“But he’s taken you away from your life in New York. Your family, your job—”
“Don’t have either there. Not currently,” he replied, interrupting her. He looked away, out the window, squinting. “I sold my restaurant, signed my divorce papers, and I don’t know where my mom is right now.”
“Friends?” she asked. There had to be something.
“Yeah, friends of course,” he said and let out a frustrated breath. “Aside from that, not even my stuff is there now, since it’s all in the back of your horse trailer. I intend to regroup once I get home.” His voice was clipped and tense.Shit.
“So, you’ll open another restaurant once you go back?” she asked, hoping to change the direction of their conversation to something he’d want to talk about.
“Don’t know yet. Not as easy as you’d think.”
“Oh,” she said. That answer sounded like a lot of baggage, literally and figuratively.
He seemed to be a stable, intelligent guy who was nice to boot, so what was the catch? There had to be one. Guys like him always had one. Doubt crept in, the suspicious side of her nature getting the better of her. Why wasn’t he fighting mad to get this situation cleared up and get himself back to his own world?
He’d said he wanted no part in the ranch, but what if he did? What if his mind changed, prizing the financial gain to be had in hanging on long enough to sell the place and get out, doing exactly what Tanner expected him to do? The terrible thought of developers carving up the land, or worse, a big operation coming in and bulldozing the century barns for a massive feedlot was horrifying to think.
“So, maybe the ranch could seed your next one? I mean, it is yours. You could sell it, once you can. Big payday in that,” she blurted before she could stop herself, the words sounding much worse spoken than in her head. She put her hand over her mouth, wincing.
Jake sucked in a breath and his face went hard. She shouldn’t have said that and poked the bear. Her mouth had gotten her into trouble, yet again.
“Is that what you think? That I could just up and pull it out from under Tanner and Brady? Leave you and your mother in the lurch? I’ve already said I won’t,” he snapped, and stood, signaling to the waitress for the bill.
“No, no, I—” she spoke quickly. “I—”
“Listen, Liz. I don’t want to be here. As soon as we can get this fucking ridiculous will figured out, I’ll be out of your hair. The West legacy is intact. I’m not that kind of man.”
“Jake, please stop, just—” she pleaded, but his eyes shot angrily to her, and he flipped out an American twenty, slamming it on the table before the waitress could actually deliver the bill he’d asked for. He stormed out as she stood, hat in her hand, immediately angry at herself. He’d never once given her any inkling he would do that, and with one impulsive thought, she’d accused him of it.
“Sorry, Jenny, see you later,” she mumbled.
Jenny gathered up the cash with a surprised face, her eyes following Jake. “You want change, Liz?” she asked, but Liz just kept walking and followed Jake out the door, embarrassed to her toes.
Jake was standing by the truck, his back tense, his shoulders around his ears, arms folded. Liz had the oddly timed thought that she needed to get him a hat or he was going to burn if he was going to stay out here much longer. If he did now, because of her stupidity.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and he turned his head toward her. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Anywhere else you need to go?” he asked brusquely, and walked around to the passenger side of the truck, getting in, scowl firmly planted along with his sunglasses. So much for comfortable.
“Fuck,” she whispered, and got into the truck. She wanted to apologize again, but part of her wasn’t willing to put out the effort if he was going to brush her off.
* * *
Liz dropped Jake at the office so he could deliver the paperwork and talk to Tanner, telling him she’d drop the trailer with his stuff up at the house. He nodded silently and strode off, folder under his arm, shoulders still jacked up to his ears. She turned and drove over to the garage at the main house, backing the trailer up to one of the bays. She switched off the engine and sat for a moment, forehead on the steering wheel, attempting to shake off the tension. The past few days had been strange, and that drive had taken the cake. Silence all the way home, just the radio playing. He was as sensitive and hair-triggered as his brother, but instead of being able to weather it like she could with Tanner, she was hypersensitive to Jake’s mood. Probably because she didn’t know him.
A tap on the glass window startled her, and Brady shot a massive toothy grin at her when she shrieked.
“Brady! Fuck,” she swore as she got out. “Why you gotta do that all the time?”
He laughed and stuck his tongue out at her, stepping over to the garage to raise the door. “Let’s unload all his crap in here. We need the trailer tonight. He can sort it later on his own.”
They silently unloaded the boxes and suitcases into the corner, Liz setting the one labeledOracleby the door so it could go right into the kitchen. The table and chairs looked modern and fancy, the bed frame heavy. They muscled it all in carefully, both conscious that it was more expensive than anything they owned. Brady stood for a moment, hands on his hips, and looked at the pile.
“A lot of stuff,” he mused. “He plannin’ on staying?”
“His friend sent everything,” Liz said, and sighed. “After I opened my stupid mouth, likely he won’t stay a moment more than he has to.”
Brady gave her a funny look and she waved him off.
