“Since it looks like we’re gonna be running into each other a good bit from here on out, I’d like to clear the air between us. Once and for all.”
“All right, cowboy.” She pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. “What’s on your mind?”
“I want to know why you blame me,” Zac said.
“Blame you for what?” she asked.
“For you and Ty,” he answered. “I didn’t set out to destroy your marriage. I didn’t pull him away from you, Delaney. I never wanted to see you get hurt.”
“Maybe not, but you sure didn’t do much to help it. I thought you’d at least try to rein him in, if only out of respect for me.”
“I wasn’t exactly Ty’s keeper back then,” he said. “No one was. You know as well as I do that Ty wasn’t ready to settle down.” His gaze was cool and level and far too probing. “I love Ty like a brother, but there’s no way in hell he coulda made you happy, even if he’d stuck around. You didn’t want the same things. You needed a man you could count on. Ty wasn’t that man.”
“I know that . . . now,” she said.
She would like to have argued the point, but she could hardly disagree. Ty hadn’t been ready for marriage and family. Maybe he never would be. If she was honest, it wasn’t all Ty’s fault either. She’d only set her sights on him to spite her controlling parents, but after they’d eloped she’d sworn to become the perfect little rancher’s wife and raise the perfect little family, not realizing that Ty had no intention of giving up his freedom—married or not. When given the ultimatum, he’d walked. He hadn’t even contested the divorce. In the end, the joke had been on her.
She looked away. “I don’t blame you anymore, but it still hurts.”
“He didn’t do it, you know.”
Her gaze flew back to Zac. She released a snort of disbelief. “So he claims.”
“It’s true, Delaney. He was too drunk to know she was undressing him, and he passed out before anything happened.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She choked out a dry laugh. “My husband didn’t cheat because he drank too much to finish the job? Sorry. It doesn’t matter if he actually did her or not. He shouldn’t have been in that room with her in the first place.”
“We always shared traveling expenses.”
“Whores too, Zac? You’re quite a friend.”
Her biggest concern back then had been the buckle bunnies that flocked to Zac and Ty whenever they traveled together. Deep down, she’d known it was just a matter of time before something bad happened.
He mumbled a stream of curses. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean? Why were there multiple women in the room? Is one at a time not enough for you, or are you sporting more than one dick?”
Zac’s expression darkened. “I’m not going to apologize to you for my lifestyle. Maybe I did have a wild streak once, but that was years ago.” He signaled the waitress for another beer.
“Why did you invite me here?” she asked. “And don’t give me that line about wanting for female company ’cause I don’t buy it.” She took a sip of her wine. “You’ve always had your pick of women. All you horndog bull riders do.”
“Just ’cause the tree’s full doesn’t mean the fruit’s any good.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“It means I’ve had my fill of that kind of woman. I don’t want ’em anymore.”
“And I suppose now you’re looking for the right one to settle down with?”
“Something like that.”
Delaney gave a snort of disbelief. “Does that line really work for you, Zac?”
He met her gaze, unsmiling. “I’ve never had to resort to pick-up lines, Delaney. If I want a woman, I just say so.”
“Really?” she scoffed. “It’s that easy for you.”
“Yup. Pretty much.” He looked away as if embarrassed and drained his glass. “I don’t deny there’s been a lot of women, but I’ve never made it out to be more than it was with any of them.”
“So you never wanted to settle down?”
“Didn’t say that, but even if I’d wanted to, I wouldn’t even have tried. My lifestyle made it impossible. How can you be a husband and father if you’re on the road nine months out of the year? ”
“Bull riding is why you didn’t marry?” she asked.
“Partly.” His intense deep green gaze held hers for several heavy heartbeats. “The other reason is the only one I might have wanted was already taken.”
A long silence filled the space between them.
She ran a finger slowly around the rim of her glass. She looked up to find him watching her. “Why would you just give the heifer to me?” she asked, still suspicious. “What’s in this for you?”
“I want to help you,” he said. “I don’t want you to blame me anymore for your unhappiness.”
“Who says I’m unhappy?”
“I don’t need to hear it from anyone when I have eyes in my head. When was the last time you went anywhere? Had any fun?” he asked.
“I went to Vegas just a few weeks ago,” she replied too defensively.