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She stared after him, trying to absorb his words. As he walked away, he took her advice and broke into an off-key rendition of “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Then he disappeared around the corner.
Kit closed her gaping mouth and sank onto the cracked cement steps. Tyler had bought the bar? Kit hadn’t even known it was for sale. Chris had never mentioned it. Which stung, since Kit had been bartending for him for the past nine years.
She shoved her head into her hands. For a moment she relished the darkness there, the shutting out of everything. She’d clung to this idea of owning the Dusty Saddle for the past year. Using it as something to focus on besides Arch. Setting it as a goal to keep her satisfied with living in this town and looking after her dad. And now, in a few heartbeats, that goal had vanished.
This sucked. Just like everything had sucked since Arch got out of prison. She shoved off the step, not willing to sit crumpled and defeated. She walked to the edge of the parking lot. When she faced this direction, there were no lights from town to diminish the night sky. The stars exploded across the darkness, layer upon layer of cosmic insanity.
Usually the sky out here took her breath away. Tonight it just made her nervous. Because it reminded her, the way Tyler had, that in the grand scheme of things, she was nothing.
When Arch told her he didn’t want her after all, he’d broken her heart. But at least she’d had her work. A place where she felt she mattered. Now she knew that wasn’t true. The boss she’d worked so hard for had sold the business without a word to her. Under this vastness of stars she was a speck of dust, adrift and floating around this piece of the planet that once felt like home.
Stuck here, belonging nowhere.
Jealousy hit hot despite the cool air. What was it like to be Tyler Ellis? Born and raised in a wealthy ranching family, talented enough to achieve the highest level of his chosen sport. Now sauntering into town with enough money to buy a business that should have been her business.
Ha. Her business in another world, maybe. She was a Hayes. Permanently poor. Born and raised to work for the Ellis family, just like her daddy had.
If she worked for Tyler, would he screw her over, too? Like his father had cheated hers? Probably. Only he’d do it with a sugar coating of cowboy grin and flattering words, because people like Tyler thought the whole world was there just for them.
And why not? Because it was right there for them, waiting at their fingertips. While people like Kit were destined to watch their dreams, slippery as trout in a Sierra stream, wriggle right out of their grasping hands.
CHAPTER TWO (#u9fb55c7e-799c-58cf-a126-c04c327f2721)
KIT PARKED HER Jeep in the lot in front of the Dusty Saddle. It was early on Tuesday morning, but Chris usually came in about now. She walked to the bar door, shoving it open. “Anybody here?” she called out in the quiet bar.
“We’re closed!” Her boss’s voice came from the small office to her left.
“It’s Kit,” she replied.
“Kitto! What’s up?” Chris appeared, his sweatpants and I’d Rather Be Fishing T-shirt advertising his readiness for retirement. “You’re not on today, right? Did I misread the schedule?”
“It’s my day off, but I was hoping you’d have a minute to talk.”
“Sure. Grab a seat.” He indicated the empty tables she’d polished last night.
Kit picked the closest one and sat, trying to ignore the way her heart seemed to rise and stick like a lump of dough in her throat. They’d worked together for almost a decade, and it hit her that she wasn’t just losing the chance to own the Dusty Saddle. She was losing a boss she’d loved. She cleared her throat. “I heard the news. About you selling the bar.”
Chris plopped down heavily, his bulky frame dwarfing the chair. “How? I meant to tell you myself.”
“Tyler came in last night. Drunk. He told me.”
Chris folded his worn hands on the table and huffed out a sigh. “I’m sorry you found out that way. I figured he’d have the sense to check with me before talking to any of my employees.”
“Well, he was beyond sense last night. Celebrating his purchase, I guess. I threw him out.”
That gave Chris pause. “You threw out the new owner?”
“He hadn’t told me he was the new owner yet. And he was giving me a hard time.” Seeing the look of alarm on Chris’s face, she tried to reassure him. “We knew each other really well growing up. I don’t think he’ll be too upset about it. Plus, he deserved it.”
The relief on his ruddy face showed how much Chris wanted this deal to go through. But maybe it hadn’t gone through yet, which meant there might still be hope for her. Kit remembered the opening she’d practiced earlier. “So you’re retiring?”
His shy smile was a surprise. “Yup. I’m finally doing it. Gonna spend my days fishing and my nights watching the stars. I’ve had a good run here—owned this bar for over twenty years. I’ve enjoyed it, but I don’t want to spend another minute of my life behind the bar.”
“Congratulations,” Kit said. And wanted to mean it. He owed her nothing, so why did she feel betrayed? “Is it a done deal? I mean, are the papers signed and all that?”
“Yup, they are,” Chris said. “About a month ago.”
