Page 6 of Cowboy

“You said you’d just moved here. Do you mind my asking where you came from?”

“Several places, but most recently a small town in Arizona you’ve probably never heard of.”

Cowboy’s eyes went wide. “Arizona to North Dakota. I bet this is cold to you, it’s got to be more like the winter temperatures down there?”

“It’s close. But the winter’s there are nice, which is why there are so many winter visitors.”

“Winter visitors? That must be a local term. All I’ve ever heard them called are snowbirds.”

Ava laughed again. “We use that too, but sometimes snowbirds is used as a curse by the locals, so winter visitors became the more politically correct term.”

A low growl rumbled from him, making her jump.

“Political correctness is going to be the end of us some day. Thankfully, most of the people I deal with don’t expect it. Especially from a grizzled old biker.” He grinned at her, revealing a straight row of white teeth.

Ava lifted one corner of her lips in a wry half smile. “Politically correct is expected from a pastor’s wife. Wouldn’t want to anger any member of the congregation. They might leave or, heaven forbid, complain to the conference. That is never a pleasant interaction.” She let a small shudder run through her.

“It doesn’t sound as if it would be.”

“Somehow the subject keeps turning back around to things I’d rather not talk about. I have a question for you, though, if you don’t mind.”

“Shoot. If it’s something I don’t want to answer, I’ll say so.”

“What’s it feel like to ride a motorcycle?” It was a dumb question, she knew, but she’d always wanted to know.

“Unbelievable.” He chuckled then sat back in his chair to watch her. “I know that’s not very descriptive, but riding is impossible to describe.” He shook his head. “There’s the wind in your face, the feel of the bike beneath you, the sense of freedom.”

Ava couldn’t help but notice the light in his eyes as he spoke. He might not be able to give a description he believed gave justice to the experience, but she could tell he loved the experience by the way he talked and the glint in his eyes.

She wished she had the nerve to ask for a ride. But he was a stranger, and she’d already imposed enough by his taking her home. This was her saying thank you, not her asking him to do something more for her.

5

Cowboy watched Ava and couldn’t help but be reminded of Lisa, his younger sister. She was fifteen years his junior, so he remembered her younger years well. At the time he hadn’t appreciated her innocent honesty, but now, with more perspective, he wished he’d appreciated it more.

“You said you were married.” He paused as the waitress delivered their food then left. Before he had a chance to continue, she spoke up.

“Yes, but I’d rather not talk about that.”

“No worries, I just had a question. Any kids?” He hadn’t seen any sign of them in her apartment, but maybe whatever had caused the divorce had given her ex-husband custody.

“No,” she looked down at her plate, “I wanted them, and we tried, but I could never get pregnant. After years of trying, I wanted to see a doctor, but Hank insisted it was God’s will and forbade it.” She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and looked up, meeting his gaze. “Looking at how things have turned out, it’s probably for the best. Still, I wish I had at least gotten pregnant once. I feel like I’m missing something.”

The sadness and loss were apparent on her face. He felt for her. He’d never yearned for kids before, but seeing how badly she did, it made him wonder if maybe he was missing something by not having any. But then, who would he trust to have his child? He hadn’t had a relationship that lasted past sunrise in longer than he cared to think about.

“You’re still young enough for kids. It’s not too late.” He was sure she couldn’t be more than thirty-two or three, there was still lots of time for her to have children. Hell, more and more women were waiting until after that to even start thinking about them.

“That may be true but look at me. Look at my life now. I’m thirty-five and barely able to support myself. How would I support a kid too? Besides, I’d also have to find a father, or be a single mom and…” She trailed off then shook her head. “No, that’s one dream I’m going to have to let go of.”

He hated seeing the sad and lost look on her face. It made him want to say he could help, but he bit his tongue. That was a huge thing to volunteer for. And she was a stranger at that, no matter how intriguing.

They ate and chatted, getting to know each other a bit better. But at the end of the meal, Cowboy couldn’t help wanting to spend more time with her. Even though he didn’t know her well, she intrigued him and for some reason he didn’t understand, he felt more at home around her than around most of the people he’d known, aside from his brothers. His Kings of Destruction brothers that was. His only blood brother and he didn’t get along. He hadn’t even spoken to Terry in over three years.

When Betsy brought the ticket, Cowboy had to stop himself from picking it up. He knew enough about women to know that she would likely get angry if he tried to pay. Especially since she’d told him she was taking him to lunch as a thank you for making sure she got home safe. Still, it irked his sense of right and wrong to let her pick up the tab. Especially after she’d said she was barely able to support herself.

“I’ve enjoyed this,” he said after she’d sent her card with Betsy to pay for their meals. “I’d like to take you out again. This time I’ll pay.” He smiled, hoping she wouldn’t be insulted by his saying he wanted to pay.

“I don’t know.” Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I don’t go out much and when I do, I seem to find trouble. You saw that.”

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