Something Blue, page 17
Sawyer shook his head. “I can’t imagine. But he did a great job. He had to be strict with two headstrong boys, and…I really don’t know what would’ve happened to us without him.”
Her gaze softened as she squeezed his hand. “He’s a special man, for sure.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what Garrett or I would do without him now.”
“I don’t know if you know this, but you light up when you talk about your family.”
“Yeah? So do you.”
She nodded. “I’m sure I do. Family is important.”
“Speak of the devil.” Sawyer waved to his brother as he and Shelby approached.
“I didn’t know you were coming here. Nice choice.” Garrett grinned and bumped his shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“We don’t want to impose.” Shelby tucked a strand of hair back and reached for Garrett’s hand. “When Beth said y’all were going to dinner, I didn’t realize it was here.”
“You’re not imposing,” Sawyer caught himself saying.
He was happy to see his brother, and he was warming to Shelby. Things had been a little tense between him and Garrett since the financial advisor’s office, so having him come over and be so openly friendly and happy was nice.
Maybe all was forgiven when it came to that incident.
“What are you guys doing after this?” Garrett asked.
Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. Sawyer?”
“Nothing etched in stone. Thought we’d walk around, enjoy the evening.”
“We were going to do the same. Maybe walk down to McGrady’s Mini-Golf. You want to join us?”
His brother was inviting him to hang out. A far cry from their last encounter.
“You interested?” he asked Beth.
“As long as we can get some ice cream at their shop.”
“We better be,” Shelby exclaimed. “I love their cookies-and-cream hand-dipped.”
“Sounds good to me.” Sawyer nodded to their waiter. “I just need to settle up and we can head that way.”
Garrett and Shelby waited for them in front of the restaurant, and all four walked the half a dozen blocks to McGrady’s.
They played mini-golf, and it turned out Shelby was as competitive as Sawyer and Beth. Garrett was the only laid-back soul among them.
At one point, Shelby got a hole in one and she screamed like they were watching the Longhorns or Raiders play.
“I just like actually being good at something!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping.
“I’m sure you’re good at stuff.” Sawyer laughed and shook his head.
“You’d be surprised.” Shelby carried her club and ball to the next hole. “I’m so terrible at so many things.”
He found that hard to believe, but he glanced at Beth and she nodded discreetly.
Once out of earshot, she leaned into him. “It’s true. Shelby is glamorous and great at social events, but sports and, like, physical activities? That was never her strong suit.”
But she kicked all of their tails in mini-golf.
“I think winner should buy the ice cream,” Sawyer teased.
“Hey! I think winner should be gifted with the triple crown.”
The triple crown was the McGrady’s Ice Cream Parlor special: three different scoops of ice cream with a choice of two toppings and whipped cream.
“Fine. I’ll buy,” Sawyer announced, “and you can get the triple crown.”
Chapter 16
Hours later, they pulled into Orchard Inn and Beth led him along the paved path to their private entrance. She let them in the back door and they quietly moved into the living room. It was late and her sisters were long since asleep on their side of the living quarters.
They kept their voices low just the same.
“What are you going to do when you guys outgrow living in the basement?” Sawyer whispered.
“I don’t know, exactly.” Beth sat on the sofa. “I’ve thought about building a bungalow on the property, but then again, Aurora isn’t likely to be here much longer and there’s plenty of room for just me and Cece.”
He joined her on the sofa. “True. And who knows, you meet people, move forward in life, get married. You’ll all want your own place. A new home.”
Beth’s heart beat faster.
A new home.
The thought was at once exhilarating, promising, and frightening.
This was her home, her anchor. But she wanted more in her life, eventually. Marriage, kids, a dog. All of it.
But these were all things that seemed very far away. Off in the future, not until she had things in order. Not until she met the right man for her.
The notion had been inconceivable.
Sawyer’s gaze met hers, and her breath caught.
Until now.
“I really enjoyed tonight.”
Beth tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I did too.” Maybe the most fun she’d had in a long, long time. Definitely the most fun she’d ever had on a date.
He angled himself to face her more fully. “Where do you want to go next?”
Beth smiled at the idea of going out with him again and again. “I don’t know. Anywhere? But it may have to wait until after the wedding. We’re about to hit terminal velocity on the big day.”
