Walker Bride (4 page)

A flash lit in her eyes. “I think maybe that
would be the better idea.”

Of course, she did. “Well, then get what you
need. I’ll drive you home. Do you have someone who can drive you
back here to get your car tomorrow?”

“I have a whole family at my beck and
call.”

That she did, no matter how dysfunctional he
thought her family was, she had them, and they looked out for each
other. He knew that first hand. In the few months in which he’d
known he shared blood with Eric Walker, he’d been included in that
family. He still wasn’t used to it, but it was nice.

“Well then, let’s head out,” he said before
she could lure him any further into the dress shop and make him any
more uncomfortable looking at her float from side to side.

Pickup trucks were supposed to be amazing,
Pearl thought as she held on tightly to the door as Tyson drove
down the street. His pickup had to be as old as he was. Hadn’t she
seen him driving a beautiful, brand new truck? Why did he bring the
one from the ranch into town?

Because he was a simple man, that was why. He
had nothing to prove to anyone she realized very quickly on the
quiet drive.

She’d given him the vaguest of directions,
yet he’d driven right to her townhouse.

“Can you make it in?” he asked as he pulled
to the curb and put the truck in park.

“I’m okay. But would you like to come in for
a little bit?” She had to offer. The afternoon wasn’t ending the
way she’d hoped it would.

“I have things to do. I need to get back to
work.”

“Right.” She fished for her keys again. She
should get a clasp for her keys that she could hook into her purse.
“Thanks for the company this afternoon. I appreciate it.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll have the tuxes in a few days before the
wedding. I’m sure Susan will pick them up and have them for
you.”

“Works for me.”

She was stalling here, and he wasn’t buying
into it with his short answers.

“Don’t forget to talk to Eric’s brothers
about that bachelor’s party.”

“Right. I’ll do that,” he said again with his
fingers gripped around the steering wheel.

She had to keep reminding herself that she
needed to get out of the damn truck, but she didn’t want to.
Something was pulling at her, and she wanted to be right there with
him. Perhaps that’s why she decided to lean across the bench seat,
rest her hand on Tyson’s cheek, and turn his head until her lips
were poised right at his.

She saw the surprise in his wide open eyes as
she gently pressed her lips to his.

She lingered only long enough to satisfy that
immediate need that buzzed inside of her.

His eyes were still wide when she pulled
away. “Thanks again,” she said as she opened the door and hurried
out of the truck.

Breathe. Breathe.
Tyson told himself
as he watched Pearl slowly walk to the front door of her house,
with her shoes in her hand.

He kept his grip on the steering wheel and
did just as he told himself to do as he watched her open the door
and disappear inside.

Then, for another moment, he sat there until
the tingle she’d left on his lips subsided.

Maybe it would be a good idea to go inside
and make sure she was okay. Obviously, she'd had too much to drink
to drive home. Perhaps she shouldn’t be alone.

Forcing himself to put the truck into drive,
he pulled away from the curb. No, she was just fine. He’d already
spent too much of his day with the woman and damn it, he had
responsibilities. As far as he should be concerned, this had all
been a waste of his day.

Pearl watched him drive away from the small
window next to the door. What had she done?

She’d acted like an idiot, that’s what she’d
done. Why in the world had she gotten so worked up over him?

Walking away from the door, she went to the
kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. Her
steady craft beer buzz was wearing off. Maybe she should have just
stayed at work and brought her car home later.

Stupidly enough, she’d thought maybe she
could convince Tyson to come in. Maybe they could spend some time
together.

The very thought had her tensing up. What had
driven her to be so lonely that she was hitting on her cousin’s
family—Lydia’s brother? She’d never made a move on the man—never.
But today? What was so stellar about today?

Pearl walked to the living room and plopped
herself down on the couch. She kicked her bare feet up on the
coffee table and rested her head back.

