I gritted my teeth as Erin chuckled next to me. Rolling up my window, I watched Tristan and Buck get the cows moving. I had to admit, he looked like he was made to ride that horse. His hips moved right along with the saddle, and there wasn’t a trace of unease in his posture. A far cry from the contestants on the show.
“So, Buck is the one who’s engaged to the massage therapist. Apparently they had a very public break up on the show.” Erin moved the car forward as Tristan led us down the road. “Clint married the network exec who came to pitch the show.”
“Did you binge the whole season last night after I went to bed?”
Laughing, she said, “No. I Googled them. The baby of the family is Sera. She just graduated college and is running the riding lessons side of the business. Tristan is twenty-five, chronically single, and he’s the resident horse whisperer. Oh! I bet the guy who was with him at the bar that night was Sam.”
“Sam?”
“He’s the elusive one. Sam’s a champion bull rider. He refuses to be on camera. I guess it was a huge deal that he showed up for the wedding special.”
I wondered what his story was, but I didn’t blame him for wanting privacy. I was thankful we weren’t going to be here during filming. I had no idea how I would handle something like that.
“So you didn’t look him up?”
“Sam? I mean, of course I did. Do you know me at all?” She pouted. “His photos were all on bulls, aside from one publicity picture from years ago. He’s just as handsome as the rest of them. Damn genetically blessed ranchers.”
Tristan dismounted from his horse as we parked in front of our private cabin and got out of the car. After tying the steed to a hitching post at the side of the house, he strode toward us. I didn’t want to talk to him right now. I had experienced just about enough of him at the moment.
“You two gonna be all right way out here? It’s a long way back to the bunkhouse.” His gaze lowered to my belly and his brows furrowed. “I don’t like the idea of you roaming the ranch in such a delicate condition.”
“I’m pregnant, not porcelain.”
“I just mean if you need something, it might take a while for someone to help.”
“I’m fine.”
He narrowed his gaze at me. “You might be fine, but you’re my responsibility now.”
Erin winced. “Oh, you pretty, foolish man. You’ve gone and stepped right in it.”
Dragging a hand over the back of his neck, he glanced from her to me. “I don’t see what’s so wrong with wanting to take care of her.”
She sighed. “Of course you don’t.”
I moved to grab my suitcase, but Tristan stopped me with a gentle hand on my elbow. “Let me get that. Please?”
I let him. It was heavy.
Following him up the stairs that led into the cabin, I tried really hard not to look at his ass in those tight jeans, but I was losing the battle with my hormones. I almost crashed into him when he stopped in front of me.
“Wow, this is prettier than in the pictures.” Erin ran her hand along the back of a cozy-looking sofa in the living room.
She was right. The all-wood cabin was warm and inviting. A small kitchenette sat nestled into the right corner of the space, and a stone fireplace was the centerpiece of the back wall. There was a bed on the wall opposite the kitchen, with a bathroom to the left. Everything we’d need was here. Maybe I wouldn’t have to leave the cabin and deal with him again for a while.
He hung his hat on the rack by the door and took my bag over to the chest at the foot of the bed. Then he proceeded to load the fireplace with wood. “It’s startin’ to get cold at nights now. You’ll be needing this tonight.” Bright blue eyes locked on mine. “Supper is at six. Just head back the way you came. I’ll be looking out for you.”
My belly fluttered with nerves at the rough tone of his voice. “Thank you.”
Standing, he brushed off his hands and assessed the space once more. Then with a curt nod, he said, “I suppose I’ll be letting you two ladies get settled in. If you need anything, just call.”
As he passed me, he stopped and leaned close. His lips brushed my ear, and I had to fight a shiver of desire at the memory of what those lips did to my body months ago. “We’ll be havin’ a talk about our situation, Hazel.”
Tristan
What was I doing? I didn't know what to say to her. Hazel had haunted my dreams over the last few months, sure. But being in front of her, facing her, facing an entire future I hadn’t planned on—it was a lot to handle.
Women never left an impression on me the way Hazel did. I’d always been able to move on without much more than a passing thought. But she was different. And now, she was carrying my child. I couldn't just let her get away. By the look on her face when I proposed marriage—the clumsy ass I am—she really wasn’t here for more than to let me know about her situation. She didn't want anything from me, and I had no idea what the best option would be. Would I even be a good father? Would it be better to let her raise the child without me?
I've never thought of myself as the kind of guy who’d have a kid and not be part of its life. That wasn’t who I had been raised to be. But, if I was being honest. I really didn't think I’d have a kid at all until I was good and ready to settle down. Hell, I was barely twenty-five.
I rode back down to the main house, the lodge as we now called it, and saw Mama waiting for me. She was seated in one of the old rocking chairs our dad built for her when she was expecting Clint. But her face was anything but serene and relaxed.
Shit. I was in so much trouble.
Hitching Ranger to the post near the house, I stood in front of her, hat in my hands, ready for her to let me have it.
"Those girls all settled?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"So, you mean to tell me you had no idea that girl was pregnant?"
God, I felt like a little kid caught doing something I shouldn't. "Mama, I hope you know I wouldn't leave a girl in a situation like that."
Her eyebrows rose nearly into her dark hair streaked with gray. "Do I know that, Tristan? Because you do a lot of things that I never thought you’d do. And one of those is treat women like they are interchangeable."
That stung. She was right, but that didn't mean it didn’t hurt. Maybe it felt worse because she was right. "It's been months since I've been with anybody, not that I need to tell you."
“Don’t you lie to me, Tristan Nicholas Ryker. Well just this morning, you were hungover after saying goodbye to Travis again. I know your cousin doesn't come for a visit very often, but you two going out together is always a recipe for disaster.”
"I said I didn't take anyone home. And I didn’t go home with a girl. My boots stayed squarely under my bed where they belong.”
She huffed out of breath, as if she was trying to figure out how to deal with me. She rolled her eyes to the sky and whispered, "George, if you’re listenin’, help me out."
I wondered how many times she spoke to my dad each day.
“Well," she said, locking eyes with me. I knew this look. This was her don’t-fuck-with-me look that I had feared my entire life. "What are you gonna do?"