Page 30 of A Cowboy in the Streets

“It’s called throwing me under the bus, Chloe.”

She looked at me, her green eyes wide and far too knowing. “Are you saying you don’t want to talk about him, James?”

I narrowed my own eyes back at her despite the words threatening to burble out of my stupid mouth. Because maybe I did want to talk about my smoking hot boss.

Hannah’s gaze ping-ponged between us, her face scrunched up like she was trying not to laugh. “Did you know women have been meeting like this for centuries? Communities would form sewing circles for charitable causes, or sometimes less formally, just to make a quilt or something for a new mother or a family in need. That was the main point of a sewing circle. But the other important part was to give them a reason to sit and talk to friends.”

It was the way she said friends, with that same eager hopefulness I had noted earlier, that made me say, “Okay, let me tell you about my boss, because you will not believe what he called me.”

And when Hannah and Chloe leaned closer, I felt a little shimmy of giddiness in my chest. Aspen Springs wasn’t home. Not yet. Half my heart and a good portion of my soul were still yearning for Blue Skies.

But I was feeling more settled in my choice to be here every day.

Chapter 12

Adam

Even without the pink cowboy boots, I recognized the legs sticking out from under the SUV as James’s. For one, the SUV was hers. For another, those legs had managed to imprint so brightly on my brain that I could trace every curve of muscle and sinew with my eyes closed.

I parked the four-wheeler behind her SUV and approached, noting the lone decal in the rear window. I hope something good happens to you today, spelled out in cheerful bubbly letters. I shook my head. Of course she did.

“I am calm.” Her voice floated out from under the car, enunciating every syllable with measured precision. But one leg lifted and then lowered with force, her sneakered heel bouncing against the dirt. A foot stomp if I ever saw one.

I grinned.

“I don’t…” She heaved a sigh. Her hips danced as she wiggled her torso out from under the car. I leaned my hip against the front bumper and waited. “I don’t—”

Her eyes met mine. Shiny and wet. Like she was on the verge of tears.

And…no. I couldn’t handle that.

Absolutely fucking not.

With a low growl, I swiped the phone from her hand, ignoring her gasp of surprise. I kept my gaze narrowed on her face as I snapped, “This is Adam Hale. James can’t talk right now. She needs both hands for the oil change she’s working on.”

There was a pause. And then a smooth voice said, “Well, Adam Hale, this is Carl Campos of Blue Skies Farm.”

Her dad. Oh, shit.

James didn’t look like she wanted to cry anymore. She had that look of someone watching a person fall flat on their ass. Like she wanted to laugh but was waiting to make sure there weren’t any broken bones first.

I stared at her. She stared back, eyebrows winged up as if to say, now what? Clearly, she wasn’t going to save me. I should never have grabbed the phone from her. I should’ve minded my own business and walked away. But seeing that almost-smile shimmering in her eyes where tears had been only a second ago? I didn’t regret it.

I cleared my throat. “What can I do for you, sir?”

He chuckled. “I’m glad you asked. We have an important event coming up. I was just telling James that Lodestar did just fine without her before she joined your team and surely you can spare her for a week.”

I ground my teeth so hard I could feel the tension in my jaw. He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t honestly be telling her that she was unimportant while in the same breath asking her for a favor.

But the way James’s gaze faltered told me that was exactly what he was doing.

And again, absolutely fucking not. She might be short, but no way was I going to let this turnip of a man make her feel small. I didn’t care who he was.

It took me a good second or two to wrangle my rage enough to unclench my jaw and speak. “Unfortunately, you’re wrong on both counts. We weren’t doing fine without her and no, we can’t spare her a week. James isn’t available to help with your event. Good luck figuring out how to do fine without her. I think you’ll need it. She’ll call you back when she has a minute.”

“Probably not,” James muttered as I hung up the phone and handed it back to her. She stared at it a moment and then pushed to her feet, tucking the phone into the pocket of her denim cutoffs. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I can’t believe he’s asking you to come back. You’ve only been here two weeks.”

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