Weddings never used to bother her. She saw
happy brides walk in and out of her store all the time. But ever
since Susan and Eric got engaged and Bethany and Kent followed
right behind, she’d felt the pang of longing for someone.

Always the bridesmaid, never the
bride
, she thought to herself as she sipped from the bottle of
water.

But what did it matter? She was thirty-three
years old, had her own place, her own business, and her car was
paid off. She didn’t need a man for anything—well, except for
companionship.

She squeezed the bottle, and it overflowed
onto her lap. With a jump, she came off the couch and cursed. “This
is stupid. Tyson Morgan isn’t worth getting all worked up over,”
she said aloud as if that would make all the difference.

It was just the moment she reminded herself
as she walked to the kitchen for a towel. People she loved were
finding happiness and she would too in time. She was caught up in a
moment, and that happened sometimes. In two weeks, Susan and Eric
would be married. In another two months after that, her sister
would marry Kent, and the family wedding craze would be over.

Tyson would be at both weddings. That was
fine. Pearl was sure once he got home he’d have forgotten all about
her little pity party, or whatever it was, and he’d go on with his
life.

They’d be at the same weddings. They’d always
have family members in common. No problem, she thought as she dried
off her suit. Today was just a strange day, and she was going to
write it off like that.

Once she was dry, she went to her purse and
pulled her phone out. She hit the contact with her sister Audrey’s
face on it.

“Hey! Are you working tomorrow?” she
asked.

“Yes. I have to go in at nine. Saturdays at
the salon pay well, but they suck,” Audrey added with a grunt.

“Can you pick me up and take me to my
shop?”

“Sure? Jake fixing your car?”

That reminded Pearl that she did need an oil
change, and she should call her brother. “No. I had a few beers
down the street, and Tyson brought me home.”

There was silence on the other end.

Pearl looked at the display on her phone to
ensure the connection was still there. “Hello.”

“You went out with Tyson Morgan?” There was
discomfort in her sister’s voice.

“He came and got fitted for his tux. We went
down the street for a beer. I had three.”

“Those have more alcohol in them you know,”
she said in her mother-like way.

“I know. That’s why he drove me home. So will
you pick me up?”

“Sure.” She paused for a moment. “Are you
seeing him?”

“Tyson?” Pearl swallowed hard. “No. Just a
Friday afternoon drink. That’s all.”

“He’s a Morgan,” Audrey said again as if she
were reminding her what a bad idea it was to have anything to do
with him.

Pearl got it, but she didn’t buy it. All her
sister’s accusations were doing were pissing her off. “I got that.
I’m a Walker. Oil and Water. One afternoon of drinks. I’m home
alone. No reason to get all bent out of shape over this.”

“Dad wouldn’t like it.”

“I don’t give a crap about that. Listen, I
have to go. Will you be here around eight-thirty?”

“Yes. Please don’t make me late.”

“I won’t,” Pearl said, disconnecting the call
with a growl.

Tyson drove back to home without even the
radio on though he hadn’t realized that until he pulled into the
large circle drive in front of the house. The sun was low in the
sky, giving the fields around the big house a warm glow.

He smiled to himself, this was home and in
time, it would all be his. Lydia had no desire to watch it grow.
Sure, thanks to his grandfather, the landscape would soon be marred
with oil wells. That was cause for another smile. In time, that too
would offer more profits for the ranch.

Then again, what good was it if he were the
only one there?

His grandfather had a few good years left,
but the day would come when he'd pass on. Lydia was all but moved
out. Her investments were her way of getting out of the big house
and starting her life away from the ranch and the watchful eye of
their grandfather.

Tyson put the truck in park, turned off the
engine, and climbed out. When he looked toward the door, his
grandfather stood there, his arms crossed over his chest in a rigid
stance.

“Hey, Grandpa,” he said, but his grandfather
held his hand up to stop his progress into the house.

“That’s a farm truck.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It belongs out back by the barn. Not in
front of the house. And why did you take it into town?”

