Chapter 17

Saturday dawned bright and sunny,but now it was early afternoon and the rain had started. Taz spent the better part of the morning in the barns, the girls trailing behind him while he fed the animals, turned out the horses, and mucked stalls. His part-timers normally did the grunt work on the weekends, but he'd given them both time off so they could compete in the rodeo.

And now with the rain, Cameron and Ryan were inside, playing with their dolls, while he was on the porch, sprawled on a chair, enjoying a nice cold beer. Normally, this would be the time for him to relax. Clear his head and enjoy this life he'd been given. But this afternoon his thoughts were elsewhere, centered on a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and a smile that was made for him.

He pulled out his cell and scrolled through his text messages, bypassing several from his pals, one from Millie Sue, and another from his mom. He'd sent Scarlett a message as soon as she'd left.

We need to do that again. What do you think?

Her reply.

Ditto.

He was trying to come up with something interesting to say, other than I want you here with me, when he heard the rumble of an engine and glanced up. A large black truck came to a stop just in front of the house and Mike Paul appeared. He made his way over and paused on the top step.

"You got any more of those?" He pointed to the cold beer in Taz's hand.

"You know where they are."

Mike Paul slipped inside the house and Taz grinned when the girls squealed. Loudly. The guy wouldn't be able to sneak away so easily. It was nearly ten minutes later before his buddy came out, beer in hand, and sat down in the other chair.

"Damn, but their voices hit a pitch that can break a man's eardrum."

"They're little girls."

"And they don't take no for an answer. I had to play horse before they'd let me leave."

Taz chuckled. "Welcome to my world." He glanced over to Mike Paul. "Something up?"

"You left the dance early."

"I did."

"I get why but you missed the fireworks is all. Thought I'd fill you in."

"Yeah?"

"Yep." He took a sip from the bottle. "Fire. Works."

A few moments passed and Taz frowned. "You gonna spill or are you just replaying things inside your head."

"Val showed up."

"Val."

Mike Paul nodded. "Showed up."

It took a bit, but the lightbulb went off. "Val from the Frisky Coyote."

"That's the one."

"Val the lady you slept with two years ago."

"Once or twice. Maybe three times."

"And?"

Mike Paul swore and took a good long pull from his beer bottle. "Look, she came over to me and started flirting like a champ. I wasn't interested. In fact, I'm so far from interested I don't know what interested feels like anymore. And it's not just Val. I can't seem to rustle up interest in any of the ladies." He looked at Taz. "Trust me that's never happened before." He looked down at his crotch. "Maybe it's broken."

"Maybe it only wants one woman." Taz could relate.

"But she doesn't want me. Not anymore."

"Ivy saw the two of you together."

"Damn straight she did. After ignoring me the entire night she marched her little butt over and tossed a glass of beer in my face. Then she up and left before I had a chance to say anything to her. I'd apologize but I have no idea what for." He shrugged. "She's crazy. No other word for it."

Taz didn't know Ivy well, but he wouldn't tag her as crazy. In fact, she pretty much ran Cal Bridgestone's career. She was the opposite of crazy…until it came to Mike Paul.

"It's obvious that sleeping with Val hits different than the other women you've slept with."

"You think?"

"There's a reason there. You've got to figure it out."

"She says I should know." Mike Paul threw his hands up in the air. "How in hell am I supposed to know when she won't even give me a hint? She looked insulted when I suggested that. All I want is for us to go back to the way things were before…"

"Before what?" Taz looked at his friend. "Did you sleep with Ivy?"

Mike Paul took a couple of beats before he replied. "We might have had a moment last year."

"And you want more."

Mike Paul shifted, like he was uncomfortable. "She just…drives me crazy, you know? Always has. Even when we were just friends." He tore at the label on his bottle. "It was the four of us, Millie Sue, Cal, me, and Ivy. Then she went away with Cal and things changed and I carried on doing what I do."

"Getting busy with every single woman in Big Bend."

"Look, I'm no saint, but it's not like we were a couple. I never thought of Ivy like that."

"And now you do."

"I guess I do." Mike Paul slowly nodded and turned to Taz. "I can't talk about this shit with Cal. He's too close to Ivy and Millie Sue doesn't want to hear it. She doesn't want to be in the middle."

"That's fair."

"So here I am sitting on your porch like some old woman, complaining about something I have no idea how to fix."

"This Val seems to be Ivy's line in the sand. If you don't know why then?—"

"I'm fucked." Mike Paul looked disgusted. He heaved a sigh and kicked out his heels. "What's going on with you and Scarlett?"

Taz frowned at the look on his friend's face and Mike Paul laughed "What? Isn't this what bros do? Talk about their feelings and shit?"

"I'm fine keeping my personal life to myself." His reply was dry.

