Chapter 30

30

Dylan was really trying not to act like a dork here. She’d done just fine on the plane. Maybe she’d grabbed Fletcher’s hand during takeoff and landing, but she’d made it through her first flight just fine. He had let her squeeze his hand like that and then had wrapped one strong muscled arm around her and just held her close. Told her everything would be okay.

He had that whole strong protector thing going on. No surprise. Like Meyra said—most Tyler guys did. Tylers were strong, protective, honorable, brave—Meyra insisted on it. All Daisy did was sigh in longing, that girl. And fan herself repeatedly. At least when their father was around. Daisy liked to yank his chain too, after all.

Dylan privately thought Fletcher was the most Tyler-y of the Tylers if that was the case. He was just a little cranky too.

But she had figured that out, at least.

The man was tired. He worked too hard. Was pushing himself too hard to succeed. She suspected he felt he had to compete with his older brothers, and everything. Dylan was making it her job to help him do that.

She was taking her Fletcher-keeping duties seriously now. She had told her parents that, just that morning. When they’d shown up at the inn, just as she and Fletcher were meeting Ben. Ben had been their ride to the airport.

Dylan had told her parents to behave themselves, no making even more sisters than Dylan knew about or anything, and to not leave Dorie anywhere unattended for even a moment, as Dylan’s baby sister had been caught kissing Ridge Hauffman in the alley behind the diner just that morning—and everyone knew Hauffmans were just as dangerous to women as Tylers were.

And, oh yeah, Dad, Fletcher was taking Dylan to Texas, just the two of them.

Her father had almost popped a vein. He’d yelled at Fletcher right there in the lobby of the inn.

It had been wildly embarrassing. He had accused Fletcher of taking advantage of her. Well, Dylan had told her dad that she was the one taking advantage of Fletcher. Getting a free vacation out of her clueless boss and everything. That she intended to seduce Fletcher while they were staying at the actual Barratt-Finley Creek Hotel and everything.

That had sort of just popped out—but well, she had been thinking of that very possibility ever since that seriously hot kiss in the barn. She’d been so addled after that kiss, she had barely noticed that the ghost dog had opened half the kitchen cabinets and all the bedroom and side doors inside again, once she made it inside the house.

There had been lots of people to witness her father telling Fletcher to keep his dirty Tyler hands off Dylan or else. It had not been one of her poophead father’s best moments, that was for sure. Sage had even threatened to arrest him for being a poophead again. And interrupting her breakfast plans, and everything. Dylan really liked Fletcher’s sister-in-law. The woman was awesome.

Sage had been to that hotel in Finley Creek before. She’d told Dylan to have lots of fun, and had suggested taking extra condoms. Because Tyler men were really healthy men, very robust and virile. Sage was living proof of that and everything. And to check out a diner called Mamaw’s Place. Charlotte’s good friend owned it, apparently.

Devaney had told their dad to sit down and shut up. That it sounded like a lot of fun and he didn’t get to ruin the adventure for Dylan. And Devaney said Dylan got her vote in the seduce-Fletcher-fast election.

Then her father had tried to argue with Devaney. Well, he wasn’t very good at arguing with Devaney and never had been. Her sister really enjoyed driving him crazy by not reacting. Devaney knew just how to push his buttons.

It was really frustrating to argue with someone who never rose to the bait. Devaney had just looked at their father like he was a dim child again. And waited.

And waited.

He’d grown more and more frustrated by the moment. Until he’d eventually gotten sidetracked arguing with Devaney, and practically forgot about Dylan running off with her boss and everything. Which was no doubt what Dylan’s little sister had intended. Dylan owed Devaney one for that one.

Dylan enjoyed watching. She always enjoyed watching him argue with Devaney. It was hilarious.

Their grandmother had finally stepped in and ended it.

Guests were listening, after all.

Besides, Dylan was twenty-three, an adult. Her father couldn’t stop her from going to Finley Creek. Even with a man. Oh, the scandal.

Her grandmother had just hugged her and told her to enjoy herself. And to be safe.

