The eggs drops on the floor with a loudsplat.
“Tally,” Walker growls.
Breath short, I glare at him as the egg continues to spread. “She did what?”
Walker shakes his head and then grabs a towel to clean up the mess.
“It was years ago, and I’m over it. I told you before, my life wasn’t like yours. We were extremely poor, and my father was—” He blows out a breath. “Not like your father. My sister needed me. Every penny, every ounce of extra attention I had went to Billie. She’s my only real family. Gina needed more than I could give her, which”—he flexes his fists—“was fair.”
“No, it’s not.” This isn’t the Walker I know. The man who’s sure of himself, who’s surly because he can be, because he’s right most of the time. “There’s never an excuse for cheating.”
Maybe it’s because I watched Penny go from one bad relationship to the next in the hopes of falling in love, desperate in her chase of a beautiful love story. Or maybe I’m naive because I’ve never been in a relationship, but to me, choosing to be with someone doesn’t mean they need to be perfect. It just means that you need to show up for each other in the best way you can. I grab Walker’s hand and squeeze. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Walker’s face softens. “It’s okay, Tally. She did me a favor. Truly.”
I scoff. “Well, obviously. Because now you’re with me.”
Walker’s smile spreads all the way to his eyes. “Yes.”
I press a kiss to his jaw and then turn back to the ingredients, telling myself I won’t break any more eggs. “When I first showed up, you mentioned your sister wanting the job to help my mom. Is she still interested?”
Walker tilts his head. “The weddings will be done by the first weekend in June. It’s already May, so I’m not sure how needed she is.”
“If we had more flowers, though …” I sigh as the words die on my lips. The reason we don’t have enough flowers to get us through the season is because of me.
“No indication we’d have more weddings, Tal. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“But you were fixing the cottage for her and Quinn, right?” It’s the topic we’ve avoided since my mother mentioned it weeks ago. And because I’ve come to think of it as our cottage. Stupid really, considering I’ll be gone before she moves in.
“Billie’s stubborn,” he says with a smile. “Kind of like someone else I know.”
I flash him a grin. “I like her.”
“I was just trying to give her another option to consider. Quinn’s father has never really been in the picture, and it’s hard being a single parent.”
“You’re a good brother. I’m sorry I got in the way of you being able to do that.”
“I’m not. She needs to want to make the change and she’s not there yet, but you being her friend, and including her instuff with Penny and Rosie, means a lot to her. It means a lot to me.”
“Of course,” I say quickly. “We’re a team. Just like you’re helping me right now, I want to help with the farm. I want to help your sister. I want to helpyou.”
Walker frowns as I drop the whisk and turn toward him, placing my hands on his chest.
“What are you doing, Wildflower?”
“I’m making you smile.”
His lip twitches, but he’s not strong enough to fight it. “Oh yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?”
“I have my ways,” I whisper against his cheek before pressing a kiss to his rough skin.
His lips hook into a smile, his dimple popping out with the movement.
“I think maybe you didn’t always have the time to be happy because you were too busy being strong for everyone else,” I whisper against his neck, peppering light kisses up to his jaw.
His voice comes out scratchy. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Cowboy. But I’m here now. You don’t have to be strong anymore.”