Sawyer shook his head, even as he gave her a soft smile. “I’m not waiting a week to see you again. I’m sure we can work something out. Coffee break in town. Heck, I’ll help move flowers and string up lights if you want, as long as I can see you.”
His warm smile set against such a hard jawline never failed to undo her. And he made no secret of his feelings about her.
It was refreshing on its own, but her feelings for him made it intoxicating.
“I don’t think you’ll have to move flowers. I could probably manage coffee dates. Even lunch,” she said.
Sawyer leaned forward and kissed her. “I’ll take it.”
“But if you really want to help put up lights, then I’m adding you to the work list.”
He chuckled, his chest rumbling against her. “I’ll help you with whatever you need.”
Sawyer’s lips met hers again and his words reverberated through their kiss.
Beth knew, with everything within her, that his words were true. Sawyer would be there to help her, anytime she needed him. He wouldn’t lie and walk out. He’d stand by her, even when times got tough.
She hadn’t expected it, especially not the day he came to visit Orchard Inn with his brother and Shelby, but she’d gotten close to him. She’d let him in.
Sawyer deepened the kiss and she pulled him closer. Never before had she felt so safe, and so certain. He fit her, like a piece of the puzzle she didn’t know she was missing.
“Do you want to stay the night?” she asked before she could overthink it.
Sawyer eased away, his dark gaze flickering with fire. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She’d never been more certain of anything.
“I would love to.”
He rose to his feet and held out his hand for her to take. With her heart flying high, Beth led Sawyer to her bedroom.
Sawyer pulled her close and kissed her as she closed her bedroom door.
She awoke, hours later, warm and sated in Sawyer’s arms. When she stirred, he brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple.
“Hey,” he whispered against her skin.
“Hey.” She stretched, and then cuddled into him again. She never wanted to move from her bed.
“You okay? Can I get you anything?” he asked.
Beth shook her head. All she needed was this.
Sawyer kissed her forehead, her temple, then her lips. She sighed, unashamedly content. “I’m so happy right now,” she admitted.
His soft laugh was warm against her. “Me too.”
On the nightstand, Sawyer’s phone buzzed with a text.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he grumbled, and ignored it.
Then his phone buzzed three more times.
“That could be an emergency and not Joe complaining about the neighbors.” With a grunt, he rolled over and checked the message.
Whatever it read had him sitting up in the bed.
“Everything okay?”
“No. I mean yes, but…” Whatever he was going to say drifted into nothingness as he kept reading.
“What’s wro—”
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” He jumped out of bed.
“What?”
Sawyer seemed to catch himself as he dressed, and he stopped to talk. “I’m so sorry I have to go. I hate rushing off like this, but I have to. That’s…that was Uncle Joe.”
“Is everything all right?”
“No. But it’s not…it’s not life or death. Something is…um, one of the horses…something is up with one of the horses. And I need to go take care of it. I’m so sorry.”
Something didn’t feel quite right in her gut.
“No. It’s okay,” she said, even though it wasn’t. “You go.”
Sawyer finished dressing, and she couldn’t stop the niggling feeling that there was more going on here than an issue with a horse.
This wasn’t like him, even with an urgent issue. His eyes seemed shuttered, his body language withdrawn.
Normally, he was all about making sure she was okay. He considered her first. Now, his mind was thousands of miles away.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, grabbing his wallet and keys and dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“Okay. Be careful,” she managed.
Sawyer had left sometime around midnight, but Beth didn’t get to sleep for hours.
She lay in bed for a while, but her mind kept chewing on his words, reviewing them over and over, trying to pick up some morsel of meaning.
If she didn’t get up and do something, she’d start to spiral.
As quietly as she could, she slipped on her robe and slippers and went to the kitchen to make tea.
Once done, she sat in bed with her honey chamomile and sipped it while scrolling through social media.
That always took her mind off her life and responsibilities.
But her feeds were full of the locations and vendors she followed for work. Everything was wedding and events, flowers, food, and décor. It only made her think about the upcoming wedding, which made her think about Sawyer, which made her think about how weird he’d been when he left.
“Stop.” She groaned at herself and tossed her phone down.
