“I was going to lie down for a little bit,” Evie said. She shook herself free from Zach’s hand as if they’d been caught doing something wrong.
“Oh good. Let me just check your bandage.”
Evie turned back to Zach. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, but she felt like she had to say something. She felt like she was running. Miss Leona had already been so welcoming and she wanted to spend time with Lilah and Corie—and Sam, since he would be leaving town again—but between all the new names and faces and the dogs, a wave of exhaustion was overtaking all the energy she’d built up for the three-thousand-mile trip. She swallowed and tried to speak before Zach cut her off. “I—”
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere. The other house, right over there. That’s my place. I’m gonna catch up with Sam, but I’ll be around.”Yeah, but will we ever get some time alone?she thought.
“Okay.” They both hesitated a moment and then a moment longer until it was clear that Tilde wasn’t willing to wait all day for Evie to come along. “Okay, bye.” She followed Tilde into the bright, airy bedroom and sat down on top of the softest bed she’d ever felt. Of course, her remembered experience was thin. After Tilde completed her thorough examination and firmly encouraged Evie to drink a glass of water, Evie kicked off her shoes and made herself comfortable on top of the covers. She just needed a little nap and then she would rejoin the fun.
* * *
Zach knew a nap was probably a good idea, but he was too jacked up on caffeine and the weird effects of two cross-country flights in a few days. He knew he’d crash out as soon as he hit his bed that night, but for now he needed to clear his head. The more time he spent around Evie, the more eager he was just to be alone with her, to talk, to try to . . . he wasn’t sure what exactly. But he knew he couldn’t hang out on his grandmother’s couch with Evie sleeping right down the hall. He walked back into kitchen, back into the chaos of a full house still dressed top to bottom in Christmas decorations. “I’m gonna head over to the office. I left my laptop there. And I have to go say hi to Steve.”
“He missed you,” Lilah said. “I went and brought him some Christmas carrots and he looked me dead in the eye likeyou’re not my daddy.”
“I’m a deadbeat, I know.”
“Hey, I’m coming with you. I took Majesty out for a long ride this morning, but I’ll swing by the stables again.” Sam hopped off his perch on the kitchen stool and kissed Miss Leona on the cheek. “We’ll be back for dinner.”
“If you go riding—” she started.
“We know. Bathe before we come back in this house.”
“We’ll leave the trail where we found it,” Zach said. “Come on.”
“Miss Leona told me you ditched her on damn Christmas,” Sam said as soon as they stepped out on the front porch. Zach stopped and turned his face to the sun before he slipped his Stetson back on.
“I think checking on Evie was a reasonable excuse.”
“I know why you went—”
“Now, listen—”
“Oh, I know Jesse gave you all kinds of shit. What the hell happened?”
Zach gave his brother the short version of Evie’s accident according to Nicole as they walked back across the property to his house, the house he used to share with both of his brothers. Euca and Clementine followed, pushing their way past Zach’s legs as he unlocked the front door to his place. He didn’t like spending more than a few nights away from Charming or the ranch. Forget leaving town for a medical emergency. His house had that strange stale feeling, like all life had abandoned it, taking any sense of warmth with it. It’d take a day or two to break the place back in, shake off the feeling of plane seats, unfamiliar hotels beds, and shitty plastic hospital chairs. Still, it was good to be home.
“Her agent thinks she was pushed,” Zach said.
“Jesus.”
“Yeah.” Zach walked to his bedroom and Sam followed. He set his Stetson on his dresser, then went right to his closet and pulled out some fresh clothes.
“So she’s hiding out here until—”
“I don’t know. Until she feels well enough to leave.”
“I talked to Mom and Senior,” Sam said as he leaned against the side of Zach’s dresser.
“I have to call them back. We Facetimed them Christmas morning, but they were rushing off to some show.”
“Do they know you brought Evie back here?”
“Sure don’t, sure didn’t tell them. You know what Dad would have said.”
“Usually it’s the moms who want to marry their kids off,” Sam said with a scoff.
“Listen, I don’t agree with him, but I get where he’s coming from. I keep trying to explain to him that those days of everyone getting married and starting a family before they turn twenty-five are over.”