Page 90 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

He blinked at her, pure surprise emanating from him. “We’re going around the city?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “You can keep your hat on, so don’t worry.”

“All right.” He set his food on the side table and took both of her hands. He stood and wrapped his arms around her. “He can come, love. I don’t care.”

“Nope,” she said, stepping out of his arms. “Danny, we’re going back to Three Rivers tomorrow night. You can’t stay in my apartment alone, so you’ll need to find somewhere to live in the next twenty-four hours—and that includes an amazing, furnished-and-ready cowboy cabin at Shiloh Ridge.”

“Misty.”

“I’m just saying it’s an option.” His only option right now, but that didn’t need to be said out loud, so Misty didn’t say it.

“They won’t have any airplane tickets left,” he grumbled. “Not one we can afford, at least.”

Misty looked at Link, and Link looked at Misty. She knew he’d pay whatever required if Danny wanted to go to Three Rivers with them, and neither of them had to say a word.

“Ready, love?” he asked, taking her hand.

“Ready,” she said, and she let Link lead her out of her own apartment. She hadn’t anticipated him being the one to convince Danny to come to Three Rivers, but as the door closed behind him, she was fairly sure he’d done just that.

“You’re going to have to stop kissing me,” Link murmured just before he touched his mouth to Misty’s and kissed her again. They’d been doing that for a while, and Misty did need to get back to her apartment—and her brother.

“I don’t want to,” Misty said, but Link broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.

“I don’t want to go another week without seeing you,” he whispered.

“But you will,” she said. “Next spring, when you drive the cattle up into the hills. And next fall, when you bring them back.”

Link smiled, and Misty enjoyed the close-up beauty of it.

“But I’ll hate every minute of it.”

“You love being a cowboy.”

He sighed. “Yeah.” He pulled away and touched his keycard to the sensor on his hotel room door. “Hey, Misty?”

She toyed with her keys, not wanting to make the drive back to her place in the dark. “Yeah?”

“I love you, too.”

Her smile spread across her face, and she turned back and threw her arms around him. Kissing him, she said, “I love you, too.” She pulled away, suddenly feeling more serious. “Thank you for your help with Danny.”

“Do you really think he’ll come to Three Rivers?”

She nodded. “If I remember him from a few years ago, then yes. He’s going to come with us.”

“All right,” he said. “I’ll call my daddy tonight and make sure everyone knows.”

“Will it really be okay?” Her worry rose again, and Misty just wanted Link to hold her and tell her everything would be fine. She also didn’t want to share him with Danny, and that selfishness made a stitch of guilt weave through her.

“I didn’t say anything that was untrue,” Link said. “The ranch always needs good men, and Cutter really does need a roommate to be happy. I think it’ll be fine, love.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” she said, stepping back. Fear accompanied her a few steps away, and then she spun back to Link. “Baby, what if he’s not a good man? What if he hates Cutter, or Cutter hates him?”

The last scenario was the most likely, if Misty was being honest. She wrung her hands around and around while Link considered her. “What if you have to fire him?”

He took a breath and closed the gap between them. He played with her fingers, gently pulling them apart and calming them. “My daddy used to say this: we’ll cross any bridges that need to be crossed when we get to them.”

Misty nodded, though her stomach still stormed and buzzed and stung with biting ants.

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