"That oughta put him down a peg or two."

Dermott had plonked himself back down beside her, arm automatically stretched behind her like a lanky wing, shit eating grin sliding across his face.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, and glanced around. The seats were mostly empty, it was an intermission in the auction or something. It was cool inside the building, but she didn't mind.

"I pulled that bull out from underneath that pansy, so easy," Dermott crowed, and laughed at his own statement. "Sucks to be you, West."

"Seriously. You bought that cow because... You don't like Tanner?"

"No, honey, it isn't like that. I bought that bull because I didn't want a West to have him. I'll resell him in a few months when the bull sales start and make a few bucks on him. Maybe to West Line, if I'm in a good mood."

Liana bristled. One, she hated being called 'honey' in that smarmy voice, and two, that seemed really fucking petty. But, as Dermott turned to chat with a group of older men near them, she realized he wasn't exactly a deep-thinking man. All flash on the surface, with a really bad connection between his mouth and his brain.

This was now technically their second date, it would seem. A day at a cattle auction. Liana sighed. She was stuck. Dermott was handsome, gave off an aura of success, and for whatever reason had spontaneously asked her out to dinner last week when she'd been out with Caitlin and Brady at a local bar. Brady had warned her not to accept, the two of them glaring at each other. But, she texted him later because he was ruggedly handsome, she was having a particularly bad dry spell, and the attention was nice. Dinner had been interesting. He was a character, not unlike most of the ranchers around Brightside, a bit rough around the edges. What cowboy wasn't?

He'd shown up at her apartment this morning and called her, telling her to put her best boots on and come with him for the day. So she did, having no idea he was dragging her to sit in a cold steel building to ogle cows. Not exactly her idea of a good time, but she played along.

When Dermott had started bidding on the bull, she'd wondered why he was suddenly so keen, when not even a moment before, he'd been staring at his phone, scrolling ads for trucks. Then she'd spotted Tanner, fiercely focused on the auctioneer. When he'd turned his head towards them, she just about dropped her pop. As always, her heart skipped a beat the way his jaw would flex and his eyes zeroed in, as if you were the only person in the room that mattered. But he wasn't looking at her.

He was looking at Dermott. It seemed the animosity ran both ways.

"Well, I suppose that is business," she said lamely. She knew absolutely nothing about cattle, other than they smelled, made a lot of noise, but tasted delicious when finally on her plate.

Dermott shrugged. "It is the way I do business, honey. That's all that matters."

She leaned back and folded her arms. It was going to be a long day if he was this cocky now. He'd mentioned dinner after the auction, but she wanted to go home now, already fed up.

The new auctioneer took the podium, and the auction started back up as everyone poured back into the stands. Paddles flashed, people shouted, cows mooed and she attempted to tune it all out, flicking around on her phone. She texted Caitlin 'OMG at the auction' which Caitlin replied with a string of emoji, most of them shocked faces.

Her phone rang a second later, so she got up and stepped out of the auction hall towards the lobby behind them. It was only slightly quieter, but it was warmer.

"What in the heck are you doing at the auction?" Caitlin asked as soon as she answered.

"Dermott. He's being romantic. Said he's gonna buy me a cow," Liana quipped back.

"Seriously. What is it with men? You must be bored out of your skull. Want me to come rescue you?"

Liana looked around her. That would be really rude, but it was tempting. She sighed. "No. I should stay. We're going out after. Want to join?"

"I can't tonight. Brady wants to stay in. We're both super tired. We were over at the house mudding drywall this morning."

"Excuses, excuses. How is the house coming?"

Caitlin and Brady were building a gorgeous house out at Brady's property called Sandstone Ridge. Brady had surprised Caitlin with it last summer, after he inherited the property from his late mother. A few years later than she'd intended, thanks to Brett, the man he'd thought had been his father up until recently. The basic house had been up and cladded before winter set in, and they were slowly finishing the inside as they could, with some tradesmen coming in to do the important stuff. She was so happy it was nauseating sometimes, but Liana was excited for her best friend.

After what she'd been through with her ex Abel, she deserved that happiness.

"The house is great! We got estimates back from the plumber today. With that settled, we should be able to move in by Spring! Can you believe it?"

Liana laughed and leaned against a sill of a window looking out into the parking lot. Trucks and rigs were coming and going, the bright January day glinting off chrome wheels and bumpers as they rattled past. It was cold, but at least with the sunshine it made it bearable. Soon enough they'd get a chinook and the snow would be gone. She couldn't wait.

"I can. Big party, right?" Liana replied, distracted by a shiny red transport hauler flinging gritty dust at the window as it trundled past.

"Of course. Listen, I have to run, but I wanted to call and offer you a Hail Mary if you wanted it. Have fun with Dermott."

"Fun. Here," Liana deadpanned.

"Yeah, like dates are supposed to be? How's that going anyway?" Caitlin replied, giggling as she said it.

"He's different. Not sure I am getting the vibe," Liana sighed. If he continued to be a smarmy prick like he was today, there would definitely be no third date.

"You mean he's not a West," Caitlin teased, her voice dripping with humour. "Oh, that's right! Tan is there today with Harry. Tell him dinner is at eight, okay?"

