Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) (2 page)

Opening her desk drawer, Ally pulled out the velvet box that held the custom-made diamond ring that Lars had given her two years ago. The stone was flawless and it was massive, having been appraised at over thirty thousand dollars. She had a friend in downtown Seattle who owned an estate jewelry store who’d offered to take the ring off her hands whenever she was ready to unload it.

Gazing out at the ferries crossing Puget Sound, Ally decided it was time to make a phone call. The big, fat diamond was going to get her a wedding date.

*

Family dinners at
the Clark Ranch were noisy and chaotic. There was always a friend at the table, along with family, and no one ever left hungry. Gavin tried to get home at least once a week, because aside from missing his parents and his brothers, he wanted to fill up on his mother’s stews, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and home baked biscuits and pies. He wasn’t the least bit ashamed of wanting to see his family, or for wanting to eat.

He enjoyed the hard physical work of ranch life, and as stressful as his life in the ER was, he could expend more energy in two hours in the barn than he would in a full day at the hospital.

What he did was serious, Gavin knew that, and important, but the land was in his blood. His family had been on this patch of acreage for almost two hundred years—a few members of his family were driven from England for being sympathetic to the Scots during the rising in 1746. Eventually, after fighting their way through several wars on the East Coast, the Clarks found their way to Montana.

“Ma,” he said though the bite of food he was still chewing. “This is the best meal I’ve had in ages.”

“You mean since the one you had here last week?” His mother grinned.

“That’s a long time when you’re hungry.” Gavin survived on takeout and frozen food when he was living in Bozeman. He loved the work, but didn’t love life in the city. He couldn’t imagine how people survived in really congested places like LA or New York. Yet a lot of people his age were doing just that.

Maybe the fact that he didn’t want to brave the big city made him unsophisticated, but he liked space. His idea of a workout was training a difficult horse, fixing a fence, or throwing hay bales.

A pickup game of football with his brothers and a couple of beers at Grey’s after was his idea of a good time.

Simple. Unsophisticated. Yeah, that was him.
Doctor Hayseed
as he was called by a few at work.

Of the five Clark brothers, Gavin was in the middle. Eli and Dan were older, while Jonah was five years behind him. Luke, the youngest, had just turned twenty-three and was serving his country overseas in the Marine Corps.

Eli was the only one married, and he and his wife were expecting the first grandchild. The only one who hadn’t embraced ranch life at all, his brother was a lawyer living in Minneapolis. Their parents hadn’t liked losing their oldest child to the city, but he wasn’t that far away and he was happy. That was all his folks really wanted.

Dan sat next to him and gave him a quick elbow jab. “So me and the boys will be down at Grey’s tomorrow to watch you auction yourself off to the masses tomorrow. I hear many lovely Marietta ladies have broken into their piggy banks to bid on the group of you.”

Gavin still didn’t love the idea of the auction, but he’d do anything for Coach D, and having been the one who was there when Troy died, who signed the death certificate, he really had no choice but to do his part.

“If it brings the helipad to the hospital, I don’t care. The minutes lost getting Troy to Bozeman might have saved him.”

After that night, Gavin dove into his work with a vengeance. Taking extra shifts and learning all he could about Traumatic Head Injuries, as well as collision injuries like Troy’s, he’d vowed nothing like that would happen again on his watch. Not without his best effort. Gavin knew, intellectually, that he wasn’t responsible for Troy’s death, but he still felt guilty for not saving the kid. He felt like he let his coach, Troy’s family, and the whole community down.

“It’s a good thing you’re doing, son.” His father wasn’t much for showmanship, but even Ben Clark understood where it was coming from. “Besides,” he said to Dan and Jonah, “I don’t see you boys doing your part for the Coach.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “That’s because they’re both ugly. You drop them or something, Ma?”

“The three of you can stop now,” his mother chided. “I’m sure you boys will raise a lot of money for the hospital.”

He hoped so. It would be the only consolation for having to put himself through the humiliation of being sold off like a prize stallion.

“I don’t mean to rub this in,” Dan said quietly. “But I hear Jenny Gaston is gearing up to bid on you
big
.”

Gavin groaned. He never liked to talk unkindly about any woman, but Jenny had been a thorn in his side since high school. Pretty in a very obvious way, she thought because her daddy had ranching money, she had a right to do whatever she wanted, including telling lies about people when it suited her needs.

He’d found out she was the reason Ally had cut him off. Jenny had been after him for the better part of the last fifteen years, going back as far as their second year of high school. And while he wasn’t sure what went down, exactly, he knew she was at the center of his fallout with Ally. The story Jenny told was all bullshit, but if Ally wasn’t willing to listen to reason, if she was going to believe the lies, there was nothing he could do about it.

There had to be some kind of sickness associated with Jenny’s obsession, but Gavin was hard pressed to put his finger on it. He’d been a target of hers for a long time, and it looked like nothing had changed.

“Maybe she’s moved on,” he said hopefully.

Dan chuckled. “Think again.”

“Shit.” Gavin regretted it the minute he said it, just like he regretted asking Jenny to dance at a school party. It happened once. They were both fifteen at the time.

“Language, Gavin…” His mother had no tolerance for strong language in her presence, even from her adult sons.

Finishing his meal, he excused himself to do some chores in the barn. He was hoping he could clear his head, and get his nerves under control. Good, hard physical work always seemed to do the trick. The April air still took on a chill at night, so he wanted to make sure all the horses had blankets and plenty of bedding.

He was giving some attention to a just foaled mare when he heard footsteps. If he had to guess, it was a couple of his friends, if not all of them. None of them were too happy about the auction. It just wasn’t something they’d have done. If ever the phrase ‘take one for the team’ applied, this was it. Because when Coach asked, there wasn’t a chance they were saying no.

