Page 40 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

Her heart fluttered, and she frowned to quash it. Okay, so maybe she was starting to see why some women liked him. The man had a certain appeal. A certain amount of dangerous appeal. She had zero desire to get sucked into falling under the spell of a handsome man. Not again.

“There. What did you just think of?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You just frowned. I want to know why.”

“That’s a little forward of you.”

“Is it?” He leaned against the doorframe. “See, I don’t really know what it is that I’ve done to upset you, but it’s clear that I’ve done something wrong, and I wish you’d tell me what it is.”

Her stomach clenched. What was she going to do with a challenge put so bluntly? Everything he’d done seemed so trivial now. How could she explain in a way that didn’t make her appear like a petty child?

“Whatever it is I did, I didn’t mean to upset you, and I’m sorry,” he said softly.

His apology, with that note of sincerity that made her think he actually meant it, met her own remorse, which spilled out to say, “I’m sorry, too. Truly.” She scuffed her boot on the dusty step. “And it wasn’t you.” Her sisters’ words reared up, shaking the truth from her. “I…I’ve probably been over-committed with a few things, like my brother’s wedding this weekend, and I’m not handling things like I should, so I’ve let silly things become bigger than they warrant.”

“Hey, we all do that at times.” His voice grew raspy. “I just hate feeling like I’m someone that people are trying to avoid.”

He thought that? Her heart fisted. This must be why God wanted her to come here to apologize. How awful that her actions had made him feel that way. But apologies were only spoken air if there was no behavior that proved one’s heart was changed. She was going to have to try harder. “I’m sorry. I…” She shook her head, as emotion appeared from nowhere, like a glacier avalanche, and she pivoted on her boot, and hurried away.

“Cassie, wait.”

She paused. What kind of person would she be to make an injured man chase after her? Especially an injured man who had gotten injured because of her? Ugh. She was such a terrible person. She turned and faced him again. Somehow between the door and here, he’d managed to locate and put on a shirt. Thank goodness. Heaven forbid anyone had seen her with him shirtless in the shadows of the western town like this. They’d likely be thinking they were having a tryst.

Her shudder at that thought sharpened her word to hold a bite. “What?”

“Look, I just want you to know that if I have done something to upset you, I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Her heart stilled. Forgive him? She held back a sigh. What choice did she have as a Christ follower but to follow the Lord’s command? “Of course.”

“Can we be friends?” He held out his hand.

“Friends?” Now that was pushing things. She eyed his hand, then her gaze trickled back up to him. “I don’t know how to be friends with Hollywood people.”

His hand fell. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same as with anyone else.”

Was it? But when you scarcely saw a person, and their lives were splashed across the TV, how could you have any real connection? But then, her thoughts swung again, the same could likely be said about Hannah, and Cassie had managed just fine this past year to stay in contact with her…

“Besides, aren’t you friends with Ainsley?” he persisted.

“I wouldn’t dare to presume to call us friends. I like her, she’s really sweet, but I’m pretty sure she just thinks we’re acquaintances. It’s not like my friendship with Hannah.”

“That’s not how Ainsley sees it. She stopped by earlier after her scene and mentioned you’d helped her out today.”

“That was nothing.”

“I’ve heard her say how much she appreciates spending time with people who are honest and real, and go the extra mile like you do.”

Really? Her chest glowed. “I didn’t know that.”

“So now you do.”

How crazy to think someone like Ainsley might think of her that way. Harrison was probably exaggerating—actors told stories and embroidered truth for a living, after all. “Well, thanks for telling me.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Silence stretched between them, until it was broken by the screech of a bird. Was that what he wanted to say to her, or was there more?

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