Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

WAYLON

As I stalked down Poke Street, a week after Silas and I announced our sham marriage, all I could think was, We do not have this under control.

At least, I sure as hell didn't.

"Mayor Fletcher?"

I spun around to see my assistant speed walking down the street in hot pursuit. "What is it, Bernice?"

"It's your husband, sir. He… well, he told Brett Marsman about a federal credit for green energy projects. Wasn't that thoughtful?" My normally unflappable assistant's eyes shone with something like hero worship—an emotion I hadn't known she was capable of until Silas came to town. "Brett was just thrilled. I've never seen him so lively! Says Silas is the best thing to happen to Majestic since we got our own gas station back in '05. But now Brett wants to know if we can rush an application through for the Stanner building since they're installing solar. If I can get your signature, I can overnight it." She held out the papers with a pen already perched on top.

I closed my eyes and tried to keep from biting out a curse.

I was glad Brett was feeling so lively.

I felt like the walking dead.

My workload was as heavy as ever, but I was barely getting any sleep at night. Apparently, I had twenty-eight years of repressed lust to slake now that I had a hot and willing man in my bed. I hadn't had this many orgasms per day since I was in middle school and had stolen a bottle of my sister's body lotion from our shared bathroom.

That wasn't anything to complain about, of course, but in addition to the lack of sleep, I also had a lack of time and space to get my head on straight. My new husband was suddenly everywhere. By the time I got up for the early morning feed, Silas was already on the phone with some European country, making deals in a language I couldn't identify. When I parked my truck near City Hall, I'd find him standing on the sidewalk, talking to Mr. Jenks about small-business subsidies that could help him buy a new truck or showing Bernice an app that could help her keep track of my schedule more efficiently. When I dragged my weary body home at the end of the day, there he'd be, all bare, tattooed skin and a devastating grin, so gorgeous I couldn't help jumping him.

Even when he wasn't physically around, Silas somehow still made his presence known. His work stuff was scattered on the love seat in my house, and his clothes were stacked in a corner of the bathroom. His laughter rang out from the bench by the river when he was talking to his friends on the phone, and his scent permeated everything I owned. My whole place smelled like his cologne and bodywash, and I'd even caught myself sniffing my own clothes at work to catch a whiff of him.

Plus, everywhere I went, it seemed a Majestican was eager to tell me about my kind and generous husband who'd invariably assisted them in some minor way. He'd helped JoJo Reynolds corral a runaway toddler outside of the Feed and Seed and had helped Dot Cobler reach a can of hair spray from a high shelf at the grocery store. Even Lake McNair had mentioned Silas's suggestion of approaching Patagonia about co-branding some merch for the upcoming adventure season. According to Lake, Silas had "killer contacts" at the company.

None of that was bad. Of course not.

Silas was helpful. And good-smelling. And irresistibly sexy.

But it was… different.

Distracting.

And it set me on edge for reasons I couldn't explain.

Bernice's face softened further after I took the papers from her. She extended her other hand, which held a small brown bag I recognized from the Love Muffin. "Also, he brought you a sandwich again. Scrambled eggs on toast." She bit her lip and sighed happily. "He said you didn't eat breakfast before you left the house. Isn't he the sweetest?"

I glanced back toward the office, torn between wanting to see if Silas was still hanging around City Hall and needing to meet with Foster at the sheriff's office about the traffic diversion needs during the AdventureSmash exhibition.

"Sure." I handed her back the signed documents and took the bag. "Did he, ah… say what he was up to today?"

"Uh-huh. He said he was going to the sheriff's office to talk to him about the traffic thing." She said this with a huge smile like she expected me to smile, too.

Instead, I stared at her. "He what ?"

"Well, when he stopped by with your sandwich, we got to chatting, and I mentioned how stressed you were about the situation, what with the budgeting concerns and the personnel issues, and he said he had some ideas. Isn't that amazing?"

"Amazing," I repeated. As in, I was amazed Silas had even known about the traffic thing and further amazed that he'd decided to interfere in my work without even asking.