“A month ago,” she repeated. Her disappointment was edged in nausea.
He must have seen her distress because he leaned forward to take her hand. “Hey, it’ll be fine. Tyler will do a great job.”
“But why didn’t you tell me this was going on?” She wouldn’t cry, even though tears were hot under her eyes.
“I didn’t want some big fuss. I didn’t think you’d be this upset.” He let go of her hand and leaned back, suddenly looking all of his sixtysomething years. “I’m out of here at the end of the week.”
“You mean—” she somehow resisted the urge to whack him upside the head “—you’re only giving us a few days’ notice?”
“I know you.” Chris grinned suddenly, as if delighted with this part of his deception. “You’d want to throw me some big old party where the regulars would get all drunk and weepy on me. And that’s not my style. I’d rather just grab my tackle box and go.”
Kit studied him, making sure he meant it. “Fine. Though you’re missing out. I plan good parties.”
“So I’ve heard. And seen, when my staff stumbled in the next day.”
Disappointment and loss combined, overriding her efforts to hold back her tears. “We’re going to miss you so much.”
Chris brushed the sentiment off, of course. “Hell, he’s Tyler Ellis. Big rodeo champion. I figured you’d all be over the moon to work for a guy like that.”
“I guess I’d been hoping to buy the bar myself, if you retired,” she admitted.
He looked at her sharply. “You never said.”
“You never said you were planning on retiring anytime soon.” There it was, that note of accusation she’d planned to avoid.
“I guess I assumed you wouldn’t be interested. Because...” Chris stopped, so she finished for him.
“Because I wouldn’t have the money?”
“Well, I know you’ve been taking care of your daddy lately. It’s a big responsibility.”
“I’ve been saving. And maybe the bank would have helped me.”
“Maybe,” Chris said, but she could hear the doubt. She must seem like an idiot. Like she’d been hoping for a handout.
Her voice came out small. “Can I ask what it sold for? Just so I know if I was even close?”
His gaze went to the table. “Almost a million dollars.”
Her gasp burst out before she could bite it back. That much money stole her breath.
He leaned forward, meeting her shock with concern. “You might not realize it, but this bar is on a huge piece of property. I inherited it all, but I only use this building. There’s a bunch of barns, outbuildings, all kinds of acreage for ranching. And Tyler wanted it all.”
“What’s he going to do? Tear the bar down and stick cows on the land?”
“Nah. I think he wants to expand. Maybe even add a restaurant. He’s got some big dreams.”
A million dollars. Kit might laugh if it didn’t sting so badly. She may as well have been saving pennies in a piggy bank.
“Wait until you talk to him,” Chris went on. “I’m sure he’ll call a meeting with the staff soon and fill you in on his plans. It’s gonna be exciting to see what he does. You might find that me heading out to pasture is a good thing for everyone.”
“Maybe.” He was trying to make her feel better so Kit found a smile, but it felt like a grimace. “But I doubt it. We’ll miss you.”
“Likewise. It’s been a pleasure working with you. You’ve been a bit like the daughter I never had.”
“Well, don’t be a stranger then.” Her voice was husky. “Take me fishing with you or something.”
There was a suspicious shimmer in Chris’s eyes. “I’d like that.”
“And when will the rodeo star take over?”
Chris chuckled. “Don’t give him too much of a hard time. I know you’ve got a disdain for cowboys, but Tyler is a champion for a reason. He worked his butt off to get where he did. You might find he’s made of better stuff than you imagine.”
His words wormed guilt into her conscience. She’d been cursing Tyler three ways to hell since yesterday. Letting her jealousy and her disappointment make him the villain. He may have been drunk and obnoxious last night, but he’d been her friend when they were kids. He’d stuck by her, stuck up for her, and she’d kicked him out of her life the moment Arch Hoffman tilted a badass eyebrow her way.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “I might find that out. Or I might already be fired for throwing him out of his own bar.”
“He shouldn’t have come in here drunk like that.” His eye crinkled into a Santa Claus wink. “Though I wouldn’t have minded seeing you send him out the door. I’ll say something to him. Make sure he knows who’s really been running this place for the past few years.”
“Thanks, Chris.” His praise didn’t warm her the way he meant it to. She’d been running the bar, but now she’d just be one more employee of Tyler Ellis. Just like her dad had been one more employee of Ken Ellis. And look where that had landed him. Broke. Cast off like some old ranch horse. Except the Ellis horses were given nice pastures and good food.
“Now you go enjoy your day off,” Chris said, shoving up from his chair. “I’ve got to open this place up. Strange to think it’s one of the last times I’ll ever do it.”
“Yeah, strange,” Kit echoed as she stood on numb limbs. Everything had felt surreal since Tyler showed up last night.
