Chapter Eleven
Hayden was riding in a field.
Next to him, Evie rode a sparkly palomino with a unicorn horn.
On some level, Hayden knew it was a dream. But it was a good dream.
In it, the taxes were paid. The Bennett Ranch holdings had been divided. His brothers had all come back to Bentwood Creek and were thriving. Gran was back to her old self. And Evie…
He and Evie were married, but good friends.
Just as we’ve always been.
He felt a flicker of disappointment.
“Hay-Hay.” A small voice. A small hand patting the top of his head.
Déjà vu.
“Katie?” Hayden rolled onto his back to greet the day and his stepdaughter. The sky outside was gray, the sun not yet breaking over the horizon.
“Yep. It’s me and Poppy.” Katie stood at the edge of his bed in her pink flannel PJs and mop of short golden curls. She plopped the orange kitten on his chest. “Mama is still asleep.”
Poppy mewed. Hayden scratched the tiny beastie behind her ears, earning a purr for his efforts.
“You snore, Hay-Hay.” Katie giggled. “My daddy never snores.”
“Everybody snores.” He’d heard Gran saw some logs a time or two during the night.
Katie fake-snored, then giggled once more. “Have you found my unicorn pony yet?”
“No, ma’am.” Other things had taken priority.
Hayden’s bedroom door swung open. Evie stood there in her nursing sweatshirt and black-checkered flannel pajama bottoms, smiling apologetically. “Katie?”
“Coming, Mama.” Katie grabbed her kitten and hurried toward the door. “Don’t forget the unicorn, Hay-Hay. You promised.”
Evie shepherded her daughter out the door without another word.
The gist of Hayden’s dream returned. He and Evie. Happily, platonically married. His heart wasn’t at risk of being broken. And for that, he told himself he was happy.
Surely, a marriage based on friendship could last longer than one based on love. If he could convince Evie of this, they could stay married beyond the six-month mark.
Back in the day, he’d thought he and Violet were in love. He’d been completely wrong about that and devastated by her betrayal. But then again, he’d rushed into the decision to propose, prompted into action by Grandpa’s telling him he had to make a life of his own. That was long before Grandpa’s heart attack. He and Violet had been dating off and on for four years, and steadily for several months before he’d asked her to marry him. He thought they’d finally built a solid foundation for their relationship. Violet no longer seemed to resent the long hours he worked on the ranch. She had her real estate career, having apprenticed with different agents in Missoula and Marietta.
I have no radar where love is concerned.
He knew now that a marriage to Vi wouldn’t have lasted. Violet dressed up and showed out. She was a boss, not a partner. Not a rancher’s partner anyway.
But the dream he’d just awakened from… It made this impossible marriage with Evie seem…possible. And if it was possible…it would make staying on the ranch…more appealing.
Lost in thought, Hayden showered. He shaved. He exited the hall bathroom with a towel around his waist only to run into Evie.
“Oh…sorry.” Staring at his bare chest, Evie blushed a deep red. She turned away. “Don’t you have a bathrobe?”
Gran opened her bedroom door. “Cowboys don’t have bathrobes.” She ambled past them in her usual chambray shirt and blue jeans. But then she stopped and stared at Evie. “I know you.”
“Yes, you do. I’m Eve. Hayden’s wife.”