Dylan half wondered if her grandmother was echoing the condom thing without saying condom out loud. Flo Talley had a wild spirit, after all.

Charlotte met them at the airport. She looked so beautiful in the Texas sun. Dylan ran a hand over her wacky hair. Charlotte’s reddish brown looked so perfect and shiny.

Well, perfect and shiny wasn’t exactly who Dylan Brown-slash-Talley was. Far from it.

She did watch Fletcher with Charlotte though. When she didn’t think they were paying attention to her. Charlotte hugged him. Charlotte touched Fletcher a lot. He touched her too, but it was kind of the way he touched Dusty. Casual, and not nearly as often as Charlotte touched him. It gave Dylan plenty to think about.

Charlotte had been friendly with Dylan. Dylan wasn’t so sure they would ever be bestest cousins ever, but maybe they’d get along okay someday. Charlotte had been on her way in to work a shift at the TSP. She was a forensic scientist—who was moonlighting as an actress for Rowland Bowles—and Dylan had heard that a lot of bad things were happening to some of Charlotte’s friends right now. Charlotte looked exhausted. She was splitting her time between movie studios in Finley Creek, L.A., and Masterson, plus trying to help her friends in Finley Creek when she could. When the movie thing ended, Dylan hoped life got a bit less chaotic for her cousin.

“Wait until you get a look at this guy’s place. He’s one of the Texas Barratts—Brandt’s eldest cousin, actually. Brandt’s other cousin owns the movie studio where Char is working out of down here. But Houghton Barratt and Travis Deane are teaming up—Barratt’s invested with Deane, and his company is responsible for the soil monitoring technology and software we’ll be using,” Fletcher told her as he drove the rental truck through the small city of about sixty thousand people. “Did you get ahold of those women you were looking for?”

Dylan nodded. It had surprised her, but Quade had asked her specifically for this one favor. She was going to try to make it work.

She was a woman on a mission. Quade’s newly discovered aunt lived in Finley Creek—with her family and some of Quade’s own younger sisters and his cousins. Quade’s aunt Heather had been through hell lately, she was connected to Charlotte somehow, and Quade had asked Dylan to make sure Heather was okay if their paths crossed, or anything. “Yes. I texted Quade’s cousin Cara. We’d exchanged numbers when she was up here that week. She said they were all being held captive at the Castle of Ostentatiousness now, and if I was coming down so you could meet with Travis Deane, I’d probably find her eventually. That they weren’t going anywhere any time soon. Purple and pink duct tape and threats from Brandt Barratt’s older brothers were mentioned.”

“Okay…I’m not sure I understand.”

“I don’t either. Cara said her entire family is being punished right now—for kidnapping Brandt’s older brothers. I am not sure on the details, really. I’m going to ask Meyra for details when I can.”

“I’ve been to Barratt’s house. They do call it the Castle of Ostentatiousness. If your friends are there, you’ll most likely see them.”

“Great. I can hang with Cara while you meet with Travis Deane, right?” She wasn’t exactly too keen on the idea of hanging out alone while he was busy. She was starting to think Fletcher was becoming a bit of a security blanket here, or something. Probably the whole plane thing.

Dylan had never been alone in a strange place like this before. She had usually had one of her parents or sisters with her.

Just how much her father’s isolating of her and her younger sisters had impacted her was starting to become more evident. She wasn’t going to be afraid of new things, Dylan just wasn’t. She was going to make sure the twins and Dorie got to do new things. Somehow. They deserved full lives too.

Maybe it was a bit too late for her, but they were still young. She was going to have to save them somehow.

“You can come with me if you want. I think you’ll like Travis’s setup. And I’ll make sure you have time to visit with your friends. Then we can do something we can’t do in Masterson. How does that sound? We’ll have that entire extra day to do something fun.” He shot her a look she couldn’t understand. “Just the two of us.”

“I think I would like that very much.” She wanted to be with him. Him, specifically. His house as an escape had nothing to do with it.

What was the man doing to her?

Besides changing her whole world completely anyway?