Fall to Pieces (14 page)

It was on the tip of her tongue to say no. To
claim she was too busy, which she was, and too tired after working
all day to be good company.

Just then she heard the rumble of the tractor
coming up the drive. Dylan, coming in from the fields. He parked it
in front of the barn and she watched as he climbed out.

She drank him in as he walked over, muscles
rippling under his t-shirt, his thick dark hair covered by a
sweat-stained ball cap.

"Sadie?" Tucker said.

"Yes," she said abruptly. "Yes I would love
to have dinner with you." So Tucker didn't make her stomach go wild
with butterflies or make her skin sizzle with a single glance.

He was cute. He was interesting. And more
important, he was
interested
. In her.

Unlike a certain too charming burly Army
Ranger sauntering up to the house.

"Great! I'll pick you up at seven?"

"How about we meet in town? I know a great
place."

Dylan reached the steps a few seconds later,
and Sadie made a quick introduction. "Tucker Madsen, this is Dylan
Decker." They shook hands, obviously sizing each other up.
"Tucker's going to buy Thunder," she explained.

"Good horse," Dylan said and withdrew his
hand.

"I certainly think so," Tucker said with a
smile. Then he turned to Sadie. "See you soon."

Sadie smiled and gave him a little wave as he
walked to his car.

"Let me guess, California," Dylan said as
Tucker drove off.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"But I'm right?"

She gave a little laugh. "He's the guy who
bought the Lewis place."

"The software gazillionaire?"

"Technically it was a cloud computing
company, and I think he's only a multimillionaire."

"Only," Dylan muttered under his breath.

"You're back early," she said. He'd finished
the mowing the day before. Now came the monotonous job of getting
all the cut hay baled up and ready to transfer. With just Dylan and
Pete working over one hundred, it would take several full days to
finish.

Dylan took off his hat and scrubbed his
fingers through his sweat dampened hair. "The mower seized up and I
had to come back for some wd40."

"I'll leave you to it then." She turned and
started back into the house. "I need to call Molly and see if she's
managed to untangle the books." So far her friend had discovered
that several recent payments had gone into the wrong bank account,
the one reserved for her Dad's personal expenses rather than the
ranch operations, but it still didn't explain why the balance was
too low to cover the mortgage payments.

"I'll see you this evening then," he said. "I
picked up some steaks and a good red wine in town yesterday for our
second supper," he added with at grin.

"Actually," Sadie said slowly, telling
herself there was no reason for the guilt twisting in her stomach,
"I have plans for dinner. A date," she clarified.

"A date?" His head jerked back a little.
"With who?"

"Tucker."

He stood there for a few seconds, his dark
brows knit above his nose.

"That's okay, right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" he snapped and stalked
toward his cabin.

The tension bunching the muscles of his back
and shoulders told a very different story.

"I don't know," Sadie said as she followed,
"you look annoyed."

He stopped and turned toward her so quickly
she nearly ran into him. "Why would I be annoyed?" he replied, his
jaw clenched so tight she could see the muscles bunching on either
side of it. "Why should I give a a damn who you go out with?"

Sadie felt her own anger flare in response.
It was obvious he didn't like the idea of her going on a date with
Tucker. And if that was the case, why the hell didn't he make a
move himself?

"Good, I'm glad we cleared that up," she said
brightly. Then, unable to resist twisting the knife ever so
slightly, she added, "I would hate think that my date with one of
the country's most eligible bachelors would cause you any
distress."

Dylan could hear the sound of Sadie's car
pulling away later that evening. He'd forgone dinner with June,
Pete, and Jim in favor of soloing it at his place.

However, as he stood in front of his open
refrigerator, he found he had no appetite for the steaks and
vegetables he'd planned to grill on the small propane unit he'd
picked up in town.

The meal he planned to share with Sadie.

He grabbed a beer and slammed the door shut,
calling himself all kinds of stupid, reminding himself he had no
claim on Sadie. No right to feel the jealousy twisting in his gut
at the thought of her, smiling across the table at another man.