"You like her."

Taz didn't respond.

"You two got plans for the rest of the weekend?"

He eyed his phone, his finger hovering over her name. "Not yet. I was thinking of taking the girls to the rodeo tomorrow. Maybe I should ask Scarlett to come with us." He looked up. "You don't think it's too soon?"

"She spent the night, didn't she?"

Irritated, he frowned. "I mean for the girls." Was there a right or wrong way to do this?

Mike Paul got to his feet and checked his phone. "I'm not the guy to ask for relationship advice. But if you want my two cents, ask her." He scrolled through a couple messages. "I have to head back to town. Maggie Donley's dog was just hit by a car and she's meeting me at the clinic." He handed Taz the empty bottle and took a step down. "Thanks for the talk, though I'm just as screwed as I was before I came."

"Hey, I can't solve all the world's problems."

"Ain't that the truth." Mike Paul gave a quick wave and headed to his truck.

Taz watched his pal drive away, more than a little amused at the drama. Mike Paul was his own worst enemy. A born charmer, women had always come around him like bees to honey. But now that he'd finally figured out there was only one bee he wanted, his past had somehow screwed it up.

"Daddy we're hungry." Cameron and Ryan spilled out of the house, dancing around like two little tornados. They were always dancing. Always happy. Something he was thankful for.

He got up and they followed him inside, asking for pancakes and with chocolate sauce.

"But that's for breakfast." He helped them onto the stools at the island.

Cameron's hair had long fallen out of its ponytail, and she pushed a chunk off of her face impatiently, leaning her elbows on the counter as she watched him. "But Gammy says sometimes breakfast for supper is the best."

"Well then," he said reaching under the cupboard for the big mixing bowl. "If Gammy says it's okay, then pancakes it is."

He got busy getting their food ready. He'd eyed a steak for himself but decided to eat later, when they were bathed and ready for bed. By the time he had them dressed in their pajamas, it was nearly seven, and he grilled up his steak while they watched one of the many princess movies from the pile in the bin.

He was thinking of Sunday and what it would bring, the same as always, he supposed. Chores, the girls. But as he sat down at the island and ate his steak, he realized that he didn't want to spend it alone. He grabbed his phone and called Scarlett. She picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hey."

He liked the sound of her voice. Taz cleared his throat. "Hey yourself. You sound out of breath."

"I am," she laughed, and he found himself smiling in return. "I just put Hank down and my cell was in the kitchen. I nearly tripped over the last stair."

"Would I be worth a broken ankle?"

"Maybe not a break."

"A sprain then."

"You might be worth a sprain." Her voice was husky, intimate.

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" he asked, carefully, feeling this out, one eye on the girls as he toyed with the idea in his head.

"Cal and Millie Sue mentioned the rodeo but I'm not sure. You?"

"The rain is supposed to end."

"I heard."

"I was thinking of the rodeo myself. The girls would love it." He paused, was he gonna do this? "Thought you and Hank might like to join us."

She didn't answer, and as the seconds dragged on, he thought he'd overstepped, but then she made a noise, a soft kind of thing and his anxiety eased.

"That sounds nice but do you think it might be confusing to the girls?"

"Hold on," he said into the phone, then crossed over to the living room. "Cam. Ryan." They both rolled over and smiled up at him. "Do you mind if Scarlett and Hank come to the rodeo with us?"

Cameron sat up and pushed that piece of hair off her face again. "Does she have a princess dress to wear?"

"I don't know. I can ask."

"She can come." Ryan nodded, pushing into her sister. They turned back to their movie and just like that he was dismissed.

"Did you hear that?"

"I did."

"Good." Pleased, Taz shoved his free hand in the front pocket of his jeans and moved away from the girls so he could have some privacy. "Find yourself a princess dress and I'll be by around eleven."

"Okay." Her voice was soft and sexy.

"And, Peaches?"

"Yes?"

"I had a great time last night."

"Me too."

"Good night."

She said goodbye and he stared down at the phone for a good long while. Long enough for the girls to find their way over to him, and for Ryan to yank on his arm.

"You have a funny look on your face, Daddy."

"Yeah?" he said, scooping her into his arms.

"Is Scarlett your girlfriend?" Cameron lifted her arms so he could pick her up as well and then he headed upstairs.

How did he answer that? He decided that honesty was the only way to go.

"I don't know," he said plopping them down in middle of their room. "Would you mind if she was?"

"I won't mind," Cameron replied, as serious as he'd ever seen her. "All princes have girlfriends."

"No, they don't." That was from Ryan. "They have princesses." She looked at Taz. "Is Scarlett a princess, Daddy?"

That was an easy answer. He smiled and pointed to their beds.

"Yes. I think she is."