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  Instead, she’d just taken everything he’d said and done, kissed Ollie goodbye, and then she’d broken down.

  Completely. Huge, chest-wracking sobs that left her breathless and her heart hollow.

  She was going to lose her son.

  Pure desperation filled her again, but she shoved the feelings away. She’d pulled herself together enough to call Tripp, and he was coming.

  Somehow, he’d help her figure out what to do.

  A knock sounded on the door, and it had Tripp’s name written all over it. She drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. After crossing the room, she opened the door and looked at him through the screen.

  “Hey,” he said, pure concern in his voice and his expression.

  She released the latch on the screen door and pushed it open. “Come in.”

  Tripp did, his broad shoulders and tall frame filling her doorway in the most comforting way. “Can I hug you?”

  She practically fell into his arms and held on tight, refusing to cry. She’d done enough of that. It was time to do something useful.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” he said, clearing his throat and stepping back.

  “Daniel is trying to take Oliver from me,” she said. “Daniel’s my ex. Oliver is my son.”

  “Right, right,” he said. “Why would he think he could do that? Don’t you guys already have shared custody?”

  “Yes,” she said, pacing away from him. Her heartbeat sprinted in her chest, and she hadn’t anticipated having to tell him so much. But he’d need to know everything.

  “I tried to find a job this week,” she said. “It’s not going well, because every teenager in the world wants to work too.” She didn’t mean to sound so bitter. But she needed money, and at this point, she was willing to do anything.

  She shot a glance at Tripp. Calling him had been very difficult, but she didn’t have many options at this point.

  Dear Lord, she prayed. I need help here.

  She wasn’t sure why she kept praying. God never seemed to hear her at all. And if He did, He obviously didn’t care what she wanted or needed, because things with her business had only gotten worse over the last six months, not better.

  Tripp put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” he said.

  A thrill moved down her arm from his touch.

  “Take a deep breath,” he said. “You’re looking for a job?”

  She collapsed onto the couch and ran her hands over her face. “I’m broke. Completely. I’m four months behind on my mortgage. We’ve been eating pancakes for every meal for a couple of weeks now.” She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “I’m selling very few things from my jewelry shop, and Daniel’s filed for full custody, citing that I can’t provide the necessities of life for Ollie.”

  By the time she finished talking, her voice was barely a whisper.

  Tripp sat next to her on the couch and took both of her hands in his. “Ivory,” he said, his voice low and kind and dripping with emotion. “Are you asking for my help?”

  She looked at him—right into those deep, dark eyes that she’d fallen for in the past. He wore a nicely trimmed beard, which was a new development since Monday, when she’d seen him in the post office. He was handsome, and his spirit called to her, the same way it always had.

  She nodded, the moment between them charged and serene at the same time.

  “I know you won’t just accept charity,” he said, his brow furrowing. “The Foster sisters need help on their ranch.” He shook his head. “They can’t really pay you, though….” His voice trailed off, and he looked like he was thinking really hard.

  “I don’t want you to give me a job,” she said, feeling like everything inside her was about to splinter.

  “Oh, okay.” He watched her, clearly waiting for her to tell him what she wanted from him.

  “I need to prove to Daniel—and a judge—that I can take care of my son.”

  “Okay.”

  Ivory was going to have to say exactly what she wanted. “I think….” She swallowed, finding her throat so dry. “I think maybe if I was married—” She choked, because her last marriage had not gone well at all. And she had absolutely no desire to walk down the aisle again. Ever.

  “Married,” Tripp repeated.

  “I would pay you back,” she said.

  Tripp shot to his feet and walked over to the window, turning as he took his cowboy hat off. “Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to…get you caught up on all of your bills, marry you, and convince a judge that we can take care of Oliver.” He gestured between the two of them, his eyes sparking with heat.

  Ivory’s heart fell to the ground. “When you put it like that….” But that was what she wanted. And she hated herself for wanting it. For calling him and asking him to do this for her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, standing up. “Really. I’m sure I’ll get a job next week, and I’m sure things will start to look up.” Her voice broke on the last word, because she wasn’t sure how working the graveyard shift at the convenience store on the road leaving town would work. Who would stay with Oliver?

  She had a friend down the street that took him when Ivory needed help, but she couldn’t have her son sleep over there every night.

  He’s gone for the next seven weeks, she thought. She could take that job at the convenience store. She could. She would.

  “Forget I said anything, okay?” She begged Tripp to agree, but he stood there, saying nothing. “I’m so sorry, Tripp. I was just desperate there for a minute. I shouldn’t have called you.”

  He blinked, his shoulders drawing back. “Did you really just call a man you can barely tolerate and ask him to marry you?”

  Ivory wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. “I’m so sorry.” She shook her head. “And you’re wrong. I can tolerate you.” And a lot more than that, she really liked him.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes,” she said, lifting her chin.

  He took one step toward her. “Why’d you break up with me three times in the past nine months?”

  “Fear,” she said bravely, the word sticking in her throat. So she wasn’t the bravest woman on the planet.

  “Fear of what?” he asked, still closing the distance between them.

