Chapter 3

Mike Paul was doing his best to keep his shit together, but man, it had been a day. He’d been up early, woken by a panicked call from Mike Dingle because Dolly P, a first-time broodmare he’d paid a fortune for, was looking to give birth about a week earlier than they’d expected. He had planned to go out to the Dingle ranch before his other visits, but then a phone call had stopped him cold and changed the course of his day.

“You need to be here now,” his sister had gasped, then swore a mean streak as he held the phone away from his ear. “It’s coming.” She’d screamed. “Now.”

His sister, Cobi, was on her way to the hospital about to pop out a kid of her own, and Mike Paul had been pulled in to coach her along. She’d done the entire pregnancy thing by herself, and he’d gone to all of her appointments because he’d do anything for his little sister. Though truthfully, the last thing he’d expected to do on this particular Monday was spend time in a human birthing unit, trying to avoid seeing parts of his sister a brother had no business seeing.

In the end, after six hours of labor, his brand spanking new niece, Belinda Darlington, was born, and during that last push to get her out, his sister had damn near crushed his right hand. It already hurt like hell and was sprained because he’d been an idiot Saturday night and put it through a wall.

He couldn’t fault Cobi; Lord knows delivering a baby was a lot of work, and while his sister was relaxing, basking in the glow a new baby brings, Mike Paul had been looking for a cold beer and planned to eat some hot chicken wings with Millie Sue and Cal.

But this Monday still had a few surprises left, and now he sat a few inches from the woman he wanted more than anything in the world, and yet he could do nothing but stare at her like a dumb jackass.

Her dark auburn hair spilled over her shoulders like she was sitting for a painting, and her skin, always the color of ivory, had a tinge of pink in the cheeks. It managed to enhance the freckles that kissed her upturned nose, and those eyes of hers were so blue and beautiful it hurt to look at them.

Her delicate eyebrows rose, and he frowned. “Where are your glasses?”

Her forehead scrunched up at about the same time he realized he should have kept his mouth shut. Except, he liked the way she looked with them on. Like a sexy librarian or teacher.

“I’m wearing contacts,” she replied with a scowl.

“Oh.”

Inwardly, he winced because he sounded about as dumb as a door. Outwardly, he attempted a smile, though he wasn’t so sure he was successful at pulling it off. A) because he was tired as hell and B) because Ivy was looking at him like he had two heads. Then there was C) because his hand throbbed so damn bad he could barely stand it.

“I see your vocabulary hasn’t improved much,” she said, chin thrust forward. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

Okay. She wasn’t going to make this easy.

“I want to apologize for being an ass Saturday.”

“Yeah?” She chewed her bottom lip and looked skeptical. “Why?”

“Why what?” Surprised at her response, Mike Paul frowned.

“Why do you think I would accept your apology? We’re not talking these days, remember?”

She was playing it tough. He got it. Kind of.

Mike Paul shifted a bit and glanced up at Zach. “Can I have a large beer?”

“Sure can.” Zach reached for a mug. “As long as you behave.”

He ignored the man’s dig and turned back to Ivy. His heart was racing like a greyhound after a rabbit, and he was doing his damnedest to keep things even keel. “You’re the one not talking. I’ve been trying for months.”

She opened her mouth, but he pressed on, not letting her cut him off at the knees before he’d even tried to make his case. “I was surprised.” He cleared his throat, eyes dropping to her left hand. Christ, the rock was the size of his damn thumb. “About Lafferty. About your engagement.”

“So, you got drunk and insulted him?”

“Obviously, I didn’t handle things well, but in my defense, I’d been drunk since Thursday.”

“Not an excuse.”

“No. You’re right about that.” He had to get this right. Lay the foundation for his plan. “It’s hard for me to see you with someone else, and I acted like an asshole.”

Her eyes widened a bit, and her brow furrowed. “It’s hard for you to see me with someone else?” She made a sound, something close to disgust, and shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

A spark of anger lit up inside him, but Mike Paul managed to keep it under control. Keep your shit together, man.

“Why do you find that hard to believe?”

