Page 79 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

Misty sniffled, and Link looked over to her. “When we do things together, we’re stronger.” He covered her hand with his. “You’re not alone anymore, sweetheart. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She nodded and wiped her face. “Okay, go back to eating your waffle. Give me a minute.”

Link hid his smile as he did that, looking away so he could look again when she said he could. He’d give Misty whatever she wanted. A minute, an hour, a whole day. “I’ll miss you while you’re gone, but I don’t want you thinkin’ you’re special or anything.”

Misty’s laughter filled his house, and Link had to have that every day for the rest of his life. He chuckled with her, glad she settled into eating beside him. He had more questions for her, but he figured now probably wasn’t the best time to ask her about her ideal wedding.

“Remember when I left town for a little bit? And you missed me so much, because I am special, and I called you all the time, because you’re special? Remember that?”

“Mm.”

“And when I got back, you threw me this big party with all my favorite things.”

“Those sour watermelon candies you like,” he said.

“Yeah, those,” she said, “And you had your aunt make cinnamon rolls, and remember how I was brave enough to dip them in the chili once I got back?”

“Yeah,” he said. “And remember how much you loved it? Now you won’t eat chili without a cinnamon roll.” He caught her smile as she nodded, her wavy hair bobbing as she did.

“And coconut rice crispy squares.”

“Brownies with a caramel swirl.”

Misty leaned her head against his bicep, and Link loved the softness between them. He loved spending time with her, dreaming about a future thing that hadn’t happened yet.

He simply loved her.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Misty zipped her suitcase closed and took a deep breath. Today would be a very long travel day, but for maybe the first time ever, she felt strong enough to go. Strong enough to face her past without wallowing in it. Strong enough to embrace the future, no matter how uncertain it seemed.

Janie had to work today, and Link had already texted her his farewells before heading up into the hills to do the round-up. He’d be gone all week too, and Misty couldn’t help feeling like her absence from Three Rivers was meant to be. She wouldn’t be able to see or talk to Link anyway.

At the same time, she desperately wanted to be able to call him tonight when she arrived in Beaumont. She had a hotel there, and then she’d attend Danny’s parole hearing in the morning. She wasn’t sure if she should be praying for his release or not. If he had to stay in jail, Misty could simply repack her suitcase, change her flight, and be back in Three Rivers on Tuesday.

If he got out, though, Misty had planned to spend the whole week away, doing whatever she needed to do to get Danny settled. “As if that can happen in a week,” she muttered to herself as she heaved her suitcase to the floor and extended the handle.

She drove herself to Amarillo. She boarded the plane. She put headphones in and distracted herself with games on her phone as the aircraft climbed to its cruising altitude. After landing in Houston, Misty collected her luggage and waited in line for her rental car.

She had a couple of hours of driving ahead of her, but Misty stopped to get something to eat first. Her stomach clenched around every bite of food, and she tapped out messages to Link she didn’t send. He wouldn’t get them anyway.

Looking around the fast-casual restaurant, Misty felt far from home. Such a thing made sense, of course, since she wasn’t from Houston and hadn’t spent a great deal of time here. She looked at other people like her—some younger, some older, some exactly her age—and she felt like a foreigner among her own people.

She wasn’t even sure why. All she knew was she wanted to get back to Three Rivers. When she’d first rolled into town, she’d started planning when she’d leave. Small towns just weren’t for her.

Perhaps she’d lived there too long now, or perhaps the wide highways and busy traffic had always bothered her, and she’d never admitted it to herself. Either way, Houston felt like one giant ball of noise and filth, and relief coursed through her when she put the city in her rearview mirror.

She took a few deep breaths. In, then out. In through her nose, where she held it, then slowly blew it out. “You don’t have to see him today,” she reminded herself. And it wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Danny. She did. She wanted to wrap him in her arms and promise him she’d get him out.

But she couldn’t promise that. She’d failed him on so many levels, and she just wanted him to know she hadn’t forgotten him. She’d tried her best. She still loved him.

The following morning, she arrived at the Beaumont facility where Danny had been incarcerated for the past four years. She stared at the bland building, having been here once before.

She kneaded the steering wheel, her courage failing her. Then, she simply went into some sort of robot mode. She opened the door, got out of the rental car, and headed for the building.

The parole room sat just past the check-in desk, and Misty waited her turn to be allowed in. She passed over ID, waited some more, and then got shown into the room with several others. She didn’t recognize anyone, not even Danny’s lawyer.

More waiting.

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