Page 54 of Cowboy

“What’s the difference? It’s a sign of permanence,” Canyon stated as we drove to the Mountain Goat, a less touristy, more for locals spot owned by Otto Rossi. Speaking of permanence, though, Scarlett’s car was not parked by my truck despite the fact she’d been back.

“Just a quick beer,” I warn my brothers as we pull into the gravel lot of the bar. As Canyon is the driver, I trust him to exit us early tonight. Only as soon as we are crossing the lot, the crunch of running feet over gravel catches my attention, and before I can turn around, two arms wrap around me from behind. Two female arms.

“What the—”

“Bull, I haven’t seen you in forever,” Louisa Miller whines at my back. The truth about Louisa and me is I’ve known forever that Louisa had a crush on me. She wasn’t even subtle about it, and something told me to stay away from her. When I saw her that time in the tractor supply store, and she flirted hard, she’d somehow worked us into a dinner date. Eventually, I’d chickened out of dinner with Louisa, opting for a coffee date instead. After my one-night stand, the guys were pushing me to get back out there, and I’d proven I could do it—spend one night with a woman and walk away. However, I hadn’t really proven anything. Or maybe that the universe is talking, hinting that the one-night stand had more in store for me than one night. I hadn’t been able to forget Scarlett, and now we had months to learn about each other because she was having a kid.

We would be joined for eternity as parents. It was a commitment I separated from marrying her. But my fear was, if Scarlett left, another man would step in, sweep her off her feet, and want to take care of her and Sprout. I did not like that idea, not one bit.

“Hey. Louisa,” I stammer, working at the arms wrapped around me like a coiled rope. Instantly, I smell the alcohol wafting off her. She’d arrived with two friends, and I nod at them once I have Louisa free from me. One of her friends says they’ll head inside for a table.

“Just give us a second. I’ll be right in,” I tell Canyon, whose eyes narrow at me before leading Blade behind Louisa’s friends.

“Louisa, I’m sorry I didn’t call again.” It’s a long-overdue apology after cutting our coffee date short and ghosting her afterward. Caught up in Scarlett, I hadn’t given Louisa another thought. I’ve had a lot on my mind. Still, wanting to do the right thing, I needed to apologize for my behavior.

“You could make it up to me,” Louisa flirts, reaching for the button closure of my shirt and giving it a playful tug.

“Louisa, I’m with Scarlett.”

“After what she did to you?” Her playful expression shifts as if she’s fighting something distasteful in her mouth. She actually pouts, reminding me of her young age.

“Yes.” Despite what Scarlett has done to me, I’m still with her, if she’ll still have me. Cupping Louisa’s shoulders, I press her back from me again but quickly release her. Her eyes glance up at my face.

“Well, that happened fast.” The bitter undertone is not settling well with me. Louisa and I shared one coffee, and I don’t owe her an explanation about my complicated relationship with Scarlett.

“It was great to see you again,” I say, trying to remain polite while cutting off the conversation.

“If you’d ever like to get coffee again, or anything else. We could have a drink inside . . .” She points over her shoulder to the front door. Swaying on her feet, I’d say she might have had a few already.

“Louisa, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Coming here tonight suddenly feels like the worst idea, and I’d be turning on my boot heels for the truck if only I’d driven.

“Friendship hug, then,” she squeals. Throwing out her arms, she steps into my space and wraps them around my waist again. Natural instinct has me giving her a tepid pat on the back before looking up to find Scarlett watching us.

“Scarlett?” I did not see her car in the lot. Then again, I hadn’t thought to look. Releasing my arms from Louisa, she slides to my side, keeping her arms around my waist.

“Oopsy. She caught us,” Louisa mewls like a spoiled teen, and the color in Scarlett’s face turns to ash. She turns back for the door while I rip myself free of Louisa, no longer feeling sorry about that coffee date gone wrong.

“Scarlett,” I call out, following her retreating back. Once inside the dim-lit bar, my eyes need a second to adjust from the bright evening outside. Scanning the place, I easily find Scarlett by that gorgeous hair and step over to the booth where Rita sits across from her.

“That is not what it looked like,” I blurt.

“Uh-oh,” Rita mutters, lifting her cola and taking a long sip from the straw. She glances at Scarlett across the table, who is not looking up at me. Half-finished burgers rest on their plates. I’m interrupting their dinner, but I need to explain myself to Scarlett. Rita reaches for her purse. “I should give you two a minute.”

“Don’t go,” Scarlett whispers across the table to her friend. “I haven’t seen you in weeks.” Scarlett hasn’t seen her friend because she’s been with me, but right now, I don’t trust that she won’t run before I can say what needs to be said. Finally, Scarlett looks up at me, her face still washed of color.

“Just let us finish our meal. We can talk when I get home.”

Home. At least she still thinks of my place as her home.

I nod, biting my tongue as I turn for another booth two down from Scarlett and Rita, where my brothers sit. Practically throwing myself on the bench seat, I cup my head in my hands, and a beer slides between my arms.

“What the heck happened?” Canyon asks, and I give him the quick rundown of Scarlett seeing me with my arms around another woman.

“You know you don’t owe Scarlett anything,” Blade states, back on the screw Scarlett bandwagon. “It’s not like you’re married to each other.”

My arms fall to the table with such a sharp thud my beer wobbles in the glass. “We’re parenting partners.”

“What the hell is that?” Blade asks.