She pushed her mug aside, mouth tight. “What do you want from me? To accept your apology? Because if that’s what it will take to make you disappear, then I accept.” She made a shooing motion like he was a fly or something.

His jaw clamped down tight, and he had to take a moment because he was close to losing it.

“Ivy,” he said slowly.

“Don’t say my name like that. Like we’re more than what we are.”

“I’m trying to figure out what we are, and it’s been real hard to do that with you ignoring me for months. I hate that we don’t talk anymore. Hate that I have no idea what’s going on in your life.” He leaned forward and felt like a complete shit when she winced. “I really hate that you got engaged to some guy and brought him home, and I had no idea until you showed up at Cal’s last Thursday for dinner.”

She glanced away, and for a few moments, he thought that maybe he’d penetrated the wall she’d built. But when she looked at him again, her eyes glittered, and he knew she was angry. She slipped off her stool and was in the process of tossing some cash onto the bar when he grabbed her arm.

“Ivy. Please. I want to fix what went wrong.”

She stared down at his hand on her arm, then raised her eyebrows in that imperious way she had. Carefully, he let his hand fall away.

“There’s nothing to fix.”

“Isn’t there? I’ve known you since kindergarten. You, me, Cal and Millie Sue, we did everything together. We played sports, rode horses, got into trouble. We were the…”

“Four Musketeers.”

He nodded. “Yes. We were. And last year. That night we had together?—”

“I don’t want to talk about that night.” She thumped him in the chest. “Biggest mistake of my life.” Her words were rushed. Her color was high.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said, moving so close he could count the freckles on her nose. “Because I sure as hell don’t.” He waited for some kind of response, but she said nothing. “I know I was a complete dick Saturday night, and I apologized to your…to him, the baseball player guy.” He tumbled over his words. God he sounded like a complete wuss. But shit, it had to be done.

“You mean Kip Lafferty.”

“Yeah. That guy.

“The famous baseball player that I’m engaged to.”

Mike Paul was not enjoying this. Being humble and eating his own pie was not fun at all.

“It’s the only Kip I know,” he responded lightly.

“Why were you in the hospital?” she asked, throwing him off balance.

“What?”

“You were in the hospital. At least according to May Margaret Christchurch.”

“Did you think I was hurt?”

“No,” she responded a little too quickly, as she toyed with the edge of her jacket. “Never mind. All good. I don’t really care to be honest.”

“Cobi had her baby.”

“Your sister?”

He saw the surprise and nodded. “Yep. A little girl. All eight pounds ten ounces of her.”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant.” Ivy was clearly confused. “I didn’t know she was with anyone. When did she get married?”

“She’s not.”

“Married?”

“With anyone. She wanted a baby and there wasn’t anyone around she wanted to have the baby with, so she did it on her own.”

“Like a sperm bank?”

He nodded and hoped like hell she didn’t ask anymore questions.

“Huh.” Ivy shrugged. “I don’t blame her. The pickings are slim in Big Bend.”

He ignored the dart she threw at him and gave her his best smile. The one that usually got him whatever he wanted. The one his mother told him should be bottled and sold.

“So will you accept?”

“Accept what?”

Okay. His patience was running thin. “My apology.”

“I thought I already did.”

“I want you to mean it.”

Ivy looked down and rocked back on her heels. After a few moments she looked up, her expression not one he could read. “I don’t know,” she finally replied. “I’ll have to think about it.”

She pushed past him and headed for Kip, who was still chatting with Millie Sue and Cal. Mike Paul watched as she spoke to them, then linked her arm through Lafferty’s. A few moments later Jennifer appeared from the kitchen with a large brown paper bag and Ivy left with her ball player.

Mike Paul reached for his mug of beer and then joined Cal and Millie Sue at one of the booths in the back. They were playing tongue tag as he walked up, and he slid onto the empty seat across from them. He couldn’t blame them. It was their date night after all.

“Not in the mood for a show,” he said dryly, sitting back while Millie Sue dropped another kiss on Cal’s mouth and then turned to him. Their young son, Josh, was home with Cal’s father, Manley, and he guessed these two had to take advantage of alone time when they could.

