The Reluctant Bachelorette (12 page)

I’m so looking forward to fun times ahead!

Taycee scanned through the post and clicked “publish” before
she second guessed herself. She closed her laptop and pushed it away. There.
One more thing to check off her list. Now all she had to do was figure out a
way to make Luke look bad so his name wouldn’t appear among the next round of winners.

The answer came in the form of Missy Green, the former town
flirt. Missy had left for California five years before, set on becoming a
big-time movie star. Now she was back in all her tank-top, short-shorts,
flaming red-haired glory, claiming it was only a coincidence that Shelter
Springs was receiving media attention.

Missy first appeared in the background of Taycee’s date with
Sterling. He’d picked her up from The Bloom Boutique on Monday afternoon and
drove her to a beautiful lake just outside of town. In a pathetic Hail Mary
attempt for attention, Missy swam unnoticed to the center of the lake and
called out in desperation for rescue during the middle of their picnic.

It was comical, really, considering Missy had always been a
terrific swimmer.

But before Taycee could say anything, off came Sterling’s
shirt and in he went, executing an impressive freestyle to Missy’s side. Who
knew the spitting accountant could swim? By the time he dragged her from the
lake, Taycee fought the urge to thank Missy. Her theatrics had worked in
everyone’s favor. Missy got her two minutes of fame, Sterling proved himself
the hero of the hour, and Taycee had a few moments free from a spittle shower.

The cherry on top? Taycee finally figured out how to get Luke
voted off. Halle-freaking-lujah.

Later that night, she phoned Missy, got some much needed
sleep, went to work, and then mentally geared up for date #2. Alec. Next to
Luke, he was the most dreaded of all her dates.

A knock sounded on her apartment door as she swiped some lip
gloss across her lips. Bracing herself for a long night ahead, she plodded to
her door and pulled it open. Immediately, her gaze moved beyond Alec and to the
Razor UTV nestled in the bed of his truck. Okay, so maybe the date wouldn’t be
as awful as she’d imagined.

“Ready?” In a fitted Tee and some khaki shorts, Alec looked
great. Casual. The type of clothes you’d wear when romping on around the
mountains in a UTV. Taycee, on the other hand, wore white capris and one of her
new dressier shirts. Hmm.

“You didn’t tell me to dress for that.” Taycee pointed at the
Mule. “Let me go and change real quick.”

“You look great to me.”

Taycee headed toward her room anyway. “I’ll just be a sec.”
Did he have any idea how much this outfit had cost? No way was she about to
climb in that thing wearing this. She threw on a dark T-shirt and denim shorts,
and then pulled her hair back into her favorite navy Broncos baseball cap.

When she returned, Alec was still on her porch. “
Now
are you ready?” The annoyed way he said it made Taycee want to say “No” and
shut the door in his face. It had taken her less than five minutes to
change—something she wouldn’t have had to do if he’d told her what to wear in
the first place. Did he not know anything about tact?

Apparently not, because he gave her an unimpressed once-over.
Taycee suddenly wished she’d changed into frumpy sweats instead—which she would
have done, had he not turned and headed for his truck. Taycee followed. “Do I
get to drive, too?“ she asked, pointing to the Razor.

Alec’s head shook. “Sorry, but it’s my name listed on the
rental agreement—not yours.” With an insincere apologetic look, he opened the
door and jumped in.

Taycee blinked. Wow. She turned in search of the camera. Was
Burt getting all of this? She felt like grabbing the camera and saying “Did you
see that people? Not only is Alec NOT a gentleman, but he won’t even let me
drive the UTV. I don’t care how handsome he is, if any of you vote for him
again, you’re idiots.”

Burt had his cameral rolling, so Taycee walked around and
opened her own door. Megan was already in back with her camera light on, so
Burt climbed in beside her. Alec drove to some nearby mountain trails and
backed the Razor off the truck while Burt and Megan set up the cameras. Then Megan
stayed on the ground while Burt jumped in the back.

Normally, Taycee would have loved romping around in an awesome
UTV, but by the time Alec pulled to a stop, she couldn’t wait to get out. Not
only did he really not let her drive, but he’d done nothing but talk about
himself the entire ride. As far as Taycee was concerned, Alec could catch the
nearest plane back to New York—assuming there was room for his enormous ego.

Her head pounded as she climbed from the vehicle and forced a
smile. “Great ride.”

Alec patted the hood. “Yeah, I think I’ll have to get me one
of these when I get back to New York. It’s not nearly as exciting as motocross,
but it’s pretty cool.”

Yeah, yeah, she got it already. He was a motocross fanatic.
He’d also played baseball in high school, preferred to make money rather than
get a higher education, was a connoisseur of fine wines (or so he claimed), and
thought he was God’s jpgt to women. Okay, so maybe he didn’t really say that
last bit, but he sure acted like he thought it.

“How about some dessert?” Alec said during the drive back. “We
could stop at that diner in town—not that it will have much to offer.”

“Actually, Maris’s apple pie is amazing.”

“I’m sure it is.” His voice dripped with condescension, and
Taycee fought the urge to tell him to stick it.

“I’m really not that hungry though,” she said. If this was a
chance to end the date a little early, she’d take it.

Alec tapped his hand against the wheel as they drove back
toward town. He glanced lazily around as if bored. “Do you know of any good
motocross races nearby? I was thinking we could check one out on our next
date.”