Did the man not have enough to do with his corporate strategy shit? Did he not know how to stick to his own business?

"I told him you were headed to talk to Foster after your meeting with Jackson and Lake," she continued. "He said he'd just head on over and told me to tell you he'd meet you there. But then you lit out of the conference room so fast after your meeting, I didn't have a chance." Bernice shrugged.

"Right. Okay." I lifted my hat to run my fingers through my hair. I reminded myself Silas meant well. That the only reason he'd stayed in Majestic at all was because I'd asked him to. That he and I were happy husbands. "I'll talk to him. Please just… instead of talking to him about my work from now on, tell him to ask me directly, okay?"

Her lips tightened. "He offered to help. Would it kill you to let him? He cares about you very much, Mayor."

Bernice Milsom had known me since I was six years old, and she was a part-time school bus driver on my route. When the previous mayor had turned out to be a cheat and a thief, she'd felt an overwhelming guilt—even though none of it had been her fault—that had caused her to become overly formal in everything she did in her role. Regardless of how many times I'd asked her to call me Way, she'd refused.

At least she was still able to mother me, even if she wouldn't call me by my first name. I didn't dare correct her and let her know Silas cared more about solving the town's problems than caring about me specifically.

If there was one thing I'd learned about Silas in the past week, in addition to just how talented his oral skills were in the bedroom, it was that he had a driving need to fix things… and it was going to drive me right off the deep end.

After thanking Bernice, I contemplated jumping in my truck and driving to the sheriff's office since it would get me there quicker, but I opted to walk. The Dodge had started slipping gears the past couple days, and I'd been meaning to find someone to take a look at the transmission. Yet another thing I hadn't handled this week because I was too distracted by my husband.

I unwrapped the sandwich, ripped off a large bite, and angry-chewed as I stalked down the street. I wondered if maybe asking Silas to stick around hadn't been such a good idea after all. I felt even less in control of my life and everything in it than I had before my Vegas mistake.

Before I'd gone more than a couple blocks, Natana Whiteplume stepped out of my sister's pottery studio across the street and gestured for me to wait for her.

"Just the man I wanted to see," she said with a smile, flipping her long dark braid over her shoulder. "I was heading to your office next."

The judge's younger sister had always been one of my favorite people. She was a trick rider on horseback and was a fan favorite at our summer rodeo for tourists. ZuZu adored her and had spent the past several years trying to get me to ask her out. Natana fell into the category of women I definitely couldn't date without the entire town knowing all about it, so I'd never even considered listening to my sister's hints.

"What can I do for you? I'm actually headed to the sheriff's office for a meeting, but we can talk while we walk if you don't mind?"

She nodded and fell in step with me. "First of all, please thank Silas for his help at your place yesterday. I couldn't get one of the paddock gates to stay closed, and he came along at just the right time. I worked with Letty for a couple of hours and would like to lease her this summer if that's still good with you. She's a quick learner, just like you said."

It took my brain a minute to catch up with her request. Once again, here was someone thanking me for Silas's help. It had become a little bit ridiculous. "Of course. Same terms as last summer. Shoot me an email, and I'll get the paperwork together."

"Great. I also wanted to let you know… I'm afraid I can't help with roundup after all."

I glanced over at her in surprise. Natana could always be counted on as a trusted rider during roundup. "Why not?"

"My great-aunt down in Lander is having a heart cath procedure, and there's no one else to help her. Kush has court stuff he can't leave, and my mom's still recovering from her knee surgery."

I blew out a breath. "Oh, shit. Is your great-aunt okay?"

She nodded. "Probably. But she's old and scared. Doesn't trust doctors much, so she's looking for any excuse to get out of it. I promised my mom I'd go."

"I understand." I tried to imagine doing roundup without her help. "You know anyone else who'd want the work next week?"

"Possibly Taza if he can get Jenks to give him the time off."

Last time I tried to borrow my neighbor's best hand, Mr. Jenks hadn't spoken to me for a month. I grunted.

Natana's answering grin was bright and easy. "Or how about that handsome husband of yours?"

