dirty. I just mopped.”
Sometimes he wondered if Helene worked for him or if he worked for her. Still, he loved the older woman. She was family.
“All right, all right.” He toed off his boots and kicked them in the corner, patting his arms and legs to dislodge any dust from his clothing before entering the house. “Just don’t shoot.”
Helene playfully punched his arm. “Were you able to round up all of the animals that got loose?”
“Every one of them.” Yawning, he kneaded a stubborn kink in his back. “Fence is fixed, too.”
“Good. Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour. Go ahead and hop in the shower. Oh, and call Tess when you get the chance.”
“Why?” His chest tightened. “Everything okay over at the Noble Spur?”
“Don’t worry.” She gave him a knowing smile that made his cheeks fill with heat. “She’s fine, but her brother is ill. Tess is pretty sure it’s food poisoning. She’s been trying to reach you all day.”
“I was in such a hurry to get out of here this morning, I forgot my phone.”
“I know.” She chuckled softly “I found it in the covers when I made your bed this morning. It’s on your nightstand.”
Managing a tired smile for the woman he loved almost as much as his own mother, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Helene. I’ll be down for dinner as soon as I can.”
Ryan dried his hair from the shower and wrapped the towel around his waist. The hot water had felt good sluicing over his tired, aching muscles. So he’d taken a longer shower than he’d intended. And though he was hungry, he was tempted to collapse into bed and forgo dinner.
Sighing wearily, he sat on the bed and picked up his phone to call Tess.
She answered in a couple of rings. “Hey, Rye. How’d it go? Were you able to find all the steer you lost?”
Helene had evidently told her where he was and why he hadn’t been answering his cell phone.
“Yes, we got them all back and the fence is fixed.” He groaned as he reached out to pick up his watch and put it back on. “How’s Tripp? Helene said he got food poisoning.”
“Wow, you sound like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet.” She laughed. “And yes, my brother’s penchant for late night snacks from suspect eateries finally caught up with him. He looks and feels like hell, but otherwise he’s recovering.”
“Will he be okay for the auction tomorrow?”
“No.” She said the word a little too quickly, then paused a little too long. “He thinks he’ll be fine to go through with it, but I’m chalking that up to illness-induced delusion.”
“Did you tell Alexis she’s a man down?”
“I did.” There was another unusual pause. Like there was something she wanted to say but was hesitant.
Ryan thought for a moment as he rummaged through his drawers for something to put on.
“Ahh...” He dragged his fingers through his damp hair. “Of course. She wants to know if I’ll take Tripp’s place.”
Tessa didn’t respond right away. “Actually, that’s why I was trying so hard to reach you. I thought I might be able to convince you to take Tripp’s place...since it’s for such a good cause. But when I couldn’t reach you, I came up with another option.”
“Which is?” It was like pulling teeth to get Tess to just spit it out. He couldn’t imagine why that would be...unless he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. Uneasiness tightened his gut. “So this other option...are you going to tell me, or should I come over and you can act it out in charades?”
“Smart-ass.” She huffed. “No charades necessary. I’m the other option. I decided to take Tripp’s place in the auction.”
“You do know that it’s women who will be bidding in this auction, right?” Ryan switched to speakerphone, tossed his phone on the bed, then stepped into his briefs. “Anything you need to tell me, Tess?”
“I’m going to give you a pass because I know you’re tired,” she groused. “And we’ve already considered that. If you check your in-box, you’ll see that Alexis sent out an email informing all attendees and everyone else on the mailing list that there is going to be a surprise at the end of the auction, just for the gents.”
“Oh.”
It was the only thing that Ryan could think to say as the realization struck him in the gut like a bull running at full speed. A few days ago, he’d been discomfited by the idea of his friend bidding on one man. Now, there would be who knows how many guys angling for a night with her.
“You sure about this?” He stepped into a pair of well-worn jeans and zipped and buttoned them. “This just doesn’t seem much like you.”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it.” Her voice was shaky. “It’ll be good for me to venture outside of my comfort zone.”
He donned a long-sleeved T-shirt, neither of them speaking for a moment.
Ryan rubbed his chin and sank on to his mattress. He slipped on a pair of socks. “Look, I know I said I didn’t want to do it, but with Tripp being sick and all, how about I make an exception?”
“You think this is a really bad idea, don’t you?” She choked out the words, her feelings obviously hurt.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.” The last thing he wanted to do was upset his best friend. He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m just saying that it’s really last minute. And because of that, it might take people by surprise, that’s all.”
“I thought of that, too. Alexis and Rachel are positive they can drum up enough interest. But I thought that...just to be safe...it’d be good to have an ace up my sleeve.”
“What kind of an ace?”
“I’m going to give you the money to bid on me, in case no one else does. I know it’ll still look pretty pathetic if my best friend is the only person who bids on me, but that’s a hell of a lot better than hearing crickets when they call my name.”
“You want me to bid on you?” He repeated the words. Not that he hadn’t heard or understood her the first time. He was just processing the idea. Him bidding on his best friend. The two of them going out on a date...
“Yes, but it’ll be my money. And there’s no need for us to actually go on the date. I mean, we can just hang out like usual or something, but it doesn’t have to be a big deal.”
“Sure, I’ll do it. But you don’t need to put up the money. I’m happy to make the donation myself.”
His leg bounced. Despite what his friend believed, Ryan doubted that he’d be the only man there willing to bid on Tessa Noble during her bachelorette auction.
“Thanks, Ryan. I appreciate
