“Dirk, thank you so much. I didn’t even see that patch of ice.” My voice was unsteady from almost falling and busting my ass.
He winked. “It’s hard to see it sometimes. Just don’t go running around like that in the winter, and you’ll be fine.”
I laughed and was surprised at how nervous it sounded. I wasn’t the least bit attracted to Dirk. “How’s the bull riding going?” I asked.
He grinned so wide I returned one of my own. “You’re looking at the world champion.”
I gasped. “That’s amazing, Dirk! Congratulations.”
He tipped his cowboy hat at me. “It took Brock retiring for me to get my spot, so I’ll gladly take it.”
“I told Ty and Brock we needed to celebrate!” Kaylee said from next to me. Dirk gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before he looked her over. He lifted a brow and she winked at him. I couldn’t help but notice the interaction between the two of them. Kaylee had told me Dirk was one of her closest and dearest friends. She even called him her male version of Lincoln, which said a lot considering Kaylee had known Dirk for not even two years. Looking at the way the two of them acted, you could see the friendship there. He adored her, but not in a sexual kind of way. She was a like a sister to him. But then, Dirk seemed to adore Lincoln as well, yet he had that sisterly connection with Kaylee.
“Look at you, you’re beautiful,” Dirk said to Kaylee.
“And still my wife, so get your paws off of her, Littlewood,” Ty shouted.
Dirk tossed his head back and laughed as Ty and Brock approached us. “Christ Almighty, if it isn’t the oldest Shaw brothers.”
There was a round of handshakes and quick bro hugs with hard back slaps. What was it about these men and the back slapping?
“You’re looking good. How have things been?” Brock asked.
“Busy. I shot a few commercials this past weekend,” Dirk said. “That shit is a lot crazier with a championship under your belt.”
Both Ty and Brock laughed because they knew what it was like, both being previous PBR world champions themselves.
Ty walked up to Kaylee and kissed her on the lips, then whispered something into her ear. I loved seeing her cheeks blush ever so slightly, but a small pang of jealousy ripped through me, shocking me for the briefest of moments.
I focused my attention back on Brock and Dirk who were talking about bulls or something. My mind drifted off once more as I tried to think of warm things to keep my body from freezing. Then Brock said something that caused me to jerk my head up and focus on his conversation with Dirk. “I haven’t seen him at all this morning, Dad said he’s not even sure he came home.”
Dirk nodded. “I saw him at the Blue Moose last night. He was on his way to getting pretty wasted. One of his friends was having some sort of party or something. Lindsey Johnson was hanging all over him, but he didn’t seem the least bit interested in her. I can’t tell you how many times he peeled her arms off of him.”
My heart fell to my stomach, but at least Tanner hadn’t been interested in Lindsey. “Tanner didn’t come home last night?” I heard myself asking. That caused both Dirk and Brock to look at me. Brock nodded, but Dirk smiled as if he knew something no one else did.
“We need to get going, y’all. I’ve got an appointment and we can’t be late,” Kaylee said.
Dirk reached for my hand and removed the glove, then placed a kiss on top. I rolled my eyes as he winked.
“Oh, how I will miss you, Ms. Holden. If you haven’t noticed, I have a fondness for the women in your family.” He waggled his brows dramatically, and I couldn’t help but laugh, knowing he was only kidding.
“I had noticed, yes.”
He flashed me a sinful smile. “Hopefully that doesn’t scare you away.”
“If she’s smart, it will.” That voice.
Dirk’s smile turned into a full-blown grin, as if he had planned this whole scene to happen. I jerked my eyes away from Dirk to see Tanner standing there. My breath was nearly stolen once again, and this time the cold air had nothing to do with it. I was hot all over, and the memory of his hands on me caused my body to tremble and my cheeks to burn.
Dirk stepped closer to me, leaned down and whispered so only I could hear him. “I fear I’m too late to win your heart, ma’am.”
I turned and looked at him. He was teasing, and I knew what his main objective was with the whisper…agitate Tanner at all costs. Well, two could play at that game. With a sinful smile of my own, I whispered back, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”
Dirk let out a roar of laughter, as if I had said the funniest thing in the world. Then he took his little game a step further and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll see you around, beautiful.”
