If she got involved with Jake, would it get complicated? Would Tanner be completely pissed when he found out? Not that he could change her mind, he had no say in her damned love life, but it would just be another thing to deal with right now and she was already tired.
But no matter what, she knew she liked Jake. A lot. He was different, which was a big reason behind the physical attraction. He ticked all the boxes. Tall, gorgeous, and masculine. Plus, he could cook, had a thought in his head other than trucks or livestock, but looked every inch a cowboy once you put him in those damned jeans that fit him so very, very well.
He would be a lot of fun, and she wanted to have fun, damn it.
She pinched the bridge of her nose carefully, the tape against her fingers wrinkling, angry at herself for getting caught by that damned horse. She looked ridiculous, and he had kissed her anyway. What did that say about him? What did that mean? He seemed like a genuinely good man. Her gut told her he wouldn’t take advantage of her or play her, like Darren had.
It was confusing, and she hated being confused.
Being in love, all that bullshit was supposed to be straightforward. Black and white. You either were or you weren’t. Darren had muddied the waters when he’d cheated on her, and she hated that she still thought of him when it came to being with someone, making her second-guess her own decisions. It was exhausting, measuring every other man against him.
It had been over a year since she’d thrown her engagement ring at him, called him a fucking asshole, and stomped out of the clinic, every nurse and orderly standing gaping. Dramatic and stupid, she knew it would meanI told you soandDon’t throw away the best man you’ll ever havestatements from people would come and dig into her like spurs. So she’d closed that part of herself down, clueless about how to ease the hurt of being rejected.
Darren was supposed to be a safe choice; the solid, comfortable guy. Choosing him was security for the future and protection for her heart because it was simple. Now, she wasn’t sure what the future with someone else looked like, only that it felt out of reach.
A fling was not the right answer to all that baggage, not with someone as volatile as a long-lost West who was currently causing havoc in her family’s life. Not by his own doing, of course, but all the same, it would be a stupid move.
But the ghosted heat of his mouth on hers whispered in her ear that she really, really wanted to.
A door slamming outside broke her train of thought, and she abandoned all thought of her dinner congealing in the plastic tray.
Being the closest bunkhouse to the main house, she could easily hear comings and goings, and that had come from the front of the house, not the back door that everyone used. Curious, she looked through the window and saw the front door wide open, a square of light in the gathering dusk.
“Better go see if Mom needs me,” she muttered to herself, and shoved her boots on to walk the few steps over. As she was going up the steps to the veranda, she heard shouting and stopped, debating about whether she should go any farther.
Shit. Tanner knew about her and Jake. What else could it be? She sighed and continued up the steps. If she needed to be there to set Tanner straight, she might as well wade in.
As she entered the hallway to the dining room, deep voices echoed from the kitchen. Tanner and Jake were shouting at one another, with a swear word or two thrown in the mix. Brady was yelling at them to stop, of course. Everyone was mad.
She startled as Tanner, with his arm across Jake’s throat, burst out right in front of her, Jake hitting the wall hard enough to make all the picture frames and the sconces rattle with the impact.
A West brother earthquake.
“Tanner! Stop it!” she yelled as she rushed to their side. He turned, his eyes glittering with rage, and she stopped dead.
She hadn’t seen him mad like this in a long, long time.
“Back off, Lizzie,” he hissed, and turned his attention back to Jake, who, now that she looked from one brother to the other, she could see was just as angry. Liz prudently stepped back just as Jake’s arm came up and broke Tanner’s choke hold and pushed him back against the wall on the other side of the hallway. Jake didn’t retaliate, and stepped back, breathing heavily. He looked ready to swing at Tanner, his entire body rigid.
“Back off, yourself,” Jake growled at Tanner, which made Tanner step in and crowd him. You could practically see the testosterone in the room, and Liz—had this not been Tanner and the guy she was attracted to—would have found the scene amusing to watch.
“You fucking asshole. You have no business—”
“What I do on my own time is none of your damned business—”
“It is my fucking business when it’s Liz, dickwad.”
“Kiss my ass, cowboy.”
They were yelling at one another again, noses inches apart, cords in their neck popping. They were spitting images of one another, with curled fists, set jaws, and tense shoulders, making it anyone’s guess who would throw down first. Someone was definitely getting punched any minute.
“Tan, stop, let’s talk about it,” Brady said as he stepped between them, a hand on his brother’s chest. Tanner shoved him aside, and Brady stumbled.
“Dude!” he yelped as he grabbed the door frame of the dining room. “Seriously?”
Where was her mom?Liz decided to go look for her, and as she attempted to sidle past them, ear-splitting clangs echoed through the house as Peony strode out of the kitchen, banging a pot with a metal spoon. Everyone stopped and turned to her as she planted her fists on her hips, pot and spoon firmly grasped, and gave them a look of sheer annoyance.
Her mom was livid as well. Ooh . . . the last time Liz had seen that look was when she’d gotten home from playing hooky from high school and her mom had found out. Her ear had hurt for days from where Peony had grabbed it and dragged her into the house, yelling at her the entire time. She’d been grounded for weeks.
