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“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” I jerked my chin in the direction of the exit. “The city makes my skin crawl.”
She giggled, and my heart tripped in my chest. I never wanted her to stop laughing.
“So, you know why I need this marriage,” I began once we had our food in front of us, “but you didn’t ever say why you need it. Just medical bills. Is it more than that?”
Everlee sighed, frowning now, her smile gone like it had never been there in the first place. I didn’t like that. The disappearance of her smile actually made my chest hurt.
What in the world was wrong with me?
“I, um, I’m a type one diabetic.” I blinked. “It’s not curable, and the insulin I need is way too expensive for me to afford. I’ve been in and out of the hospital since I found out due to fainting episodes from high and low blood sugars.”
I had expected anything but that. Honestly, even cancer had crossed my mind. But diabetes? Never would I have guessed it.
I cleared my throat. “While you’re here, I can get you in to see a doctor and get you on some medications,” I told her. “Even if we decide not to go through with this, just consider it a gift for giving me your time.”
She shook her head, but I arched a brow at her. I wasn’t backing down on this. I didn’t know much about type one diabetes, but if she was seeking to be a bride to someone wealthy like me, it was obviously a pretty serious condition. I couldn’t, in good conscious, not do something to help her.
“Everlee, it’s not up for discussion. You need medication, and I can help. Let me help. It’s what I do.”
She sighed, giving in easily, thankfully. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it. But the bill might be extremely high.”
“Hush,” I gently chided. A small smile tilted her lips. I pointed my fork toward her salad. “Eat your food. I’ll call the doctor when we get to the ranch and make an appointment for you tomorrow.”
Her brows pulled low over her eyes. “That fast?”
I chuckled. “It’s a small town, darlin’. Not to mention, my brothers and I are well-liked. It’ll be that fast. In fact, he’ll probably want to see you first thing in the morning. You just let me handle all that, you hear?”
She nodded, a pretty blush staining her cheeks again.
Not even an hour in her presence, and I was ready to put her name with mine on a marriage certificate and take care of her. I knew it without a doubt. It was a fact that had settled in my mind like a cement block dropped into a lake.
Something was seriously wrong with me. But I didn’t dwell on it. If there was one thing I’d learned from my parents, it was to just go with the flow. Fighting my feelings would never get me anything but a headache and a bad mood.
CHAPTER 2
Tripp
My backdoor opened, and I glanced up from my phone, already knowing it was my brothers. I’d texted them about thirty minutes ago, letting them know I’d made it safely back to the house, and that yes, Everlee was with me. She’d laid down for a nap shortly after we got here, and I couldn’t blame her. She was probably severely jet-lagged from flying all the way from Florida to Montana. I was always exhausted after flying, even if it was a short flight. And hers had been long, not to mention she’d crossed time zones.
“I still think you’re out of your mind,” Nash said as his greeting, falling onto the couch next to me. “Seriously, we don’t even need the funds, Tripp.”
I shook my head. “She does,” I muttered. “And lower your voice. She’s sleeping.”
“You brought here here?” Nash incredulously asked. “I thought that was a joke, bro. Why would you bring a stranger into your house? You don’t know anything about her.”
“Shut up,” Eli snapped at him. “Jesus Christ, Nash, you can be annoying.”
“What do you mean she needs the money?” Weston asked. He was normally the quieter one, the one who looked deeper into things. And he was also the only one who didn’t try to stop me from doing this. He supported me and trusted me to know what I was doing. It was nice that at least one of my brothers trusted me to make the right decisions for myself.
I sighed and scrubbed a hand down my face. I could use a nap, too, but I knew my brothers were going to end up coming over. They were going to want all the details and everything about her that I’d been able to find out.
My brothers and I might be friendly, but we didn’t normally allow people into our close-knit circle so easily.
And yet, here I was, about to do exactly that. All because Everlee had smiled at me. It’d knocked me flat on my behind, and I hadn’t been able to find my footing since.
“She’s diabetic,” I told them. “She’s been sick for the past few months, in and out of the hospital. She can’t afford the medications, and her jobs don’t offer insurance.”
“Jobs?” Eli asked.
