Page 86 of Revelry
Leo snorted. “When did you watch Friends?”
Jack shrugged, taking a sip of his water, he didn’t want a beer. “Prison.”
I ended up making popcorn and I snapped when Max dropped some on the couch but he didn’t bat an eye as I made him pick it up. Other than that, it was a good night.
The game was disappointing, our team not doing so well but that made us bond a little more as we complained about them and eventually, they left, with their chaps.
I looked over at Gertrude’s dark windows and sighed before taking myself off to bed. I was just drifting off to sleep when my phone pinged.
I unlocked the screen, squinting at the brightness.
Gertrude:Why did three men leave your house?
Gertrude:Did they rob you?
Gertrude:Are you alive?
Gertrude:Should I call the police?
Gertrude:For real though, Tate?
I felt the smile unfurl across my lips as I read each individual message that pinged through. I thought for a moment about what to reply.
Tate:Miss you too.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gertie
I watched as the temporary stage went up at Redemption Ranch.
Jack and a few other guys assessed the wooden planks and beams with Kat directing them all. I watched as my best friend led the show, I was so proud of the woman she’d turned into over the last few years. She was a leader, in charge of her destiny. Bold, confident and self-assured.
And I was not.
But that tracks, me and Kat had always been opposites. Except my uncertainty at life was choking me.
In my periphery I saw the tall, gorgeous man I’d been hiding from. I’d slipped last night and messaged him. Tate knew I was avoiding him but he didn’t get why. I wasn’t feeling awkward over our encounter, not anymore. I was desperate to repeat it, and I worried that being in his presence would have my resolve crumbling down.
I’d reread hismiss you toomessage so many times and each time I lingered over the words, they hit me in the chest.
No man had missed me before.
Except I knew I was reading into it, looking for meaning where there wasn’t any. I always fell hard and fast for guys, and I’d been convinced that I wouldn’t do that with Tate. He was so different to me but our differences created a balance in our relationship.
He softened me, I livened him up.
It worked.
I could see him veering towards me, in those damn chaps. He wasn’t even horseshoeing today so I don’t know why he was wearing them. I knew how often he came to the ranch now and he wasn’t due for a few weeks.
I panicked, and like any self-respecting adult woman would, I ran to my best friend, tugging her into a pointless conversation which turned into her asking for a favor.
“The caterer has come down with the flu and can’t help us out. I’m stuck, Gertie, I don’t know what to do!” she wailed, dropping her head into her hands. “The first big fundraising event that Redemption has put on and it’s already a failure!”
“It’s not a failure, so you just shush! What do you need? What can I do?”
She lifted her head. “Not unless you can make me some food super-fast?” she sniffled. “In two days.”
