The Alpha King’s Rejected Mate
Chapter 5

SNOW

Friday rolled around quickly, and I was excited. Tyler was playing at Dotty’s and I’d meant it when I said that I was going to go see what he sounded like. He was different than a lot of the guys I had met in this town. Tyler was more of the sweet type, a singer, poet. It felt like we were supposed to meet each other. I had a feeling there was something special about him. I didn’t even know if he was any good, but I had really built him up in my head, thinking that he was a big deal. Maybe it was simply because I wanted him to be.

Jessica came with me. She was one of the only other girls that worked at the Pullers Ranch, and we had become fast friends. It was a lot easier to be friends with someone who understood me and what I was going through. We both had intimidating bosses and we both lived in a world that seemed to be made for men far more then it was made for us. I didn’t tell her about the instant crush I had on Tyler, just that there was a new singer at Dotty’s who had just came back from Nashville. She agreed to go, and I was going to pick her up, as well as another girl, Tara, who wanted to come with. Being around guys all the time was daunting, so the idea of a girls’ night out was definitely better than anything else I’d done in a while.

Jessica told me there were a lot of people who were going to see Tyler tonight. Apparently, a few years back, he had been a big deal. She asked me if I knew much about Tyler, and I told her that I didn’t.

Tara had seen Tyler in person at Dotty’s before. She practically gushed about him, and it annoyed me a little bit. I wanted that connection I felt to be special. The last thing I needed was every girl in town feeling that way about Tyler.

When we got to Dotty’s, I saw a whole lot more girls than usual. A lot of them were talking about how they were so in love with Tyler. I don’t know if I was in love, but there was definitely some l**t there. I had a feeling this night was going to be a lot different than I how saw it playing out in my head. Maybe I shouldn’t even be here. I was feeling silly now.

“Jessica, have you ever seen it so busy here before?” I asked my friend. I couldn’t believe how many people were crammed into the little bar. There wasn’t even anywhere to sit. Granted, it was Friday night, the busiest night of the week, but this was ridiculous. Could it be because of Tyler? He must have been here before I arrived. I would have remembered someone like Tyler. He was so different than all the other guys I was around on a daily basis.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this before.” She looked over at Tara. “Who is this guy again?”

Tara just smiled and nodded towards the stage. “You are about to replace out why everybody is here. Trust me, he is something else. Makes you fall in love the first time you hear him sing. I envy you.” She looked like she was going to swoon.

I heard the strum of a guitar before he started singing and thought I was going to swoon as well. He really did sound amazing.

There was just something in the way he was singing the lyrics, the deep timbre of his voice. It all came together to make me shiver. I was starting to see that there was a reason he was so popular in town. Tyler was handsome, and watching him perform made him even cuter. I knew that there was something special about him, something in the way we had smiled at each other. I wanted him to see that I noticed.

There were so many people that I knew I was going to get lost in the crowd. It would be hard to be seen with all these other women around. I didn’t know what I had been expecting, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get it.

I was worried about nothing, though, because halfway into the second song, he looked right at me and gave me a big smile. There were several girls around me that were calling out like he was looking at them, but I knew better. Our eyes locked and a rush of desire burned through me. It was like he was singing directly to me.

After he was done with his set, a surge of people went to the stage to get closer to Tyler. I wanted to go see him, tell him how great I thought he was, but at the same time I didn’t want to be one of so many in a sea of faces. But considering that he had personally invited me, I felt like I should at least go say hi.

Jessica and Tara were talking about how great of a concert it was, so I slipped off to the back to see if I could even get to Tyler. Someone was standing outside the door of his dressing room, thanking everybody and telling them to leave. When there was a little bit of space, I asked if I could see Tyler.

He started to tell off like he had told everybody else, but then asked me what my name was. When I told him, he said Tyler said I could see him, but nobody else.

I felt on top of the world in that moment. It was silly, the whole idea of fighting other women for a man I’d just met, but I wanted him. He made me feel special by giving me special access like this. All those other beautiful girls and he wanted to see me? How else was I going to feel?

I knocked with a little apprehension, unsure of what I was going to say to him. I was questioning everything and feeling like a fool now. What was I doing there?

The door opened and there he was, standing in front of me, with a big smile on his face. “Snow, I’m so happy you showed up. I didn’t know if you would.”

I shook my head. “I would have been crazy to miss it.”

“What do you mean?”

I chuckled. “I saw all of your groupies trying to get in. Why aren’t you letting them in, Tyler?”

He waved off my question like the last thing he wanted to talk about was his groupies. I found that hard to believe, considering that most men would be perfectly happy with that sort of thing. Why was Tyler different? I didn’t even have proof that he was, but it felt like it.

“Why don’t we get out of here and have a drink, talk about what we are going to do to each other?”

I didn’t know what to say. Was he being serious?

“Come on, Snow, it’s just one drink.”

There was a small part of me screaming not to trust anything the man had to say. He seemed too good to be true. I worried Tyler was going to end up being the same way as all the other men in my life I’d deemed too good to be true.

“Okay, Tyler, how do we get out of here without you being mobbed by your fans?”

That made him smile. “Let’s go out the back so that it’s just the two of us.”

It felt a little bit like an adventure, or like we were doing something naughty that we weren’t supposed to be doing. We couldn’t go to the bar because that’s where everybody was, so we ended up getting wine from the only gas station in town and drinking at the abandoned fairgrounds. I told him I couldn’t stay out too late and he promised to have me home before midnight.

Someone was waiting up for me when I got into the bunkhouse. I couldn’t see who was sitting there in the darkness, but the voice told me who it was immediately.

“You were out late tonight, Snow.”

I put my hand on my chest at the shock. “Dutch! You scared the hell out of me!”

He scoffed. “You scare too easy. What are you doing coming in so late at night?” He looked at me like I owed him an accounting of my comings and goings.

“I didn’t think that I had a curfew like a child. As long as I get up at six o’clock and tend to the horses and make sure the cattle are taken care of, what does it matter when I come in or what I am doing when I am away from here?” I asked pointedly, feeling confrontational, which I never was.

Dutch had never questioned me like this before. Even though he had always been there for me and helped me out more than I can say, it didn’t mean he had a right to tell me when and where I could go, and who I could go with. But then, he said something that made me feel bad for jumping on him like that.

“I was worried about you, Snow. You not coming back at a decent hour is unusual for you, so I started to worry that something had gone wrong. I’m glad that wasn’t the case.”

“Are you trying to make me feel bad?” It was a serious question.

He shook his head. “No, you just seem a little on edge. You should probably get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I didn’t want to fight, especially when it didn’t seem like it was a fair fight to begin with.

My head was a little busy because of the wine and the company I’d had. Tyler was a blast to be around, and maybe I just didn’t want Dutch to see what was clearly written on my face. I felt really good, and it seemed like Dutch was trying to make me feel guilty about having a life of my own. And why did I sort of feel a little guilty about it all? What was there to feel guilty about? I was just having fun. I was single and it was nice to be around a guy I didn’t work with. One of my personal rules was to not get involved with anybody from work, so that didn’t leave me a lot of options.

Maybe Tyler was the guy I had been looking for. He was charming and there was something inexplicable that drew me to him. There was just something so incredibly different about Tyler. I was anxious to replace out what those differences were.