Page 29 of Cowboy and the Convict

He rubbed a hand across his chest, smoothing over the thickness of his vest. "I don't have tits." Sure, he was getting older, but he wasn't letting himself go. He managed to hit the gym for an hour every other day, both for his sanity and to maintain the level of fitness his job required. Did he have the time to work out the way he'd like? Of course not. He didn't have time to do half the shit he wanted to do.

"Give your dad a break. He just spent the day dealing with Moss Creek's most annoying residents." She gave him a little smile. "Except for me. I behaved myself today."

Her teasing caught him by surprise. He was fully prepared for awkwardness after she literally ran from him, but Janie seemed relaxed and at ease.

It was weird.

"I'm going to change." He waited for someone to acknowledge his words, but the four of them were back at work, oblivious to his presence.

Shaking his head, Devon made his way up the stairs, drinking down some of his beer as he stripped off his uniform, deciding to take a quick shower before changing into jeans and a long sleeved shirt. By the time he got back downstairs, Janie and Riley were finished doing Gwen and Olivia's hair, and they were milling around the kitchen as a bag of popcorn rattled around the microwave.

"I'm going to go take care of the horses." He watched Janie, hoping she might be as eager to help as she had been last week—having someone to keep him company was nice—but Janie wasn't the one who responded.

"We already took care of them." Riley leaned down to peer in at the cooking snack. "Janie wanted to see the horses and said we might as well take care of them while we were out there."

“Did she?” He turned to where Janie was collecting her cleaning supplies. “Interesting.”

Gwen came in from the garage juggling an armful of the sodas he stocked in the spare fridge. Her eyes landed on where Janie was slinging her purse over one shoulder. “Where are you going?”

Janie’s eyes widened and moved from side to side as if the question caught her off-guard. “Home, so you guys can watch your movie?”

“We wanted you to watch it with us.” Gwen’s tone was pleading as she batted her eyes. “Please?”

Janie appeared unmoved by his youngest daughter’s antics. “I’m sure your dad is ready to spend some time with you guys.” She lifted her brows, expression stern. “That’s why we took care of the horses, remember? So he could hang out with you?”

“He doesn’t mind.” Olivia had her arms full of pillows and blankets as she entered the kitchen to join the attack. Her eyes swung his way. “Do you?”

Did he mind if Janie spent the evening here? In his home. With him? “I don’t mind.” He met Janie’s surprised gaze. “As long as she doesn’t mind you girls asking five hundred questions while she’s trying to enjoy a movie.”

Riley opened the microwave as it started to beep, shaking the bag of popcorn as she gave him an unamused scowl. “Don’t act like you don’t do the same thing.”

He snagged the bag away. “You got it from somewhere.”

Riley reclaimed the steaming stack. “Make your own.” She turned to her sisters. “Come on. Let’s go pick a movie.”

Janie lingered as his daughters left. Once they were out of sight she cleared her throat, avoiding his gaze. “About Monday…”

He pulled a second bag of popcorn from the pantry, finding it easily thanks to the woman wiping both palms down her jeans, and popped it into the microwave. “You mean when you kissed me and then ran like hell?”

Her jaw dropped open. “I didn’t kiss you.” Her cheeks flushed a little when he cocked an eyebrow. Blowing out a sharp breath, she amended, “I didn’t kiss you the way you kissed me.”

And thank god for that, otherwise he might have ended up doing some pretty questionable things in the middle of the woods.

“Anyway.” She took another breath. “I shouldn’t have run off like that. I don’t know why I did it.” She crossed both arms over her chest. “I should have stayed and told you to keep your fucking lips to yourself because I’m not interested in a relationship.”

“That would have been a great plan, except you were the one not keeping your lips to yourself.” He smiled. “I was just following your lead.” Ignoring his relief at her confession, he continued. “And I understand. I’m in no position to start any kind of a relationship either.”

Janie seemed to relax, giving him a sharp nod. “Good.”

He nodded back. “Good.”

She wiped both palms down her jeans again. “I guess we should go watch the movie then.”

He pulled his popcorn from the microwave, tearing the top open. “Guess so.” He held the bag her way. “I’ll still share my popcorn with you.”

She gave him a smile that was almost sheepish as she picked a few kernels free. “So generous of you.”

“What can I say? I’m a generous guy.” That was exactly why he would have ended up making some very bad decisions if Janie hadn’t taken off the way she did. The temptation to show her just how generous he could be would have been hard to resist.

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