Tyson ran his hand over the back of his neck.
“Susan called and said I had to get to town to get fitted for the
wedding. I just took off and headed to town. I’ll take the truck
and put it away.”

“Damn straight you will,” his grandfather
said as he turned and closed the front door behind him.

Tyson turned, kicked the front tire of the
truck, and cursed under his breath. There were days he was very
jealous of his sister’s forward thinking on getting away from his
grandfather.

He climbed back into the truck and drove away
from the house. However, moving the truck and parking it elsewhere
wasn’t giving him any satisfaction. Maybe he’d drive out to Eric’s
and see what was going on on Walker property. He was fairly sure it
had always been more friendly than Morgan property.

There was also that matter of the bachelor
party Pearl mentioned. That would be a great reason just to show
up. Anything to not face his grandfather for the rest of the
evening.

He gripped the steering wheel. It was stupid
to be forty-two-years-old and cowering from the man who took care
of him his whole life—and lied to him as well.

Either way, he’d probably find Lydia up there
riding. And some male bonding with his brother would certainly be
more welcomed than being in that huge house alone hiding out in his
bedroom like some teenager.

Perhaps male bonding would take the edge off
his afternoon with Pearl. That little impromptu kiss of hers seemed
to be still lingering on his lips.

The moment Tyson drove up the dirt road
toward Eric’s house, he could see his sister out in the pasture.
He’d always teased her that she looked like a boy. Her small
stature and her short hair never helped her argument that she did
not look like a boy.

It brought a smile to his lips to watch her.
She looked free—yes, free from everything when she rode. It was a
beautiful thing.

He pulled up and parked outside Eric’s newly
built house. It was hard to believe that only six months ago the
house had been a pile of ash and stone and that Eric had almost
died in that fire.

He could already see Susan’s womanly touches
with the flower pots on the front porch. She was good for Eric.
Tyson never thought he would have cared, but he did.

Before they knew they were brothers, he and
Eric had left a few marks on each other. He supposed that could be
what they called making up for their lost childhood together.
Though, at the time, Tyson was sure, they were both out to kill the
other.

Pulling his truck next to Eric’s, he turned
off the engine and looked out over the fields in the direction of
his home.

He’d ridden to the fence hundreds of times
when he was younger. What had been so bad on the other side that
his grandfather hadn’t wanted him to see? He’d come up with a lot
of stories of his own. Though he had never imagined that his
biological mother and her other family might be just that close.
Who could have known--his grandfather, that's who.

But as far as he knew, the Walkers were bad
people and that was that.

Nothing could have been further from the
truth.

Susan walked out of the house and waved. He
gave her a nod as he climbed out of the truck and shut the
door.

She walked toward him. “What are you doing
out here?”

“Just taking a drive,” he admitted.

“Pearl said you got your tux fitted. Thank
you.”

He gave her a shrug. “I still don’t know why
you want me in your wedding.”

She reached her hand out and gently placed it
on his shoulder. “You are family. Eric’s brother. No matter how the
past was written, it doesn’t have to be the future.”

He nodded. “Funny how things happen,
huh?”

Her eyes were soft as she looked at him. “Can
you stay for dinner?”

“Oh, I don’t…”

“Lydia is staying. You might as well stay
too.”

He looked toward the field where he’d seen
his sister. The thought of going home to where his grandfather
waited didn’t appease him. He shouldn’t be a man in his forties and
afraid of going home.

“I think dinner would be nice, thank
you.”

Susan smiled warmly. “I’m glad to hear that.
It’ll be ready in about forty minutes. Eric, Russ, and Ben are up
in the barn.”

“I’ll head up that way,” Tyson said,
returning the smile.

He waited until Susan had gone back into the
house before starting his walk toward the barn.

There were three trucks parked outside of the
barn. His sister’s, and the trucks of two of Eric’s brothers, Ben
and Russell. If he’d been looking for a family bonding moment, it
seemed as though he’d certainly chosen one.