Page 59 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

He felt like he’d been thrown back in time twelve months, when he’d sat down outside the coffee truck with Misty and asked her for her number the first time.

“You’re looking at me like that again,” Misty said, stepping out of his arms.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” She brushed her hair over her ear and took her scissor kit over to the table. She opened it and added, “Come on, now. I’m not going to do anything that can’t be fixed.”

Link followed her over to the table and pulled a chair out. “All right,” he said. “I trust you.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah.” He looked back to her, over his shoulder. “Hey, remember when we went to church together and then went to the End of Summer picnic? And we danced and laughed and maybe even saw some summer fireflies?”

“Fireflies?” Misty asked. “Really?”

“It’s been a bit rainy and cooler,” Link said. “They like that, and I—ahem—read an article that said there have been a lot of them in the Amarillo area lately.”

“Then, yes,” Misty said as she snapped on the clippers. “I totally remember going to church with you and then attending the End of Summer picnic where we saw a whole herd of fireflies.”

Link burst out laughing, glad he could still do that with her. She giggled with him, which also helped him settle. He said, “You forgot the dancing.”

“I never forget dancing,” she said as the first tendrils of his long hair started to fall to the floor.

“Fireflies don’t come in herds.”

“They come in something.”

“It’s called a glow.”

“You’re making that up.”

“I am not,” Link said.

“That’s so…perfect,” she said, the smile he couldn’t see sitting in her tone.

“I mean, it could be a swarm, but I liked glow better as a kid.”

“Did you have a lot of questions about fireflies then?” Her teasing tone wasn’t lost on him, but Link nodded slightly.

“After my parents died, my momma told me I could always feel their love in the sweet light of a glow of fireflies.” He gave himself a little shake. “I didn’t remember that until now. And with the article….” He trailed off, not sure why these memories, this part of his life, had come forward now.

“That’s amazing,” Misty said quietly. She kept working on his hair, and Link did his best not to shiver at every touch of her delicate fingers along his neck, his scalp.

To distract himself, he prayed. Dear God in Heaven, he started. He wasn’t sure how to continue, and all of his prayers in the past fortnight had been similar. He could start, but he wasn’t sure where he was going. He wasn’t sure what he deserved, and he wasn’t sure what God would grant and what He wouldn’t.

So, because his parents had taught him to express thanks for what he had and spend less time asking God for what he wanted.

I’m trying to forget myself, he thought. Misty’s touch faded away as Link escaped into his own mind. I really am. I want to be a good man, and I’m trying to put my head down and work every day. I’m grateful for this life I have. For this ranch, and so many good men to teach me.

He closed his eyes, the images of his parents, his siblings, his aunts and uncles filling his mind, overwhelming him.

I’m grateful to be a Glover, he prayed. Bless me to be the best one I can, and— He cut off the thoughts, because he’d just asked for something, and he wanted this prayer to be outward focused.

It wasn’t about what he wanted or needed. It was about what he’d already been given.

I’m grateful for the time I have with Misty Granger, he prayed. Several weeks ago, I told You I’d take whatever time I could get with her, and I’ve lost sight of that. I’m trying to get back to it, so thank You for putting her in my life.

Thank You for good parents, and an amazing horse, and the two dogs who follow me everywhere.

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