I let out a soft snort. "Silas doesn't ride."

Her eyes widened. "No shit?"

"No shit. He's from New York. He rides the subway, and that's about it."

"Then it sounds like we have some work to do! We need to get that man on a horse. I'll bet I can give him some lessons on Bunny. She'll go easy on a beginner."

The idea of Silas out of his comfort zone made me happier than I expected. "I would pay big money to see those lessons."

We joked the rest of the way to Foster's office, where I found not only my best friend but also my husband.

"God, he's handsome," Natana said on a soft sigh.

"No shit," I replied without thinking.

Natana reached over and shoved my shoulder. "Lucky dog."

We entered the office laughing. When Silas caught sight of me, his eyes darkened. At this point, that intense look had a one-way ticket to my dick, so I had to immediately school my thoughts to keep from embarrassing myself in mixed company.

"It's about time," Foster said, standing up and stretching. "I was ready to call Bernice and tell her not to bother sending you over since Silas here has already pretty much solved our dilemma."

My mood soured again as I glared in Silas's direction. "That so?"

His smile wavered. "I only made some suggestions…"

Thankfully, Natana didn't notice the tension between us. "Silas, I've decided I'm going to teach you to ride. Can you meet me around three at Way's barn? Wear jeans and shoes with a heel if you have them, and if you have something with a steel toe, even better."

He looked surprised but nodded anyway.

"Great, see you then. Foster, always good to see you." She waved before turning and leaving back the way she'd come. Just before exiting the doorway, she turned back. "Way, if I find anyone else who can help with roundup, I'll let you know. Sorry to bail on you."

I waved her off and took a seat next to Silas across from Foster's desk. "I had some thoughts about the traffic diversion," I began.

Foster shook his head and pointed at Silas. "No need. This guy got us access to ETC. Do you know what that is?"

The confusion on my face must have been answer enough because he continued. "It's an emergency traffic light control software. Once it's installed, we'll be able to control the stoplights electronically based on the needs of emergency vehicles. It's been on my radar for a while, but it's not in our municipal budget."

"I don't understand," I admitted, looking between Foster and Silas. "How can we get it if it's not in our budget?"

Silas's eyes shifted away. "I do consulting for the company that sold it. They have grants for small towns like Majestic, and I'm confident I can get it approved."

I glanced back at Foster. "How would that solve our problem during the exhibition?"

"From what Silas says, we can set the lights on Poke to stay on red—with the exception of emergency vehicle access—while reprogramming the lights on Thorpe and Leigh to stay on green…"

As he continued explaining the plan, I realized it solved our problem nicely without the need to bring in outside law enforcement officers to help manage traffic.

"Can it be implemented that fast?"

Silas leaned forward. "Yes, and we can even schedule the training follow-up visit for the week of the exhibition so there'll be an ETC technician on-site during the event."

I blew out a breath. Even though I was annoyed at his easy solution, I had to admit it would save Majestic a lot of money in contract labor. "Okay. Yeah. Let's do it. Thank you, Silas," I added grudgingly.

He tilted his head at me. "You okay?"

I stretched my neck before giving him a nod. Why did it bother me so much that the man had helped us out? "Yeah, fine. Thanks for doing this."

Foster stared at me from across the desk. He knew me too well to believe the lie that I was okay, but he was a good enough friend not to call me on it in front of Silas.

Silas looked back and forth between me and Foster. I suddenly remembered my husband's flare of jealousy when he saw Foster kissing my cheek the day he arrived in town, and despite my annoyance, I wanted to soothe him.

I reached over and took Silas's hand in mine. His eyes widened in surprise. "Thanks for the breakfast sandwich," I said softly. "But if you keep tossing in a cinnamon roll with it, I'll have to upgrade from Helios to a bigger horse."

His lips curved into a knowing smile that reminded me of the smile he gave me every morning when we woke up in my bed. Even after a week, it still gave me stupid flutters in my stomach.

"I'm trying to fatten you up before Eden gets back to town and realizes her mistake."