Maybe owning the Dusty Saddle had been a pipe dream, but it had also been her lifeline. The thing that made her feel like she could survive staying in this town. And now Chris had hauled up that line and tossed it to someone else.
She gave Chris a vague wave and left, furious at the traitor tears that kept pooling in her eyes. She had to pull herself together. Her next stop was her dad’s house, and she didn’t want him suspecting anything was wrong. She was his lifeline, and no matter how many things were going wrong in her life, she had to show up as strong as ever for him.
* * *
TYLER CHASED HIS third aspirin down with his second glass of water and tried to focus his eyes. His father’s kitchen looked exactly the same as it had for the past two decades. Clean, quiet and barren of decor. Sometime after Tyler’s mom died, his dad had removed all of her homey touches and never replaced them. The only changes were the new cracks in the faded green linoleum and the increasingly battered edges of the white cabinets.
His father and brothers had long since eaten and headed out for chores. He could almost feel his dad’s disapproval in the ticking of the clock, in the tidiness, in the plate of eggs and bacon left for him. There was no way he could keep that down.
How the hell had he ended up drinking so much?
It had started simply enough. He’d met a couple friends at the sports bar. They’d shot some pool, knocked back a few beers, caught up. Then he’d told them about his business plans. How the papers were signed, the money paid. How he was going to turn the Dusty Saddle into the finest bar this side of the Sierras.
And his friends had ordered shots to celebrate.
They didn’t know that Tyler was a lightweight. Anyone looking at him could see almost six feet of solid guy. But it took training to ride rodeo as well as Tyler did. As well as he had. It took a good diet and hours clocked in the gym. To stay in top form, he didn’t drink much.
Until last night.
There’d been some dancing at the High Country. He vaguely remembered a pretty blonde draping her arms around him. Then someone had mentioned how Kit Hayes worked at the Dusty Saddle. Which got his attention. And held it until he didn’t care about what the blonde was offering. He’d had to see Kit.
Because she’d haunted him. Was someone he’d always thought about, even when his life had taken him to the biggest arenas in the country. He’d been crazy about her when they were young. But they’d been friends. He hadn’t known what to do about his crush. Then she’d fallen hard for Arch Hoffman and that was that.
Going to see her hadn’t been such a great idea. But knowing she was a few blocks away, working in the bar he’d just purchased, had been a siren call he couldn’t ignore. Seeing her again, it was clear he still had that thing for her. Had it so bad he’d stayed awake last night remembering the way her dark brown eyes—huge already, but totally exotic under the heavy makeup she wore—had flashed at him. How her long black hair gleamed as it swirled to her elbows. How her sweater slipped off her shoulder and revealed a fraction of a tattoo that left him wanting to see the whole picture. Then there was the way she’d felt, pressed against him, when she’d walked him so sternly out of the bar.
And her surprising strength when she sent him sprawling to the ground.
A thumping on the kitchen steps had him turning in time to see his dad come through the door, tall, iron-haired, with shoulders broad from years of work and upright responsibility. He had a binder under his arm and moved like a man in a hurry, but he stopped when he saw Tyler.
“You’re up.” Tyler could hear the subtext: The rest of us were up hours ago.
“Yes, I am.” He resorted to the good manners that had been drilled into them. “I appreciate you saving me some breakfast.”
“It might be spoiled now. Didn’t know it would sit out for so long.”
“Right.” Not much of an answer but all he could think of in the face of the loud and clear message. He was slacking off.
“You were out drinking last night?”
“Yes, I was.”
“I don’t appreciate you stumbling in drunk, you hear me?”
“Yes, I do.” He was a kid again. Being chastised for his bad grades, his lack of brains, his inability to be what his dad felt he should be. A dull pounding kicked up a rhythm at the base of his skull. Last night was too much to drink, but all this was too much to come home to. What the hell had he been thinking? He could have bought a bar anywhere. Why’d he choose his hometown?
“Your brothers are down on the southern end of the ranch. We’re redoing that old border fence. Why don’t you go help them out?”
Tyler braced himself for more disapproval. “I was hoping to work on my business plan today.”
“Your plan for what?”
“Remember the bar I told you about? That I bought?”
“You don’t start working there for a few days. You can help around here until then.”
Tyler tried to summon patience through the fog of his hangover. “I can help out today. But I also have my own work to do. I need to be ready when I take the reins.”
“You need to be ready? To pour beer?” His dad let out a breath of disgust. “I still can’t figure out why you bought that thing, anyway.”
“It’s a business, Dad.”
“This ranch is good business.”
Tyler laughed out loud before he could stop himself. He and his father working together would be a disaster resulting in fists or worse. “My brothers have that covered. You don’t need me on the ranch.”
