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Mom: Really? Damn. I’m sorry, sweetie. I really thought he would. Have you heard anything from him at all? And don’t worry, little man’s just fine. He’s still sleeping. I may have let him stay up too late last night.

Everly had to smile at that part. Her mom always let him stay up too late on Friday nights. It was their thing. Her mom tried to make out that she was breaking the rules, but Everly knew the real reason – she was trying to make sure that Everly would be able to sleep in on Saturday mornings.

Everly: I haven’t heard a peep from him. I’m kind of resigned to the fact that I probably won’t. Don’t worry, I half expected it. It is what it is. I won’t be taking that job even if they offer it, so I guess it doesn’t matter.

Mom: I’m sorry. I thought that this was going to be the answer for you. We’ll figure something out. I wish you’d reconsider coming with Joe and me.

Everly: We’ll be fine. You’ve already gone way above and beyond for us. I love you for it, Mom. I’m going to miss you like crazy, but you and Joe need to get on with your lives.

She stared at her phone. There was so much she needed to figure out. Maybe she should just give up and accept her mom and Joe’s generous offer to move to Hawaii with them. But she really didn’t want to go. Joe was a great guy, her mom had married him a few years ago. He was from the Big Island, and between his father’s Alzheimer’s, and his mom’s diabetes, his family needed him back there.

Since Everly’s mom helped out with Ashton while Everly worked, they thought that she and Ashton should go with them. As much as she loved them, she wanted to make a life of her own. When Corinne had told her about the possible job opening up here, so close to where her dad was now living, Everly had thought that perhaps the stars were aligning.

Mom: We’ll talk more when you get home. And don’t you dare come home early. You need this break. Ashton’s fine with us. And you never know, maybe your dad will still come through.

Everly: Maybe. Love you, Mom. Give my little man a hug for me, tell him Mommy loves him.

Mom: Love you, too, sweetie. I’ll tell him, but he knows – that’s the one thing in his life he’s never had to doubt.

Everly slid her phone back into her pocket. She was tempted to see if she could change her flight and just go home. She missed Ashton. She hated being away from him. That little boywas her whole world. She’d thought that she was doing this for him – that maybe she’d be able to find a good job and start to build a life of their own here in Montana – a life where he might even get to know his grandpa. Since it didn’t look like any of that was going to happen, she’d rather go back to him and start figuring out what other alternatives they had.

She jumped at the sound of a horn honking and smiled when she saw the big, black MacFarland Ranch truck pulling into one of the spots in front of the lodge. Tanner grinned at her through the windshield and waggled his fingers in a cute little wave. She laughed and waved back; if she had to guess, she’d say that wave was another one of his charming mannerisms that he did so often that he wasn’t even aware of it anymore.

Chapter Six

Tanner slowed the truck as he approached the lodge. He could see Everly sitting in one of the rockers, tapping away at her phone. He wondered who she might be talking to at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning. The thought caught him off guard – he wasn’t used to wondering if a girl he was interested in was talking to another guy. He certainly wasn’t used to caring.

He wanted to ask her about it. She looked so freaking sad and like she was a million miles away as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. That made him sad for her. Usually, with the girls he met at Chico, he set himself the goal of making sure they had a great night. As he watched Everly sitting there looking so sad and lost, he set himself the goal of making sure that she had a great week – if he could persuade her to stay that long and not go home.

He honked the horn and almost felt bad at the way she startled, but there was no way he could feel bad about the smile that lit up her face when she spotted him. He gave her a wave, and she laughed and waved back.

He watched her get to her feet and make her way down the porch steps before his brain kicked in, and he climbed out of the truck to go and meet her.

She met him with a shy smile. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said with a grin.

She laughed. “I feel like I should be the one saying that.”

He smiled through pursed lips. “Don’t go saying stuff like that, you’ll embarrass me.”

“Yeah, right! Don’t give me that crap. It’s true, and you know it. There’s no point in me being coy about it. I don’t even mind telling you that I was wondering if you’d look different this morning.”

“Different how?”

She laughed again. “I thought that maybe you’d look more like a mere mortal. I mean, I never understood the phraseimpossibly good-lookingbefore, but you’re the walking definition of it.”

“I’d love to take that as a compliment, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel like one.”

“Aww.” She patted his arm. “Don’t you go worrying your pretty head about it. It is a compliment, honestly. It’s just… I don’t know. I should probably shut up, huh? Should we get going? And where are we going?”

She took a step toward the truck, but he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Not so fast, Miss Everly. You totally brushed off the part where I called you beautiful.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Thanks. Now can we go? It’s cold out here.”

He had to laugh. He rested his hand on the small of her back as he walked her to the truck and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in and looked down at him.

“You don’t have to do that every time, you know. It’s kind of sweet but…”