Hopefully, Foster's deep laugh covered my momentary confusion. Even though Silas's comment had sounded like a joke, I'd seen a flash of what looked like uncertainty behind his eyes.

"Not much chance of that," Foster said. "Eden's married to her career at the moment, thank god. Don't know how we'd land the AdventureSmash deal without her."

I could tell Silas had no idea what Foster meant by that, but he didn't ask. Maybe he thought it would reveal how little the two of us knew about each other. The thought made me realize I hadn't told him that Foster knew the truth about our marriage.

To be fair, Silas and I hadn't spent much time talking this week. We were either separated by work and other commitments or tearing each other's clothes off to squeeze as much sexual satisfaction as we could from each other's bodies. I'd never before been in a purely physical relationship, and I was doing a piss-poor job of remembering we were supposed to be getting to know each other, too.

To keep up our cover, obviously.

My cheeks heated, and I squirmed.

Foster let out a cross between a groan and a chuckle before standing up. "Okay, I don't know what's happening here, and I don't really care. The two of you need to get the hell out so I can get back to work. Thanks for your help, Silas."

Silas squeezed my hand and yanked me out of the chair. "Anytime."

I followed him out of the sheriff's office, throwing a greeting over my shoulder to Cole Keppner, the town dispatcher and Foster's devoted assistant.

When we made it to the sidewalk, the sun nearly blinded me. I settled my hat on my head to shade my eyes. "That was fast," I remarked drily. "I expected that meeting to take half the morning."

"Are you complaining, Mayor Fletcher?"

Silas kept a firm grip on my hand. I noticed two men exit the Mercantile across the street and glance over and take in the picture of their mayor and his husband being casually affectionate in the middle of the sidewalk.

Instead of snatching my hand back in embarrassment, I forced myself to calm down.

"No. I have a lot of work to do today, so I'm happy to get my morning back."

Silas stepped closer and reached out with his free hand, tilting my chin up so he could frown down at me. "Talk to me, cowboy. Something's bothering you. Is it work?"

I was tempted to step even closer and take comfort in his arms, which only set my back up even further. Sometimes I felt like I was falling for this perfect husband fantasy as much as the town was.

I was bone-tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep in my bed for hours. But I also knew my bed was the last place on earth I could find any rest these days.

"No," I snapped. "I'm good."

His forehead crinkled. "You're a liar is what you are. Are you pissed because I interfered in the traffic thing?"

I inhaled a deep breath, forgetting for a minute exactly what the man's scent did to me. "No. Of course not."

He raised one eyebrow.

My breath came out in a whoosh. "Fine. Yes. Yes , I'm pissed. I know your solution is a good one, I appreciate that you took the time to make calls on the town's behalf, but…" I shook my head. "Can you please leave my job to me ?"

"You've got so much on your plate already," he said reasonably. "I was only trying to help?—"

"I know." I sounded ridiculous and petulant, and I knew it, which only made me more annoyed. "I know! And I'm not saying it wasn't kind of you, but Silas…" I lowered my voice. "What happens a few weeks from now when you're gone, huh? Who's gonna tell Brett about government programs and show Bernice how to use the apps you're having her download? You'll be back in New York, wearing your fancy suits, living your regular life. You won't give Majestic a single thought, and why would you? But folks here… they'll have gotten used to you. They'll have started to depend on you. They'll miss you." I'll miss you.

I snapped my teeth shut in horror. Where was this coming from? What was I even saying?

God , I'm such an asshole.

Silas's eyes flashed with a split second of hurt and confusion, but then it was gone. "Alright," he said calmly. "I understand."

How could he understand when I didn't understand, myself?

Guilt curled in my stomach, and an apology inched across my tongue. But before I could speak, he grinned easily enough. "What you're saying is you just need me to keep my mouth closed and look pretty?"

"No. That's not what I— Silas ."

He'd stepped closer, tilted his head to the side, and took my earlobe into his mouth with his tongue, and I promptly forgot the point of our conversation. Tendrils of desire took over my brain space with a happy buzzing.

This wasn't helpful.

This wasn't productive .