  “Being intimate with you,” she said. “Telling you about my past. Introducing you to my son.” She held up a finger for each thing she said. “Three break-ups.”

  “You didn’t like kissing me?” he asked.

  “I liked it,” she said, swallowing. Her eyes dropped to his mouth right now. “And I got scared, because I liked it. I like you. Not past tense.”

  He touched his fingers to hers, and the spark between them flared to life. “I want to know about your past. Your present. What you want in the future,” he said, ducking his head. “And I’d love to meet your son. I told you that.”

  “I know,” Ivory said. “I’m just…protective of Oliver.”

  “Understandable.” He glanced around. “Where is he now?”

  “Daniel has him for the next seven weeks.”

  A new light entered Tripp’s eyes. “Seven weeks. So if you liked kissing me, and you’re okay sharing your life with me, we can spend the next couple of months doing that. And then when Oliver gets home, I’d love to meet him—if you’re ready for that then.”

  “Seven weeks.” Ivory couldn’t believe what was happening right here.

  “And if you think we need to get married…I’m willing to consider it.”

  “Really?”

  “Ivory,” he said, taking off his cowboy hat and pressing his cheek against hers. “I’ve tried to get you out of my head. I’ve tried to move on. I haven’t been able to figure out how.” He swayed with her, and Ivory closed her eyes, this feeling of safety so foreign and so welcome.

  “Let’s start with dinner,” he said. “Tonight?”

  “Okay,” Ivory said.

  “Great,” he said. “I’ll pick you up
at seven.” He brushed his lips against her cheek and fell back, putting all kinds of proper space between them. Their eyes met and hooked, and a rush of gratitude moved through her.

  “Thank you, Tripp,” she said.

  “I’ve always said I’m willing to help you,” he said. “And I meant it.”

  She nodded, and he moved over to the front door. He stepped out onto the porch and turned back to her. “Seven.”

  “Seven.” She gripped the door as he repositioned his cowboy hat on his head, went down her steps, and climbed into his truck.

  Then he was gone.

  She closed the door and sagged against it. “What a disaster,” she said, but for the first time in four months, hope existed in her heart.

  “All right.” She straightened away from the door and wiped her hair out of her face. “Up next: Calling back the manager of that convenience store.” All she could do was hope that she didn’t have to start work that night.

  “I got a job,” she said when she opened the door to Tripp’s handsome face that evening.

  “You did?” He grinned at her, and he looked good enough to dream about in that pair of dark jeans, his peach-colored shirt, open at the throat, those cowboy boots that got her heart racing, and that cowboy hat.

  Oh, that cowboy hat.

  She’d always had a soft spot for a man in a cowboy hat, and she had the strangest desire to reach up and take it off. Put it on her own head. Or just kiss him without that brim in the way.

  But she didn’t move. She knew cowboys didn’t like it when someone touched their hat. And wearing it? She’d had one boyfriend in Tennessee who’d accused her of “misshaping” his hat when she’d worn it for ten seconds.

  “Where are you going to work?” Tripp asked.

  Ivory grabbed her purse and stepped out onto the porch with her. “The convenience store on the west side of town,” she said. “Graveyard shift.” She beamed at him, so proud of herself. “I mean, I might have to change things up with Ollie comes back.” She shrugged and linked her arm through his.

  “Graveyard shift?” he asked. “At Gus’s? Isn’t that the place where they’ve had those robberies?”

  “What?” she asked, her stomach swooping and not because she’d caught a whiff of his sexy cologne. “I haven’t heard of any robberies.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure they were at Gus’s.” He paused at the end of her sidewalk and pulled his phone from his back pocket. He tapped and typed, swiping and then showing his screen to her. “Yeah, look. This says, ‘Third robbery at gas station has owner hiring security guard.’”

  Ivory took his phone and read the article. “Three robberies in six months,” she said, the familiar fear and helplessness threatening to join her on this date. “No wonder Wade was so glad I’d called him back.” Disgust flowed through her. “I can’t put myself in danger like that,” she said, looking at Tripp. “What would you do?”

  Chapter Five

  What would he do?

  Tripp didn’t know how to answer. Couldn’t answer. He had no idea what Ivory’s life was like, what it had been like. He didn’t even think about money, ever. And the weight of not having any crushed Ivory, so he couldn’t understand. Couldn’t answer.

  “I don’t know, Ivory,” he said. “Honestly, marrying me is less dangerous.” He couldn’t believe he’d just said that. But he was right.

  She sighed and turned away from him, running both hands through her gorgeous hair. Tripp wanted to do that. He wanted to hold her close and tell her everything would be okay. He wanted to meet her son when Oliver came home.

  He stood there, wondering what he needed to do or say. “Ivory,” he tried, wondering how Rhett and Evelyn had gotten to the point where they’d gone to City Hall and gotten married when it wasn’t real.

  Was he about to do the same thing?

  He wished he could call his brother and get more details. Get some advice.

  The blonde he’d liked for so long turned back to him, her eyes filled with emotion. “I don’t know, Tripp.”

