Page 62 of Cowboy and the Convict

She was still smiling when he walked out of sight. His visit might not have completely negated the fallout from Aiden’s, but it sure took the edge off. Hanging out with him and the girls tonight would smooth it the rest of the way over. By tomorrow her ex’s appearance would barely be a blip on the screen of her future.

"THERE YOU ARE." Devon reached through the open door, snagging her hand and pulling her inside. “I was starting to wonder.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes even though she loved it. "I am here exactly when you told me to be here." Looping her arms around his neck, she tipped her head back to look up at him. "Actually I’m five minutes early.”

Devon tucked his chin, meeting her gaze. "Maybe I thought you'd put that house key I gave you to good use and would be here waiting for me when I got home."

A day ago, she might have blown off the suggestion, but in the hours since Aiden had shown up, she'd had time to really think about everything he said and came to a conclusion.

Fuck him.

Fuck all his stupid assumptions and what he thought he knew. Fuck him saying she would never have a career or money or family.

That's what she was trying to conclude. The accuracy of his words still rang a little too true for her liking, but she would feel better after tonight. Better because all the things she'd done in her life were useful to the people around her.

People who might someday be the family he said she’d never have.

Devon's brows pinched together as he looked down at her. "Are you okay?"

Janie nodded, forcing a smile. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath, finally registering the scent of baking pastry and egg. "Smells like quiche in here."

"That’s good news, because I’m pretty sure I made quiche." Devon pulled her deeper into the house, tipping his head toward the living room. "Why don't you sit down. I'm gonna run upstairs and jump in the shower. I'll be right back."

"Okay." She wandered into the empty living room, feeling a little strange since she'd never been there by herself before. Not like this. Any alone time she'd had in Devon's house was while she was attacking it with cleaning products and scrub brushes, not making herself at home.

Lowering onto one of the couch cushions, she tried to relax, but struggled to get comfortable.

Maybe she should go see if there was anything that needed to be done. Surely he and the girls hadn't been able to completely keep up with all the cleaning she'd done. Then that would be one more thing she offered them. One more reason Aiden was wrong.

Going into the kitchen, she discovered some granola bars and a few other snacks hadn't made it into the cabinets, so she went to work organizing everything, condensing and breaking down extra boxes. She was scrubbing the kitchen sink when the door to the garage opened and Riley came in, a wide smile on her face. It wasn't usually how she looked on Mondays. Normally, by the time she got home from school on Monday, she was exhausted from spending the whole day on campus.

Janie set down her scrub brush and started to rinse away the layer of soap she'd worked into every nook and cranny. "Looks like you had a good day."

Riley slung her bag onto the table, letting out a long sigh as her smile widened even more. "I did."

Janie finished rinsing away the soap and wormed the sprayer back into its slot. "That's fantastic. Sounds like you’re getting into your groove with school."

"Actually, I quit."

Janie turned from where she was drying the edges of the stainless steel basin, sure she wasn't understanding what Riley was trying to tell her. "Quit, what?" Stressing? Waiting until the last minute to work on assignments? Putting pressure on herself to be perfect?

Riley's eyes were bright as she rocked up on her toes. "School. I dropped out. I went to my counselor today and told her I was done. That I didn't want to do it anymore."

Janie opened her mouth, then clamped it shut again. After taking a few more seconds to let her brain wrap itself around everything, she asked, "Why would you do that?"

Riley came toward her, continuing to beam. "Because of you." She grabbed Janie's hands, gripping them tight. "I don't want to spend my life doing something that will make me miserable. I want to figure out what's going to make me happy, just like you did."

“You quit because of me?” The words were nearly impossible to push through her lips.

Because of what they meant. What she’d caused.

She could pretend everything she’d done all worked out in the end, but now that it was Riley starting down that same path? Now she had to face the truth.

Her life had amounted to a whole lot of nothing. And it all started when she dropped out of college. She quit one thing after another. Maybe because she knew it drove her mother nuts because she had nothing to brag about. Maybe she was just too picky. Or—more likely—maybe she thought she couldn’t fail if she didn’t finish. Failing had always been the worst thing she could do, and not completing anything was a way around the humiliation.

Only it wasn’t. Not really.

Riley gripped her in a tight hug, not noticing Janie’s stiff posture as she continued cutting deeper and deeper. “Without you, I would have gone all the way through school and spent the rest of my life sitting behind a desk.” She released her, stepping back to grab her bag. “You saved me.” She practically skipped out of the kitchen, leaving Janie standing alone, all her pretend hopes and imaginary dreams crashing down around her.

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