Taming A Texas Heartbreaker (Bad Boy Ranch Book 4) Page 17

  It appeared the animals had figured out they weren’t nemeses after all. He smiled. He understood exactly how that worked. He left the two animals in the garden and headed to his room.

  Since he felt energized, he figured he’d get a lot of writing done. But when he set down at his laptop, he discovered he couldn’t keep his mind on his thriller story. It kept drifting back to the teenagers showing up on Halloween night and the story he’d written the day before about Aunt Dovey’s ghost. The two mingled together in his creative brain and soon a plot formed. A plot of six delinquent boys who were sent to a boys’ ranch and ended up becoming ghost hunters.

  Once the idea was in his head, he couldn’t get it out. He opened a new blank file and his fingers moved at lightning speed over the keys as he fleshed out the plot of a new story. It wasn’t a thriller. It was a young adult ghost story geared for middle and high school kids.

  For the first time in a long time, he felt like . . . himself.

  Life could change so quickly. One second, you were floating in an amazing utopian dream. And the next second, you were crash landing into hard, cold reality.

  Reba was still reeling from her crash landing.

  Val was leaving.

  Maybe not today. Maybe not even tomorrow. But he was leaving eventually. It was something Reba had forgotten—or maybe just put out of her mind—until this morning when she talked with Mike. According to him, Valentine had planned to leave for New York yesterday. She knew it was Aunt Gertie who had kept him there. If he hadn’t found out about her aunt collapsing and being rushed to the hospital, Valentine would be long gone by now. Without even a goodbye.

  It was a cold slap of reality.

  She had been so sure she saw love in his eyes. But it had only been her wishful thinking. Valentine didn’t love her or he wouldn’t have planned to leave. Like Billy Bob, he desired her. And desire didn’t hold a man. She should’ve learned that the first time around.

  “Are you listening to me, Reba Gertrude?”

  Reba was pulled from her thoughts and realized her aunt was talking to her. “I’m sorry, Aunt Gertie, I was daydreaming. What did you say?”

  “I said you don’t have time to be lollygagging here at the hospital with me. You need to be back at the boardinghouse getting ready for the party tomorrow night.”

  Reba didn’t feel like partying. And she didn’t feel like going back to the boardinghouse and discovering that Valentine was gone. She suddenly wished she’d never left her bed. She wished she was still cuddled close to Valentine’s body, breathing in his musky scent and stroking her hands over his warm skin. Or even better, he was making love to her in the slow, delicious way he’d made love to her that morning.

  Except it hadn’t been love. It had only been sex.

  “Reba!”

  She looked at her aunt and accepted her fate. “Okay, Aunt Gertie.” She got to her feet. “I’ll head back to the boardinghouse and get ready for the party. And you need to get better so you can attend. Halloween won’t be the same without Miss Scarlett.”

  Aunt Gertie waved a hand. “Psssh! I’m sure you’ll do just fine without me.” She smoothed the blankets over her lap. “Besides, Luc said he would keep me company on Halloween night.” She sniffed. “Of course, if that bad boy thinks a sexy smile and a few sweet words is going to have this woman fallin’ at his feet, he’s got another think comin’. We Dixon women are made of stouter stuff than that.”

  Her aunt’s words stuck with Reba as she left the hospital. By the time she got to the boardinghouse, she was furious with herself. She’d wanted sex with Valentine and he’d given it to her . . . and then some. She had no business acting like a lovesick idiot. She was an adult woman. An adult woman who could have a night of passion with a man and not fall to pieces over just the thought of him leaving.

  But when she found him baking cookies in the kitchen with her floral apron tied around his waist, she realized it hadn’t just been a night of passion she’d spent with Valentine. It had been a month of fighting and talking and sharing secrets and insecurities . . . a month of becoming friends. It was their friendship she would mourn more than anything.

  The longer he stayed, the more she would miss him.

  “Hi, Miss Reba!”