His reason for rushing off probably really was one of the horses. She was being doubtful for no reason. Getting all up in her head over nothing.
Perhaps her paranoia was because she’d gotten so close to him. Then she’d slept with him. Getting closer, both physically and emotionally, was making her overthink. She’d become open, even vulnerable, with Sawyer, and the sensation didn’t come naturally. She detested feeling like, somehow, she might lose.
She’d lost her dad when he walked out, and she’d almost lost the inn. She didn’t want to lose Sawyer.
Beth finally fell asleep dreaming of horses and storm clouds.
The next morning, she had a dozen calls to make and two meetings, but all she could think about was Sawyer.
This was exactly why she’d told herself to focus solely on the wedding. Business first, all else later, if ever at all. Because relationships were messy and took up time and energy. Dramatic distractions she didn’t have time for. Sawyer might be warm and welcoming and wonderful, but now here she was. Unable to focus, worried more about his call than the call about a potential new wedding.
She fought not to scream in frustration.
Instead, she threw herself into the tedious tasks of her day. She went to the post office, the grocery store, and the drive-through pharmacy. She called her mom just to check in and say hey and give an update on Cece. She did everything on her list and some on Cece’s, all to ignore the fact that Sawyer still hadn’t called.
Chapter 17
Sawyer scrubbed both hands through his hair again and opened the photo on his phone for what was probably the tenth time.
Shelby, with her hair pulled back and a big, bright smile on her face as she walked a horse through a meadow of bluebonnets. The photo made life look like it was all a freaking Hallmark card.
Next to her, Clay Reynolds wore a smile to match. In the next photo, he touched her hand, taking a horse’s reins from her.
They shared an obviously intimate smile.
“Dammit.” Sawyer tossed down his phone.
He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted to be wrong about Garrett’s fiancée until the very moment he saw that photo.
He should’ve been warm and content, holding Beth, basking in the aftermath of the best night of his life. He should’ve been spending quality time with the woman of his dreams.
Instead, he’d had to rush off for fear of getting sick at the sight of that photo.
How could Shelby do this? His brother was going to be devastated.
“I see it all the time,” the PI had said when Sawyer had demanded to meet with him late last night.
“And you’re sure they were together together?”
“They didn’t make out or have sex in the field, if that’s what you’re asking. If they had, I’d have proof of that too. That’s the job. But look at ’em. They ooze love-struck and all that crap. And you should’ve seen him help her down from that horse. I know a pair of people who have been messing around when I see them. Sad, really. People are hardly ever faithful. If they were, I wouldn’t have a job.”
A year ago, Sawyer would’ve agreed with him about people never being faithful.
Heck, a month ago Sawyer would’ve agreed. But Beth had changed all that.
She trusted Shelby, and he couldn’t imagine her trusting anyone conniving enough to cheat on her fiancé.
She’d changed him and his view of people. Given him hope. She was as forthright and direct as anyone he’d ever known, and that meant something.
He hadn’t been completely upfront with her regarding his suspicions about Shelby, or hiring an investigator, but he’d started hoping he was wrong. He’d almost come to accept he was off base about the whole thing, and why sabotage everything with Beth over a bad hunch? He wouldn’t dare.
But his hunch had proven to be right.
He’d wanted to see what Beth and Garrett saw in Shelby, and believe that people could be sincere when it came to love. But they were as wrong and as blind as he’d been with Melissa.
He couldn’t let himself think too long about an even worse truth: that perhaps Beth wasn’t blind at all. That, somehow, she knew about Shelby and Clay all along, and lied too.
No.
There was no way that was possible. He wouldn’t let his mind go there.
No matter how guilty Shelby was in her actions, he knew Beth would be more shocked than anyone to learn the truth.
A knock on his office door pulled him from the dark path of his thoughts.
“Are you going to eat breakfast?” Lina called through the door.
“No, ma’am. Thank you, though. I’ve got a lot to do this morning.” And his appetite was long gone.
He dragged a rough hand through his hair again and threw on a hat.
Shelby would be awake by now. He’d confront her, once and for all, without Garrett or anyone else making excuses for her. He’d take care of this and save his brother from making the worst mistake of his life.