  “Well, I do,” he said, quickly closing the distance between them. He slipped his arm around her waist, and she didn’t jump away from him. Push him away. Protest. She just gazed up at him, and Tripp really wanted to kiss her.

  He’d kissed her before, and he didn’t want the next time they kissed to be at their wedding—which was totally happening.

  He cupped her face in one hand, a sure sign of what he was about to do. She said nothing, and Tripp lowered his mouth to hers, barely touching her, giving her the opportunity to stop him.

  She didn’t. In fact, she tipped up onto her toes and kissed him.

  Tripp’s pulse blipped through his body faster and faster as the kiss lengthened. “Okay,” he whispered, pulling away. His cowboy hat had fallen off at some point, but he didn’t care. “So let’s go to dinner and talk about this wedding.”

  “I don’t know, Tripp,” she said, fiddling with the collar on his shirt.

  “You need help,” he said. “And I can help you.” He touched his cheek to hers. “I like you, Ivory. I don’t think that’s a secret.”

  “I feel…stupid,” she said, the word bursting from her mouth. “And helpless. I’m not helpless. I can do this.”

  “Of course you can,” he said. “You got a job already. You’re a good mother.”

  “You don’t even know that,” she said, stepping out of his arms.

  Tripp felt her slipping away from him, physically and emotionally. “Ivory,” he said. “I have so much money, I don’t even know how much.”

  She turned and pierced him with a glare. “Not helping.”

  “I’m not saying that to be arrogant,” he said. “I’m just saying that I have what you need, and I’m willing to give it to you. You don’t have to pay me back.”

  She looked torn, and Tripp felt like backing off a little bit. “And I know you’re a good mom, because you’d do anything to keep your son. And I’m willing to do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “What you suggested.”

  “Marry me and pay my bills.”

  “Yes,” he said. He’d say yes over and over again for her.

  “What do you get out of this?” she asked.

  Tripp drew in a deep breath, about to lay everything on the line. As if he hadn’t already. “You,” he said. “Ivory, I get you.”

  She shook her head, clearly exasperated. “Tripp, this isn’t some sort of sex trade thing.”

  He flinched and fell back a step. “Wow, that kind of hurts.” And it did. Who did she think he was?

  “Sorry,” she murmured. “I just…it wouldn’t be real.”

  “Okay,” he said, his hopes crazily bouncing around his head anyway. The pinch of pain in his chest dissipated, because of course Ivory didn’t think he was just looking for sex.

  “We’ll stay married just long enough for you to get your ex off your back.” He reached out and touched her fingers with his. “Just long enough for you to get back on your feet. And who knows? Maybe then we can try a for-real relationship.”

  Ivory considered him for a moment, and then she ran her hands up his chest. “Tripp, you’re too good for me.”

  “That’s not true,” he said.

  “I do like you,” she said, and he saw the fear she’d spoken of right there in her face. So maybe she just needed more time to come to the same conclusion he had: that they were meant for each other.

  “Let’s go to dinner,” he said, threading his fingers through hers and tugging her toward the front door. “And I don’t think you should take that job at the convenience store.”

  “If we’re really getting married, I won’t.”

  “I already said yes,” he said. “I’m waiting for you to agree to the idea.”

  “Let’s see how dinner goes,” she said, a giggle accompanying the words.

  Tripp was willing to see how everything went. He couldn’t believe how happy he was to have Ivory back in his life, but he was. H
e’d always liked the woman, from the very first moment she’d dropped a couple of dozen packages at his booted feet in the post office.

  Now, he held her door while she scampered up into his truck, glad he hadn’t turned it off to go to the door. Because, wow, summer had arrived, and the temperature in the air stole his breath. Or maybe all of that heat was because of Ivory’s rose-scented perfume and the gentle curl in her hair. The way she glanced at him as if he made her nervous.

  “Okay, listen,” she said before he’d even backed out of her driveway. “I’m still going to get a job. I mean, I can’t just sit around and do nothing, especially while Ollie is gone.”

  “You make jewelry, don’t you?” he asked.

  “A little,” she said, her voice taking on an evasive quality. “My business…hasn’t been going so well.”

  The Foster sisters flashed through his mind. He didn’t know all the details of their ranch, but he knew it floundered a little bit. They worked hard, just as he was sure Ivory did, but sometimes success wasn’t in the cards.

  “I understand that,” he said.

  “You do?” she asked.

  “A little,” he said with a shrug. “My father was a computer engineer and entrepreneur. He had a job with a company when I was young, but about age seven, he quit and started his own thing.” He glanced at Ivory to find her watching him fully now. “There were lean times. We ate pancakes for every meal for a while too.” He gave her smile, hoping to get her to do the same.

  He also wanted her to know she wasn’t alone.

  “And there are a lot of you Walkers,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Sometimes it felt like a zoo,” he said. “At least that’s what my mother says.” Tripp had loved growing up with six brothers. They’d had a big house out in the middle of the countryside outside of Austin, and he’d spent more time outside than in any day it wasn’t raining.

  “How’s Destiny?” he asked, hoping he could ask her about her family and not get shut down. His other relationships with Ivory had been slow, not that Tripp had minded. But every time he got too close, she pulled back.