“Nah, the Lone Ranger had Tanto, remember. Miller’s more like a lone wolf,” Cruz said from the table. “He runs alone.”
“I thought you had something to do so you couldn't go with Landon to deliver the horse. Surely you didn't send him off on his own so you could stay here ladling pumpkin butter and being a smart ass,” I retorted. I liked Cruz, but seriously, I was getting tired of hearing about how I would never have a partner.
Cruz chuckled, taking my comment in stride. “Nah, we didn't have anything to do. We just wanted to give Landon a chance to do it on his own. He’s a fantastic horse trainer, but he worries about dealing with the clients. I wanted him to see he could do both.”
I thought about what he said about horses being easier than people. “Yeah, that will be good for him, I think.”
They moved on to something else, but I was still thinking about what Ripley and Cruz said. I don't know why it bothered me so much. They’d been teasing me about being alone for ages. Hell, there was even a time when I was proud of being that way, but for some reason today, it rankled.
And for the second time today, I spoke without thinking. “I'm not, though,” I said, interrupting their conversation.
“You're not what?” Reed asked. I looked up, and they were all looking at me confused.
“A lone wolf,” I clarified.
“Umm, okay?” Ripley said.
“I mean, I'm seeing someone. Well, kinda. Anyway, I need to go.” I stood up quickly and headed for the backdoor, determined to get out of there before they asked any questions.
4
Landon
I spent the first hour of my drive talking myself out of Miller's crazy plan and the second hour talking myself back into it. I honestly wasn't sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea. I was leaning towards the good idea side when my mother happened to call. I pushed the button on the steering wheel to answer the phone.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, baby. Your brother tells me he talked to you, and you’ll for sure be here for Thanksgiving.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. It sure didn't take him long to spread the word.
“Yes, I'm coming.”
“Wonderful,” she exclaimed. “And your boyfriend, will he be coming as well?”
This was it. This was my last chance to own up to the fact that I didn't have a boyfriend. It was now or never. “Yes, Mom, Miller said he would come.”
“Miller? So that's the mystery man's name. Or is that his last name? I know how you boys are, calling each other by your last names and stuff.”
“No, Miller is his first name,” I said, deliberately not giving her the last name. I knew as soon as I did, she would be all over the internet searching for any information she could find.
“I swear, Landon, getting information out of you is like pulling teeth.”
“I know, you tell me that all the time. Now I need to go. I'm driving and pulling a trailer, so I want to focus on the road.”
“Well lands a mercy, Landon, why didn't you say so? Call me later with arrival details.” And just that fast, she hung up. I was talking hands-free, but still, I was glad saying I was driving got me off the phone. I would remember that for next time.
I drove a little farther while still wondering if I'd made the right choice. Not that it mattered at this point. It was done. I had a boyfriend, at least for the holiday. I just wished it was anyone but Miller. He'd made it abundantly clear last year that he wasn't interested. It was a shame, really. I'd been so excited that night when Preston the douche was being such an ass, and Miller offered to take me home.
I hadn't been in River Gorge but a few months, and I'd noticed him the first time I saw him in the coffee shop. He was tall and lean, with dark brown hair, green eyes, and the most charming smile. He was just my type.
That night when he'd insisted on bringing me to the ranch instead of back to his place like I'd suggested, I got the message. I might have given it another shot after that just in case I'd read the situation wrong, but I didn't have to hang around with Ripley and Cap long before I heard all the stories about what a player Miller was. And that was fine if that's what he was looking for. But that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted what my friend Cody had with Eli. The kind of love where nothing mattered more than the other person. Not your job, not your reputation, nothing. I didn't want to settle for anything less.
I was about halfway to my destination when I pulled into a truck stop to get a drink and go to the bathroom. I checked on my passenger, and she was doing fine. Then I hurried inside to get what I needed. Once done, I got back in the truck. I took a drink of my soda and then checked my messages on my phone. I might be willing to talk hands-free, but I made a point to never check my phone while driving.
I’d missed a few texts. One was from my mother—that would have been before she called. That's what she did. She sent a message, and if you didn't respond quickly enough, she called. One from a friend of mine back home asking if I would be in town. One from Cody asking me if I wanted to go to the city shopping this weekend. And one from Miller that just said call me as soon as you can.
My heart fell when I saw that message. He probably wanted to tell me he'd thought it through and had changed his mind. Something I would have welcomed a couple of hours ago when I was trying to decide if this was a good idea or a bad idea. But now, after I just told my mother that he was coming, and finally gave a name to the imaginary boyfriend that I'd been dating for months, thinking he was going to back out was not a welcome thought at all.
No reason to put it off, though. Might as well go ahead and let him say it so I could spend the drive figuring out what to do next.
I pushed the call button on the phone and waited, but not for long. He answered on like the first ring.
“Landon, hi,” he said.
“You wanted me to call?”
“Yeah, you just got back to me quicker than I expected. Are you already there?”
“No, I'm sitting in a truck stop parking lot, and saw your message.”
“Okay, umm, well, I needed to tell you something. Have you talked to anybody back on the ranch?”
That wasn't what I expected at all. “No, why? Did something happen? Is everyone okay?”
“Oh, yeah, it's fine, at least I assume it is. I left a couple hours ago, but everything was okay when I left. So, I kinda maybe messed up.” I’d never heard Miller sound so nervous before.
“Okay, what did you do? If you already had plans for Thanksgiving or something, it’s okay. I'll figure something out.” I had no idea what, but something.
“No, it's kind of the opposite. I may have told the guys I was dating someone.”
“The guys? You mean like your friends. The people I live with and work for. Those guys?”
“Yes, those guys. I know we didn't talk about how far we were going to take this but—”
“We were going to take it all the way to Oklahoma, Miller. Way far away from River Gorge.”
“I know, but they were talking and I just kind of blurted it out without thinking.”
“Without thinking, huh? You just happened to blurt out that you had a boyfriend? What the hell?”