Sawyer barely registered the drive over to the Meyers estate. He drove up to their big brick house, with two-story white columns, on the hill. The house fit the family.
And to think his brother was going to marry into this family.
A severe-looking woman answered the door. Hair pulled back tight, black-framed glasses to match her pitch-black dress. “May I help you?”
“I’m here to see Shelby.”
“And who, may I ask, is calling?”
“Sawyer Silva,” he said, imagining the woman could probably place a curse on someone like him if she got it in her mind to do so.
“If you’ll wait in the sitting room, I’ll return with Miss Meyers.”
“I’ll wait out here,” he said. Then added, “If that’s okay.”
She gave a quick nod and Sawyer moved away from the front door before she could change her mind.
He wasn’t setting foot in a house that could have Evelyn Meyers lurking around any corner.
“Sawyer?” Shelby stepped outside and closed the door behind her. “Hey, there. I thought Beatrice had lost her mind when she said you were here to see me. But here you are.”
“Here I am.” He reached into his back pocket for his phone.
“I’m so glad too. Listen, I know we had an awkward start, but I had so much fun last night. I think we’re going to make great—”
“Explain this.” He thrust his phone, with the picture of her and Clay, in her face.
“Family,” she finished, her brows knitting together as she took the phone. “What is this?”
“You tell me. Because it looks like you and Clay Reynolds are having a time of it in some field.”
“A time of it?”
“Yeah. Cozied up, thick as thieves and everything else.”
“Are you suggesting that me and Clay…that we—”
“Are seeing each other behind my brother’s back? That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Sawyer!” She feigned shock with a hand over her heart. “I am not dating Clay. I’m not doing anything inappropriate. This is just a misunderstanding because Clay and I—”
“Then why did you lie?”
“What?”
“You lied and said you were trying on wedding dresses that day awhile back, but I saw the two of you, outside of Carson, in that diner, snuggled up beside each other, having lunch.”
All of the color drained from her face.
“Then you told Garrett you went shopping with your momma in Austin, when I saw you at Northcliff Ranch, giggling and flirting with Clay. You lied about that too.”
“This is not what you think, and I promise you I would never giggle while at a ranch.”
“I am not going to let you do this to my brother.”
Her gaze softened as she squeezed his hand. “He’s a special man, for sure.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what Garrett or I would do without him now.”
“I don’t know if you know this, but you light up when you talk about your family.”
“Yeah? So do you.”
She nodded. “I’m sure I do. Family is important.”
“Speak of the devil.” Sawyer waved to his brother as he and Shelby approached.
“I didn’t know you were coming here. Nice choice.” Garrett grinned and bumped his shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“We don’t want to impose.” Shelby tucked a strand of hair back and reached for Garrett’s hand. “When Beth said y’all were going to dinner, I didn’t realize it was here.”
“You’re not imposing,” Sawyer caught himself saying.
He was happy to see his brother, and he was warming to Shelby. Things had been a little tense between him and Garrett since the financial advisor’s office, so having him come over and be so openly friendly and happy was nice.
Maybe all was forgiven when it came to that incident.
“What are you guys doing after this?” Garrett asked.
Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. Sawyer?”
“Nothing etched in stone. Thought we’d walk around, enjoy the evening.”
“We were going to do the same. Maybe walk down to McGrady’s Mini-Golf. You want to join us?”
His brother was inviting him to hang out. A far cry from their last encounter.
“You interested?” he asked Beth.
“As long as we can get some ice cream at their shop.”
“We better be,” Shelby exclaimed. “I love their cookies-and-cream hand-dipped.”
“Sounds good to me.” Sawyer nodded to their waiter. “I just need to settle up and we can head that way.”
Garrett and Shelby waited for them in front of the restaurant, and all four walked the half a dozen blocks to McGrady’s.
They played mini-golf, and it turned out Shelby was as competitive as Sawyer and Beth. Garrett was the only laid-back soul among them.
At one point, Shelby got a hole in one and she screamed like they were watching the Longhorns or Raiders play.
“I just like actually being good at something!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping.
“I’m sure you’re good at stuff.” Sawyer laughed and shook his head.
“You’d be surprised.” Shelby carried her club and ball to the next hole. “I’m so terrible at so many things.”