He should be happy for her. Tucker was
exactly the kind of guy for Sadie. Smart, decent looking, obviously
successful. Dependable.

Not a battle hardened soldier who would only
be in her life for a few more weeks before he was sent off to parts
unknown.

He had plenty of friends in town, he reminded
himself. Plenty of people to keep him company. Earlier today Damon
had called him, wanting him to come to Adele's for dinner,
wondering why the hell he hadn't seen him in nearly a week.

Yeah—not going to happen, especially when it
was almost a given that Sadie was at that moment at Adele's, cozied
up at a table for two.

But even if hanging out with his brother
didn't mean watching Sadie and Tucker make eyes and small talk all
evening, Dylan wasn't in any mood for company.

Staying in by himself, digging out a bottle
of single malt he saved for particularly good or bad occasions,
yeah, that sounded about right for tonight.

He drained the beer and served himself a
generous pour of the scotch. He took a sip, felt the burn all the
way down to his toes. It did little to take the edge off.

He picked up the book he'd been reading, and
put it down after he realized he'd been staring at the same page
for ten minutes.

He flipped on the TV to drown out the silence
that seemed suddenly oppressive, and spent several minutes
scrolling through the channels in a vain attempt to find something
that would hold his interest.

Something that would keep him from thinking
about Sadie. What she was doing right now. What she was going to do
later, after dinner.

Would she come straight home, or—

He shoved the thought from his head. If Sadie
wanted to go back to Tucker's place and fuck his ever-living brains
out, it was none of Dylan's business.

So what if the thought made the scotch boil
like acid in the pit of his stomach? He drained his glass, got up
to refill it, and plopped himself down in front of his
computer.

With the TV providing background noise, he
flipped open his laptop. For the first time since he'd started
writing years ago, his journal entry had nothing to do with his
time in the Army or the friends he'd lost.

If anyone had told seventee-year-old Dylan
Decker that one night he'd find himself stewing in jealousy over
Sadie Thornton, he would have called that person crazy.

But here I am, going quietly insane over
approximately one hundred thirty pounds of long legs and a killer
smile.

If I keep my hands to myself another week,
it will be a miracle.

###

"He's cute!"
Molly mouthed over
Tucker's shoulder as she retreated, having just served their
drinks.

Sadie stifled a grin and an eye roll for her
friend, but inwardly gave herself a little thumbs up. Not that she
needed her best friend's approval on who to date, but one of the
perks of coming to Adele's meant she got Molly's take on
Tucker.

So far, so good.

"Sounds like you were doing really well,"
Tucker said as he took a sip of his wine. "And you're obviously
very talented."

After they'd been seated Sadie had filled
Tucker in on her previous life with her former company, and he
wanted to see some of the apps she created.

"Thanks," she said, feeling her cheeks warm
at the praise. It wasn't every day a tech mogul admired her work,
and it was fun to talk shop with someone who actually understood
the unique challenges she faced when developing a new concept.

"So what made you go out on your own."

"My dad," she said and took a sip of her own
drink. She quickly filled him in on her father's health issues and
why she'd moved back home. "What about you? What made you want to
buy a spread in the boonies when you could be living the high life
in San Francisco?"

He chuckled. "I don't know that working
fourteen hours straight and never seeing the sun could be
considered living the high life."

"But now that you've sold your company, you
have time to really enjoy everything it has to offer. I can't
imagine wanting to give it up."

He shrugged. "Yeah, the city is amazing. And
I always imagined at some point I'd slow down, and like you said,
get out there and do everything I didn't have time for. But after
the divorce..." he trailed off, shook his head. "My
wife—ex-wife—and I moved there right before we were married..." He
put his hands up. "Okay, I didn't take you to dinner to talk about
my ex-wife," he said with a sheepish smile. "Suffice it to say I
needed a change of scene. Besides, I'm not giving it up entirely. I
still have a house in in San Francisco, and I'll probably spend at
least half the year there."

