Page 62 of Cowboy of Convenience
"I guess now we know why doesn't mind givin’ her a spray tan." He linked his fingers with Evelyn’s, chuckling as he shook his head. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming."
It should have frustrated him, but there didn't seem to be enough emotional bandwidth left in him to muster it up.
Somehow he'd missed Evelyn's struggles when she first arrived in Moss Creek, missing how out of her element she was in the real world. Then the possibility Charlene and Larry were carrying on some sort of relationship had flown entirely over his head. Now Gram-Gram and Bernard’s torrid affair had escaped his notice.
He was losing his fucking touch and he’d be pissed as hell about it tomorrow. But tonight he was going to focus on Evelyn. Her mess was easier to deal with than his.
"Now we probably know who told Gram-Gram she needed to figure out how to take care of herself a little." He and Evelyn had plenty of time to discuss her conversation with her grandmother as they sat at his mother's bedside, and she’d filled him in on all the wild details about her mother and grandmother’s dysfunction and how it had spilled onto hers. But that was still raw, so the most glaring of her issues might be the easiest to face. Grady wiggled his brows at her. "Bernard must be tired of fulfilling all her needs."
Evelyn made a gagging sound. "Too soon. You need to wait at least a few days to make sex jokes about my grandma and Bernard."
Grady laughed, because as traumatizing as the situation was for Evelyn, it was exactly what he needed. Gram-Gram might be a pain in the ass, but she was one hell of an amazing distraction. And considering his mother’s current state, he needed one. Desperately.
"How long do you think she's going to hang around?" Grady shifted the conversation to something that might make both of them a little more comfortable. He couldn't stand talking about his mom or her situation anymore, and Evelyn obviously wasn't ready to fully dig into the hilarity of Gram-Gram’s current relationship status, so maybe he could find a spot in the middle. "From what you said earlier, it sounds like she wants to be a part of your life."
"It does sound like that. I just hope she spends more of it clothed." Evelyn cringed. "Ugh. No matter how hard I try, all I can see is her naked ass."
“Could be worse. All I can see is Bernard’s naked ass.” Grady gave her hand a squeeze as she made another choked sound. “But I do think Gram-Gram is going to stick around for a while so we might need to come up with a better living arrangement.”
Evelyn’s eyes slid his way. “Does that mean you want to keep this whole thing up?”
He watched Evelyn for any sign of what she was thinking. Trying to pick up on the cues he used to so easily read. But, like he was starting to realize, reading her wasn’t easy for him. “Are you saying you want to tell Gram-Gram we lied?”
"Doyouthink we should tell her?" The question almost sounded apprehensive. Like she was worried he would say yes.
But maybe he was seeing what he wanted to see. Was just as blind in this moment as he had been in so many others. That left him with no choice but to hope for the best. Pray she was feeling the same way he was and offer the truth.
Grady shook his head. "No. I don't think we should tell her." He could give her reasons. Explain Evelyn's relationship with her grandmother was still so new that confessing a lie like that might be enough to topple it. He could claim they were already in too deep since everyone in town likely already knew of their supposed engagement and told everyone they knew.
But he didn't. He left it as it was, because his real reasons had nothing to do with anyone else.
Evelyn nodded. "That's what I was thinking too." She chewed her lower lip. "But I am a little worried about what's going to happen the next time I see the girls."
"It is a little weird they didn't call you right after their lunch with Gram-Gram since I'm pretty sure she spilled every worm in the can while they were together." He'd been expecting both of them to get phone calls from an entire group of angry old women, ripping them a new one for keeping their relationship a secret.
But not a single call came. It was odd.
And a little unnerving.
"You think they're mad?" Evelyn seemed worried. "Maybe we should have told them what was going on."
Grady lifted a brow as they started the ascent to his home on Grizzly Peak. "Do you really want them to be trying to keep a secret like this?"
Evelyn's lips pressed together. "Good point. I don't think they could do it."
"I know for a fact they couldn't do it." He'd seen them in action enough times to know that while the girls might have the best intentions, the minute they got wound up, their mouths started to run. "We'd be fine as long as nobody got into the tequila."
Evelyn laughed. "I would say the chances of that happening are slim to none." She rolled her lips inward, rubbing them together as her eyes came his way. "So what's our plan now?”
“My plan is to go home and forget most of this day happened.” He needed a break from everything. And as much as he would love to have no idea what Gram-Gram looked like when she fucked, he wasn’t mad about the opportunity to sleep in his own bed.
With Evelyn.
He pulled down the lane leading to his house, already feeling better as the thick line of trees flanking the drive opened up, revealing clear, star-lit skies. He parked, pulling in a lungful of air as he helped Evelyn out. This place was exactly where he needed to be.
And this woman was exactly who needed to be here with him. Because, while he wasn’t quite ready to admit it, he did have a new plan. One that stretched much farther than just tonight.
He let Evelyn into his home, trailing behind her, watching her move through the space the same way she had last time they were there. She went straight for the windows at the back of the house, looking out over the mountain, form shadowy in the moonlight.
