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Chapter Twenty-One

The thumping of Tori’s heart echoed in her ears. At this rate, she’d pass out before ever getting to Tobias’ place. It had been three entire days since she’d seen him last and she had barely slept a wink. Her mind had gone over every detail of what he’d said.

Love. He loved her. It had taken a lot of courage for him to come clean and declare how he felt without asking for anything in return. If anything, judging by the way they’d been getting along over the years, it was more likely she’d shove him over the edge of the hill than to agree to consider what he’d said.

Of course she loved him. That went without saying. She’d tried so hard to keep that part of her hidden, but the way he’d looked at her, with so much sincerity, had melted all her resolve away.

She’d gone home and paced for half the night. Then tossed and turned in bed unable to decide what to do. First thing the next day, she’d called Alec and ended things. He’d been disappointed, but wished her well. It wouldn’t be fair to continue a relationship when her heart wouldn’t be in it.

Now, still not sure, she drove to see Tobias. A part of her wanted to believe in happily ever after, and that they’d fall into a perfect, loving relationship. The other half of her feared the ramifications of the secret she’d kept from him and the resentment over his abandonment when he’d left to go overseas.

She’d done some stupid shit back then and, like most mistakes, they’d come back to bite her in the ass.

His house came into view. The cabin-style home was huge. The architecture reminded her of the beautiful homes that graced the covers of log cabin magazines. She’d gone there often when dating Tobias and knew the layout by heart. The immense front room, the expansive kitchen and the upstairs bedroom where she and Tobias had pretended to study.

She imagined he slept downstairs now that he lived there alone. Up until Taylor had moved in with Allison, the two had been roommates for years.

Luke had also lived there for a few months, but he and Leah had fallen in love quickly and he’d moved in with her.

So now it was just Tobias and his two labs from what she understood.

She pulled up and cut off the engine, the entire time listening for the barks of alert or for someone to notice, but it was quiet. A quick glance at her watch told it was only six in the evening. The ranch hands must have gone home.

Tori let out a breath, grabbed her purse and climbed out of the car. When she reached the front door, it was slightly open, as if he expected someone.

She rang the doorbell, expecting dogs to come barking, but there was no reply. Immediately, her mind went haywire. What if something had happened? Or maybe he’d left in a hurry. No, that wasn’t it. His truck was parked on the side of the house.

“Come in,” Tobias called out from somewhere in the house.

Gingerly, she pushed the door open and stepped into the dim interior. The entry and front rooms were just like she remembered. There were newer leather couches that flanked a large stone fireplace, side tables, which were made out of dark thick wood, held lamps and nothing else.

Above the fireplace was a huge flat screen TV. An old western movie was playing on it. She continued past to the kitchen, which again hadn’t changed much except the appliances were now stainless steel instead of black. Every surface was pristine. The house smelled of recently being cleaned. Interesting.

Deep laughter got her attention and she followed the sound to the back patio through open doors. The doors were different. They used to be sliders, but now they were French doors that were swung open.

Just past the furnished patio was Tobias. He threw two balls and his dogs took after them. Two plump little puppies attempted to follow suit. When they tripped over their own feet and began tumbling over each other, Tobias laughed. He guffawed so hard he was bent at the waist.

“Go get…the…balls,” he sputtered, only to lose it when the puppies tried to attack one of the larger dogs.

Finally, he regained his composure long enough to take the balls from the older dogs and throw them again. Once again, the excited puppies yapped. But this time, they ran in circles and Tobias began laughing again.

Tori couldn’t help but smile. She’d not seen him so relaxed in years. How could she have forgotten this side of him? Tobias was the most easy-going of the trio. Between Luke’s intensity and Taylor’s quiet nature, it was always Tobias who broke the ice and went out of his way to make friends.

“Hey, man, grab a beer,” he called out over his shoulder. Obviously, he was expecting a guy to stop by. “Watch this,” he said and threw a ball.

The puppies yapped happily and rushed after it only to lose interest and chase after a branch. Tobias chuckled. “They can’t fetch for crap.”

“That’s because they’re babies,” Tori replied and smiled when he jerked around to her.

“I thought you were Eric.”

“Sorry.” She put her purse down on a chair and crouched down to greet the puppies. “You got the puppies. Why did you do that?” she looked into his eyes.

He shrugged. “I’ve got space. Besides, they’ll earn their keep around here. Lots of work for a dog at the Hamilton ranch.”

“I hear all Scamp and Duke do is sleep, eat and play,” Tori teased. “Is that their job?”

He smiled in return. “Pretty much.” The smile was replaced by a frown as he looked to the back door. “Want a beer? I don’t have any wine.”