An unexpected guilt washed over him. Tyler didn’t realize he could feel sorry for Zoe given all she had put his family through, but he did.
“Big E has a way of making everyone feel small. Don’t take it personally.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” she replied, her face softening a bit. “What are you doing back here? I thought you were never coming back. And who is this?” Zoe turned all of her attention on Hadley.
“Hadley, meet my ex-stepgrandma, Zoe. Zoe, this is Hadley.”
“His fiancée,” Hadley clarified.
Tyler internally chastised himself for not being prepared to begin this charade. Remembering to refer to her as his fiancée was important and he’d failed right out of the gate.
“Fiancée?” Zoe’s eyes nearly bulged from her head. “I can’t believe Rachel didn’t tell me.”
“We were pretty surprised to hear Ben and Rachel got married so quickly.” Hadley reached across the table and grabbed Tyler’s hand. “We thought we’d be first down the aisle. Right, honey?”
She was good at this fake relationship stuff. Maybe her brother wasn’t the only actor in the family.
“The Blackwell boys all caught the wedding bug at the same time, huh?”
“Guess so.” Tyler prayed she wouldn’t ask too many more questions or want to see the ring. Zoe was one of those people who might be able to sniff out a fake diamond when she saw one. “Well, it was good to see you again. We’ll see you around,” he said, hoping she’d take the hint.
“Oh, please don’t tell me Day Four is back,” a voice full of disdain said behind Zoe. That voice could belong to only one person.
“Is this where all of Big E’s exes come for lunch?” Tyler pondered aloud as Myrna Edwards, with her hair as white as the snowcapped Smoky Mountains, approached the table.
“I’m positive three Blackwells is all this town can handle. You should head back to whatever hole you crawled out of, Tyler Alexander Blackwell.” She may have been short in stature but her memory was long. Myrna was Big E’s second wife, who, thanks to the boys, didn’t last very long as Mrs. Elias Blackwell.
“I’m here to help my brothers sell the ranch so you never have to worry about the Blackwells ever again.”
One side of her mouth quirked a smile. “Oh, don’t tease me, Day Four. No more Blackwells? That’s too much to hope for.”
“Just give me a couple weeks. We’ll have a big ol’ sold sign hanging out front.” He glanced across the table at Hadley. Darn, he’d forgotten again. “We, as in me and my fiancée,” he quickly added. “Hadley, this is another one of my ex-stepgrandmothers. Myrna, this is Hadley, my fiancée.”
“You may call me Myrna,” she said to Hadley. “You, Day Four, may only refer to me as Judge Edwards. Don’t ever call me your ex-stepgrandmother again. Please stay on your ranch until you sell it. I am tired of seeing Blackwells in my courtroom and my restaurants of choice. Have a nice day.”
She walked across the restaurant and sat down at a table by herself. She probably never remarried after Big E. Leave it to Elias to make a woman give up on men completely.
“She hates you guys. Not that she likes anyone that much, but she hates you,” Zoe said with such awe.
Myrna had good reasons to dislike all five Blackwell brothers. Although in their defense, they were only kids when they ran her off the ranch a short five days after her marriage to Big E. She had tried to take over as the mother figure too soon after their grandmother left and their parents died. The boys were knee-deep in their grief and unable to welcome anyone into their lives.
“It was great to see you again, Zoe. Have a good one.” It was the last hint he was giving her. If she didn’t leave them alone, he was going to get rude.
Zoe wasn’t oblivious, but she was obnoxious. She grinned and, instead of moving along, sat down next to Hadley. “I’m late for an appointment, but I am so curious about how you and Ty got together. He was always such a little brat when we were younger. Maybe once you settle in, Rachel and I can take you out for some girl time.”
“That would be—” Hadley began.
“Unnecessary,” Tyler finished for her. “We’re only here for two weeks and supposedly have a ton of work to do to get the ranch ready for sale. I hear someone’s vision for the place was a bit out of touch with what’s marketable.”
“Ha! I have great taste and amazing ideas.” Zoe pointed a finger at him. Her hot-pink manicure was so her. “You just wait and see how popular the petting zoo is.”
“Are you folks ready to order?” the waitress asked, finally coming to the table to rescue them from this unpleasant family reunion.
“I’m not staying,” Zoe said, getting to her feet. “I hope Tyler doesn’t make you work the whole time you’re in town, Hadley. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“Looking forward to it,” Hadley replied.
Zoe left and Tyler and Hadley ordered some food. When they were alone, Hadley smoothed her napkin on her lap. “You didn’t prepare me for all the ex-stepgrandmothers. How many more are lurking in this town?”
“Big E was married five times. The other ones don’t live around here, so you’re safe. We’re safe.”
“Until we get to the ranch,” she said, raising her water glass.
Tyler felt a tightness in his chest at the thought of stepping foot on Blackwell land. It had been a long time since he’d been there, and Zoe hadn’t been wrong—he’d sworn to never return.
With a dry mouth, he lifted his own glass. “Until we get to the ranch.”
* * *
HADLEY’S NERVES COULD not be more out of control. She had played it cool while meeting Tyler’s ex-stepgrandmas, but inside she had been shaking in her boots. Keeping up this ruse for two weeks might be the death of her.
Tyler drove like a little grandma the whole way out of town on their way to the ranch. Maybe he was just as anxious about getting there as she was. He slowed down to a stop and Hadley looked to the left. The metal arch over the entrance read Blackwell Family Ranch.
They were here. Time was up.
“Maybe we should drive around the property, take some pictures and jot down some notes before meeting up with Ethan and Ben,” Tyler suggested. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I’m not even sure what changes have been made that we’ll need to play up when we market it.”
Classic Tyler, rolling up his sleeves and thinking about nothing but the job at hand. Perhaps that was the best plan. If they stayed focused on the work, the lie would create less stress.
“Good call.” Hadley grabbed her backpack out of the back seat. “I started a list of things we want to focus on, like what wildlife people might see and the different recreational opportunities. We have to play up these mountain views.”
Having grown up in Washington State, Hadley was partial to mountains. She couldn’t imagine living somewhere without them. The Blackwell Ranch had the gorgeous Rocky Mountains to the west. Location was not going to be an issue in the marketing plan.
Tyler drove in and turned left before they got to the enormous green-roofed lodge. He shared what he remembered about the wildlife from the area.
“We’re not far from an elk refuge, and whitetail and mule deer used to graze on the ranch when I lived here.”