Chapter Thirty
WALKING OUT INTO THE MAIN room again, I’m conscious of several pairs of eyes on me. The female ones look suspicious, the male ones look interested. I stop near an armchair and wait to see who might approach me first. I’m not surprised when it’s one of the guys.
“Hey there,” he says, sporting a big smile. He has nice teeth and a big cowboy hat that’s the color of straw but made of much finer stuff, I think. The sleeves of his navy blue button down shirt are rolled up a couple times, and his belt buckle is big but not as big as some I’ve seen around here, meaning I could probably fit a few carrot sticks on it instead of a full meal. Tall and broad shouldered, he has very tanned forearms for winter. The scars on his knuckles tell me he likes to fight.
I sigh. He’s way too handsome for his own good, and he knows it. I can tell by the way he walks, like he knows every girl in the room is looking at him and getting all revved up over what she sees. What a disappointment. I so prefer guys who are oblivious to their powers.
I know his type well; I call them roosters. They like to strut around and show off their feathers, and after they scratch out their territory, they have no problem fighting for it. The fact that Ian was playing around with me earlier has me considering a conversation with this guy, someone I normally would avoid.
“Hey there, yourself,” I say back.
“You the new girl in town?”
“I guess I am. Just here temporarily, though.”
“Mack’s sister-in-law or something, right?” He takes a drink of his beer and grimaces after he swallows.
“Kind of. Who are you?”
“Sorry, I should have told you sooner.” He lifts the front brim of his hat and dips his head a little. “Tate Montgomery, at your service.”
I don’t know what it is about getting a cowboy hat salute, but it does something funny to me inside. I think I like it. I can’t stop smiling in response, even though I had decided just a couple seconds ago that he wouldn’t be worth my time. When he winks, I smile even harder. Yes, I definitely like the cowboy salute thing. And the cowboy who’s doing the saluting. He’s not as roostery as I first thought.
“Can I ask you a question, Tate?” Since my plan to get in Ian’s Wranglers is all but busted, I decide to move on to my next order of business.
“Sure can. Ask me anything.” He takes a small step closer to me and I don’t back up. He smells nice, like man-soap.
“How hooked into the gossip grapevine are you?”
He shrugs. “I don’t do too much of it personally, but I suppose I know what’s on the wind. Kind of hard not to, living here.”
“I’ve only been here a couple days, but I was just wondering … how come Mack’s wife Andie doesn’t have any friends here?”
His face twists up a little and then he casually looks around the room before answering. He seems uncomfortable, but it’s difficult to tell whether it’s because he doesn’t like gossip in general or he doesn’t like the answer he’s about to give.
“Could be there’s stuff being said about her. Don’t know as I believe any of it, though.”
My heart starts hammering in my chest. People are saying crap about Andie? My Andie? I force myself to remain calm. He probably won’t tell me anything if I go all nuts on him. That kind of thing makes guys nervous.
“What kind of stuff and who’s saying it?” I ask.
He shrugs. “It’s really no big deal. She should just ignore it. It doesn’t matter now.”
I’m afraid he’s going to back off and tell me nothing if I act too eager, so I take his beer from his hand and help myself to a swig of it.
He smiles and moves in even closer, the heat from his body coming off him like he’s a human radiator. It’s nice on a cold winter’s night like tonight, and with a room full of strangers around us, I have nothing to fear, so I stay right where I am.
“I was just worried about her,” I say, trying to be cool. “She’s my best friend, and she’s all alone out here in Baker City. I’d love to know she has some friends she can count on.”
“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” he says. He reaches up and takes his beer back, placing the top of it at his mouth. He hesitates with it like that for a couple seconds looking at me. Just before he pushes it harder against his mouth for another sip, the tip of his tongue comes out and hits the glass rim.
I know he didn’t mean it to be sexy, but whoa. Now my brain is going a little haywire. I look around the room to see if anyone else noticed. Several girls are giving me looks that make me think they want to harm me physically.
I back away a half-step, not because I’m afraid of anyone but because this feels wrong. I know Ian’s not really interested in me, but I did come here with him and I’m not in the mood to complicate things more than they already are, even though it’s a little tempting with this guy Tate.
If I hadn’t met Ian, I’d definitely be all over this opportunity, but now that Ian’s gotten into my brain, Baker City is ruined for me as far as men are concerned. If I can’t do Ian, I won’t do anyone. Decision made. Sorry, Tate.
“You worried about something?” he asks me, following my gaze.
“Oh, no, not really. Just some of the girls here look like they want to scratch my eyes out.”
He laughs and moves closer, putting his hand on my hip. “Don’t worry about them. It’s just small-town bullshit. Same as everywhere else.”
I don’t move away from him immediately because I want to get more information from him. “So, what are they saying? About Andie, I mean.”
He sighs. “You’re going to make me tell you, aren’t you?”
I grin, seeing the defeat in his eyes. This was way easier than I thought it would be. “Yes. Don’t try to defy me. I can be very stubborn when I want to be.”
“I’ll tell you what,” he says, a twinkle in his dark eyes. He leans down closer. “You agree to go out with me one time, and I’ll agree to tell you what I know. How’s that sound?”
I chew on the inside of my cheek for a few seconds considering his offer, acting like him being this close is no big deal. “Lunch or dinner?” I’m stalling, trying to decide how this might play out with Ian. Will he be jealous? Mad? And what do I care what he’ll be about it? He’s just playing around with me to get back at Ginny. Maybe he even wants to get back together with her. He denied it, but guys do that crap all the time.