  She glanced over to see Ty sitting at the counter eating a cookie. But Ty completely disappeared when Valentine turned and his gaze locked with hers.

  A slow, sensual smiled tipped up the corners of his mouth. “Hey, Rapunzel.”

  Just two words, and she melted. She knew she would’ve walked straight into his arms and begged him to stay if Ty hadn’t interrupted.

  “Well, it looks like you were right, Val.” Ty got to his feet. “It looks like there’s no need for me to stay when you already have Miss Reba all tied up in a neat little bow.” He popped the last of the cookie into his mouth before he picked up his cowboy hat. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Reba.” With a tip of his hat, he walked out of the kitchen.

  The melty feeling evaporated as Reba turned to Valentine. “Tied up in a neat little bow?”

  “Those are his words, not mine.”

  “But you told him to leave.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “You want him to stay? I thought you made your choice last night.”

  Anger rose up inside her and she welcomed it with open arms. It felt so much better than weak desperation or helpless self-pity. “I made my choice? And just what choice would that be?”

  He looked confused. “Uhh . . . I thought last night that I’d . . .”

  “Won me? Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Sterling, I’m nobody’s woman.” She patted her chest. “I’m my own woman. And I won’t have two idiots treating me like I’m a trophy in some male ego competition. Is that what last night was to you? A competition to show Ty and Mike and all of your Double Diamond bad boys that heartbreaker Valentine Sterling can get any woman he wants? Especially the fat owner of the Dixon Boardinghouse.”

  His eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t like that, and you know it. And stop calling yourself fat.”

  “Why? Because that word bothers you? Does it make you feel uncool? Poor confused Valentine who loves to bake, but avoids carbs. Who rents a slick sports car to drive in a town filled with bumpy roads. Who won’t be photographed unless his glasses are off and his cool author persona is on. All to prove that he’s not that fat kid who got bullied anymore.” She knew she was being brutal, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Which is why you don’t belong with me. I’m not cool. I’m just a simple country girl who loves carbs, drives a beat-up old pickup, and lives in a small town boardinghouse that will soon be bankrupt.”

  He stared at her in confusion. “What’s going on, Reba? What happened to the happy woman I woke up with this morning?” He reached for her. But she knew if he touched her, she’d crumble and return to the same desperate pathetic girl she’d become when she found out about Billy Bob’s betrayal. She refused to become that girl again. Dixon women were made of stouter stuff.

  She stepped away from him and spoke the truth. “She realized the mistake she made.”

  He froze and something that looked a lot like hurt entered his eyes. “You think last night was a mistake?”

  “Wasn’t it?”

  “Not to me.”

  “Then what was it to you?”

  It took him a long time to answer. And for one blissful moment, she thought he might give her what she was hoping for. Instead, he gave her nothing. “Last night was . . . special.”

  It was the same words Billy Bob had used. He’d told her that their summer together had been “special.” Just not special enough to last forever. And Reba realized that was exactly what she kept looking for—a man to love her forever.

  It was time to stop looking and accept the truth: Men didn’t want to do forever with her.

  “Go on back to New York, Valentine,” she said. “It’s where you belong. I don’t need you. I don’t need any man.”

  She turned and wal
ked out of the kitchen.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Reba had once thought she’d be celebrating with champagne when Valentine Sterling’s fine butt finally left the boardinghouse. But as she stood at the window of her office and watched him get into his sleek gray Lexus, her heart wasn’t filled with joy.

  Her heart was gone.

  Aunt Gertie had been right. Reba had never loved Billy Bob. She’d only felt used and sad after learning about his fiancé. Now, she felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest. The hole grew bigger and bigger as Valentine pulled out of the parking lot and drove away without once looking back.

  Which proved he’d only been interested in her for sex. Nothing more. If he had cared about her, he would’ve fought for her. He would’ve stopped her from leaving the kitchen and pulled her into his arms and told her how much he loved her. He hadn’t because he didn’t love her.

