Page 53 of Home to the Cowboy

Cooper knocked and opened the door. Daisy was beside herself. Laughing, Cooper bent down to pat her.

“Coop,” Dylan said. “Want a beer?” He opened the fridge.

“Yeah, thanks. How have you been?”

Dylan handed Cooper his bear. “I’m fine.”

Cooper pulled out a chair and sat down. “Sit, coz, we need to talk.”

“What’s up with all the talking?” Dylan muttered but sat down anyway.

“You’re miserable,” Cooper said.

Fed up, Dylan took a swig of his beer. “I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t be. You miss June. You think about her all the time. Trust me, I know the feeling. I nearly let Rose slip through my fingers because of my own baggage.”

Dylan gave him a skeptical look. “You have baggage?”

“Everyone does. If you keep holding on to the past, though, you’ll always carry it with you. Yes, your childhood sucked, but you’re here now, with family. You’re the one who has to decide whether you’re going to be stuck in the past or whether you will move forward. You have feelings for June, even if you don’t want to admit it. And yes, I know you’ve only known her for a couple of weeks—it doesn’t matter. Talk to her, text her, call her, tell her about your day, what you’ve done, what book you’ve read, ask about her life. See whether you can figure out if what you feel is the real thing or whether it has just been hormones.”

“Is that what you did?” Dylan asked.

Chuckling, Cooper shook his head. “No, I spoke to Walker.”

Frowning, Dylan glared at his cousin. “Walker’s been dead for a few years.”

Cooper nodded. “I went to his grave and just talked. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t there, I could get things off my chest and somehow”—with a faint smile, he shook his head—“he heard me. I’m here for you, coz. Let me know when you’ve figured out what it is you want.” With a last sip from his beer, Cooper got up. “What you can’t do is be as cranky as you’ve been over the last week. Everyone has been complaining. Do something before a fight breaks out.” With a wave, he walked out.

Dylan was still looking for words when he heard Cooper’s truck driving away.

Well, hell. His mind racing, he got up and paced the kitchen. He had been miserable and had been lashing out at just about everything. Hell, he couldn’t stand to be around himself, how could anyone else? His mind went over Cooper’s words again.

Text her, call her and say what, damn it? With his cousin’s words racing through his mind, he continued pacing, Talk to her, text her, call her, tell her about your day, what you’ve done, what book you’ve read, ask about her life. He could do that.

He knew June grew up in foster care, he knew what she did for a living, he’d seen her with the kids in the library, he knew she could make a hell of a meal, he’d tasted her food, he knew he loved her body, the way she responded to him … Sighing, he rubbed his neck. But okay, there were a lot of things he didn’t know about her.

Maybe if he knew more about her, he might feel differently about her.

*

Closing the door of her apartment behind her Friday afternoon, June kicked off her high heels and took out the pins in her hair. Shaking it loose, she walked to her room. That was so much better. She’d left Marietta only a week ago even though at times it felt much longer.

While she was at the office, she kept busy. She’d taken on more clients and would probably have to work at night as well to finish her work, but at least when she was working, she was focusing on something else than missing Dylan. But oh, my goodness, the nights!

Clutching the blue stone on the chain around her neck, she closed her eyes. She missed his touch, his big, warm hands all over her body, the sound of his voice, his body next to hers. Would this longing ever go away?

Maybe she should go for a run. Her appetite was gone, she wasn’t sleeping properly, it couldn’t go on like this. As she was taking out her running gear, her phone bleeped.

Her heart leaped before it settled down with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone. It was a message from Dylan with a photo of Daisy looking so cute, she wanted to cry.

“I like action and crime movies. A bit of sci-fi but not too weird. And don’t laugh, but I also loved Titanic. Daisy says hi. We miss you.”

Stunned, she sat down on her bed. Where did this come from? She read his text over and over. Why had he sent this to her? Why tell her what movies he liked?

She phoned Abby.

“I was about to call you …” Abby said.