Page 109 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love
“What?” Tanner asked.
“Nothing.”
“Go on, say it. It’s not like you’re going to hurt my feelings, is it?”
“I dunno. I just – don’t take it wrong. I was just thinking that Shay fits in so well with everyone. She feels like one of us – like she could have been friends with the girls even if I never met her. And … well, the kind of girls you usually go for are … different. I was thinking about the profiles you saved for me on that dating site.”
Kolby nodded his agreement. “I hate to say it, Tan, but he’s right. The kind of women you go for wouldn’t exactly be at home on the ranch, would they?”
Tanner laughed. “That’s not why I go for them, is it?” He frowned. “I … shit, this sounds bad, but I go for them because they wouldn’t fit in with us. You know what I mean – the kind of girl who’s looking for a night with a cowboy, with the bartender, isn’t someone …” His frown grew deeper. “Shit! Isn’t someone … am I being totally judgmental?”
Ty exchanged a smile with Kolby. “Yeah, you are. But while you’re judging the women, you might want to take a look in the mirror.”
Tanner let out a short laugh. “You were right there with me for a long time – don’t go getting on your high horse.”
Ty held his hands up. “I’m not. I’m not denying that I was right there with you. I’m just grateful that I’m not anymore.”
Tanner nodded, and then moved away from them to serve a girl who’d approached the bar. From the way he flirted with her,Ty wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be the flavor of the night.
Kolby elbowed him. “Have you seen Trav this weekend?”
“No, I heard that he was back and still looking at land. What do you know about it?”
Kolby shrugged. “Probably no more than you do, but I thought he would have caught up with you by now.”
“What for – what does he need?”
“He said he was going to talk to you about Shay.”
Ty frowned. “What about her?”
“Don’t look like that – nothing bad. I probably shouldn’t say anything, I might not get the details straight, but do you know what he’s planning?”
“Just that he wants to buy a place with some cabins – a place where people can come and stay to decompress for a while when they need it.”
“Yeah. He’s been talking about it since I was still working with Cash and Mav and him. One of his buddies shot himself a couple of years back – he couldn’t handle being back in the civilian world. Trav’s had it in his head ever since that if guys had a place where they could go and just … be for a while, it might help. You know how it is, staying in a cabin out here with elk and deer for company is a lot different from trying to fit back into life in a city someplace.”
“Yeah, or even life in a small town,” said Ty, thinking about Shayna’s dad. “What does he want with Shay?”
“He just wanted to talk to her. He knows that she’s working her way toward being a therapist and he’s going to need some help if he sets up a place like that – not that he’s going to make it into some kind of therapy center – more of a bolt hole. I don’t know the details, only that he said he was going to talk to her.”
“We’ll have to see if we can get ahold of him before he leaves.”
“Are you doing lunch for everyone tomorrow, or is that going to come to an end now that you have Shay?”
“I was thinking about skipping it and hanging out just the two of us, but she knows that’s what we usually do, and she thinks I should still cook for everyone.” He smiled. “She was worried – she didn’t want to be the reason that we all stopped getting together.”
“No one would blame you if you didn’t want to do it.”
“That’s the thing, though. I do. Back at home, she used to spend Sunday afternoons with her family. I’ve taken her away from that, so I want to share my family with her instead.”
Kolby grinned. “I’m glad. I know Callie looks forward to our Sundays.”
“It was just her and her mom growing up, right? Same as Shay.”
“Yeah, but her mom’s still around. In fact, she keeps trying to persuade her to move up here. And Travis is all over that idea.”
Ty laughed. “I forgot about that – he took a real shine to Callie’s mom.”