Page 91 of A Rancher's Heart
It was silent in the cab for a few moments, just the wheels on the pavement and the air rushing past as they drove in the darkness.
“Even knowing I would get fired, I’d do it again.” Tamara spoke softly, staring out the front windshield. There was not much out there except white lines at the side of the road, and a dotted yellow passing lane flickering by like a heartbeat. Pale red taillights winking far in the distance.
As quiet as it was, the cab seemed to be filled with life and energy and powerful emotion. It was all because ofher—Tamara.
Maybe that was why Caleb found himself telling her things he hadn’t expected to. “Wendy didn’t like going to the bar. I think maybe there were too many people, which meant she couldn’t stand out in the crowd. I didn’t mind that she liked it when I took her out for lunch while we were dating. Ginny, Dare and Dustin were in school then, so I didn’t have to wrangle babysitters or coordinate someone to cook meals at home. Wendy and I dated for three months before we got married.”
Tamara whistled softly. “That’s a bit of a whirlwind.”
He sighed heavily. “She got pregnant.”
“Oh.”
Maybe this confession thing was good for the soul. “Part of the reason I wasn’t too thrilled when my sister ended up pregnant. I knew it could end badly.”
Tamara shook her head. “I don’t think you have to worry about your sister. Jesse and Dare are both putting one hundred percent into their relationship. Did you want your marriage to work?”
“Of course. I was dating her in the first place because I thought we’d be good together.” More the fool him.
“And from what I know of you, you were working to try and make that happen. I don’t think her getting pregnant should have been the kiss of death on your relationship if she wanted it to work. That’s what was missing between you and Wendy, at least from where I’m sitting. You gave and gave, and she didn’t.”
She hadn’t. Caleb wasn’t going to argue with that fact.
This wasn’t where he had expected their discussion to go, and yet it felt right. Then Tamara being Tamara she dove right back into the conversation and through the other side. “You haven’t had sex since she left, have you?”
Not much use in lying. “Explains why I was so fast off the handle.”
Tamara snickered. “Any session of fooling around that ends with me coming at least once is a win. Don’t sell yourself short. I had fun.”
“Me too.”
Then damn if she didn’t do it again. “How much sex did you have before that?”
“Tamara.”
“What? I’m trying to prepare myself for the next forty-eight hours.”
He fought to keep from smiling. He considered her question and it was easy. “Not much.”
“Define not much—?”
“What the hell do you want? What difference does it make?” He’d never even told Josiah this. “Emma turned seven late September. Add nine months. You’re the one doing math for me.”
He had to admit the stream of curses that confession induced was satisfying.
She reached across and grabbed hold of his hand, linking their fingers firmly. “Well then. It’s a good thing I’ve been taking my vitamins.”
There really wasn’t any answer to that one.
Then she stopped with the embarrassingly blunt questions. He worried that the remainder of the three-hour trip would turn into something awkward, or worse, a constant temptation to pull over and take her again.
Instead she decided to get his opinion on a whole number of household things they needed to catch up on, hauling a small notebook from her purse and going through a detailed list. Activities for the girls, questions about the ranch and the financial side of things. Heck, she had Ashton’s birthday party on the list.
The entire time they held hands. He hadn’t expected that simple act to feel so huge. So intimate.
An hour later Tamara closed the book with a satisfied snap. “Consider that a business meeting well accomplished. And the party planned.”
“Kelli will be glad.”