“Your choice,” Tate says. “Any meal, any place, any time, my treat.”
My eyebrows go up. He’s eager and somehow available at all hours of the day and night. Maybe he’s a rancher too. I find I’m kind of partial to that breed right now.
Since I have no other plans and the idea of hanging out with Ian anymore just feels like a recipe for heartbreak, I decide to go full speed ahead with my plan to solve the Andie-has-no-friends mystery.
“Breakfast,” I say. “Tomorrow morning at nine, the diner in town where Hannah Banana works.” I have no idea why I picked that place other than the fact that I don’t know any other spot in town besides the gun range and the hospital. Somehow neither of those venues seems to have the right atmosphere for giving him the third degree. Plus, at the diner I can mess with The Banana, which has proven to be pretty fun. That wench, trying to deny my pregnant BFF her herbal tea. Grrrr.
He narrows his eyes. “You look like pure trouble right now, you know that?”
I hold my hand out for him to shake it. “Good. Because that’s what I am if you don’t keep your end of the deal.”
He takes my hand but then leans down and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. “It’s a deal. Sealed with a kiss.”
I’m about to smile and answer him, but he’s suddenly yanked from my grip.
“What the hell are you doing, man?!” an angry guy yells.
It takes me a split second before I realize it’s Ian, and he’s got Tate by his shirt at his shoulder.
“What the hell?!” Tate stumbles but then quickly rights himself. Glaring at Ian, he jerks his arm really hard to pull himself out of Ian’s grip. “Get off me, man!”
I back away until my legs hit the edge of a couch behind me. Boog is striding down the hallway from the kitchen in my direction.
“How ‘bout you get off my girl?” Ian says in a deadly calm voice. His face is beet red.
Tate stands up straight and fixes his shirt. Then he looks at me. “Funny … she didn’t mention being your girl when she set up a date with me.”
Boog stalls in the opening to the living room. He starts with what sounds like a warning, “Ian …”
Tate smiles, interrupting Boog so he can continue taunting Ian. “Sorry to break it to you, man, but she’s done with you. Can’t say as I blame her.”
I hold out my arm to stop what I see coming, but it does no good. Ian’s a couple feet away and then a second later he’s tackling Tate to the ground.
They smash into a television and bring it to the floor in a mighty crash of broken glass and plastic. Girls nearby scream and jump out of the way. The guys stand their ground or move to better sightseeing positions, their overriding goal to not spill their beers. Tate and Ian are both roaring insults at each other.
Boog comes over to me with his phone at his ear. “You ready to go home?” he asks, putting his conversation on hold as he waits for my answer.
“Um … yes?” I look at Ian and know that he’s not going to be ready to drive me anywhere for a while. He’s too busy trying to fight his way out of a headlock.
“She’s ready to go.” Boog says in his phone. He nods a few times while he listens to whoever is on the other end of the line and then looks at me. “I’ll tell her. Bye.”
I lose all interest in Ian and focus on Boog. “What’s up?”
“Mack’s outside waiting for you. Get your coat and I’ll walk you out.”
I look from Boog to Ian, the latter now in some kind of wrestling position on the floor, legs all tangled with Tate’s.
“What do you mean, Mack’s here?”
“He’s out in his truck. Come on.” Boog takes me by the upper arm and guides me over to the front door where my borrowed coat hangs.
I feel terrible. “I’m sorry about all this,” I say, gesturing back towards the other room where I can hear grunting and then another crash.
“Don’t worry about it. This is status quo for Ian. This’ll be the third TV he’s bought me.”
“And he’s still your friend?” I’m bewildered over Boog’s casual acceptance of the destruction of his property.
Boog’s eyes crinkle up at the corners. “I’ve upgraded after each fight. This time I’m going for the fifty-inch high def model.”
I laugh at the obvious excitement in his voice. “You’re kind of crazy, you know that?”
His smile fades. “You’re kind of beautiful, you know that?”
I’m too stunned to respond, but he keeps on going.
“Just be careful. With Ian, I mean.”
“What? Ian? He’s harmless.”
“I don’t mean be careful as in he’s dangerous … I mean be careful with his heart. It’s pretty tender.”
I snort, so fed up with all the pandering I see going on here. Boog’s getting free TVs when it’s practically his fault the fighting keeps happening. They’re all co-dependent sorrow addicts. “Please,” I say with as much scorn in my voice as I can manage. “You guys are all just a bunch of enablers.
Boog stands up straighter and looks confused. Maybe a little mad too. “Come again?”
“You’ve let him act like a giant baby for the last three years instead of kicking him in the butt and telling him to grow up and get over it. That’s not on me, that’s on you.”
And they have the nerve to warn me away. Ha! They should warn themselves away. They’re doing more harm to Ian than I ever could.
I grab the front door handle, more than ready now to leave this lame party. Boog just went from cool guy to butthead on my list. I don’t care if he gave me free chocolate.
His hand on my shoulder stops me just before I pull the door open.
“I didn’t mean to insult you. I think you’d be good for him. But only if you’re committed to seeing it through.”
I don’t turn around when I answer, my voice going out into the cold as I open the door and step outside. “You don’t need to worry about any of that. I’m over him.” Just saying the words makes me hurt.
The truck that Andie was driving before is parked at the curb, the engine rumbling and smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I trudge through the falling snow to the passenger side and get in next to Mack, ignoring anything Boog might be saying or thinking behind me.