Page 37 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

“Link.” She reached up and brushed her fingers along the longer curls of hair that hung down from his cowboy hat. “Of course.” She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture, but it wasn’t the brightness she’d seen previously.

His nerves definitely shone through, but he turned and faced his parents. “Let’s do this.”

“It’s just your parents,” she said. “I met them at the wedding.”

“Sort of,” he muttered. “And it’s a big deal to me, Misty.” He looked at her as they kept walking toward the group of adults—not just his parents—who’d gathered on the fringes of the bonfire’s heat. “It’s why we broke up last time. This is what I wanted to do, and we’re doing it before we even go out.”

“You’ve got to stop worrying about when things happen,” she said. “There’s no timeline for how a relationship is supposed to go.” Plus, they’d been out before. He wasn’t a complete stranger the way he’d been when he’d sat down at the table outside the coffee truck.

Several of the Glovers saw Link and Misty approaching, and they seemed to stop talking mid-sentence. “Stop staring,” someone hissed, but Misty didn’t see anyone’s mouth move.

“Hey,” Link said. “Everyone, I wanted to introduce you to Misty Granger. She’s staying in Cabin Five for a bit, until things with her apartment get sorted.” He smiled down at her, and Misty caught sight of a glimmer of the Link she got when they were alone. “We’re seeing each other again.”

“It’s so great to be here,” Misty said, really meaning it. “This place is so nice. Link’s told me a lot about it, but there’s nothing like seeing it.”

“We’ll start closest to you,” Link said. “This here’s Aunt Willa. I think you probably met her on Monday.”

“We did,” Willa said. “From a distance.” She wore a warm smile, and Misty’s heartbeat cartwheeled through her chest.

“I love your sermons,” Misty said, a bit star-struck to be standing here with her. “You always seem to strike something in my soul that needs to be awakened.”

No one said anything, and Misty looked down the row. “And Cactus,” she said. “We met outside by the horses.”

He simply glared back at her, and Misty wondered if he ever smiled. Willa nudged him and said, “Say hello. It’s not her fault you didn’t get your way with the desserts.”

“Hello, Misty,” Cactus said, and there appeared a smile. His bright blue eyes crinkled, and oh, he was charming and charismatic when he brought that thing out.

“Beside him is my aunt Ida,” Link said. “Her husband is a cop, but I’m not sure where he is.” Link looked around while Misty shook hands with Ida.

“You’re Etta’s twin,” Misty said.

Next to her, Link’s daddy chuckled. “She loves being introduced that way.”

“I didn’t introduce her that way,” Link said and Misty followed up immediately with, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant—” She looked at Link for help, because she’d already made a blunder here.

“I met Etta the other day, at the luncheon, and you look like her. I was just verbalizing the mental connection I’d made. I’m sorry.”

A beat of silence filled the entire world, and then several people started laughing. Misty wasn’t sure if she should join them or burst into tears, and she squeezed Link’s hand hard. He hadn’t burst into laughter, but he definitely wore a happy grin. A golden retriever grin.

“Hey, relax,” he said. He lifted his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Ida doesn’t care at all. She knows she’s Etta’s twin, and she knows Etta meets most people before her.”

“Why’s that?” Misty asked.

“Because she lives down in town, and Etta lives up here.” Link glanced to his father, and he said, “Daddy, this is Misty. Misty, my father, Bear Glover.” He didn’t stumble over any of the words, but Misty thought of him as a little, tiny boy. Three years old. Without a mother or a father.

How much could he remember? Anything?

She remembered too much of her childhood, and she determined she’d ask Link later as she stepped toward his daddy. “Link has told me all the best things about you,” she said as he gave her a quick Texas-style greeting. A fast hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

“Then you guys must not talk much about me,” Bear said, his smile healthy and happy on his face.

“Daddy,” Link said, shaking his head. “And you’ve met my momma, but Momma, this is Misty. Misty, my momma.”

She took a moment to watch the love as it rolled across Link’s features, and then she focused on Sammy.

“You don’t have to call me Momma,” she said, her gaze still on Link too. “My name is Sammy.”

Link’s cowboy boots shuffled along the gravel, but he didn’t speak.

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