Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) (10 page)

“I don’t know. Probably about equal. With you it was
show
, with Mom it was
tell
.”

“Getting away won’t be a bad thing, I guess.”

“No. And then I’m going home, so…”

Right. Seattle was home. That was a huge difference between them. No matter where he was, Marietta was always home. That wasn’t Ally’s reality. “I’ll see you in a few days. Let me know when you arrive at the ranch Thursday, okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Okay,” she replied.

“Good.” He was at a loss for what to say. His male brain failing him. “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?” Damn. Why did he ask that?

“Nothing much. I was going to make some phone calls, hang out with my four-legged friends. Pack.”

“I’m working, but not until ten at night. You want to drive up and meet some new four-legged friends?”

“Um. What do you have in mind?” She wasn’t going to say yes. The drive was long, and she was going to see him in a couple of days, but he was in it now, so he had to explain.

“I have a friend from college who lives out here. He’s a large animal vet. He has a stable full of horses and I go out to his place once a week or so and ride the trails.”

“Oh, well—”

“I know it’s a long drive, but I thought it could be a good distraction. Something to do. We can get our story straight.”

She was quiet for a minute, and Gavin wondered what the hell he’d just stepped in.

“That sounds like fun,” she said. “What time should I be there?”

“Um, is the morning okay? I’ll take you for lunch after, and then I can get some sleep before heading to work.”

“Text me the address and I’ll plan to be there by ten?” She actually sounded like she was looking forward to it.

“Sounds good.” He had a lot of planning to do. “I’ll see you then.”

“Good night, Gavin.”

“Night, Ally.”

The call ended and Gavin had to face one truth. Seeing her again had changed him. He’d been content being on his own, but now, she was in his head all the damn time. Thoughts of her consumed him. His brother was right about one thing; he was fucking scared of everything Ally represented.

Maybe it was time for him to get over it.

*

Thankfully, the ranch
Gavin told her about wasn’t hard to find. Ally didn’t travel to Bozeman too often, generally making trips with her parents if they had business in the city. When she pulled in the parking area after traveling down a long, dirt driveway, Gavin was already waiting for her.

She knew he had a medical degree. But leaning hip shot into his truck, he was all cowboy. From his scuffed up boots, to his Wrangler jeans, to the well-worn hat on his head, this was a country boy through and through.

Ally had really missed country boys.

As her truck pulled in next to his, he was right there to open the door—and, surprisingly, pull her into his arms.

“Hey there, beautiful.” He kissed her gently on the cheek. “How was your ride?”

“Fine, no traffic, the weather’s great. I couldn’t have asked for an easier trip.” Ally grabbed a pair of boots from the backseat. “Tell me about the horses.”

Gavin smiled. Why-oh-why did he have to do that? Then he took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, he made her blush, made her ache. What was the man up to? This weekend could go in so many directions. All Ally hoped was that they would have a good time together. That they could leave the baggage behind, and even if they couldn’t be lovers, maybe, just maybe, they could be friends again.

But what if there was more? What if they slept together? What if they found a way to be together? What would she do then? There were so many questions running through Ally’s head, she often found herself going around in circles. She’d talked to Lisa about it, and her friend was of the opinion that Ally was thinking too much, and that she should just see what happened.

The problem was Ally was a planner. That was the reason she got into the business she did. She liked planning. She liked knowing how things were going to go. She liked order over chaos.

But no matter how hard she tried, it seemed whenever her heart got involved, chaos took over.

“This here is Pete.” Gavin stroked the nose of a good size bay horse. A rich brown with a black mane and tail, he had kind eyes, and what looked to be a good sturdy back. He was already tacked up, and waiting for her.

Patting the horse’s neck, Ally could feel the animal’s gentleness. He was a good boy. “Hey, Pete. You ready to take a ride?”

Offering his hands, Gavin gave Ally a leg up into the saddle. Once she’d settled herself, and adjusted her stirrups and reins, she leaned over and gave Pete, who hadn’t moved an inch, a pat and a hug.

Gavin trotted up beside her on a large, liver-colored chestnut, who answered to the name of Rio. “So, you want to give these two boys a workout?”

Ally wanted to give Gavin a workout. No doubt about that. Placing her straw Stetson square on her head, Ally grinned. “This is your neighborhood, show me around, Doc.”

“All right then. Let’s get on with this.”

*

Gavin had forgotten
how deft Ally was on the back of a horse. For all the times she claimed she wasn’t athletic, he would then see her climb on the back of a difficult mount and proceed to race barrels or jump fences. It didn’t matter what it was; if Ally had a horse underneath her, she could do it all. Today was no different. They’d gone into the foothills of the mountains, with rocky trails and endless turns, and enjoyed watching her have such a good time. He was glad he’d asked her to come up.

They came to a clearing, a true grassy meadow with wild flowers blooming, and dismounted. He watched Ally stand completely still and look out at the acres and acres in front of her. She took a deep breath, like she was trying to remember, absorbing all the feelings that she only got when she was home. Gavin still had a hard time seeing Ally in the city. He had a hard time seeing her with a guy like Lars. He had a hard time thinking about her anywhere but here. With him.

Each of them held the horses’ reins and their free hands reached for each other.

He was unbelievably screwed, unless he could find a way to make her want to stay.