“You did good.” Millie Sue winked. “Not putting any holes in my walls.”

“I don’t know who’s happier about that, you or Zach.”

Their server, Jennifer, appeared just then with a cold longneck for Cal and some fancy drink with an umbrella and a slice of orange for Millie Sue. They ordered their wings and fries and when the server disappeared, Millie Sue nudged his hand.

“How’d it go with Ivy?”

Mike Paul took a long drink and settled back. “Well, she didn’t throw a punch at my throat or kick me in the balls so that’s good.”

“I’d take that as a win,” Cal replied with a wry grin. He cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’ve decided to play nice and let things be.”

“Play nice?” Mike Paul snorted. “Who said anything about playing nice?”

Cal glanced at his wife, clearly out of the loop.

“I don’t support anything that puts this bar at risk,” Millie Sue said, between sips from her straw.

“I have nothing against your bar.”

“Well, that’s good.” Millie Sue sat back, her gaze sharp. “What’s going on inside that head of yours?”

“Sunday night I told you that I was going to win her back.”

His two friends looked at him like he was crazy.

“Bud, she’s engaged to be married in just over a month.” Cal wore a pained expression.

“To Kip Lafferty,” Millie Sue added. “ The Kip Lafferty in case you didn’t get that memo.”

“I couldn’t care if she was engaged to the damn King of England.”

Millie’s face softened. “I get that you’re hurt. That you had this incredible night with Ivy and then…” She glanced at her husband, Cal. “Well, I don’t exactly know what happened between you two. I don’t know where it went wrong, but something clearly did and now she’s over it. She’s met someone who’s really nice and I don’t want you screwing things up with her and Kip.” She shook her head. “You’re better than that.”

Cal nearly choked on his beer and looked at his wife, an incredulous expression on his face.

“We’re talking about Mike Paul here. The guy has zero scruples when it comes to women.”

Mike Paul didn’t have time to ponder if he’d just been complimented or dissed. He’d also had enough. “Look, guys. I’m not asking your permission or your thoughts on the matter. The fact is, Ivy and I are meant to be together and all I have to do is make her realize it.” He grinned. “I love her and I’m pretty sure she loves me too. Why else would she be acting this crazy?”

“Wow,” Millie Sue muttered. “Your ego is bigger than the state of Montana.”

“I’ve never heard you say that word before.” Cal sat back and shook his head.

“What word?” Mike Paul asked gruffly.

“The L word.”

“I’m serious.” Mike Paul finished his beer and signaled for another. “I’ve already made it past the first stage of my plan, so things are looking good.”

“You have a plan?” Cal asked.

“Yeah and phase one has been executed.”

“And what was that exactly?” Millie Sue asked.

“Up until about thirty minutes ago Ivy wasn’t talking to me.”

“And?” Cal said.

“Now she is.” Mike Paul sat back and grinned. “And as we’ve previously discussed she didn’t kick me in the balls. That’s a win in my books.”

Cal was quiet for a few moments, picking at the label on his beer. “We’ve been friends forever and I don’t want to get caught up in whatever is going on between you two, but I have to put this out there. If you hurt her, you and I are going to have a problem.”

“I respect that.” Mike Paul slowly nodded, his expression equally serious. “I’d never hurt her. Not on purpose.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Millie Sue said quietly. “It’s not the gun or the bullet. It’s the shrapnel that’s left behind. That stuff stays with you forever.”

Annoyed at the turn in conversation when he’d been on a high, Mike Paul frowned at the couple. “You guys found your way back to each other and there were some bumps and painful moments.” He looked at Millie Sue. “Aren’t you the one who told me that you couldn’t have love without pain? Hell, you even put that in a song.”

“I did but?—”

“We’ve been through the pain part. The next step is all good. I’m going to win the girl. I’m going to prove to Ivy that I’m the only man she needs. And I’m going to get it done before Christmas.”

Mike Paul was already thinking about the next stage of his plan, and he’d bulldoze over anyone who got in his way. Even his best friends.