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
