Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,66

at Trey and left the homestead. Out on the front porch, he caught sight of Conrad and Hilde sitting on the top steps, hand-in-hand as they talked. Neither of them looked upset, but they didn’t look happy either.

Blaine was tired of trying to make sure everyone around him was doing okay. His heart was too small for all of his brothers, his parents, Tam and her family, and everyone else. His neighbors, and Olli and Spur, and the cowboys he worked with.

He just wanted everyone to be happy.

He wanted himself to be happy.

Better get to Tam’s, then, he thought, wondering why he cared what anyone thought about his relationship with her. They didn’t have to live inside it. Only he and Tam did, and a whole speech started in his mind as he backed up and turned around to head down the lane toward the highway.

“Shoot,” he said when he looked at the clock on the dashboard. He was late already, and he considered going to Tam’s house instead of her shop. She hadn’t said where she’d be, but he’d assumed the leather shop, as she’d been working from sunup to sundown for a couple of weeks now.

When he turned the corner to go down the street to her shop, he saw her bright blue truck still parked out front. Relief filled him that he’d chosen the right location, and he pulled in next to the black truck parked next to Tam’s.

She had customers come to the shop to pick things up all the time, but Blaine didn’t wait in his truck. He’d gone into her shop when other people were there plenty of times. He didn’t hesitate as he opened the door and entered.

Tam stood chest-to-chest with another man, up on her tiptoes as she said something in a high voice. The problem was, the man was also shouting something at her, and Blaine froze as he took in the scene.

“Hey,” he yelled over them, and both Tam and—Blaine’s heartbeat shot through his body like a cannon—Hayes looked at him. “What is going on here?”

Hayes grabbed onto the lapels of his jacket and pulled it forward, as if adjusting his clothes. He wore a frown on his face, and Tam didn’t look happy either.

“Nothing,” she said, stepping away from Hayes.

“I want an answer,” Hayes said.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” she said. “Now, I’m leaving, and I’d like you to leave my shop.”

“No,” Hayes said. He took several quick steps toward Blaine too, and it was almost like he and Tam were racing to see who could get to him first. “I want to know the truth.”

“The truth about what?” Blaine asked, shooting a glance at Tam. “How long has he been here?”

“Not long.”

“Half an hour,” Hayes said, shooting her a look.

Blaine’s blood turned cold, and it couldn’t quite move through his body the right way. “Thirty minutes, huh? You guys probably had such a great talk in that amount of time.” He folded his arms, hating that he’d taken so long to get ready. Tam hadn’t even looked up to his hat or down to his boots.

“Don’t,” Tam said.

“Don’t what?” Blaine asked. “A half an hour, Tam?” Jealousy snaked through him, striking at all of his organs. He knew exactly what this felt like, and exactly how long it would take the poison to infect his whole body. He knew exactly how long it took to recover from, and exactly how agonizing those years would be.

Even worse, because this was Tamara, his very best friend on the whole Earth, and he felt her slipping away from him with every breath he took. He wouldn’t have her to talk to after this ended. He wouldn’t have her to text in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep and his feelings of self-doubt crept in. He wouldn’t have her to call on for help around the ranch, and he wouldn’t have her to ride with when nothing else in the world made sense.

“I just want to know if your relationship is the real deal,” Hayes said.

“No,” Blaine said at the same time Tam said, “Of course it is.” Her voice echoed in the empty silence, and she looked at Blaine with pure shock on her face.

Blaine took a deep breath and looked at Hayes. Oh, how he disliked this man. Why was he even here? Did he think he could win Tam back if she admitted they’d started this fake relationship to fool him into thinking Tam