Taycee bit her tongue. Hard. It was the only way to keep from
shouting, “If you think I’d ever go out with you again you’re one stick short
of a bundle!” Miles had used the expression during one of his rodeo stories,
and she’d liked it so much she’d committed it to memory. It fit Alec perfectly
right now.

“I don’t,” she said. “I’ve never been much for motocross.”

That’s all it took for Alec to start talking about the sport
yet again, only this time he focused on all the dangers associated with it—as
if she couldn’t figure them out on her own. Race a bike around a dirt course
riddled with hills, turns, jumps, and several other riders, and what do you
get? Lots of opportunities to break bones or kill yourself.

Duh.

When Alec launched into a detailed account of every injury
he’d ever received, Taycee tuned him out and made a mental list of the flowers
she’d need to pick up tomorrow morning. A rush order had come in right before
she’d closed up—too late to call in for the following day’s delivery. Oh well.
A funeral in a neighboring town was something she’d never say no to.

By the time Alec dropped her off, forty-five minutes ahead of
schedule, Taycee gave him a quick hug goodbye and escaped inside her apartment.
She sighed in relief. Never had her apartment felt so good.

No cameras. No guys. No noise.
Only
blessed silence.

How would she keep this up for six more weeks?

L
uke stopped by Maris’s diner
for
lunch with Missy Green in tow, clinging to his arm and wearing a bright pink
tank top and matching high heels. She was like a yapping dog that had clamped
down on his pant leg and wouldn’t let go. He wanted to shake her off.

Missy had spent the last hour at his clinic prattling away
while Luke examined her mother’s cat—a perfectly
healthy
cat, albeit fat
and lazy. Missy had snuggled up against him and peered over his shoulder the
entire time, asking him to explain every little thing he did. The exam should
have taken ten minutes, but Missy wouldn’t shut up. The girl had more to say
than the anonymous
Shelter’s Bachelorette
gossip blog, and that was
saying something.

Luke finally explained that he needed to close the clinic for
lunch, and what had Missy done? Invited herself along. He could have kicked
himself. Why hadn’t he said he had another appointment? Needed to meet with his
lawyer? Call his mom? Any excuse that would have sent Missy packing.

The customer in front of Luke moved forward, and Luke followed.
“What do you feel like, Missy?” Maybe if she looked at the menu, she’d let go
of his arm.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she purred.

“So you want a double cheeseburger, curly fries, and a
chocolate shake?” Okay, so maybe Luke really didn’t want that, but unless Missy
had the metabolism of a hummingbird, no way would she order the same—not if she
wanted to keep her current rail-thin figure.

She frowned. “Don’t they have salads here?”

“I don’t know. The menu is over there if you want to check.”
He pointed to a stack of menus next to the register and let out a relieved sigh
when she finally relinquished his arm. Maybe he should make a run for it while
he had the chance. Luke eyed the door, sorely tempted.

She came back only seconds later, wrapping her arm through his
once more. “I’ll take the Caesar salad, with the dressing on the side. They
always put way too much when they mix it in on their own.”

Luke tried not to roll his eyes as he placed their orders.
Then he found a booth, hoping to hide behind the tall seat backs. But once he’d
slid in, he realized his mistake. Instead of sitting across from him, Missy scooted
right in next to him, forcing him to slide to the end of the booth. Thigh to
thigh, knee to knee, she clung to his side.

Would it be wrong to push her on the floor and step over her
on his way out? Maybe he could slide under the table and crawl out like a
two-year-old. He didn’t care at this point, not if it would rid him of Missy
Green. The girl was like a giant squid with suction cups for hands.

“Luke, if I’d have known you’d be coming back to Shelter, I
never would have left.”

He cleared his throat. ”When are you headed back to
California?”

“Don’t you worry.” Missy scooted even closer, sandwiching him
against the window. “I’ll be here all summer.”

Luke turned to tell her exactly where she could put those
suction cup hands for the rest of the summer, but once again, wrong move. In
warp speed, her fingers wound around his neck, and her lips pressed against
his.

What the—

In the middle of the day, in the middle of the diner, Missy
Green kissed him. Shock gave way to anger and he shoved her away. Out of the
booth and onto the floor, she landed in a bright pink heap. Without so much as
a sorry, he stepped over her and headed for the door.

“He wants to meet me somewhere more private,” Missy’s voice
echoed through the now quiet diner.

Several chuckles followed him as he fled, his lunch forgotten.
He walked past his truck and headed down Main Street, needing some fresh air.
What was Missy’s problem anyway? She obviously had marbles for brains if she
thought that stunt would really work.

Luke began to feel like he was cursed. Ever since he’d
returned to Shelter, there had been nothing but problems. The town was about to
go under. He was bachelor #21 on some ridiculous internet reality dating show.
His veterinary practice wasn’t taking off quite the way he’d imagined. And now,
Missy Green.

Was this some sort of sign? A
get-out-of-Shelter-before-the-sky-starts-falling warning? Luke’s steps slowed.
His gaze drifted up toward the clouds, willing them to reform into words.
Sentences. Answers. Why did he come back here? Why did it feel like it made
sense, that it was the right thing to do?

The stratus clouds continued to float slowly past, a freeform
display of nothing at all. No answers. No assurances that he’d made the right
decision and that everything would start looking up.