Iris waves a hand. “Yeah, but I might not make it that long.”
I open my mouth to say something, but Imogen beats me to it. She takes one of Iris’s hands, cupping her weathered fingers between her own. “Don’t say that,” Imogen murmurs. “Maybe they’re total pains in the asses like this one.” She smiles sweetly, but damn.
I don’tthinkI’m a pain in the ass.
Iris doesn’t even give me a chance to defend myself. Instead, she barks a surprised laugh. “I knew I liked you,” she says, grinning widely. “Oh, dear. Well, some of them aren’t. You know, there’s six of them.”
“Really?” Imogen raises a surprised brow, barely glancing at me. “Their poor Mother.”
It’s like I’m totally forgotten now. I cross my arms and watch them both, but I don’t feel weird or defensive. Just…light.
“She’s a saint,” Iris replies, resting her chin on her hand, sighing tiredly. “Their father—I watched him grow up, you know. Knew his daddy. I’m proud of the man he is now. Not the father. His old man.” She waves a hand at me, like she’s suddenly remembered I’m here.
“Sounds like you have a special place in your heart for them,” Imogen says softly. “And the ranch.”
“Oh, yes.” Iris sighs again. “I think I’m ready to go home now.”
My heart aches for Iris now more than ever. I don’t think many people realise just how lonely she must be. When she ran the bar, she’d been the centre of the town, living amongst everyone. Now, she’s in a place she doesn’t really see as her own.
It gives me a little more of a push to give her exactly what she wants.
And somehow, I have to convince her nurse to play along with it, too.
Maybe I’ll be able to give Iris a Sterling wedding after all.
FOUR
IMOGEN
“Why are you still here?” I ask after putting Iris to bed. Her soft snores and the beeps of her heart monitor sound throughout the dark apartment.
For whatever reason, Calder Sterling stands in the kitchen. I don’t understand him, and I know I shouldn’t want to. He’s the type of man I stayed away from back home. The type who would play with you and hurt you without a care in the world.
Ever since Grandad’s death, I’ve been more and more sceptical of people in general. Not Iris; today I got a real look at the woman she is, the person she’d been to so many people in Willow Ridge.
But Calder is a stern reminder of why I have to protect myself.
I have no doubt he’s used women before. The easy flirting, the arrogant way he carries himself—that’s a playboy who’s never been told no before.
Well, until now.
He leans against the counter in the kitchen, muscled arms crossed over his chest. Unlike a lot of the men in town I’ve seen, he doesn’t wear flannel. Instead, the long-sleeved tee pulls taut over his broad chest. Dammit. He is a specimen.
Bad thoughts. I quickly shake my head and move towards him before he can respond and wake Iris. “You should go,” I whisper.
Calder leans forward, his presence overpowering. The smell of cedar and whiskey fills my lungs when I breathe in deeply. “We still have things to discuss,” he murmurs. “And plans to make.”
I shiver, completely locked in place. I should take a step back but I’m lost in the hazel of his eyes. “Huh?”
A smirk twists his lips. Something about it sends my belly fluttering. It is so, so wrong. On so many levels.
So, why won’t my body listen to my brain? There is no logical reason as to why this man should have any effect on me.
“Well, you said you’d help,” he replies quietly, leaning in closer. “Which means we still have some planning to do.”
I swallow hard. “I’m still on shift,” I tell him, taking a step back.
He shrugs. “I can wait.”