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“I will, when you do something about Beth.”
Trey glared, and Blaine gave his attitude right back to him. “It’s different,” Trey finally said. “You’re already dating Tam, and you guys are extremely good together. I never doubted once that you were having a real relationship with her.” He clapped Blaine on his shoulder and went to retrieve another saddle from outside.
When he came back inside the barn, he added, “I knew you two were dating before you even went out. She showed up at the house all perfumed and curled, and she asked for you, and…I knew.”
Blaine nodded, reaching for the leather cleaner. “I’ll do this one.”
“Great,” Trey said as he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. “Because this is Beth.”
“Really?” Blaine asked.
Trey turned the phone toward Blaine, and it was Beth.
“Answer it before it goes to voicemail.” Blaine took the soft cloth out of the warm water in the sink and got to work, Trey taking his phone call outside.
When he finished, and the saddle gleamed like it was brand new, Blaine took out his phone and called Tam.
“Hey, stranger,” she said, her voice set on super-flirt.
Blaine chuckled, pieces of himself flying back into the right place with the simple sound of her voice. “It’s been a long week, hasn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh.
“Where are you in your work?” he asked. “Could I take you to dinner?”
“You know what? Dinner sounds amazing.” She let out another long breath, and said, “I need an hour. Will that be too late?”
“Nope.” Blaine said he’d come by after he showered, and he was just going in from the barn now.
“See you soon,” Tam said, and Blaine hung up. His step had more bounce as he made the walk back to the house, and he took several long minutes to clean up, shave the outer edges of his beard so he looked neat and trim, and get out the bottle of cologne Spur had given him.
He put on his best jeans, a black polo and put his brown leather jacket over that. He opted for his brown cowboy hat and his brown boots to tie himself together from head to toe.
As he looked at himself in the mirror, he sighed. It didn’t get any better, and he hoped his efforts to look good for her would be noticed by Tam. He’d seen the spark of attraction in her eyes plenty of times over the past few months, and he really needed to see it again tonight.
Out in the kitchen, Trey sat at the counter with a bowl of cereal in front of him. “You’re going out,” he said.
“Yeah. Why aren’t you?”
“I didn’t ask,” he said. “Before you say anything, she asked me to help her with the horses tomorrow, which is ahugestep for her.Huge.” He grinned at Blaine, who smiled on back at his brother.
“Good luck tomorrow,” Blaine said. “If I don’t see you in the morning.” He nodded at Trey and left the homestead. Out on the front porch, he caught sight of Conrad and Hilde sitting on the top steps, hand-in-hand as they talked. Neither of them looked upset, but they didn’t look happy either.
Blaine was tired of trying to make sure everyone around him was doing okay. His heart was too small for all of his brothers, his parents, Tam and her family, and everyone else. His neighbors, and Olli and Spur, and the cowboys he worked with.
He just wanted everyone to be happy.
He wanted himself to be happy.
Better get to Tam’s, then, he thought, wondering why he cared what anyone thought about his relationship with her. They didn’t have to live inside it. Only he and Tam did, and a whole speech started in his mind as he backed up and turned around to head down the lane toward the highway.
“Shoot,” he said when he looked at the clock on the dashboard. He was late already, and he considered going to Tam’s house instead of her shop. She hadn’t said where she’d be, but he’d assumed the leather shop, as she’d been working from sunup to sundown for a couple of weeks now.
When he turned the corner to go down the street to her shop, he saw her bright blue truck still parked out front. Relief filled him that he’d chosen the right location, and he pulled in next to the black truck parked next to Tam’s.
She had customers come to the shop to pick things up all the time, but Blaine didn’t wait in his truck. He’d gone into her shop when other people were there plenty of times. He didn’t hesitate as he opened the door and entered.
Tam stood chest-to-chest with another man, up on her tiptoes as she said something in a high voice. The problem was, the man was also shouting something at her, and Blaine froze as he took in the scene.
