Chapter 8

The rain stopped sometime overnight,and the ground, parched and thirsty, had sucked most of it up, leaving only traces of mud behind. It seemed as if the grass was greener, the flowers taller and more colorful, and the air had a freshness to it that had been missing the day before.

Taz stood in the middle of the smallest paddock, eyes on a pair of horses Angel had delivered an hour ago. One, a young chestnut colt less than a year old, was rambunctious, kicking up his heels and making a fuss of things as he ran circles around the mare. He had three white socks and a blaze of white down his nose, a mirror image of his mama. She on the other hand, was nervous as hell, and eyed Taz with distrust.

She'd been handled badly.

"Where'd they come from?" Martha Pullman leaned against the fence, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she watched the animals. She'd just brought the twins home, and he spied them by the barn, following a pack of chickens as they searched for food.

"Texas, I think." He hopped the fence and settled in beside his mother. "Mama was headed to slaughter because she's hard to handle, and the colt was going with her."

"They have good lines."

"They do. The colt we'll be able to rehome when he's ready."

"And the mare?"

"I'll work with her when I can. She'll be fine."

"How did your meetings go last week?" His mother's question was asked lightly, but he knew she was more interested than she cared to be. Not surprising considering it was her brother he'd been dealing with. The Temple family had some history, no doubt about it, and the fact that they were Texas oil royalty meant things got messy now and again. Last week was messy.

"It was fine," he said after a bit. "Uncle Wes and I have come to an understanding. He keeps his son's sticky fingers out of the family pie, or I'll cut them off."

Martha eyed him questioningly, but he kissed the top of her head. "It's all good, Mom. Don't worry about it." He checked his watch and frowned, realizing it was nearly two in the afternoon.

"Something wrong?" his mother asked.

"Did the girls have showers at your place?"

"Sure did. They were playing in mud puddles before I had time to feed them breakfast." Martha grinned. "I just let 'em play."

"Good. One less thing for me to worry about." He moved toward the house. "You coming in or…"

"No, I've got to run. I'm meeting some of the girls in a couple hours. We're heading to Bozeman for dinner." She called the twins over and gave them each a hug and kiss goodbye, and then planted one last kiss on his cheek. "What about you?" she asked, watching him a little too closely for his liking.

"What about me?"

"Just wondering what you're up to this evening."

"I'm taking the twins to the carnival in Big Bend."

"They'll like that." She paused, and he wasn't keen on the look in her eyes. "You going on your own?"

"I'm a big boy, Ma, I can do this on my own."

"That's not what I?—"

"I know exactly what you meant," he interrupted with a chuckle.

Martha opened her mouth to say something, then obviously thought better of it. She blew a kiss to the girls, and with one last glance at her son climbed into her car. A few minutes later she disappeared down the lane.

Taz jogged over to the barn. He had a quick word with Lance, a local kid who fed all his barn animals on weekends when Taz, or his ranch manager Rich wasn't around. Once he was sure the teen knew to keep his distance from the new mare and her colt, he herded the girls inside. He grabbed a quick shower and by three o'clock was on his way to Big Bend.

The carnival was at the park, but he headed for the Sundowner first. Once there he parked by the entrance and sent Millie Sue a text. It didn't take long for her to appear, and though she struggled to hop up into his truck, she refused help. Once she was settled with her seatbelt in place, she exhaled and glanced at him.

"It's hot as hell out there," she said. "And I'm too big for this."

"Auntie that's a bad word," Cameron said from the back.

"Don't pay her no mind girls," Taz said with a chuckle. "She's growing a baby. She's allowed."

"Can I say the F word when I'm growing a baby?" Ryan asked.

Taz was afraid to ask what the F word was. "Honey, you can do whatever you want when you're growing a baby."

"Yay! I want to grow a baby next week."

He almost choked. "You can't grow a baby until you're married."

"But Chelsea's sister isn't married and she's growing a baby."

Millie Sue hid a grin. "You have to be in love, Ryan."

The little girl scrunched up her face. "Like Barbie loves Ken?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I don't love anyone like that."

"We love Daddy," Cameron said earnestly.

"He doesn't count silly." Ryan made a face.

The girls continued their conversation, though Taz ignored it for the most part. He turned up the music a bit as they headed for the other side of town. "Is Cal meeting us there?"

"Yes." Millie Sue wiggled a bit, obviously uncomfortable. "Some of the guys in the band flew in this morning. He was getting them settled first."

"He recording new stuff?"

She nodded. "We are. I finally gave in."

"Good," Taz replied, navigating his rig into the closest parking spot he could find. It would still be a bit of a hike to the park. "You're too good to keep your talent under wraps." He cut the engine and considered asking the thing he'd been thinking about all morning. The girls were still talking about Barbie and Ken, so he figured he was safe. He glanced at Millie Sue.

"Hey," he began, clearing his throat a bit. "I was wondering if I could…" Shit, was he really going to do this? "I ah…"

"Jesus, Taz, spit it out. I don't have a lot of time between bathroom visits these days and I have about a twenty-minute walk before I can find one."

"I was wondering if you could give me Scarlett's phone number."

Millie's eyebrows shot up at that and he wasn't exactly encouraged by the expression on her face. "Why?" Her tone was sharp.

"You don't need to know the details."

"Yeah," Millie shifted a bit, obviously uncomfortable. "I do."

