“Ah, Zinnia.” He wrapped his hands around her fist and kissed her upraised thumb. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too, but neither one of us wants to risk making a big mistake, especially with Tex involved.”
“That’s the crux of it.”
“Hey, lovebirds!” Rio called out. “We’re doing the Beaver Bunch thing in five minutes! Be there or be square!”
She giggled. “Be there or be square? Where did he learn that?”
“Auntie Kat. Those two are super close.” He squeezed her hand and let go. “He lives in her Swiss chalet and she has all sorts of fifties and sixties stuff on display in there. He left it up.”
“You live in your grandmother’s cottage. I’ll bet you’re super close with her.”
“I am. In fact, after what she’s seen tonight, I’ll bet she’ll pay me a visit tomorrow to find out what’s going on. Chances are she and my mom have already found a moment to discuss it. Grandma Doris is the logical one to grill me.”
“What are you going to tell her?”
“I’m not gonna spill the tea about the monkey sex, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I wasn’t. Well, maybe a little.”
“Even though she’s very open-minded, I don’t feel the need to talk about my sex life with her. I will tell her that we have amazing chemistry, but I’m not ready for fatherhood and even if I were, you’re not crazy about committing to a man you barely know. So we’re backing away before Tex gets any more invested.”
“I couldn’t have said it better. I might steal that for when I talk to Uncle?—”
“Hey, guys, not kidding! Get over here or you’ll miss it!”
He nudged back the brim of his hat. “We need to go.”
“We do.”
“See you tomorrow night.” He leaned in and gave her a butterfly kiss on the mouth.
The unexpected kiss immobilized her for a second and she had to walk fast to catch up with his long strides. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. I just had to.” He kept walking.
“Why?”
“I wanted to send a message. Couldn’t stay, though, or I would’ve done it again.”
“What message?”
“That I care about you.” He stared straight ahead. “That I want you to be happy. That I wish things were different.”
Those words ran on a loop in her head during the Beaver Bunch performance. They sat in the same place, and Monty let Tex climb up on his shoulders again so he could see better.
The show was even more magical at night. Footlights and beaver-sized red hanging lanterns made the knotty pine backdrop glow like warm honey.
The Beaver Bunch played two songs this time, tunes Cole had obviously geared toward Tex. First came Gene Autry’s Back in the Saddle Again followed by the Roy Rogers and Dale Evens’ classic Happy Trails.
Tex knew them both from watching old TV shows. Like last time, Rufus invited everyone to join in on the chorus. She swayed with the crowd, her shoulder moving in tandem with Monty’s, their hips nestled against each other.
She likely wouldn’t experience another moment like this. If the Bridgers operated like most families, Monty’s explanation to his grandma would make its way around until everyone had heard it.
He might get some questions, even pushback from his siblings, but if he stuck to the script, they’d probably drop the subject. The faux romance would be over. She and Tex wouldn’t repeat this cozy togetherness with Monty ever again.
It was for the best, but it made her sad. He’d said he wanted her to be happy. But clearly he didn’t see himself as part of that scenario. If he had, then maybe, over time….
