Red Lines (21 page)

“W
HERE ARE
we going?” Haven tried to peek under the blindfold he had tied against the back of her head.

“Now, if I tell you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” He laughed. “Just hold on, girl. I don’t want you falling out here.”

“Can I at least get a hint? A tiny hint?” Her chin rested on his shoulder, and he loved how it felt when her arms locked around his waist like this. He could drive them all over the ranch for the night, just to stay like this.

“No way. But we’re almost there.” He slowed the four-wheeler as they sped through the covered brush. He didn’t need one of the sticker bushes scratching her.

He realized she probably had some idea where he was taking her, but she would be completely surprised when they got there. He had been planning this for weeks. Luckily, he was able to pull it off this weekend, and as far as he knew, she didn’t have any idea this was going on right under her nose.

He parked the vehicle on the side and climbed off, careful to help Haven so she didn’t trip on her dismount.

“Ok, you ready?” he asked.

“I think so. This is crazy, Evan.”

“No, it’s called a birthday surprise.” He reached around her and loosened the satin blindfold. “What do you think?” He pulled it from her eyes and waited for her reaction.

“Oh my God.” Her eyes lit with wonder. “Where? How?” She stepped forward. “This is for me? How did you do all this?”

He nodded. “Yep. It’s my best version of a Perry Island birthday.” He grinned, loving every sliver of her response. “But I figured it’s about time you experienced a night under the Texas stars too.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

She looked at the lights that were strung from a pole to the silver Air Stream camper. “I can’t believe how much it looks like Silver Belle.”

“Check out the inside.” He walked past her and opened the door. Automatically, he tugged twice on the handle, but this wasn’t Silver Belle. She opened easily like a brand new model.

Haven walked inside. “Red and white?” She laughed. “Shug would be proud of you.”

It wasn’t easy to find all of the exact accessories that Shug had used, but after a phone call to his summer landlord, he had a better roadmap of where to purchase everything. He hired a designer to put it all together and gave her an unlimited budget. This was worth every expense.

Haven walked to the back of the trailer. “There’s even a checked comforter. This couldn’t have been easy to find.”

“It’s completely authentic.” He laughed. He loved the smile that was on her face.

“And let me guess what we’re having for dinner?” She tuned toward him, twisting her bottom lip. “Cowboy steak?”

“Baby, am I that transparent?”

“No way. I’d never say that.” Her palms flattened against his chest and inched toward his shoulders.

“Then what are you saying?” He nipped at her bottom lip.

“Just that this is the most incredible birthday I’ve ever had. I love it.”

“We’re just getting started.” He kissed her mouth, pulling her toward him. “But—” He eyed her. “I do think we should get started on these steaks.” He edged past her to retrieve the steaks from the half-fridge. “That fire out there won’t burn all night.”

“Then we better get going.” She followed him to the campfire burning near the pond. The orange glow reflected off the water.

Evan stoked the fire with a long branch. “Remember how to do this?”

“Of course.” She grabbed one of the steaks off the platter and tossed it in the flames.

“I guess you do.” He threw his on the other side of the coals. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have wine.” He jogged to the camper and pulled out a bottle he had Lenny order for this occasion. The glasses were sitting on the table near the door.

For a second, he thought he should see the ocean and sea oats dancing in the breeze when he looked out of the window, but instead there was his catfish pond and the most beautiful girl in the world. He stepped out of the camper.

“All right. Here you go.” He handed her a glass and filled it to the top. “We have to make a birthday toast.”

Haven surveyed him with a look of anticipation, and he wanted to make it perfect. No cheesy, rehearsed toast. This had to mean something.

He extended his glass toward her. “To the girl I love. Here’s to your first Texas birthday.” He tapped her glass before whispering in her ear. “And I want to make sure we spend all your birthdays together.”

He saw the color rush to her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Evan slid a hand along her waist. “Darlin’, all I want in this world is to make you happy.”

“I know you do.”

The fire crackled near his leg, and he moved her to the side, missing a flying piece of ash. “I think it’s time we pull the steaks off. Let me get the platter.”

He returned from the trailer with a clean plate and stainless tongs.

“You know I like seeing you like this again,” she commented. “I know it’s not summer anymore and we’re on the ranch now, but I like it. No Lenny, no Marta, no Bud. Just you and me again. Just us…” her words trailed.

“That’s exactly what I wanted tonight to be.”

He crouched in front of the fire, poking the steaks with the tongs to make sure they were ready to pull off the flames. He handed her a plate.

“And this time we have real sides. Lenny whipped up some twice baked potatoes and there’s salad.” He jogged back to the camper and brought out the basket Lenny had prepared with the rest of the spread for dinner.

He laid everything out and made sure Haven had everything she needed. This was a step-up from their first dinner date at Silver Belle.

He settled into the seat next to her. “So, have you thought any more about my question?”

“Which one?” She looked up, chewing a mouthful of steak.

“You know which one. I want you to move in with me.” The steaks were sizzling on the plates.

“Oh that one.” She pushed the food around on her plate. “I don’t know yet.”

