush when both parties were crushing? She supposed that was the appropriate term when both of their hearts were shattering into teeny-tiny, itty-bitty little pieces.
Patricia’s shrilly delighted voice brought her back to the present. “I’m sure your daughter will be disappointed there will be one fewer Mallory on the market... No, nothing from Grady yet... No, I’m sure he likes girls. I’m open either way, but he has terrible luck...”
Grady rolled his eyes and was about to stalk into the kitchen. Claire smacked him in the gut as he tried to walk past her. Okay, so gut was the wrong word. Injured her hand on the rock-hard abs was more accurate. The sensation was beyond tempting. She wanted to flatten her palm and explore a bit. She really didn’t need to feel just how built he was; it really didn’t help her personal hell-bubble she was stuck in until she could sort this whole mess out.
Instead, she moved her finger to her lips to shush him and pushed him back.
He took position against the wall next to her and whispered in her ear, “Hear anything good?”
As close as possible so they wouldn’t be heard, and so she could enjoy the lingering scent of frost and horses and leather on his skin, she whispered back, “I wasn’t trying to listen in, but I heard her gossiping about me so I waited, and, honestly, hid, and if she saw me now, it would be really awkward. So I’m stuck here until the right moment when I can pretend that I just walked in.”
He nodded in understanding and listened with her. Although there was plenty of wall to hide behind, he stayed shoulder to shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do about Grady. I had hoped he would mellow out by this age, but he can’t seem to settle. Maybe he’s too much like his father. He is cursed with his temper and his stubbornness both.”
Groaning inwardly, Grady thumped the back of his head against the wall. This conversation wouldn’t be any more flattering for him than it had been for her. She leaned into him and patted his arm companionably. With his opposite hand, he reached over and held her hand over his arm. Warmth tingled through her at the connection. She glanced up, noting that his eyes had closed in a melodramatic grimace as he listened to his mother gripe about his inadequacies.
Hattie came around the corner. Claire jumped out of her skin at the surprise. As did Hattie. Claire and Grady both shushed her before she inadvertently gave away their position. A good sport, Hattie waved her hand playfully and turned back to the kitchen.
A cacophony filled the kitchen as Hattie decided now was a good time to grind coffee and reorganize the pots and pans.
“I’m sorry Mariah, I’ll have to call you back... Hattie, what are you doing? I was on the phone.”
Innocently, Hattie’s syrupy-sweet voice echoed across the room. “I apologize. I’m just so nervous about the gala that I can’t seem to think straight. Do you have a final guest list for me to review?”
“Of course.” And Patricia dashed out the opposite door.
Nice save, Hattie. “The coast is clear,” they heard her announce from the kitchen after a few moments. Hattie went straight for Grady as Claire went to pour some coffee.
Holding his face in her hands, Hattie shook her head meaningfully. “Don’t you listen to a word of that nonsense. You’re an amazing man with a good heart. You’ll find your way.”
Grady looked to be holding up ok, but at Hattie’s attention, he exhaled a pained sigh. Claire moved to the coffee pot and poured them each an afternoon mug. A smile settling on his lips, he accepted. Impatience weighing on her, Claire let her fingers brush over his at the exchange, then headed upstairs. She was out of steam and knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to wrap her arms around him much longer. So, naturally, she ran away before she did anything stupid.
Grady watched as Claire escaped up the stairs. Lucky. He hadn’t caught as much of the conversation as Claire had, but it sounded like his mother really liked Claire. Well, as much as Patricia liked anyone that wasn’t herself.
Oddly, he was glad. He couldn’t have waited silently in the wings if she had insulted Claire. But, as usual, he was the disappointment in his mother’s eyes. Actually, he was glad he had eavesdropped this time. He’d always wondered why. Ryder and Haley had endured their share of “constructive criticism” over the years, but he’d always taken the brunt of it. Now he realized why. He was the spitting image of his father, Patricia’s worst decision and most resented regret.
Hattie shook her finger at him, then grabbed a washrag from the sink and started cleaning up the latest kitchen mess. “Don’t you waste another minute dwelling on that baloney. Now, tell me. How are the horses today? You took Claire for a nice long trek on our beautiful trails. You were gone most of the day and must be starving.”
He clutched the coffee Claire had brought him and pulled up a barstool. Hattie had been more of a mother to him than Patricia. Having already raised four of her own children that had grown, she’d shared her momliness with Haley, Ryder, and him. Where his mother lacked it, Hattie made up for it in spades. “We had some protein bars on the ride. I still can’t believe they sold Lil. With just the three horses, I wonder if Patricia’s planning to phase them out, now that she doesn’t ride much anymore?”
Nodding knowingly, Hattie agreed. “I suspect you’re the only one that takes any joy in them anymore. Patricia hasn’t ridden in years. Too busy.” She paused in wiping down the countertops, letting her grip on the washrag loosen. “And what about you? How are you enjoying your work these days?”
Grady didn’t answer, instead staring into his cup for the answer to what felt like a rhetorical question.
“You are too brain-washed by your mother. I’m proud of all that you have accomplished. But it’s time to do what makes you happy. For you. And no one else.”
He shrugged, but continued to stare into his untouched coffee. He was wound up enough and didn’t need the caffeine right now.
“And what about Claire?” Old know-it-all eyed him with that gypsy stare that pierced right into his soul. She was downright spooky sometimes.
“What about Claire?” he asked, knowing she’d see right through him.
“You have one week to found out. Are you going to do anything about her?”
“She’s Ryder’s fiancée. There’s nothing to do.” His stomach churned, outraged at himself, knowing he wouldn’t speak up. The thought of coffee made his gut rebel. That love at first sight business was a load of bullshit. It was just his typical reaction to an off-limits, appealing woman.
“Is she? It’s up to you to act in time.”
He shook his head. “It’s already too late.”
The insults may have been more tolerable. He rose from the barstool and tried to escape the kitchen before she responded. But she knew him too well. “Sometimes, a woman wants a man to fight for her. Makes her know just how important she is to him.”
“Sounds a little sexist.”
“And a man wants a woman to fight for him, too.”
