Page 28 of Tempting Wyatt (Triple Creek Ranch #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY

ivy

BY THE TIME THE SUN SETS, my vision is beginning to blur because I’ve been writing non-stop for hours. As my cabin darkens from the lack of natural light, I check my word count, vowing not to stop, even to turn on a lamp, unless I’m close to the halfway mark.

Almost there.

Today’s writing session has bled into the evening and been a marathon of epic proportions. For the first time in nearly a year, I can’t type as fast as the words are coming. I’m not even deterred by the two asinine, threatening texts I receive from Malcolm around dinner time.

The anticipation of knowing Wyatt is coming over has me giddy like a schoolgirl. It’s not a feeling I can recall having before.

Once I hit my goal, I break to chug some some much-needed water.

Then, realizing my bladder is full, I head toward the bathroom.

As I’m finishing up, my phone begins buzzing incessantly on the end table.

Fully expecting it to be Malcolm, I rub my overworked eyes and take my time retrieving it.

But once I do, I see that it’s a little after eight, and the call is from an unknown number. With a local area code.

Odd. Unable to ignore my curiosity, I answer.

“Ivy?” a wavering voice responds.

“Yeah,” I say softly, recognizing the voice. “Sutton?”

A sniffle. “Are you busy?”

Just killing time, waiting for your brother to come ravage me.

“No, sweetheart. I was writing, but I’m taking a break anyway. What’s going on?”

More sniffles. “I was right. About Brad and Cara.”

Brad and Cara?

It takes my brain a second to snap out of the fictional world I’ve been writing in for the past several hours.

“Your boyfriend and your best friend,” I clarify just to make sure I’m on the right page.

“Ex-boyfriend and ex–best friend,” she corrects with wounded venom in her voice.

“I came to a party near campus, looking for them. I showed up early on purpose. And I found them. Together. Like, her on his lap. They were making out.” A soft cry escapes over the line. “Apparently, everyone knew but me.”

Inhaling sharply and attempting to gather all my twenty-six years’ worth of wisdom, I lean on the counter.

“I’m so sorry, Sutton. People . . . fucking suck sometimes.

But trust me when I tell you, you’re better off.

At least now you know, and you won’t waste any more precious time and energy on those backstabbing assholes who couldn’t be adult enough to be honest with you. ”

I might be channeling some of my own anger into the sentiment.

Another loud sniffle. “I know. You’re right. They’re jerks.”

“You deserve so much better, sweet girl.” I hear her whimper, but it’s muffled. “Where are you?”

She lets out a soft, sad laugh. “Um, in a coat closet at this guy Morgan’s house. I grabbed a bottle of Jack, and I’m just in here, drinking. Hiding.”

Jesus.

“How about you drop me a pin, and I’ll come get you?”

She’s silent for a beat, then says, “Um, I don’t want anyone at my house to see me like this. They’ll freak out and demand to know everything, and I just can’t right now.”

“Well, in my experience, I’ve found this particular cabin to be quite healing for a broken heart.”

She sounds shocked when she speaks again. “Are you sure? You’re paying to rent that cabin, and you’re on vacation. I don’t want to impose on—”

“Send me your location, Sutton. I’ll be there shortly. We’ll find some ice cream and coffee to go with all this apple cake I’ve got. Have a girls’ night.”

A brief flicker of the plans I had for later flashes in my mind.

Sorry, rancher.

She hiccups. “Okay. Sending the address now. Thanks, Ivy.”

IT TAKES ME ALMOST an hour to arrive at the address Sutton sent.

I pull up at a two-story Craftsman-style house in a quaint neighborhood near the college campus just after nine-thirty.

I text Sutton that I’m out front, and a moment later, she and a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s make their way to my car.

“Maybe leave Jack here,” I suggest when she opens the door.

“Smart.” She sets him on the driveway and climbs inside.

I can smell the alcohol on her breath. She’s visibly intoxicated, and she spends most of the drive alternating between crying about how hurt she is and proclaiming she’s totally over it. Briefly, I wonder if this is what I looked like on my drive to Montana.

“It might not seem like it now,” I tell her, “but in a few years, we’ll be talking about this night, and you won’t even remember their last names.”

She blinks slowly at me with damp eyelashes. “You really think so?”

I nod. “I know so. Because I can’t remember the full name of the guy who dumped me the night before my senior prom. Matt something. But I was crushed at the time. Completely devastated. Probably because the dress was so fantastic and I didn’t get to wear it.”

Sutton inhales slowly. “I mean, do you think we’ll still be friends in a few years? Me and you?”

