Page 14 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

He shut the door and faced her. “Whatever it is, I want to make it right.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Though it was true, it didn’t make what she had to say next any easier. “I’m the one who was being unrealistic when I begged you to stop riding broncs. It was, quite honestly, none of my business. I had no right to ask that of you, and I apologize for doing it.” What she really wanted to do right now was run back to her apartment and boohoo a thousand tears over her own stupidity.

He stared blankly at her for a moment. Then his expression grew sad. “Who told you I was returning to the circuit?”

“Nobody.” She shook her head at him. “I actually wasn’t sure of it until this very second.”

He reached up to slap a hand against the door.

She jumped at the sound but held her ground, lifting her chin and meeting his gaze squarely.

“I gave you my word,” he grated out the words. “Isn’t that worth something to you?”

She blinked in confusion. “You mean you’re not going back?”

“That’s exactly what I mean!” He glared at her for a moment before turning to pace the room. “Man, Noelle! You were the person who believed in me the most before this week. What changed that?” He swung in agitation back in her direction.

She spread her hands helplessly. “I follow the news. All your social media accounts.” She shook her head, trying to make sense of what he’d just told her. “The rodeo world is raving about having you back, and you’ve done nothing to set them straight. What was I supposed to believe?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Noelle.” His voice grew sarcastic. “Maybe I was expecting you to believe me.” He stabbed a callused finger against his chest.

Exhaustion swept through her. She hadn’t been sleeping well. “I should have. I’m sorry I didn’t.” She sank back against the door, splaying her palms against it for support.

As his gaze raked over her, the anger seemed to seep out of him. “I’m sorry, too.” With a heavy sigh, he lifted his hat and tossed it on his desk, running his left hand through his hair. “So, where did I go wrong? At what point did I lose your trust?”

“You didn’t.” She’d never before felt so exposed — like a tiny bug wiggling beneath a pin on a science project in middle school. “Clearly, I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I’m really, really, really sorry.” Just forgive me already so we can move on!

Her apology didn’t seem to phase him. He still looked utterly dejected. “Something made you doubt me. I’d like to know what it was.”

“Or maybe I was just letting my own stupid fears about your safety get the best of me.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “As your friend, it’s not even my place to feel that way. I?—”

“Are you for real?” The words exploded from him as he advanced on her again. “What happened to our friendship pact? Our accountability partnership?”

A painful chuckle escaped her. It ended on a sobbing note. She had to swallow hard to collect her emotions. “I guess I let the media hype get to me.”

He came to stand directly in front of her. “That’s all it is, Noelle. Hype. I couldn’t have prevented the news stations from blowing this up if I’d tried. They’re gonna sensationalize everything, because it’s what they do. It’ll die down. Eventually.” He spread his hands. “When something bigger hits the headlines.”

She smiled wryly at him. “It’s not going to be easy to come up with a bigger headline than what you did.” Her gaze flickered to his bionic arm. “You and your superhero arm.”

He made a scoffing sound, running his hand through his hair again, sending the sandy blond waves in all directions. “There’s already an element out there claiming it may have given me an unfair advantage.”

“They’re so wrong!” Without thinking, she reached out to touch his mechanical wrist. “You were doing everything you could to avoid using your right arm, even when you jumped off the horse.” She bit her lip at the memory. “For a moment there, I couldn’t breathe. Only pray.” Mostly inside her head, since she was having so much trouble breathing.

He turned his mechanical hand over to lace his fingers loosely through hers. “So, are we good now?”

Not really. She was still wallowing in shame. “I still had no right to try to inject myself with both elbows into your career decision. It really was just my fear talking.” She forced a playful note into her voice. “I hereby release you from all previous oaths and pledges concerning bronc riding.”

His mechanical fingers tightened around hers. “Even though you were right?”

Her lips parted in confusion.

His upper lip curled at her expression. “Yep. I talked to my brothers about it. Then we called my doctor. Seems like everyone is in agreement that riding broncs is a bad idea for an amputee. Sure, I could do it. I proved that the other night. But that doesn’t mean it’s wise to keep doing it for the long haul.”

She tipped her face up to his. “So you’re going to make ranch managing a permanent thing, huh?”

His expression brightened. “Yes and no.” He walked backward, tugging her after him. Without turning around, he felt along his desktop for the open white envelope she’d seen lying there earlier. “We’ve been receiving invitations like this all week long. This one is, by far, the best one.” He held the envelope out to her.

Mystified, she let go of his hand to accept it and remove the folded letter nestled inside. The address typed on it made her gasp, “Oh, my goodness! It’s from the Castellanos!” What could they possibly want from Nash? Angel and Willa Castellano owned an enormous dinner theater in Pinetop that was quickly becoming one of the most sensational tourist traps in the west. People traveled from all over to attend their shows and sample their unique five-star dinner entrees. The most popular show yet was their new indoor rodeo. It had been running for a little over a year.

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