Evan thought about pressing it, but it was her birthday. If she wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready. Although, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what was holding her back.

“Evan, I—”

He rested his hand on her knee. “You don’t have to say anything. Forget I mentioned it.

“But, I—”

“No, tonight is about you and this.” He looked at the scene sprawled in front of them. “We are here to have fun, and I’m promising you a good time on your birthday.”

“I’m already having a good time.”

“Good. Then it’s working.”

He reached for a nearby log and tossed it on the glowing embers. The rough sides of the wood crackled and raced with flames. He had spent too many nights by the pond to count, but this one was different.

“Birthday dance?” he asked.

“Out here?” She looked skeptical.

“Where else?” He stood and hit play on the speaker he had set on the table.

Haven laid her plate on a table and rose to join him. He led her a few steps from the fire. Sparks were still jumping from the last log.

He took her in his arms, aligning her hips in his hands. When they danced like this, even he felt the rest of the world fade away. All that was here was a sky full of diamond stars, the flames from the fire, and their beating hearts.

“Happy birthday.” He pressed against her, holding her like he meant every touch, every breath, every kiss to last forever.

E
VAN WATCHED
Haven become smaller in his rearview mirror until he took the next turn, and she was no longer there. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. How in the hell could he go back to L.A. after that weekend?

There were a thousand things to say. Maybe only one. He loved that girl like no one else, and he had left her standing on the porch. Rode away like some rogue cowboy who couldn’t help but run off to the next fight. He had become
that
guy. The one that doesn’t stick around. The one no one can count on. The one who’s never there.

He left her. Dammit. He had left her.

He passed through the guard gate and spun the tires on the highway.

But, wasn’t he that guy? Had he ever been the fully committed type? He didn’t think the label fit when he really thought about it. Did he ever stick around when things were tough? He didn’t with Emmy and he didn’t even try with Ivy. He liked to keep things light and fun. Now that wasn’t enough. He wanted to be there for Haven. Only, he kept leaving.

Seeing her with his mom and sister brought everything together. She fit in his life. He realized that. She just fit.

The flight crew was waiting for him at the jet.

“Have a nice weekend, Mr. Carlson?” The same flight attendant had flown out with him Thursday night asked.

He nodded. “Sure did. How about you?”

“Spent some time in Austin. It was a nice weekend.” She showed him his seat and offered to bring him a drink.

“I’ll take a bourbon on the rocks.”

“I’ll be right back.”

He looked out of the window. The faster he wrapped this movie, the faster he could make it back. They had a long two months ahead of them. He stretched out his legs and looked at the drink placed in front of him. He didn’t know how many times he could leave her like this. He tossed the bourbon back and closed his eyes, feeling the slow burn trickle down his throat. Yeah, he couldn’t do this again.

T
HE DUST
settled on the gravel as Evan’s car turned the last corner for the main road. She didn’t want to go back inside and she didn’t want to stand out here moping. She had just had the most incredible birthday of her life. Turning twenty-three had become an epic event—beyond epic.

Evan had intended the Silver Belle gift to be the big surprise, but she thought the time she spent with his mother and sister was the real gift. It opened her eyes to how Evan got to be Evan. The way his sister teased him relentlessly and the way his mother adored him gave her a full picture of the man she was falling more in love with every day.

She sat on the front porch, admiring the wide planks that stretched across the floor. It reminded her a little of what was now her mother’s porch. This was the perfect spot for an old sheepdog, or maybe a lab, she thought. She ran her hands over the wood. She wondered if Evan would want to get a dog.

Life here with him would be amazing, at least the times he was here. She could spend every birthday with him, expecting some kind of over-the-top surprise. He would always sweep her off her feet when he rushed through the front door, but then leave her feeling empty when it was time to go.

It wasn’t a normal life. It wasn’t predictable or cliché. It was life with Evan Carlson. Maybe predictable was boring. Maybe all the normalcy and mundane daily chores are what drove her father to find excitement somewhere else. Maybe that was the real recipe for heartache, not this.

All this time, she had thought Evan sought boring and normal, but that didn’t really fit with how he lived life. It wouldn’t be enough to hold him still. Normal had a freshness and raw presence for him over the summer. Eventually, that would weather into predictability, and predictability was the gateway to dullness. Evan could never handle dull.

It hadn’t taken her long to fall in love with the ranch. It was kind of like Evan, surrounding her senses and invading her thoughts before she knew it had happened. She was a beach girl. A complete island girl, but now she awoke to a day and a place that was as salt-less as the desert. Part of her had soaked it in, as if being on the ranch was a way of getting to know him better, loving him more. And the other half of her knew she would have loved it regardless if he were the one guiding her through this new existence.

It had its own smells, its own sounds. The rhythm here reminded her of the waves at home.

Evan still didn’t have her answer. It was on the tip of her tongue every time he flashed a smile in her direction or dropped a kiss on her lips. This could be her life—their life.

Everything was so perfect the night of her birthday that she was afraid to open up about what it would mean for them to move in together. Even more scared to ask him if he had thought about what it would be like to relax into life with her. Had he pictured life six months from now when all the newness was gone? That question scared her most of all.