Fortunately, Gavin had thought ahead enough that he brought a blanket to spread out on the grass. Once he did, Ally twisted herself down into a sitting position and then lay back, gazing at the ever-changing sky. “Do you ever look up? I mean, look at all the formations. There are so many things we don’t know about yet. In some ways, the clouds we see are mysteries.”

“You think way too much this early in the morning.” But he looked up too. “I’m still on my first cup of coffee.”

“Seriously?” she asked. “How can you be in such a high-stress, sleep-deprived, profession and not be mainlining caffeine?”

“I dunno. Maybe I don’t want to die of a heart attack.”

“Pssht. Details, details.”

Leaning back, and propping himself up on his elbows, he took her all in. He wondered if she would bolt if he kissed her, if she knew how much he wanted to make love to her. “Any last-minute details to tell me about the wedding?”

“No, I don’t think so. The team at the resort has been great; they keep me posted with everything they’re doing. I almost feel redundant.”

“Don’t let your client hear that.”

Turning on her side and facing him, Ally reached out and stroked a lock of hair from his face. Gavin wondered what was going through her mind. Was it just an absent gesture, something friendly, or something more intimate? He couldn’t tell.

“Have you recovered from yesterday?”

Seeing how she cringed, almost gritting her teeth, Gavin hated that Ally was still suffering from the aftershocks. “I love my mother. But I didn’t love her so much yesterday.”

“I can imagine. If you don’t mind my saying so, she really missed the mark.”

“What do you mean? Missed the mark?”

“With you.” Gavin lowered himself so he was flat on his back, and pulled Ally toward him, tucking her safely into the crook of his arm. “I just think there are times, there always have been, that your mama didn’t really get you. She’s a sweet woman, but I think you’ve always baffled her some. For all your modern sensibilities, you are not a ‘friends with benefits’ girl.”

“How do you know that?”

Kissing her forehead softly, Gavin pulled her closer. “I’m not saying you don’t know your own mind, or that you can’t make decisions for yourself, but you wouldn’t make
that
decision.”

“You don’t think I do casual sex?”

“I know you don’t.”

Wiggling her way on top of him, Ally was nose-to-nose and so tempting. “There’s nobody out here. We can put your theory to the test, right here,” she teased.

“It wouldn’t be casual with us and you know it. That’s where she got it wrong.”

“So we couldn’t be friends, and have an occasional turn in bed?”

Shocked she was actually proposing the idea, Gavin tread carefully. He’d like nothing more than to lay her bare on this blanket and bury himself inside her, but could he do that and walk away? Like it meant nothing? “No. I don’t.”

The sun, high in the sky, backlit her and made her glow like an angel. “Do you want more? Even after what happened?”

Gavin remembered how mean girl Jenny had gotten pictures of Gavin passed out in his dorm room bed. How she’d staged it to look like she’d been in the bed with him, and how she’d sent those pictures to Ally and his friends.

Gavin could never understand why Jenny thought that would make him change his mind about being with her, but in her twisted little brain, Ally was competition, and as long as she was out of the picture, that was all that mattered.

“You were just eighteen. And knowing you were insecure, I should have done more to convince you that you were the only girl I was interested in. She messed with your head.”

Ally snuggled in. “I should have believed in you. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?” It came out before he could stop himself.

“I don’t know. I wish I’d trusted you, talked to you about what happened. You’d never lied to me, or let me down. I should have had more faith. I was the one who let you down.”

Locking his arms around her, he shook his head. “It’s not all your fault. But hypothetically, if you had talked it out with me, what do you think would have happened between us?” Gavin knew what he thought. He was pretty well convinced they’d be married by now.

She hesitated, tears threatening. “I think we’d still be together. I wrecked everything.”

Kissing her lightly, Gavin cursed himself. It was his pride and stubbornness that had kept him from going after Ally and helping her make sense out of the mess with Jenny.

“I think we’re both to blame,” he whispered into her hair. “You need to stop beating yourself up.”

“You forgive me?” She sniffled, letting Gavin know she was crying.

“Yeah. I was angry at you for a day. After that, it was all on me. I should have come after you, but I didn’t.”

Tilting her face up, this time, Ally kissed him. She kissed him once, twice, three times. “We lost a lot of time,” she said. “I’m scared to hope things could change, but at the same time, I’m scared to close the door on the possibilities.”

He pulled her close, loving that finally, after all this time, he could. “You aren’t alone.”

T
ruthfully, Ally didn’t
know what to expect when she arrived at the guest ranch. The manager gave her early check-in so she could get plans unpacked, but the only thing she could think about was Gavin. As she and the staff member rode out to the glamping tent, with all her luggage and work paraphernalia, Ally was nursing a sliver of disappointment. The unique location and the romantic venue were going to be wasted on her and Gavin. Oh, sure. They would look like a couple, but their relationship was still confusing. On one hand, they had a hard time keeping their hands off each other, but there was also a healthy dose of caution to go along with it. They’d made progress, but Ally still didn’t know where they were headed.

She’d been thinking about him constantly, especially since their heart-to-heart talk on their ride the day before. They’d agreed to keep things platonic for now, to take things slow, but Ally felt like she might actually have a second chance with Gavin, and that was kind of a miracle.