His Until Midnight. Reese Ryan

good. Tripp? Not so much. I think he has food poisoning.” The words stumbled out of her mouth.

      “Oh my God! That’s terrible. Poor Tripp. Is he going to be okay?”

      “I’m keeping an eye on him, but I’m sure he’ll be fine in a few days. I just don’t think he’s going to recover in time to do the bachelor auction.”

      “We’ll miss having him in the lineup, but of course we understand. His health is the most important thing.” The concern was evident in Alexis’s voice. “Tell him that we hope he’s feeling better soon. And if the auction goes well, maybe we’ll do this again next year. I’ll save a spot in the lineup for him then.”

      “Do you have anyone in mind for a replacement?” Tessa paced the floor.

      “Not really. We’ve pretty much tapped out our list of possibilities. Unless you can get Ryan to change his mind?” She sounded hopeful.

      “I considered that, and I’ve been trying to reach him all day. But just now, I came up with another idea.” She paused, hoping that Alexis would stop her. Tell her that they didn’t need anyone else. When the woman didn’t respond, she continued. “I was thinking that I might replace my brother in the lineup.” She rushed the words out before she could chicken out. “I know that this is a bachelor auction, not a bachelorette—”

      “Yes!” Alexis squealed, as if it were the best idea she’d heard all day. “OMG, I think that’s an absolutely fabulous idea. We’ll provide something for the fellas, too. Oh, Tessa, this is brilliant. I love it.”

      “Are you sure? I mean, I like the idea of doing something completely unexpected, but maybe we should see what Rachel thinks.” Her heart hammered in her chest.

      She’d done something bold, something different, by offering to take Tripp’s place. But now, the thought of actually walking that stage and praying to God that someone...anyone...would bid on her was giving her heart palpitations.

      “That’s a good idea, but I know she’s going to agree with me. Hold on.”

      “Oh, you’re calling her now?” Tessa said to the empty room as she paced the floor.

      Rachel Kincaid was a marketing genius and an old college friend of Alexis’s. She’d come to Royal as a young widow and the mother to an adorable little girl named Ellie. And she’d fallen in love with one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Texas, oil tycoon Matt Galloway.

      “Okay, Rachel’s on the line,” Alexis announced a moment later. “And I brought her up to speed.”

      “You weren’t kidding about doing something unexpected.” There was a hint of awe in Rachel’s voice. “Good for you, Tess.”

      “Thanks, Rachel.” She swallowed hard. “But do you think it’s a good idea? I mean, the programs have already been printed, and no one knows that there’s going to be a bachelorette in the auction. What if no one bids on me? I don’t want to cause any embarrassment to the club or create negative publicity for the event.”

      “Honey, the bachelors who aren’t in the auction are going to go crazy when they discover there’s a beautiful lady to bid on,” Rachel said confidently.

      “We’ll put the word out that there’s going to be a big surprise, just for the fellas. I can email everyone on our mailing list. It will only take me a few minutes to put the email together and send it out,” Alexis said.

      “Y’all are sure we can pull this off?” Tess asked one last time. “I swear I won’t be offended if you think we can’t. I rather you tell me now than to let me get up there and make a fool of myself.”

      “It’s going to be awesome,” Alexis reassured her. “But I’m sensing hesitation. Are you second-guessing your decision? Because you shouldn’t. It’s a good one.”

      Tessa grabbed a spoon and the pint of her favorite Neapolitan ice cream hidden in the back of the freezer. She sat at the kitchen island and sighed, rubbing her palm on her jeans again. She shook her head, casting another glance in the mirror. “It’s just that... I’m not the glamorous type, that’s for sure.”

      “You’re gorgeous, girl. And if you’re concerned...hey, why don’t we give you a whole beauty makeover for the event?” Rachel said excitedly. “It’ll be fun and it gives me another excuse to buy makeup.”

      “That’s a fantastic idea, Rachel!” Alexis chimed in. “Not that you need it,” she added. “But maybe it’ll make you feel more comfortable.”

      “Okay, yeah. That sounds great. I’d like that.” Tessa nodded, feeling slightly better. “I was gonna take tomorrow off anyway. Give myself plenty of time to get ready. But I’m sure you both have a million things to do. I don’t want to distract you from preparing for the auction, just to babysit me.”

      “Alexis is the queen of organization. She’s got everything under control. Plus, we have a terrific crew of volunteers,” Rachel piped in. “They won’t miss us for a few hours. I promise, everything will be fine.”

      “Have you considered what date you’re offering?”

      “Date?” Tessa hadn’t thought that far in advance. “I’m not sure. I guess...let me think about that. I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow. Is that all right?”

      “That’s fine. Just let me know first thing in the morning,” Alexis said.

      “I’ll make a few appointments for the makeover and I’ll text you both all the details.” Rachel’s voice brimmed with excitement.

      “Then I guess that’s everything,” Tessa said, more to herself than her friends. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

      She hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and shoveled a spoonful of Neapolitan ice cream into her mouth.

      There was no turning back now.

       Three

      Ryan patted the warm neck of his horse, Phantom, and dismounted, handing the majestic animal off to Ned, one of his ranch hands. He gave the horse’s haunches one final pat as the older man led him away to a stall.

      Ryan wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He was tired, dirty and in desperate need of a shower.

      He’d been out on the ranch and the surrounding area since the crack of dawn, looking for several steer that had made their great escape through a break in the fence. While his men repaired the fence, he and another hand tracked down the cattle and drove them back to the ranch.

      He’d been in such a hurry to get after the cattle, he’d left his phone at home. Hopefully, his parents hadn’t called, worried that he wasn’t answering because he’d burned down the whole damn place.

      He grumbled to himself, “You nearly burn the barn down as a kid, and they never let you forget it.”

      Then again, his parents and Tess and Tripp’s seemed to be enjoying themselves on their cruise. Their calls had become far less frequent.

      Who knows? Maybe both couples would decide it was finally time to retire, give up ranch life, and pass the torch to the next generation. Something he, Tessa and Tripp had been advocating for the past few years. They were ready to take on the responsibility.

      When he’d been engaged to Sabrina, his parents had planned to retire to their beach house in Galveston and leave management of the ranch to him. Despite the fact that they hadn’t much liked his intended. Not because Sabrina was a bad person. But he and Sabrina were like fire and ice. The moments that were good could be really good. But the moments that weren’t had resulted in tense arguments and angry sex.

      His mother, in particular, hadn’t been convinced Sabrina was the girl for him. She’d been right.

      A