  At least, this time, she hadn’t turned into a needy wimp. At least, this time, she had acted like a strong woman instead of a pathetic fool and broke it off first.

  “Miss Reba?”

  She brushed the tears from her cheeks before she turned to Mike, who was standing in the doorway.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She forced a smile. “I’m fine. I’m just . . . worried about Aunt Gertie.”

  He glanced at the window and then back at her. “Are you sure it doesn’t have something to do with Val? He seemed upset when he dropped off his keys.”

  “I’m sure he’ll get over whatever is bothering him.” She pulled the blinds closed with a snap and moved away from the window. Butler was sleeping on a pile of bills on the desk with his cute pink belly exposed. She went to give it a rub, but drew back when the cat opened one evil eye.

  “I’ll miss Val,” Mike said. “He was a good guy.” He paused. “With Ty gone, I guess that only leaves me.”

  She liked Mike, but she needed to make things perfectly clear. “Just so you don’t have any misconceptions, I have no plans to ever get married, Mike. Even if Aunt Gertie was to decide to leave you her share of the boardinghouse, I’m not included in that share. But my aunt’s crazy scheme has made me realize that I need help. Since you know the business so well, I would love for you to stay and help me out. I won’t be able to pay you much more than room and board at first. But if things pick up, I’ll pay you what I can. And someday, maybe we can be business partners.”

  He smiled. “I would like that, Miss Reba.”

  She held out her hand. “Then it’s a deal.”

  “A deal.”

  The bell on the front door jangled and both she and Mike moved out to the lobby to see her entire book club coming in the door with all kinds of casserole dishes and Tupperware containers.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “What do you mean ‘what’s goin’ on?’” Luanne said. “You’ve lived in this town long enough to know it’s only proper to drop off a little food when someone’s loved one is in the hospital.”

  “A little being the key words.” Evie carried in a big bag. “But we thought whatever you don’t eat, you can save for the Halloween party tomorrow night. Although this we’re drinking now.” She held up a bottle of wine.

  Reba was struck speechless by their generosity and love. She might not have a man, but she had the best friends a girl could ask for. “Thank you, y’all,” she said before she burst into tears. Since she wasn’t much of a crier, all the women looked at each other with surprise before Evie passed off her bag and the wine to Penny.

  “Y’all take everything into the kitchen and give Reba a second to get over our grand gesture.”

  As the women headed for the kitchen, the lobby phone rang. Mike looked all too happy for the excuse. “I’ll get that.” He hurried off while Evie directed Reba back into the office.

  Once there, Evie pulled a tissue out of the box on the desk and handed it to her. “Since I’ve never known you to cry over food, Reba Dixon, what in blue blazes is going on? Aunt Gertie seemed just fine when I stopped by to see her in the hospital. In fact, she seemed to be in the best spirits I’ve seen her in for a long time. Of course, that probably had to do with her boyfriend being there. I was shocked to walk into the room and see Lucas Diamond sitting by her bed.”

  Reba blotted at her eyes with the tissue. “They bicker like cats and dogs, but they seem to still be in love.”

  “And that’s why you’re crying? Because your aunt got back with Lucas?”

  “It is a little annoying that my aunt found love when I can’t seem to.”

  Evie’s eyes narrowed. “Since when are you looking for love? Wait a minute. It’s Val, isn’t it? I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two. You seemed a little too evasive every time we talked and I asked about him. I should’ve known you were keeping a secret.” She pointed to the chair. “Now sit your butt right down there, missy, and spill. And I mean everything, from start to finish.”

  Reba didn’t feel much like talking about Valentine. But she knew Evie wouldn’t relent until she’d gotten the entire story. Surprisingly, once she started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. She told Evie everything. When she was finished, she hoped to feel better. But she just felt stupid.

  “How dumb could I be to fall for someone who I knew wasn’t going to stay here?”