"I don't have time to…" I began breathlessly. I tried to focus on what I was saying. "I… I need to check the…"

Silas moved his mouth down the side of my neck. "Mmhm. Check what?"

I put my hands on his chest, but instead of shoving him away, I fisted his shirt and held him close. "The thing. The… the thing. Fuck, will you stop? I can't think when you…" I turned my head to press a kiss to his temple. The scent of my shampoo in his hair gave me a strange feeling of ownership.

He pulled back and grinned at me. "I like making you nonsensical, Mayor. It's not as easy as one might think."

I shook off the dizzying effects of his mouth. "Seems like you've got a handle on it. You do it often enough," I muttered. "I really do need to get back to the office."

"Mayor!" Clayton Spilling came out of the Mercantile, spotted me, and crossed the street to say hello. "Bernice said you'd be over here. I wanted to ask if you'd had a chance to ask the AdventureSmash folks if they'd finalized the bike route yet. Me and Cody want to ride it and do some social media posts about it to drum up excitement. See if we can't boost attendance from the clubs in Riverton and Buffalo, maybe even down in Green River."

"Clayton, this is Silas Concannon. Silas, Clayton Spilling and his brother Cody run our local mountain biking club. They've been a big help pitching the AdventureSmash deal." The two of them shook hands while I faced Clayton again. "Yeah. They finalized all the routes yesterday. I'm heading out to Three Daughters tomorrow to check the condition of the trails and access to the rock climbing runs. If you and Cody can do the same for the bike route, that would be great. Let me know if there are any issues we need to address."

We talked for a few more minutes before he took off.

When he was gone, I turned toward Silas. I realized I still hadn't fully apologized for what I'd said before, but I had no idea how to explain myself. I appreciated his help, but I didn't. I wanted space, but I liked having him near.

Clear as mud.

"Clayton's also the town dentist," I blurted awkwardly. "Fair warning, if you need a filling, he'll spend the entire time telling you about his latest gnarly shred."

"Ah." Silas nodded. "Good to know."

He fell in step with me as I started walking back toward City Hall, and I tried to shake off my mood. This time of year, I loved any excuse to get out of the office and feel the warm sun on my skin. While I enjoyed being the mayor of Majestic more than I'd expected, I also loved being outside, and the biggest downside to my job in town was being chained to a desk.

When we turned onto Poke Street, there were plenty of other people along the sidewalks. Some greeted me with a smile or a wave, while others continued on with their errands without paying much attention to the people around them. Silas reached for my hand again and held it as we walked.

"So," he began. "You're going out to Three Daughters tomorrow."

"Yeah. It's the cluster of three peaks you can see from my house. Clara, Alice, and Maude. It's where the trail race and rock climbing events are. I need to make sure there aren't any issues before the AdventureSmash advance team shows up."

I felt his gaze on the side of my face. "What time do we leave?"

I ignored his use of the term we . "I'll leave right after morning feed so I can get back in time to get some work done at the office before afternoon feed."

Silas stayed quiet for a few moments while I exchanged greetings with one of Sheridan's friends. Once we were well past her, Silas took a deep breath and asked carefully, "Are you asking me not to come with you?"

I glanced over at him. "Do you want to come with me?"

His nostrils flared slightly. "Yes. I'm not as familiar with outdoor sports as you are, but I do know that it's not ideal to venture into the wilderness alone."

Silas's words took me by surprise, unleashing a flood of emotions and memories from my father's death. Suddenly, my lungs forgot how to breathe, and I felt cold despite the warm sun.

His hand grasped me under the elbow, supporting me. "Way? Waylon, Jesus. What is it?"

"Huh?"

His eyes were filled with concern. "You looked like you were about to vomit. You okay?"

I shook my head. "N-nothing. I'm… fine. Yes. Sure. You can come with me tomorrow." I took a deep, cleansing breath to try and get my focus back. "But make sure you have decent footwear."

After giving him choppy directions to Lake and Jackson's shop, where he could find hiking boots that might serve him well enough on horseback as well, I left him standing in the street while I rushed away, back to the safety and solitude of my office.