Yes, Dallas had a problem with it. He worried about Ryan. Not about him skipping the Endeavour Ranch open house yesterday, particularly since Dallas had done the same thing—he didn’t like that pinned-bug-under-a-magnifying-glass sensation, either. He worried because Ryan had a whole host of issues carried over from a childhood that Dallas and Dan, with their well-adjusted, chaotic, family lives, couldn’t begin to understand.
Dan was convinced Ryan and his mother had entered the witness protection program when Ryan was a kid. Ryan had never said anything specific, but a chance comment on a news story about a man with suspected mob connections strongly suggested there might be a link. Dallas and Dan were concerned enough about that comment to challenge him on the origins of their sudden inheritance, but Ryan had been adamant the money came from Judge Palmeter, and they had no reason not to believe him.
“No need for an eyewitness, but you really should get a life,” Dallas said.
“Why bother with a life of my own when I can live vicariously through you? So, who is she?”
Dallas accepted that Ryan wasn’t going to let up. In his shoes, he wouldn’t either. They’d known each other too long. Besides, what were friends for, if not to give unwanted second opinions? “Do you remember the girl I met at a friend’s wedding last fall?”
“The one you moped over for months?”
“I wouldn’t say I moped over her,” he protested, although he had. And then some. “I think the old boyfriend is finally out of the picture.”
The skillet in Ryan’s hand hovered a few inches above the cupboard shelf where it normally resided. Then he carefully slid the skillet home and closed the cupboard.
“The key word in what you just said is ‘think.’ As in, you need to think this through. I hate to be the one to point this out, but you’re the rebound guy. The excuse she gave herself to break up with her boyfriend for good—because she likely knew he’d never get past it. That means under normal conditions she’d never get past your part in it, either. You’d be the burr under her saddle. The unpleasant reminder that she took the easy way out. A few months ago, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Ryan clapped him on the back. “Except, congratulations. You’re a multi-billionaire now. Money makes women a whole lot more forgiving, so by all means, look her up. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear from you.”
“You have a very dark take on relationships,” Dallas muttered.
And yet the pancakes rolling around in his stomach suggested his friend might not be too far off the mark. It would explain Hannah’s mixed signals and why she was so cool toward him. It certainly fit in with his suspicion that he’d taken things too far and too fast. That he’d rushed her the night of the wedding before she was ready to move on.
That she’d used him.
But as for Ryan’s claim that money made women more forgiving?
Someone should hand that memo to Hannah.
“I have a streak of realism,” Ryan corrected him. “The days of women wanting you for your good looks are over, my friend. You have to learn to be more careful. Take that scene with Simone yesterday, for example. I overheard your mom and Freda talking about it. They were both pretty mad. And worried, might I add, because they know it’s likely going to happen again. There are a lot of Simones in the world.”
So that was why they’d gone quiet when he showed up for breakfast.
“Message received,” Dallas said. He got it and then some. If Hannah hadn’t wanted him before, she’d only have one reason to want him now.
Except the moms—and Ryan—were all worried about nothing, because she didn’t want him now, either.
*
Hannah
Hannah’s date withLevi turned out to be a lot more fun than expected, mostly because he’d also figured out within the first half hour that there were no sparks between them, so the pressure was off.
They had coffee, and talked about horses and beer because they had that much in common, even though their opinions were poles apart. They agreed to disagree on sour “girlie” beer, as he called it, and whether or not Tennessee Walkers qualified as a breed.
As a result, she arrived at the Grand Manor nursing home less concerned as to what Dallas’s motives might be. It was a beautiful day and the possibility of a lonely old man without any interest in enjoying it broke her heart.
The nursing home wasn’t far from the hospital. Care had been taken in designing the grounds. Well-tended flower beds offered brilliant splashes of color against backdrops of shrubbery. Stone walking paths wound between them and around stately trees. The building itself was a long, low, single-story log structure that had been a private home in the days when cattle barons owned most of Montana Territory. The view of Yellowstone River would have been spectacular back then, but was now interrupted by the more modern rooftops of Grand. The past came to life in Hannah’s imagination, giving her goose bumps. She’d read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books several times over by the time she was twelve and dreamed of traveling in a covered wagon and sleeping under the stars.
She found the nursing station directly across from the main door. A pleased smile lit up the nurse’s golden-brown eyes when she stopped to ask her for directions.
“Marsh will be happy to have company, especially someone so pretty. Are you family?” the nurse asked.
“No. Dallas Tucker asked me if I’d drop in for a visit. Is that okay?” Maybe he hadn’t considered that visitors, especially strangers, had restrictions. He was a doctor so he could come and go as he pleased. She should have asked.
The nurse’s smile brightened. “Dr. Tucker? Wasn’t that thoughtful of him. That’s why the residents love him so much. He visits everyone when he comes for his scheduled appointments and takes the time to really get to know them. He and Marsh hit it off.” Her round cheeks dimpled. “They both love the ladies.”
Hannah wasn’t quite sure how she should take that.
The expression on her face made the nurse laugh. “Marsh is a perfect gentleman,” she assured her. “As is Dr. Tucker. Women love them right back.”