"Caitlin—"

"Okay, gotta go! Bye!" Caitlin chirped and hung up. Liana stared at her phone for a moment, and then burst into laughter. Of all people, Caitlin knew how confused her head was about that man, and she was needling her while on a date with someone else.

Like he would talk to her right now anyway. She was there with someone he obviously didn't get along with.

She made her way back towards the main hall, the drone of the auctioneer rattling at a million miles a second. How anyone knew what he was saying was beyond her. It was certainly a learned art form for both the man speaking and the people listening.

Dermott spied her and smiled as she stepped back down towards her seat. It was a nice smile and she wondered if she was being too harsh on him. No one was perfect, and if he was like other typical specimens of the male species, around other men he'd flex his manliness just like the dude beside him would. She shouldn't judge him for that. Competition between ranchers was likely a normal thing, and Tanner, well, he didn't exactly come off as a friend to everyone with his standoffishness and stoic personality.

Her gaze floated over the crowd, and like a magnet, settled on Tanner. Harry was with him, and they were the picture of concentration, steepled fingers, glancing at the bid board and back to the crowd almost like they were watching tennis volleys.

This must be West Line cattle being auctioned, because he wasn't turning his little white paddle in his hands like a fidget spinner like he was before. The auctioneer was raising the price quickly, she could at least tell that, and four or five people were waving their numbers around. Every time it went up, Tanner's jaw flexed and his eyes flicked back and forth one more time.

If he got a good price today, maybe it would make up for not snagging the bull he'd wanted? Would he be upset about losing to Dermott? She really didn't know him anymore, and even though she said she didn't care to, that little voice inside her always told her she was full of bullshit. He'd broken her damned heart, and in the following twelve or so years, they'd never reconciled what happened from either side of that terrible conversation in his truck the day they buried his mother.

But here he was, in her orbit again with Caitlin living at the ranch. They rarely spoke, and avoided each other where they could, and like it or not, messy feelings had surfaced about that man, and what he meant to her, both now, and in the past.

The auctioneer paused, and was waving his gavel between the two remaining bidders down closer to the pen the cows were packed into, mooing and headbutting each other. She held her breath. This looked tense and she bit her lip, the energy in the air getting to her.

"Damn," Dermott muttered. "These breakers are going to hit the high price for today."

"Breakers?" Liana asked, momentarily distracted. This world had slang that made no sense. Breakers, feeders, boners, triple A, broken-mouthed... it was all gobbeldygook that had floated over her head all morning, as Dermott had talked to other ranchers.

"Never mind your head on that, darlin'," he drawled and winked at her, then leaned over to the man beside him "He's going to get more than two bills per hundredweight and that is insane for those steers. Damn." The man grunted a reply, his eyes glued to the bidder board.

She thinned her lips as Dermott verbally patted her over the head. Liana glanced over at Tanner again, deciding to ignore his patronizing remark. She heard the auctioneer calling for last bid and when the gavel smacked down, the entire area broke into cheers and claps. Apparently that was, as Dermott had said, the high price for the day so far.

Tanner leaned back and let out one of his rare, heart-stopping smiles as he and Harry shook hands. He was truly devastating when he relaxed like that, and it caught her breath. She couldn't look away if she tried.

Dermott caught her staring. "He'll be happy with himself now. Prick."

Liana contemplated Dermott as the animosity rolled off of him. Was he really like this all the time? It was exhausting her already.

"What?" he snapped, catching her frowning at him.

"You do know my best friend is marrying his brother, right? They're good people, and he's part of that," she replied. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Of course. I didn't think there was any friendship between you two. He dumped you all those years ago, right?"

Liana sighed, slumping. Of course. Everyone in Brightside knew everybody's business. Dermott had gone to the same high school. He'd been in Brady's year, come to think of it. She was surprised, given Dermott's selfish aura, that he would remember something from so long ago, like that.

"High school was over a decade ago, Dermott. He was dealing with a lot of shit then," she said quietly.

"Well, you're here with me now, aren't you?" he said, and then put his arm around her, this time with a possessiveness that she didn't much like. His eyes shifted around the building, stopping on Tanner and Harry. As Tanner roved the crowd and his eyes stopped on them, Dermott tipped his hat off, turned to her, and kissed her, dipping her back in her seat.

Great. Was Dermott attracted to her at all, or was she here for him to show off to all his buddies? She pushed him off of her as discreetly as possible, and tried to cover up how annoyed she was with mock shyness. "Not here, Dermott."

"Live a little Liana. Might just find you like it," he chuckled, but backed off.

Tanner rose from his seat to follow Harry up the steps towards the back, and as he turned to follow, his eyes locked with hers again. Studying her like she was standing right next to him, he held her gaze a moment too long, the piercing glare invasive. Liana ducked her head to break the hold he had on her, her face heating, her stomach fluttering. He wound her up like that every damned time, her body betraying her with memories and arousal. She didn't want to feel that about him, but there it was, like always. Fuck.

Liana glanced back up through her eyelashes in time to see him settle his hat back on his head, tugging on the brim, as if he hadn't just mentally stripped her bare with a single look. He strode up the stairs two at a time, and she watched him go despite herself.

"Fucking hell this is going to be a long auction," she muttered to herself, and sat back on the bench, utterly frustrated with herself, her date, and that damned man.