Because he’s going to spend so much time with her.
Not because…
Shit, he didn’t know anymore, even though he’d been sure for years. No one could ever believe he and Tanya didn’t plan on crossing lines. They always wanted to make it into something more than friendship.
But it wasn’t.
He just never thought he’d be the one struggling to get that through his head.
* * *
Maddox walked around the main cabin in time to see the blond cook most everyone referred to as Miss Jessica smack the steering wheel of her late ’90s Toyota Corolla, fling open the door, and climb out, only to kick the front left tire.
“Stupid piece of shit,” she said to the car that used to be blue but was now more rusty brown. “Why are you being like this? Haven’t I loved you and taken care of you, even though you’re old and no one else would want you? And still you refuse to start for me?”
Maddox did his best not to laugh. He occasionally talked to the vehicles he fixed, but this was a whole new level. Like shame-fixing.
Unfortunately for her, it wouldn’t work in the long run, just like it’d never worked for any of the adults who’d tried that method on him.
The front door of the cabin opened, and Wade took one look at his fiancée and pinched the bridge of his nose. With his other hand, he gestured to a row of Dodge Rams, one older and three on the newer side. “I told you to just take one of the trucks.”
Jessica defiantly crossed her arms. “And I told you that I just wanted to drive my little car.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
The trunk popped open, even though no one was near it, and Jessica threw her head back. Then she shot her car a glare. “Remember this moment when you’re wondering why you ended up as nothing more than a pile of spare parts in a junkyard.”
A smile Maddox didn’t even know Wade was capable of spread across his face, and he shook his head. “Stubborn woman.”
“Okay, kettle.”
Wade’s gaze drifted, and Maddox didn’t react quickly enough to keep him from being caught staring. “Where are you supposed to be?”
“I have an appointment with Nick. I was just on my way over.” Maddox tipped his head toward the cabin-like offices and managed a step in that direction. Slowly, he turned around, even as he fought against the words on the tip of his tongue. Out they came anyway. “I can fix your car if you want.”
“That’s okay, it’s a pile of junk,” Wade said as Jessica said, “Really? That’d be awesome.”
The two of them glared at each other for a heated beat while Maddox awkwardly stood there, and finally Wade relented—not who Maddox would’ve picked to give in, so it was a good thing people around here wouldn’t make bets with him the way the guys at the shop did. It’d kept long workdays from getting too boring, and often the money he won was what he used to buy himself dinner.
Now that he’d already offered his mechanic services, he wanted to draw out this conversation as long as possible. Anything to avoid a touchy-feely counseling session. “I’ve even worked on that model before—it’ll run forever if you take care of it. I bet it’s the ignition coil or the fuel pump. Happens a lot when they get up in mileage.”
He had no idea why the woman was so set on fixing up the car. If he had to pick between the beat-up old car or the trucks, he would’ve chosen the trucks for their Cummins diesel engine. More horsepower, more torque.
“We’ll figure out when you might have time in your schedule to work on the car and get back to you,” Wade said, his voice as firm as the gray eyes trained on Maddox. “I’ll walk you over to see Nick.”
Like he was a damn baby. He wanted to reply that he’d been taking care of himself for years, and he sure as hell didn’t need to be walked anywhere. Only then Wade might change his mind about letting him work on the car, and Maddox would do almost anything that’d get him out of classes or training for some Podunk rodeo.
Except that last one would mean I wouldn’t get to see as much of Harlow.
Fine. He retracted that last part, but he’d love to miss classes and especially therapy sessions.
Wade dug into his pocket, tossed Jessica a set of keys, and then strode on over. He walked past Maddox, who was obviously supposed to follow like a good little soldier.
Maddox dragged his feet for two whole seconds before the stern cowboy gave him a knock-it-off look. Within no time at all, they arrived at the counseling office, and Wade was opening the door and ushering Maddox into a room where they’d inevitably want him to cry about his mom and his life.
Regardless of what they asked, he wasn’t telling them shit.
Chapter 6
Only a few numbers rang through the do-not-disturb mode that Brady had engaged on his cell last night before tumbling into bed.
The haze of sleep weighed down his limbs as he blindly searched the nightstand with his hand. After nearly knocking off the lamp he hadn’t bothered turning on, he felt the ringing, vibrating rectangle that was causing way too much racket.
He squinted one eye open. Tanya’s name illuminated the screen, giving him a stronger jolt than a cup of Jess’s almost chewable coffee, and he quickly sat up. Ranch work pretty much required being an early bird, but at a quarter past five on a random Wednesday morning, the rooster hadn’t even crowed yet. “If this is some attempt to deprive me of sleep and throw off my training schedule, you’re playing dirtier than I expected. I’m not sure whether to be impressed or appalled.”
“Trust me, I wish that were the reason for my call. Unfortunately, I need your help.” The frantic note to her voice had him throwing off the covers and climbing out of bed.
“What’s going on? You need to meet at our spot, or—”
“No, I’m on my way to you. I’ll be pulling into the driveway in a couple of minutes. I got a call from one of our old rodeo buddies—remember Edgar?”
The name tickled Brady’s memory, and then the image of the grizzled old cowboy popped into his head. “The horse wrangler and rodeo announcer with no filter, right? The one the PTA petitioned to remove because he kept swearing over the PA system.”
While most people thought it was funny and added an authentic flair, a group of women had been up in arms. They found other like-minded souls in towns across the county, but before the petition had finished making the rounds, Edgar decided to end his last rodeo by retiring and putting as many swear words as possible into his farewell speech. He’d made sure to tell the group where they could shove their petition, too.
That was a handful of years ago, and Brady couldn’t figure out if he was struggling to put the puzzle together because he was half-asleep or missing a few pieces. Shuffling noises came from the other side of the line, along with the sound of a diesel engine. “He needs our help rescuing a horse over in Thorne Ridge.”