Her eyes are wide when they meet mine.

“Of course we will be. You have my number. And I’m kind of attached to Montana already. I’ll probably have to make a trip back every now and then.”

I don’t tell her that I’m halfway through a screenplay with her family ranch as the backdrop.

I try not to discuss any of my work until it’s complete because I’m always scared I’ll jinx it somehow.

But I’m tempted to this time, just so she knows I’m not going to bail on her when my rental on the cabin is up.

“And you can always visit me in LA,” I add.

She smiles brightly. “I hope you mean that because I will definitely take you up on it as soon as I can.”

I smile back as we pull into the driveway. “Hope so.”

“Oh crap,” Sutton blurts out, glancing down at her strappy wedge sandals. “Do we have to walk to the cabin from here?”

I can’t help but laugh at what that would look like. She barely made the walk down the short driveway where I picked her up.

“No. Isaac taught me how to drive the side-by-side.”

We both do our best to exit the car quietly so we don’t wake Laurel in the house.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” she whispers as we walk gingerly toward the barn where I left the side-by-side earlier.

“Sure.”

“Do you have any interest in Isaac or Wyatt?”

My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline. “Um, interest, as in romantic interest?”

She nods.

My throat constricts as my stomach muscles clench. I am unprepared for this line of questioning.

“Isaac is sweet and super charming. But I think he’s got many more years of playing the field before he settles down with anyone.”

Sutton looks thoughtful as I retrieve the keys to the side-by-side. “You’re probably right.”

When I don’t comment on Wyatt, she nudges me as we climb into the utility vehicle. “And Wyatt?”

I clear my throat and try to gather my thoughts. “Wyatt is . . . I . . . He seems to have a lot on his plate at the moment.”

She makes a face. “No girlfriend on his plate though. Just sayin’.”

I can’t help but smile. “I do find him interesting. And a little intimidating. And some other adjectives I would prefer not to say in front of his little sister.”

She waves her hand. “My friends have been lusting after all my brothers since we were thirteen. It’s gross. But I’m used to it.”

An odd, overwhelming wave of jealousy at the thought of a bunch of cute young girls throwing themselves at Wyatt hits me harder than it should.

The side-by-side cranks easily, and we head down the trail toward my cabin.

I’m about to ask if Wyatt has ever shown any interest in her friends when we hit a huge divot in the ground just before being jolted so hard that I lose my breath. Sutton lets out a startled scream.

Feels like we slammed into something solid, like a brick wall. My mind blanks, and I forget how to operate this thing.

If we hadn’t been buckled in the harnesses, we’d have been thrown several yards.

“Holy shit,” Sutton calls out. “What did we hit?”

“I don’t know. I can’t see anything.” The headlight is busted and aimed at the ground, casting the woods in eerie shadows. “Are you okay?” I check over her for injuries until she assures me she’s fine.

Shaking the shock from my system and trying to settle despite the adrenaline overload, I shut the engine off to climb out and check the vehicle. Using the flashlight on my phone, I inspect what caused our accident.

A large tree trunk lies across a wide valley in the trail. The front of the vehicle is smashed into it and not in great shape.

“Wyatt is going to kill us,” Sutton groans. “Isaac was heading to the Wild Coyote with the Mitchell brothers when I left earlier. He’ll be out late since tomorrow is his day off. I’m fairly certain I saw his truck at The Sapphire Club when we passed by.”

I frown in confusion.

“It’s a gentlemen’s club—a strip club,” Sutton clarifies for me. “We’re going to have to call Wyatt.”

My mind rejects that suggestion immediately and I contemplate walking in the dark—even if I have to carry Sutton. Technically, I bailed on Wyatt tonight.

After Sutton’s call, I texted and asked for a rain check, told him something came up.

He said it was fine, that he was working later than expected anyway.

I hated knowing that I might have made him feel rejected when all I wanted to do was pick up where we’d left off the night before, but I didn’t want to rat Sutton out.

It’s the middle of the night, and he has to be up in a few hours. I’m pretty sure Wyatt doesn’t take days off. Plus, I’m half dressed, and his baby sister smells like a distillery.

He will not be pleased.

I use my phone flashlight to try and determine where we are. All I see are trees. “Maybe we could walk.”

Sutton looks at me like I’m crazy. “I can barely stand. Plus, I already texted him.”

Great.

After the rodeo encounter with Caleb, Wyatt pretty much told me to mind my own business when it came to his family.

Pretty sure driving his drunk, underage sister around before wrecking one of the ranch’s utility vehicles is the opposite of what he meant.