The same way Evie’s turning the appeal of a fake marriage upside down.
“What’s on your mind?” Evie’s hand dropped to her side.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Hayden propped his hands at his waist to try to keep himself from pulling Evie close. “Everything all right?”
She took in his stance without a smile or a frown. “I asked you first.”
Danger. Treacherous current ahead.
Hayden removed his cowboy hat, ran a hand through his hair, and then plopped his hat back in place. Not that any of those moves provided much in the way of answers. But it bought him time to locate where to begin. “It’s just that everything is new to me, Evie. Running the ranch. Being married. Being a…a favorite cowboy.” He couldn’t bring himself to say dad. “And given our agreement, sometimes I’m not sure how to react.”
“That’s a lot to unpack. Let’s start with being married,” Evie said with a poker face. “We made this bargain for a reason. Are you having second thoughts?”
“Second thoughts…plural? Are you asking me if my thoughts are looping around ideas regarding how to divorce you?” Hayden’s toes felt cold inside his boots, despite the warm afternoon sunshine. “Or how to make six months go by quicker?” If anything, he foolishly wanted time to slow.
Evie stood as still as a statue. “I suppose it’s normal to have so-called buyer’s remorse.”
“I’m not having regrets.” That came out louder than he’d intended. A gust of wind tested the fit of his cowboy hat. Evie’s stare tested the truth of his statement. He doubled down. “I’m happy with the way things turned out. We made a deal and—”
“Mama! Come watch me feed Mike!”
Evie sighed. “I get it, Hayden. Every day seems to bring a new set of challenges we didn’t plan for. I didn’t think through all the repercussions our marriage had for Katie or Irene. If you want to back out of our deal, you can.”
Hayden placed his hands on her hips. Her hips, not his. He needed Evie to face him so he could see every nuance in her expression. “We’ve only been married a short time, Evie. I’m not a quitter. And I didn’t take you for one either.”
“I don’t think you considered how your life would change with a little girl as part of the deal. You need to raise money and that calf she’s claimed as hers can’t be cheap.”
“That may be true, but—”
“Mama! Come see!”
“—I can’t break Katie’s heart.” Or my own.
And there it was. The root of his problem. He wasn’t just falling for Evie; he was falling for her precocious little girl.
Evie’s gaze searched his, so long that he thought she might admit her heart was becoming involved too. “You’ll let me know if you change your mind?” She stepped free of his hold, her expression carefully neutral. “I’ll understand if you do.”
Her words slid under his skin like a sharp splinter, stinging without quit. “I won’t change my mind.”
After a moment, Evie nodded and hurried off into the barn.
Hayden watched her go, unable to unravel the feelings swirling inside of him.
But one thing he did know…
This is what it’ll be like in six months.
He’d be watching Evie walk away and kicking himself because he felt so empty inside.
Chapter Thirteen
Eve had volunteered for Mike’s midnight feeding.
Her phone alarm woke her at fifteen minutes before twelve. She tugged on a pair of scrubs and a jacket and headed downstairs, committed to her job. She was a ranch wife. She’d chip in where needed.
At the front door, she slipped into her tennis shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and headed for the barn.
She felt as if she were on autopilot.