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A heartbeat of silence settled over the kitchen. Melody nodded.
“I can think of someone who looks at you like that already.”
I blinked in surprise and turned to stare at her.
“Who?”
“Beau Collins.”
I snorted.
“You’ve got to be kidding. He does not.”
“Oh, yes, he does. You simply refuse to see it because you can’t let bygones be bygones. Just because he pulled your hair when you were eleven years old doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”
I frowned.
“Whose side are you on anyway? I have every reason to hate him, and I don’t intend to stop any time soon.”
Melody shook her head with a sigh and gave up, returning to her sewing. Her words nagged at me though. I couldn’t deny the fact that there was lingering…tension…between Beau and me. Whenever he was around, my stomach flip-flopped, and my skin got all hot and prickly.
I grabbed a spatula and stirred the simmering peaches on the stove. The comforting smell of cinnamon and brown sugar soothed my racing heart.
“He’s not a good fit for me, Melody,” I said.
“Why?”
“Do you really think Beau is the type of man to stick around? He’s dated almost every woman in this town, and never for more than a few months at a time before he’s moving on. I won’t be another notch in his bed post. I want someone who stays. Beau doesn’t do that.”
Even though I wish he did, a small, quiet voice whispered in the back of my mind.
Maybe I was jealous. Maybe I was tired of seeing Beau date everyone else except me. But when he teased, when he asked for that kiss I refused to give him, there was always this little jolt of fear that curled around my heart.
If I gave in and kissed Beau, that would be the beginning of the end. The countdown would start. It was only a matter of time—a few weeks? a month or two?—before Beau’s head would be turned by someone else and I became just another broken heart in his wake.
I wished my big, stupid crush on him would go away.
“Well, who knows?” Melody put in. “You might meet someone at the rodeo next weekend.”
I managed a small smile of gratitude at her optimism. And the change of subject.
“Or I might be single forever. The spinster aunt who sweeps your children away for a few hours, stuffs them with sugary cookies, and returns them to you, full of boundless energy.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Melody replied lightly.
“Oh, I’ll prove it. I’m going to turn your kids into the wildest little sugar monsters you’ve ever seen. Auntie Rory’s cookies will be a staple in your house, just you wait and see. If you try to feed them carrot sticks and celery, you will have a riot on your hands. Full scale mutiny, mark my words.”
Melody laughed and the conversation shifted away from Beau. Since it was a small town, I couldn’t avoid him forever. I had to face him around every corner, reigniting my crush all over again when I got a look at his infuriatingly warm brown eyes, dancing with amusement at my expense. Fighting the heat in my body when he stood a little too close. Quelling the urge to reach up and brush his hair away from his forehead when he removed his hat.
Someday, I hoped I would be able to put him in my rear-view mirror and forget all about him. I couldn’t wait for the moment when Beau Collins was nothing more than a bad memory.
Chapter Three
Beau
As the opening night of the rodeo approached, the anticipation in the bunkhouse of High Plains Ranch gradually began to build. The youngest cowboy among us was the worst—twenty-two-year-old Cody, with the energy and enthusiasm of a puppy.
“My buddy, Jason, was a bull riding champ in Denver last year,” he said. “He had girls flirting with him around every corner. Before that, couldn’t get a girl to save his life.”