  Evie took her damp tissue and handed her a fresh one. “I hate to bring this up, Reba, but why would he want to stay here when you told him that you didn’t need him?”

  “I don’t need him. I don’t need any man.”

  “Then why are you crying?”

  It was a good question. One Reba didn’t have an answer for.

  Evie leaned back against the desk and released her breath. “Damn, we are quite a pair of tough Texas gals, aren’t we?”

  “Damn straight we are.”

  Evie’s eyes turned sad. “I didn’t mean that as a compliment. Sometimes being tough just makes things a lot harder. Our stubborn determination to make it on our own gets in the way of our happiness. When Logan broke my heart, I convinced myself I could live without him. And I did. For fourteen years, I lived without the man I loved and proved to the world that I was tough enough to raise our son all on my own. But if I had just swallowed my pride and gone to Logan and told him how much I loved him and how much I needed him, maybe I wouldn’t have had to do it all alone. I would’ve had a helpmate and Clint would’ve had his daddy.”

  “Don’t do that to yourself, Evie. Logan said himself that he wasn’t ready to be a daddy then.”

  “But I never gave him a chance to try.”

  “This is a different situation. Logan loved you. Valentine doesn’t love me.”

  “It sounds like you didn’t give him much of a chance to tell you even if he did.”

  Reba shook her head. “Even if he did, it wouldn’t work. He lives in New York and I can’t leave the boardinghouse or Aunt Gertie.”

  “The hell you can’t!”

  Reba turned and saw Aunt Gertie standing in the doorway with the walker Reba had taken her this morning. When Butler saw his beloved owner, he jumped down from the desk and hopped into the basket where he got a pat on the head.

  “What are you doing out of the hospital, Aunt Gertie?” Reba asked. “The doctors wanted to keep you at least until tomorrow to make sure you were all right.”

  “I’m right as rain. There was nothing wrong with me to began with.”

  “What do you mean? You had chest pains and collapsed.”

  “The only pains I had was a great-niece and a stubborn author who refused to see what was right in front of their faces. And the only way I could figure out how to keep Val here was to stage a heart attack.”

  Evie laughed, but Reba didn’t think her aunt’s antics were funny at all. “How could you do something like that, Aunt Gertie? I was worried sick and Mama and Daddy cancelled their cruise and are headed here as we speak.”

  “No they’re not. I called them and explained t
he situation. Your mama’s tickled pink that you found a man. Of course, I didn’t tell her that you couldn’t keep him. Valentine stopped by the hospital to say goodbye, looking like he’d lost his best friend. What did you do, Reba?”

  “I didn’t do anything. He was always planning on leaving.”

  Aunt Gertie rolled her eyes. “For an intelligent young woman, you sure can be as dumb as a box of rocks. That boy loves you and you love him. It’s as plain as the nose on my face. I won’t have another Dixon putting some damned pile of sticks and bricks before love.” She waved a hand around. “And that’s all this is, Reba. It’s nothin’ but a pile of sticks and bricks. Your mama and daddy figured it out and headed off to Galveston to enjoy life. You need to figure it out too and let it go. Or you’ll end up like me. An old grumpy woman with nothing to show for her life but an old building that can never love me back.”

  “I love you, Aunt Gertie.”

  “I love you too. That’s why I want you to quit sitting here feeling sorry for yourself and go after your man. And stop using me or this boardinghouse as an excuse because you’re scared of getting hurt. It looks to me like you got hurt already. Now I need to get me somethin’ to eat. That hospital food almost did me in.” She turned her walker around and left.

  When she was gone, Reba looked at Evie. “Don’t you dare side with my aunt. It’s just a little old woman’s wishful thinking. She missed out on love and she wants to make sure that I don’t.”

  “But what if she’s right, Reba? What if you could have a chance for love?”

  Before she could answer, Mike stuck his head in. “You need to come see something, Miss Reba.”

  When Reba got to the front desk, Mike had the reservation program up on the computer. It looked like the majority of the blanks were filled in.