Page 30 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

CHAPTER 7: FRIENDSHIP PACT ADDENDUM

Brady angled his head at the passenger door of his truck. “It’s unlocked.”

“In that case…” Noelle hurried around to the driver’s side to open his door first.

He was busy tucking the tall stack of styrofoam boxes beneath his chin to free up a hand.

“I got you, boss man.” She was surprised how easy it was to slip back into the light, cheerful banter they’d had between them before…

Before. What a loaded word it was! So much had happened since then. So many good things and so many bad things. So much happiness and so much heartache.

Instead of thanking her, Brady scowled ferociously at her from beneath the brim of his Stetson. “You trying to get me killed?”

“Whoa!” She winced playfully as she sauntered back to the passenger side of the truck. “You’re even crankier than I remember. Contrary to popular belief, a little kindness never killed anyone.”

He climbed inside the truck with a gusty exhale and settled the boxes of food between them on the seat. “Pretty sure your boyfriend’s glare is peeling off my outer layer of skin.”

Her mouth fell open. “Nash Carson is not my boyfriend. Why does everyone keep assuming that?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Brady growled as he yanked on his seatbelt and started the motor. “Maybe because he wants to be?”

“Get out of town!” She reached blindly for her own seatbelt while cradling the beverage box between her legs. “Seriously, though. He and I are just friends. Really good friends. I like him. I trust him. He’s great. Can we move on?”

“I don’t know.” Brady put the truck in reverse and lurched backward so quickly that he had to slap a hand on top of the food boxes to keep them from toppling over.

You don’t know what? Out of sheer reflex, she reached for the boxes at the same time. Her hand landed on top of his. “Sorry!” She yanked it back as if she’d been scalded.

“That! That’s what I’m talking about.” He gripped the wheel so hard with his left hand that his knuckles turned a knobby white. “Once upon a time, you and I were a team. We trained horses together and did a decent job of running a ranch together. You, me, my sister, and some of the best ranch hands on the planet.” He shook his head in frustration. “We shared drinks, snuck bites from each other’s sandwiches, and finished each other’s sentences. Then we somehow got our wires so crossed that you left town without a backward glance. I would do anything to fix that, Noelle. I just don’t know how.”

Their conversation was treading such dangerous territory that her hand crept to her cell phone in her back pocket. Her first thought was to text an SOS to Nash, but that wouldn’t be fair to either him or Brady. Though rehashing the past might slash her heart to ribbons, maybe this was her chance to finally clear the air between her and Brady. It sure sounded like that’s what he was trying to do.

“I’m sorry for how I left.” She looked out the window, not sure where to even begin. “I really am.” That was probably the best place to start.

“I don’t want an apology, Noelle. I just want to know what I did to lose your trust.”

“You didn’t!” Her head swung back in his direction. “Listen, boss man. I don’t exactly rush forward to open the door for just any ol’ guy.”

“Cute.”

“I mean it. And I don’t offer to backfill horse training duties for just any ol’ guy either.” Though he hadn’t precisely asked her to do anything of the sort, she wanted it to be clear that she didn’t mind helping out.

“You didn’t hesitate to do it for Nash,” he pointed out. “Why?”

“Because he needed me worse than you did at the time.”

“I get that he was fighting for his life. I do, but?—”

“He had nobody,” she interrupted. “That’s why we clicked. I know what it’s like to be alone in this world, and so does he.” She glanced out the window again. “It’s hard to explain that to someone like you, Brady.”

“Someone like me?” He didn’t sound too happy about her statement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have everything, Brady. You have parents who love you, a wife who’s your perfect match, a sister who adores you to pieces, the world’s greatest brother-in-law, an absolutely precious niece and nephew, and another one on the way. Y’all are like your own little tribe. If the rest of the world went up in smoke, you’d still have each other.”

He snorted. “Pretty sure if something that disastrous hit the globe, we’d all go up in smoke together.”

“Focus, boss man,” she snapped. “I’m trying to make a point here.”

“Well, hurry up, because we’re about to be back at the ranch, and Shelly’s gonna be wanting her pancakes yesterday.”

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