He found that hard to believe, but he glanced at Beth and she nodded discreetly.
Once out of earshot, she leaned into him. “It’s true. Shelby is glamorous and great at social events, but sports and, like, physical activities? That was never her strong suit.”
But she kicked all of their tails in mini-golf.
“I think winner should buy the ice cream,” Sawyer teased.
“Hey! I think winner should be gifted with the triple crown.”
The triple crown was the McGrady’s Ice Cream Parlor special: three different scoops of ice cream with a choice of two toppings and whipped cream.
“Fine. I’ll buy,” Sawyer announced, “and you can get the triple crown.”
Chapter 16
Hours later, they pulled into Orchard Inn and Beth led him along the paved path to their private entrance. She let them in the back door and they quietly moved into the living room. It was late and her sisters were long since asleep on their side of the living quarters.
They kept their voices low just the same.
“What are you going to do when you guys outgrow living in the basement?” Sawyer whispered.
“I don’t know, exactly.” Beth sat on the sofa. “I’ve thought about building a bungalow on the property, but then again, Aurora isn’t likely to be here much longer and there’s plenty of room for just me and Cece.”
He joined her on the sofa. “True. And who knows, you meet people, move forward in life, get married. You’ll all want your own place. A new home.”
Beth’s heart beat faster.
A new home.
The thought was at once exhilarating, promising, and frightening.
This was her home, her anchor. But she wanted more in her life, eventually. Marriage, kids, a dog. All of it.
But these were all things that seemed very far away. Off in the future, not until she had things in order. Not until she met the right man for her.
The notion had been inconceivable.
Sawyer’s gaze met hers, and her breath caught.
Until now.
“I really enjoyed tonight.”
Beth tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I did too.” Maybe the most fun she’d had in a long, long time. Definitely the most fun she’d ever had on a date.
He angled himself to face her more fully. “Where do you want to go next?”
Beth smiled at the idea of going out with him again and again. “I don’t know. Anywhere? But it may have to wait until after the wedding. We’re about to hit terminal velocity on the big day.”
Sawyer shook his head, even as he gave her a soft smile. “I’m not waiting a week to see you again. I’m sure we can work something out. Coffee break in town. Heck, I’ll help move flowers and string up lights if you want, as long as I can see you.”
His warm smile set against such a hard jawline never failed to undo her. And he made no secret of his feelings about her.
It was refreshing on its own, but her feelings for him made it intoxicating.
“I don’t think you’ll have to move flowers. I could probably manage coffee dates. Even lunch,” she said.
Sawyer leaned forward and kissed her. “I’ll take it.”
“But if you really want to help put up lights, then I’m adding you to the work list.”
He chuckled, his chest rumbling against her. “I’ll help you with whatever you need.”
Sawyer’s lips met hers again and his words reverberated through their kiss.
Beth knew, with everything within her, that his words were true. Sawyer would be there to help her, anytime she needed him. He wouldn’t lie and walk out. He’d stand by her, even when times got tough.
She hadn’t expected it, especially not the day he came to visit Orchard Inn with his brother and Shelby, but she’d gotten close to him. She’d let him in.
Sawyer deepened the kiss and she pulled him closer. Never before had she felt so safe, and so certain. He fit her, like a piece of the puzzle she didn’t know she was missing.
“Do you want to stay the night?” she asked before she could overthink it.
Sawyer eased away, his dark gaze flickering with fire. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She’d never been more certain of anything.
“I would love to.”
He rose to his feet and held out his hand for her to take. With her heart flying high, Beth led Sawyer to her bedroom.
Sawyer pulled her close and kissed her as she closed her bedroom door.
She awoke, hours later, warm and sated in Sawyer’s arms. When she stirred, he brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple.
“Hey,” he whispered against her skin.
“Hey.” She stretched, and then cuddled into him again. She never wanted to move from her bed.
“You okay? Can I get you anything?” he asked.
Beth shook her head. All she needed was this.
Sawyer kissed her forehead, her temple, then her lips. She sighed, unashamedly content. “I’m so happy right now,” she admitted.
His soft laugh was warm against her. “Me too.”
On the nightstand, Sawyer’s phone buzzed with a text.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he grumbled, and ignored it.