"Not going to be a full time cattle baron?"
Sadie said with a little smile. Most women might have felt jealous,
or at least uncomfortable, that Tucker was still not over his ex.
Sadie however, was oddly relieved to know that she wasn't the only
person at the table hung up on someone else.

Which was stupid, she scolded herself,
considering Tucker was exactly the kind of guy she would have
wanted to date back in San Francisco.

Smart, successful, good looking to boot. And,
despite the torch that might be burning for his ex, obviously
interested in her.

As Tucker studied the menu, which Sadie could
recite in her sleep, she resolved to put all thoughts of Dylan
aside and focus on the man sitting across from her.

"Ready to order?" Molly said brightly.

Tucker gestured for Sadie to go first. "I'll
have my usual."

Molly nodded. "Goat cheese and beet salad to
start. Ribeye, medium rare, extra horseradish and a side of the
brussels."

Sadie's mouth was already watering at the
thought as she nodded. Who knew brussels sprouts could be so
delicious? But Brady, with a little bacon and his own special magic
transformed a vegetable that had once made her gag into one of the
most delicious things she'd ever tasted.

"And for you?" Molly turned her attention to
Tucker.

He scrunched his brow in concentration. "Not
a ton of vegetarian options..."

Odd that he'd purchased a cattle ranch, Sadie
thought, but kept it to herself as he ordered homemade pasta with
tomatoes and garlic, along with the sprouts, minus the bacon.

Molly shot her a look, eyebrow raised. Sadie
knew Molly's thoughts echoed her own.

Without the bacon, what's the point?

###

"Order in," Molly said and tried to retreat
from the kitchen as quickly as she could.

Ever since he'd so crudely propositioned her
at the Last Chance, she'd been afraid she'd melt into a puddle if
Brady so much as made eye contact with her.

Trouble was, she didn't even need to be in
the same room with him, much less look at him, for her mind to
conjure up startlingly erotic images of him... how had he put
it?

Fucking you long and hard all night
long,
his voice rang vividly in her head, and she turned on her
heel and headed for the door.

"What's Sadie's date like?" Molly stopped as
her sister Ellie, who was acting as Brady's sous chef tonight,
called out to her. "I haven't had a chance to get a look at
him."

"He's cute—kind of looks like that guy who
plays the new Captain Kirk." Molly replied. "Seems nice. He's a
vegetarian."

Ellie looked up and wrinkled her nose,
mirroring Molly's own expression.

Brady also muttered something about
vegetarians and real men.

"I know, right?" Ellie said. "I know we
shouldn't judge, they're probably healthier than we are. But
there's—something—about it, especially men."

"Yeah," Molly replied, "call me old
fashioned, but real men eat steak."

"Not to mention." Brady turned from the stove
to face her. His eyes had familiar glint, one that told her he was
about to say something that either totally offended her or totally
turned her on. Or both. "If a guy won't put meat in his mouth,
imagine all the other things he won't eat."

Bingo.

Molly knew that was her cue to go, but she
couldn't tear her eyes away as Brady dipped a spoon in the sauce he
was stirring and licked it clean with long, slow strokes of his
tongue. "Now me, there's not a lot I won't put in my mouth."

Molly felt her face flame at the image of
Brady bending his dark head low between her pale thighs, licking
his lips in anticipation—

"You're terrible!" Ellie's laugh jolted her
thoughts from the inappropriate path they were traveling.

Molly whirled and beat a hasty retreat from
the kitchen, telling herself all the while he was just trying to
get a rise out of her. He didn't really mean anything by it.

And if he did?

The point was moot. She was engaged, planning
a wedding, and never in a million years would she risk her stable,
dependable relationship with Josh for a night of wild sex with
Brady McManus.

No matter how earth shattering she knew it
would be.

###

As firsts dates went, Sadie had to give her
dinner with Tucker a solid eight out of ten. Once she got past the
vegetarian thing—so sue her, she grew up in cattle country where
beef was what was for dinner. And lunch. And breakfast—she found
her first impression of Tucker was correct.