“No worries. It’s good to see you.” She kissed Roman’s cheek, made introductions, and when Roman tipped his Stetson in greeting to Cassidy, Eve could have sworn that her friend sighed. A swoony sigh that made Eve smile. Then frown. Too bad there wasn’t a way to make women immune to the Granger charm.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Eve added. She scooped up Aiden from his car seat. “I was in town.”
“I’ve only been here a couple of minutes.” He shifted the gift under his arm and helped her with the diaper bag. “Yeah, and I knew you were in town. For the baby’s six-week checkup. I heard. You and this little man make news wherever you go.”
It was the truth. The reporters and paparazzi had left her alone for the most part. So had the hornies. But the townsfolk still paid attention to her every move. Of course, they did that to plenty of other people, including Lawson.
On her weekly trips into Wrangler’s Creek for groceries and such, nearly everyone who crossed her path had the urge to tell her that Lawson was still on a business trip, one that had no end in sight since he’d been gone for six weeks and had no projected return date.
Beneath the gossip, there was the underlying tone that she was responsible for that, and Eve had no doubts that she was. Lawson didn’t want her here, which meant when he finally did return, they were going to talk. Maybe she could convince him this town was big enough for both of them. Maybe while she was at it, she could convince herself that the old memories in this house were nothing but memories.
“I was out checking on Lawson’s place for him and figured you’d be back soon,” Roman explained. “Wanted to see how you and the baby were doing.” As they went up the steps, he touched his finger to Aiden’s nose, causing the baby to give him a sleepy smile.
“You didn’t have to bring a gift.” Eve tipped her head to the purple box he was holding.
“Oh, it’s not from me. It’s from Dylan. He dropped by, too. Said it was a housewarming present.” Roman paused. “Someone also left a horn by the gate, but he tossed that.”
Good grief. Not another one. At least the person hadn’t gotten onto the grounds, but then, one of the reasons she wanted this house was because of its remote location and the security that the gate offered.
“That’s not from me, either.” Roman motioned toward the horse. “Dylan was at the post office earlier, and the clerk begged him to bring it out to you since it was taking up the whole sorting room and giving folks the willies. He brought it over with the gift. Is it an old prop from Demon High?”
“No, it’s from a dimwit ass,” Cassidy grumbled.
Eve gave Cassidy a scolding glance. Yes, it was true that Kellan was clueless and was frequently ass-like, but he was Aiden’s father, and Eve didn’t want her son to grow up hearing things like that. Not from his nanny and mother, anyway. She was certain Aiden would figure it all out soon enough.
Probably by age two.
Then one day Eve would have to explain that on a troublesome night in her life she, too, had gotten clueless and stupid and slept with someone who was, well, a dimwit ass.
“Come in and I’ll fix you some iced tea or something,” Eve offered Roman when Cassidy unlocked the door, and they went inside.
Roman hauled in the horse and stood it in the foyer. Cassidy also took the baby from Eve so that she in turn could take the gift from Roman.
“Thanks,” Roman said, “but I can’t stay. I need to go to Lawson’s place and chew out the contractor. Apparently, there was some miscommunication that resulted in a green quartz countertop instead of a white one. Lawson didn’t feel he was getting his point across over the phone, so he asked me to go.”
Eve was certain Roman would indeed get the point across. He hadn’t lost that bad-boy edge.
“Plus, I don’t really like hanging around at Heavenly Pastures,” Roman added in a grumble.
“But you came to see Dylan,” she pointed out.
“Lucian’s threatening the lawsuit again, says he’s thinking about bringing in livestock and making this place a full-scale working ranch again. I came out here to attempt a bud-nipping.”
Oh. That. The lawsuit generated a lot of gossip, but from what Eve could tell, it was something Lucian had been threatening for years.
“Did you succeed?” she asked.
“No. If Lucian wins, you could have cattle or horses right in your backyard.”
“Better than horns or paparazzi.”
He smiled at her. “Are you okay?”
She considered a lie or a smidge of BS but went with the truth. “Most days. I stay busy,” she amended.
“Yep, a baby can do that.” He knew that firsthand, too, because Roman had become a father when he was a teenager. “And I’ve heard your charity foundation keeps you working hard.”
It did, but thankfully no one in town had made the connection that the foundation helped pregnant teens. Nor were they aware it was something she knew about firsthand.
Of course, unlike a lot of teens, she’d had plenty of money when she had been carrying Tessie. Plenty afterward, too, from her residuals off the reruns of Demon High and the investments she’d made from her salary during the show’s run. And she’d had some support.
Sort of.
Cassidy had been there for her, and the studio had worked hard to keep the pregnancy a secret so she could continue doing Demon High. The studio’s motives, though, had been driven not by her well-being but by profit. Sponsors would have dropped the show if they’d learned the costar was a pregnant teenager.
“You’ve been busy, too,” Eve commented.
Roman nodded, pointed to his wedding ring. “I heard hell froze over that day.”
“And I heard the sound of hundreds of broken hearts.”
“Hearts mend. Those women who’d once been interested in me have already moved on to Dylan. And Lawson.”
She hoped she didn’t look too shocked by Lawson’s name being mentioned in the same sentence with Dylan, the reigning king of heartbreakers. “I thought most women in town wanted Lawson to get back together with Darby.”
“They do,” he readily admitted. “Those are the women going after Dylan. Lawson’s getting attention from the rest, those not on Team Darby. In case you’re wondering, there’s a Team Eve, too.”
She’d missed that particular tidbit of gossip. “Who’s on that team?”
Roman smiled. “Me.”
“I’m not sure you count,” she said under her breath. Since Roman was already heading out the door, Eve followed him out onto the porch. “Any idea when Lawson will be back?”
“I figure another week, maybe less. He’s had time to look at every bull, steer, heifer and calf in the whole state.”
It sure seemed like it.
Since she couldn’t figure out a subtle way to put this, she just put it out there. “Mary Ellen Betterton, the nurse at the pediatrician’s office, said she thought Lawson and Darby were getting back together. He apparently called her last week on her birthday, and Mary Ellen thought that was a good sign.”
Roman blew out a long breath. “You know how confused and frustrated you’re feeling about Lawson?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Well, he feels the same way about you. Of course, he’d rather eat that rabid stuffed horse than admit it. That’s my way of saying,