Then his phone buzzed three more times.
“That could be an emergency and not Joe complaining about the neighbors.” With a grunt, he rolled over and checked the message.
Whatever it read had him sitting up in the bed.
“Everything okay?”
“No. I mean yes, but…” Whatever he was going to say drifted into nothingness as he kept reading.
“What’s wro—”
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” He jumped out of bed.
“What?”
Sawyer seemed to catch himself as he dressed, and he stopped to talk. “I’m so sorry I have to go. I hate rushing off like this, but I have to. That’s…that was Uncle Joe.”
“Is everything all right?”
“No. But it’s not…it’s not life or death. Something is…um, one of the horses…something is up with one of the horses. And I need to go take care of it. I’m so sorry.”
Something didn’t feel quite right in her gut.
“No. It’s okay,” she said, even though it wasn’t. “You go.”
Sawyer finished dressing, and she couldn’t stop the niggling feeling that there was more going on here than an issue with a horse.
This wasn’t like him, even with an urgent issue. His eyes seemed shuttered, his body language withdrawn.
Normally, he was all about making sure she was okay. He considered her first. Now, his mind was thousands of miles away.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, grabbing his wallet and keys and dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“Okay. Be careful,” she managed.
Sawyer had left sometime around midnight, but Beth didn’t get to sleep for hours.
She lay in bed for a while, but her mind kept chewing on his words, reviewing them over and over, trying to pick up some morsel of meaning.
If she didn’t get up and do something, she’d start to spiral.
As quietly as she could, she slipped on her robe and slippers and went to the kitchen to make tea.
Once done, she sat in bed with her honey chamomile and sipped it while scrolling through social media.
That always took her mind off her life and responsibilities.
But her feeds were full of the locations and vendors she followed for work. Everything was wedding and events, flowers, food, and décor. It only made her think about the upcoming wedding, which made her think about Sawyer, which made her think about how weird he’d been when he left.
“Stop.” She groaned at herself and tossed her phone down.
His reason for rushing off probably really was one of the horses. She was being doubtful for no reason. Getting all up in her head over nothing.
Perhaps her paranoia was because she’d gotten so close to him. Then she’d slept with him. Getting closer, both physically and emotionally, was making her overthink. She’d become open, even vulnerable, with Sawyer, and the sensation didn’t come naturally. She detested feeling like, somehow, she might lose.
She’d lost her dad when he walked out, and she’d almost lost the inn. She didn’t want to lose Sawyer.
Beth finally fell asleep dreaming of horses and storm clouds.
The next morning, she had a dozen calls to make and two meetings, but all she could think about was Sawyer.
This was exactly why she’d told herself to focus solely on the wedding. Business first, all else later, if ever at all. Because relationships were messy and took up time and energy. Dramatic distractions she didn’t have time for. Sawyer might be warm and welcoming and wonderful, but now here she was. Unable to focus, worried more about his call than the call about a potential new wedding.
She fought not to scream in frustration.
Instead, she threw herself into the tedious tasks of her day. She went to the post office, the grocery store, and the drive-through pharmacy. She called her mom just to check in and say hey and give an update on Cece. She did everything on her list and some on Cece’s, all to ignore the fact that Sawyer still hadn’t called.
Chapter 17
Sawyer scrubbed both hands through his hair again and opened the photo on his phone for what was probably the tenth time.
Shelby, with her hair pulled back and a big, bright smile on her face as she walked a horse through a meadow of bluebonnets. The photo made life look like it was all a freaking Hallmark card.
Next to her, Clay Reynolds wore a smile to match. In the next photo, he touched her hand, taking a horse’s reins from her.
They shared an obviously intimate smile.
“Dammit.” Sawyer tossed down his phone.
He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted to be wrong about Garrett’s fiancée until the very moment he saw that photo.
He should’ve been warm and content, holding Beth, basking in the aftermath of the best night of his life. He should’ve been spending quality time with the woman of his dreams.
Instead, he’d had to rush off for fear of getting sick at the sight of that photo.
How could Shelby do this? His brother was going to be devastated.
“I see it all the time,” the PI had said when Sawyer had demanded to meet with him late last night.