“Are either of you nervous? I’m nervous.” Nick Palotay sat on a farrier’s stool that was in the aisle, and Colt Ewing leaned into the wall.

“This sucks,” Colt said. “I heard it’s going to be packed. Desperate women all waiting to bid on us. A fucking nightmare.”

“For a good cause,” Gavin added. “A very good cause. And you don’t know that they’re all desperate.” Jenny was desperate. And crazy.

“What do you have to wear?” Nick wondered. “My sister has been on my ass about every detail. She’s trying to make me look like a magazine ad.”

“I have a very expensive suit. I can thank Rowan for that,” he grumbled. “I think I’ve only worn a suit ten times in my life—on job interviews, to a couple of weddings and a funeral. I wear jeans or scrubs.” Gavin didn’t know what to expect, but he’d heard the same as the other guys—that Grey’s would be standing room only. Good for the fundraiser, bad for his ability to walk through town without getting shit for being a pretty boy.

“If we don’t raise a butt load of money, we’re never going to hear the end of it,” Colt added.

That was another shitty truth. The four of them had led their high school football team to the state championship. It gave them some minor local celebrity status, and brought the same amount of scorn from those in town who had dubbed them “entitled”.

The three of them settled into silence, the only sound came from the horses in their stalls, settling in for the night. That was until his mother came into the barn and gave them a good once over.

“My goodness. The three of you look like your best horse died. Why the long faces?”

Colt and Nick tipped their hats to his mother.

“Evening, Miz Clark,” Colt said. “We were just talking about the auction. It’s got us all a bit on edge.”

“You’re all going to be fine. Stop worrying about the darn auction, and have some fun with it.”

Christine Clark was the perfect rancher’s wife; a mix of sweetness and toughness, she handled her men like a pro. Taking no bull from any of them, she kept their lives on track, raising her sons to be good, responsible men. And while she kept a beautiful home, with her husband she also managed a successful business. “Now, why don’t you boys come to the porch? I made a cake. It’s chocolate.”

Without another word, she turned, leaving the barn and the three men with a directive. Gavin chuckled. He guessed they were having cake.

Nick rose from the stool. “I never turn down your mother’s cake.”

Colt grinned and pushed off the wall. “Yeah, me either.”

Colt had spent a lot of time sleeping on the floor of Gavin’s room when they were growing up. Living with his uncle had been hell and the Clarks always made a place for him whenever he needed it.

Gavin stroked the nose of his favorite mare and moved to his friends.

Nick shrugged. “I wish I knew what we were in for. The only good thing is that I didn’t keep the date open-ended. Not like you idiots.”

“Yeah. That was a mistake,” Gavin agreed as they exited the barn. “But we’re in it now, and I’m not going to say anything that might make Coach or his family feel bad. I just hate surprises.”

“Yeah.” Nick slapped him on the back, chuckling. “I remember.”

S
he’d never seen
Grey’s so crowded.

Ally hadn’t been home very much since she graduated from college and moved to Seattle, but she’d never seen the popular watering hole this crowded. But based on the way Lisa had talked about the auction, she imagined people had come from neighboring towns to be part of the event.

Earlier, as she walked through Marietta, she loved how the place hadn’t changed. It was a little harder to find a place to park, but overall, the warm brick buildings lining Main Street and the familiar family owned shops made her think about the years spent growing up in a place like this.

Everyone was connected. Even people who didn’t know each other that well, and there were some, considered one another neighbors and friends. Newbies to town always remarked on the friendliness, the neighborliness, of the residents. It was hard to feel lonely in a place like Marietta, and for that reason alone Ally had missed it.

Seattle was a friendly city, and she had a group of friends and her business, but it wasn’t like here. When she walked into Grey’s tonight, she’d been greeted by at least twenty people, and she was sure at least half of them didn’t recognize her. The other half couldn’t believe how much she’d changed.

Finding Lisa and Vivi in the crowd wasn’t easy, but giving the room a slow turn, she finally saw them in the second tier of tables. They were close enough to the stage to see, but not so close that the bachelors would be able to get a clear look at who was bidding. She hoped they couldn’t. She wasn’t all too certain how Gavin was going to feel about her bidding on him. The two of them hadn’t parted on great terms, and most of that was her fault, but she was counting on one thing: that his willingness to raise money for the hospital outweighed his animosity towards her. Then again, he may have forgotten all about their little falling out.

Nah. She’d never have that kind of luck.

Stopping at the bar, she saw Rowan Palotay, another longtime friend, and grabbed her arm as she walked by. “Hey!”

“Oh my GOD!” Rowan squealed. “Ally! I can’t believe you’re here!

“I am! I can’t believe how packed this place is. It looks like there’s going to be some hardcore bidding.”

“I hope so. We’ve worked really hard on this event. We have a bet going with Lily Taylor that we’ll raise more money than she did at last year’s auction. But you! You look amazing, Ally. Are you going to bid?”

“Ah, maybe.” Ally knew how close Rowan was to her brother, and Nick was one of Gavin’s best friends. Best she kept her plans to herself.

“Well, your favorite tight end is number four out of the gate.” They used to joke about how Gavin’s position on the team was descriptive of one of his best attributes. “He’s looking fine, if I do say so myself.”

“I’m sure they all look great. That was never their problem.”

“Nope. Never was. Look, I have to go, but we’ll talk later.” Rowan gave her a quick hug. “Eeep! I’m so glad to see you!”

Rowan dashed off, and Ally weaved through the crowd, settling herself in a chair between Lisa and Vivi. “Together again!” Vivi cried, as she threw her arms around Ally. The three of them hadn’t been together in the same place in over five years. They just couldn’t get their schedules to align. So, even if she didn’t end up with the winning bid, Ally was glad that she’d come home to see her friends. It had been too long.