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Travis gave him a rueful smile. “You got a sleeping bag in the truck? It’s going to be a cold one tonight.”

“I do. And thanks. But would you fuck off now and let me go?”

Travis stood aside. “Now that we covered all of that, yes. And I’m sorry about how this worked out, Tan.”

“Yeah, me too.”

When he was halfway up the drive, a ranch truck turned in off the road. It slowed as it approached, and Ford gave him a cheery wave. As the trucks drew level, Ford put his window down, but Tanner just shook his head and drove on by.

When he reached Dailey Lake, he knew that coming here had been a bad idea. Was it really only yesterday that he’d broughtEverly here? He parked the truck in the same spot and sat staring out at the water. How had he been so wrong about her? She seemed so straightforward – and honest. He let out a short, bitter laugh. What a fool he was!

But why, though? Why had she lied? It didn’t make sense to him. So, she had a kid? Why should that be a problem? He blew out a sigh. It wouldn’t have been a problem – not to him. Even now, part of his mind wanted to know what the little guy might be like.

Of course, when Zeke had asked him if he was ready to be a father, he’d had to answer honestly, and the answer was no. He wanted to be a dad someday, but he hadn’t even had a serious relationship in his sights – until he met Everly.

Movement on the mountainside caught his attention. A herd of elk was sheltering from the wind at the tree line. Yesterday, he’d loved seeing Everly’s reaction to this place – the place he called home. This morning, he’d been wondering how he might convince her to make her home here with him. Now… Now, none of it mattered anymore. She was gone. End of story. He’d give himself a couple of days, and then he’d take the lesson and move on.

The words sounded right in his head, but the heaviness in his chest told him that his heart wasn’t ready to hear them.

He sent Brooks a quick text to tell him that he’d be off grid for the next little while. The guys would need to keep an eye on the mare between them, and call Janey if there were any problems. He might want to drink the world away, but he had to make sure the horses were taken care of first.

With that done, he screwed the top off the bottle of bourbon. Just as he brought the bottle to his lips, movement caught his attention again. This time, it was a truck – a ranch truck – sending gravel flying as it sped toward him.

“For fuck’s sake, Trav!” he muttered to himself. He hadn’t minded Travis telling the others what had happened, but he hadn’t expected him to spill on where he was, not this soon, anyway.

He watched the truck approach, wondering which of his brothers had followed him. Probably Ty, maybe Kolby.

He screwed the cap back on the bottle when Ford climbed out of the truck and turned his collar up against the wind as he hurried toward Tanner’s passenger side.

He got in and slammed the door behind him before swiping the bottle from Tanner’s hands.

“Hey! I already promised Trav that I won’t drive afterward.”

“So he said. But you might want to hear me out before you drink any of it.”

“Why?”

“Because she didn’t mean to lie to you.”

“What the fuck does that mean? Are you trying to say that sheaccidentallylied somehow? Because if you are, you need to tell me how that works. I don’t get it.”

Ford held his hand up. “Whoa! Slow down. Hear me out. We talked this morning; she told me about her little boy.”

Tanner thumped his head back against the head rest and looked up through the sunroof. “Well, lucky fucking you! I’mhappy for you that she felt able to be honest with you; I just wish she could’ve done the same with me.”

“Stop it, Tanner! I get it, you’re hurt, and you have every right to be. I just want to tell you a bit more of the story.”

Tanner scowled at him, hating that Ford knew more of the story than he did in the first place. “Go on, then,” he ground out.

“She told me about her boy, about Ashton. She…”

“Why?! Why would she tell you and not me?”

“She was trying to tell you, Tan.”

“Trying? What does that even mean? How hard is it to just open your mouth and say,oh by the way, I have a kid?”

Ford scowled. “Stop behaving like a kid, would you? Calm down and listen. She said that she didn’t tell you at first because she didn’t think it would matter. And I get that. If I were a single parent, I’d wait a while before I told someone I just met about my child.”