Why in hell had he started this with Millie? There had to be an easier way to get the information he needed. "I wanted to ask her something is all."

"Ask her what?"

Annoyed, Taz sighed. "Look, if you don't want to give it to me, that's fine. I just thought I'd ask."

"She's my sister-in-law."

"That's not new news."

"And I care about her."

"Also, not new news."

Millie leaned forward. "You can understand my concern, can't you?"

Taz was moving quickly from annoyed to pissed off. "Look, forget it. Let's just go."

Millie bit her bottom lip and seemed to be considering something. "I heard the two of you got acquainted last night and I'm not sure how I feel about it."

Surprised, he frowned. "Who in hell told you that?"

She made a face. "It's Big Bend. It's the Sundowner."

At his questioning look, she caved. "Dale the line cook, told Pat the guy who repairs the juke box. He's apparently dating Lynn, the new server. I happened to be standing next to her when he shared the info."

"That's a convoluted gossip mill you got going in there."

"It is what it is."

"I don't know if acquainted is exactly the right word." He thought of the dance and how Scarlett had felt in his arms. Acquainted definitely wasn't it.

"Did you kiss her?"

Surprised at Millie's in your face attitude, he snuck a look over his shoulder to make sure the girls were still occupied. They were. Ryan was arguing that her pink barbie was stronger than Cameron's purple one.

"I might have," he replied casually.

"No," Millie Sue said, shaking her head violently. "God, no."

"You're going to give yourself a headache if you don't stop that."

Millie swore and punched his arm. "Taz, I'm being serious. Scarlett is family."

He sat back and tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, pissed that he'd brought this up. Pissed that Millie was so obviously concerned about the fact he wanted to call Scarlett. What did that say about her opinion of him?

"I like her," he finally admitted.

"You like a lot of women."

"She's different." His response surprised the hell out of him, and maybe it showed because Millie Sue sat back, looking just as surprised as he was. Neither one of them said anything for a few moments, and then Millie rubbed her forehead.

"So, Nikki Salter isn't in the picture anymore?"

"No."

"When did that happen?"

"Come on, Mills, are we really doing this right now?"

"Yes, Taz. We're really doing this right now."

He'd had enough. He got that Millie would be protective of Scarlett. Hell, he wouldn't expect anything less than that. But he wasn't about to run a play by play of his love life with her.

"I think you're forgetting that Scarlett is a grown woman."

Millie's face softened. "I know that. And trust me, I'm glad that she's dipping her toes into the waters again. She's been holed up at the ranch for months and it's not healthy. But Taz, you don't do commitment. You're not boyfriend material."

"You're getting ahead of things."

"I probably am, but it's Scarlett and she's like a sister to me. She's been hurt, Taz. Badly. And trust me, I know what that's like. To be so sad you think happiness will never find you again. It's a terrible headspace to exist in and it takes a lot to claw your way out of that hole. Scarlett was always so confident and free and sassy and…"

"That sounds like the Scarlett I know." He thought of the woman he'd first met in the post office.

"But she hasn't been and that's my point."

"She seemed pretty much her old self last night."

"You don't know her old self."

"You know what I mean."

Millie sighed and slowly nodded. "She has changed over the last little while, don't get me wrong, and it's all good things."

"Then let her change. Let her live her own life. Let her decide who she wants to see."

Millie regarded him silently, gently rubbing her round belly and finally shrugged. "You're right. You're both adults and obviously attracted to each other. But if you start up something with Scarlett you need to know a few things."

A part of Taz couldn't believe he was having this conversation, but he obliged his friend. "I'm listening."

"She's got three brothers who wouldn't think twice about castrating any man that hurts her. Trust me, if her baby daddy ever has the balls to show his face in Montana, he'll be heading back to Europe a gelding. And secondly, if you do manage to convince her to give you a shot and you become a thing, don't ever put me in the middle. Because I love you both, but she's family, Taz, and family will always come first. I don't want to lose you. You're too important to me." She nailed him with a look that brooked no argument. "Don't make me choose."

This was entirely too serious for Taz, but he kept his tone light. "I won't."

"And as for her phone number you can ask for it yourself. She's here with Benton and Nora."

"She is?" He asked, opening the truck door. "You couldn't have just told me that in the first place?"

"And spoil our heart to heart?"

"Are we good?" he asked over his shoulder.

"We are, but…"

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"I think it's a bad idea. You and Scarlett have more in common than you know."

"We've lived. We have shit. Who doesn't?"

Millie looked conflicted, but then her face softened. "You're right. I'm probably reading too much into things. Let's blame the hormones."

Taz got the girls out of the truck, a minor battle considering they were as wriggly as a pack of piglets. He followed Millie and they made their way toward the park. The sun was still high, the air fresh, and the twins skipped along at his side, singing some song about a panda and a skunk.

He pondered Millie's words. Were he and Scarlett a bad idea? Maybe. Probably. He'd never been good at the relationship thing, and for good reason. His family was the shit show that never stopped giving. But the thing about bad ideas was that sometimes they surprised a guy. They grew into something else. Something good.

Taz Pullman thought that Scarlett was, if anything, the type to surprise and he was looking forward to where they were headed. But if Taz was thinking straight, he'd have realized a thing or two. Mainly, the fact that he was looking forward at all was one hell of a surprise.