“And you’re sure they were together together?”
“They didn’t make out or have sex in the field, if that’s what you’re asking. If they had, I’d have proof of that too. That’s the job. But look at ’em. They ooze love-struck and all that crap. And you should’ve seen him help her down from that horse. I know a pair of people who have been messing around when I see them. Sad, really. People are hardly ever faithful. If they were, I wouldn’t have a job.”
A year ago, Sawyer would’ve agreed with him about people never being faithful.
Heck, a month ago Sawyer would’ve agreed. But Beth had changed all that.
She trusted Shelby, and he couldn’t imagine her trusting anyone conniving enough to cheat on her fiancé.
She’d changed him and his view of people. Given him hope. She was as forthright and direct as anyone he’d ever known, and that meant something.
He hadn’t been completely upfront with her regarding his suspicions about Shelby, or hiring an investigator, but he’d started hoping he was wrong. He’d almost come to accept he was off base about the whole thing, and why sabotage everything with Beth over a bad hunch? He wouldn’t dare.
But his hunch had proven to be right.
He’d wanted to see what Beth and Garrett saw in Shelby, and believe that people could be sincere when it came to love. But they were as wrong and as blind as he’d been with Melissa.
He couldn’t let himself think too long about an even worse truth: that perhaps Beth wasn’t blind at all. That, somehow, she knew about Shelby and Clay all along, and lied too.
No.
There was no way that was possible. He wouldn’t let his mind go there.
No matter how guilty Shelby was in her actions, he knew Beth would be more shocked than anyone to learn the truth.
A knock on his office door pulled him from the dark path of his thoughts.
“Are you going to eat breakfast?” Lina called through the door.
“No, ma’am. Thank you, though. I’ve got a lot to do this morning.” And his appetite was long gone.
He dragged a rough hand through his hair again and threw on a hat.
Shelby would be awake by now. He’d confront her, once and for all, without Garrett or anyone else making excuses for her. He’d take care of this and save his brother from making the worst mistake of his life.
Sawyer barely registered the drive over to the Meyers estate. He drove up to their big brick house, with two-story white columns, on the hill. The house fit the family.
And to think his brother was going to marry into this family.
A severe-looking woman answered the door. Hair pulled back tight, black-framed glasses to match her pitch-black dress. “May I help you?”
“I’m here to see Shelby.”
“And who, may I ask, is calling?”
“Sawyer Silva,” he said, imagining the woman could probably place a curse on someone like him if she got it in her mind to do so.
“If you’ll wait in the sitting room, I’ll return with Miss Meyers.”
“I’ll wait out here,” he said. Then added, “If that’s okay.”
She gave a quick nod and Sawyer moved away from the front door before she could change her mind.
He wasn’t setting foot in a house that could have Evelyn Meyers lurking around any corner.
“Sawyer?” Shelby stepped outside and closed the door behind her. “Hey, there. I thought Beatrice had lost her mind when she said you were here to see me. But here you are.”
“Here I am.” He reached into his back pocket for his phone.
“I’m so glad too. Listen, I know we had an awkward start, but I had so much fun last night. I think we’re going to make great—”
“Explain this.” He thrust his phone, with the picture of her and Clay, in her face.
“Family,” she finished, her brows knitting together as she took the phone. “What is this?”
“You tell me. Because it looks like you and Clay Reynolds are having a time of it in some field.”
“A time of it?”
“Yeah. Cozied up, thick as thieves and everything else.”
“Are you suggesting that me and Clay…that we—”
“Are seeing each other behind my brother’s back? That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Sawyer!” She feigned shock with a hand over her heart. “I am not dating Clay. I’m not doing anything inappropriate. This is just a misunderstanding because Clay and I—”
“Then why did you lie?”
“What?”
“You lied and said you were trying on wedding dresses that day awhile back, but I saw the two of you, outside of Carson, in that diner, snuggled up beside each other, having lunch.”
All of the color drained from her face.
“Then you told Garrett you went shopping with your momma in Austin, when I saw you at Northcliff Ranch, giggling and flirting with Clay. You lied about that too.”
“This is not what you think, and I promise you I would never giggle while at a ranch.”
“I am not going to let you do this to my brother.”
