Page 46

SADIE

Sadie only hada minute or so of privacy with Wally while the first group gathered around the weathervane that sat on a pole at the front corner of the property. How a bunch of people from a wonderful place like Washington could possibly be enamored by a rusted metal rooster and squeaky arrows that barely ever moved, she had no idea. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t grateful for the good morning kiss from Wally.

“Someone’s in a pleasant mood today,” she said when he pulled back to glance over his shoulder and make sure no one from the group was watching. He’d been clear about her not being allowed to know anything, but seeing him so nervous made her wonder further about what exactly these people were hiding.

“How can I not be in a great mood?” Wally questioned, giving her backside a nice squeeze. “It’s a beautiful, sunny day, we have a plan in place that’s actually working, and I get to kiss the most gorgeous woman in the old west.”

Sadie’s eyebrows rose as she laughed. “Old? These territories may be dusty, but Washington is far older.”

Wally’s eye twitched for a second before he, too, burst into laughter. “It’s an expression we use in Washington. Sort of like if I were to say, ‘good ‘ole Wally.’”

Shaking her head, Sadie smiled as the chattering group finally gathered around her front porch. She liked Wally’s quirkiness. It was as endearing as his childlike wonder when he sat at the table with Teddy, fiddling over those gadgets.

Wally gave the tour to the group, leading them through her main room, noting the busted stove that they all oohed and ahhed over like it was a work of art. She and Teddy exchanged amused glances as they trailed behind, passing out the back of the house.

“I’ll fix it today, Ma. I promise.” Teddy caught her hand and squeezed.

“Maybe we should ask Wally for some help,” she mused.

“Great idea!” Teddy grinned and rushed off to take over before Darcy could bite an overconfident Wally.

Sadie watched Wally head back to her with a satisfied grin that she couldn’t help but emulate.

“If we finish with the groups early, we can send Teddy out to do some errands in the shed,” she said, standing tiptoe and snaking her arms around his neck.

“He’ll get suspicious at some point,” Wally said, hands on her hips.

“He could spend hours in that shed, going through James’s old things, don’t you worry.” She stretched to kiss him again, but before they could truly get into it, Wally pulled back.

“I shouldn’t let them see me,” he said, his voice sexy, low, and rumbling like a wild animal.

It curled her toes and sent a yearning to all the parts he paid special attention to the other day. He’d whet her appetite, and one serving would never be enough.

She pouted and released him. “You’ll just have to make it up to me.”

Wally made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper as he ran a hand over the sheen of sweat on his forehead. “Listen, Sadie, we need to talk.”

“Okay, talk.” She pulled herself up onto the top of the fence around the empty pen she ran Target in sometimes. The wood beams were rough, but stable, and she hooked her feet behind the bottom post.

“I want to make sure you know the plan is still the plan, Sadie.” Wally’s coffee eyes went soft and filled with worry.

“What do you mean?” she asked, not quite sure what he was so worried about.

“I mean, we finish the tours today, and then that’s it. It’s over. I have to go back to Washington.”

Forcing through the helping of desert sand Sadie felt like she swallowed, she said the only thing she could think of in response.

“You promised to act like my fiancé.”

“I did that,” Wally said, voice rising, “Sadie, if I could, I’d stay here with you forever, but I can’t. It’s not an option.”

Hearing him confirm what she’d long feared, that she and Teddy just weren’t enough, drove her anger back to the surface, along with tears she couldn’t hold back. Sadie hopped down from her perch and dusted off her behind as she stalked forward, making him back up as she poked a finger into his chest with each step.

“You made a dinner date with Harriet. You did that all on your own in town. You agreed to Sunday dinner, and that’s day after tomorrow, so you best be fixin’ on following through, Walter Doyle.”

Wally swallowed as she backed him into Darcy’s pen. Those still fascinated by the mule shifted their attention to the pair instead as Darcy brayed.

Nearly falling backward over the pen, Wally threw his hands up in surrender.

“Of course! I wouldn’t go back on my word, Sadie, you know that.” He hissed that last bit at her as though he could keep the group from overhearing.

Sadie folded her arms and fought back the hurt and remainder of the tears that wanted release. The hell she’d cry in front of Wally or his people.

“And I want my stove fixed,” she said, voice crumbling.

“That wasn’t… I didn’t… Fine! I’ll teach Teddy how to do it. Happy?”

No. But she didn’t trust herself to speak again, so she nodded sharply and whipped around to head back in the house. Let them finish the tours. It wasn’t like Wally cared if he had her company. Apparently, one time in her bed had been enough.

Once inside with the backdoor closed, she ran to the bedroom and slammed the door before sitting so hard on the bed that it quite near bounced her back up. The tears she’d fought so hard against burst through the dam of her stubbornness with a vengeance, and she sobbed into her hands. She let herself cry like she hadn’t since James died. She couldn’t fall apart in front of Teddy, so she’d wait until the lonely nights in her bedroom where she could cry herself to sleep.

Wally didn’t deserve her grief. Not like James had. James didn’t want to get sick. Wally had a choice, and he never planned to choose her. It hurt like hell that, at some level, she’d convinced herself otherwise. She’d thought that if she did enough, he’d see this life was far better than the one he had in Washington. How could she compete with that, though? It sure sounded like a utopia over there.

The muffled sounds of the group leaving let her know she had at least a half an hour until the next group came through. Wally could handle it with Teddy’s help.

Sadie gasped as a new thought blossomed. Would Teddy feel as abandoned as she did? She couldn’t allow that. He deserves better, dammit. It wasn’t like Sadie to just give up.

But if her body and the ranch couldn’t convince Wally to stay, what would? Sadie briefly considered the shotgun approach before deciding she needed more information. So she wiped at her eyes as a new plan took shape in her head.