When he stepped away, I looked at Tanner and my smile faltered slightly. He looked furious as he glared at Dirk. When he let his gaze move over to me, he softened his expression, but I still couldn’t read it. He was totally emotionless now as he stared at me.
I turned and climbed up into the Ford F-250 truck. Kaylee hopped in and fired up the engine. “Damn it, I should have started it remotely. It’s freezing,” she said.
“It’s okay,” I said, needing the cold air to diffuse the instant rush of heat that enveloped me when I saw Tanner.
By the time we pulled out of the entrance to the ranch, the truck’s heater was blasting hot air, and I could breathe normally again.
“Do you want to talk about what’s happening with you and Tanner?”
“What?” I asked in a stunned voice as I looked at Kaylee.
She gave me an expression that said I wasn’t fooling anyone. “Timberlynn, please. From the first time the two of you saw each other, it’s been like a moth to a flame. Ty said he’s never seen Tanner so taken with anyone before. He thinks Tanner really likes you.”
I was positive my mouth dropped open. “Please, don’t be ridiculous! That’s insane.”
Ugh. I spat my words out way too fast because Kaylee looked at me and slightly frowned. “Why is that insane?”
“He’s a player, and from what I’ve heard, he likes to fuck them and leave them.”
Kaylee didn’t look back at me when she replied in an almost angry tone, “No, that would be Dirk who fucks them and leaves them. The rumors about Tanner are fabricated by girls who want to brag they’ve slept with him, or by those who wished they had.”
“How do you know it’s not true?” I asked bitterly.
This time she did look at me, and a quick smile flashed across her face. “Dear sweet cousin, be careful there, or I may just think I’ve hit a nerve.”
I sighed. “You haven’t hit anything.”
“You don’t like him, then?”
“Yes. No. I mean, I don’t…I don’t know what I feel toward Tanner, Kaylee.”
“Okay. Would it be so bad if you did like him?”
“Yes!” I practically shouted. “I can’t open myself up to someone like him. I just can’t. And I don’t want to.”
Silence filled the air between us when she didn’t respond. Outside, the fields flew past, covered in snow. Kaylee cleared her throat before she finally spoke. “Are you only interested in a quick fling with him, because I’m not so sure he’s on the same page, Timberlynn. I don’t want to see either one of you hurt.”
Frustration bubbled up inside of me and I turned to look at her. She had her eyes on the road in front of us, both hands on the steering wheel. “How exactly do you know what page he’s on, Kaylee? Has he told you he has feelings for me?”
“No.”
“Has he told his brothers?”
She shook her head and softly replied, “Not that I know of.”
“Then can we stop this conversation?”
“No.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, no, Timberlynn. Listen, I get the hurt and anger you have for your father and what that can do to you. Believe me, if anyone gets that, I do. But I?
??ve watched you put up a wall for fear of getting hurt again. Tanner isn’t going to hurt you.”
My body nearly shook with anger. “And you know this because you have a crystal ball that you can see the future with?”
She gave me a halfhearted chuckle. “No, I don’t, smartass. I’m simply saying that both Ty and Brock have noticed how he looks at you. How when you walk into the room he lights up. And did you not notice how insanely jealous he was just now when Dirk flirted with you?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Did something happen between the two of you last night? Stella swears she might have interrupted something between y’all.”
My cheeks heated, and I wanted to crawl under a rock. “Oh, perfect! Just freaking perfect. Oh my God. She thinks we were…”
“No!” Kaylee said, laughing again. “No, she simply sees the attraction as well and said Tanner came barreling downstairs from your room and declared he was going out. He didn’t come home last night, so she put two and two together. She figured y’all might have had an argument about something.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “We were wrapping presents, that’s all. He mentioned something about his partner maybe not wanting to rope anymore, and I think that turned his mood sour.”
Ugh, I hated lying to Kaylee of all people. My stomach rolled as I fought the urge to be sick.
Kaylee gave me a quick look. “What? Chance doesn’t want to rope anymore?”
“Maybe not, I don’t think he’s sure. Tanner seems to be a bit unsure of his future as well. His mood…it, um…it changed suddenly.”
“Oh man, no wonder they came home early. I wonder if he’s talked to his brothers about it yet.”