Page 17 of Cowboy Don't Go

Water under the bridge, so to speak. She’d made none of those choices and now that time had passed. The most she could hope for was to call a truce in this self-inflicted war between her and Cooper Lane. She was wasting way too much brain space worrying about it. Once she did that, she could get back to business as usual.

The door to the great room opened and Cami, Shay’s younger sister, breezed in from her long day at Marietta Elementary School. She tossed aside her bags and flopped dramatically down on the couch.

“How is it even possible to be so exhausted when school’s only been in session for two weeks? I spent the first half of the day fighting a software glitch in all of my students’ new Chromebooks. Then answering twenty-thousand versions of the same question about our long-term project this semester. All that was before lunch. Plus, my assistant chose today to have her baby so there was that.” Cami laughed. “I kid. I’m happy for her. But this particular class is a two-man operation. Oh, and did you know that hiccups cannot actually be cured by drinking a full glass of water upside down?”

“Really,” Shay said, grinning.

“Oh, yes. That it will, in fact, simply soak your clothes and cause unwarranted hilarity in your classmates which will, in turn, lead to a random rash of fake hiccupping throughout the class for the rest of the day? But not until three other students got excused to the office for also soaking their clothes. Yeah. That happened, too. Gotta love ’em though.”

Cami sighed, sweeping her long hair into a messy bun. “But I managed to convince at least two thirds of them that multiplying fractions wasn’t the hardest thing ever invented, and I think we crossed the Rubicon there. Just in the nick of time, I might add, before I started to pull out all of my hair.”

Shay giggled into her coffee mug. Having watched Cami teach elementary school for a few years now, Shay understood that teachers were hypothetically expected to be in ten places at once, work eighty hours a week—much of it without any extra pay—smile, and make it all look effortless. But Cami loved her job, as did most teachers Shay had known. The youngest of the four siblings, Cami had always been the mediator, the family fixer, the levelheaded one who let things roll off her instead of holding onto them. When the rest of them were losing it, Cami was always there, holding things together. It was a role she’d assumed willingly, and she was so good at it the rest of them just let her have it. There were times, however, when Shay wished Cami wouldn’t worry so much about everyone around her and take time for herself. Like, find a boyfriend, for instance.

Shay lifted her coffee cup to her lips and glanced out the window at Cooper, who was showing her son how to tie a fancy knot around a fencepost.

“Did I tell you our PTA is doing a silent auction at the week of the autumn festival this year as a fundraiser?” Cami said, perking up.

“A silent auction? How fun!”

“I said the Hard Eight can probably throw in something cool to bid on.”

“And this is why we put you in charge of marketing our new enterprise,” Shay said. “I think we can definitely manage that.”

“I was thinking a guided trail horseback ride—with Will—or a fly-fishing excursion with a guide—Liam—or, if we want to get really extravagant, a campfire s’mores roast and cowboy singalong.”

“Hmm. All we’d need is the singing cowboy.”

“Right. I’ll have to hold auditions. Maybe at the upcoming Marietta rodeo. Surely there are some singing cowboys amongst that bunch.”

“Good luck with that,” Shay said. “You may need to fork over more money than we can afford for one of those guys. By the way, are we all going again this year?”

“For sure. I can’t wait, and I’ll keep my eyes peeled out for the money cowboy-singers.” She laughed at the idea. “But I’m liking this idea more and more.”

“Well, the silent auction sounds great. Especially that the PTA is doing it and not you.”

“Oh,” she said, fiddling with the couch pillow. “Well, I did sign up to help with decorations and setup.”

“Cami—” Overcommitted was her sister’s middle name.

“Hey! Is that Cooper I saw outside with Ryan?” Cami asked, diverting.

Why yes. Yes, it is Cooper.

“Liam said you’re not happy he’s here,” she teased.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Good, because I was just about to question your sanity. Have you looked at Cooper Lane since he’s gotten back?” Cami made googly eyes at her.

Shay laughed. Oh, she’d looked. More often than she wanted to admit. “Well, if you’re so taken, maybe you should ask him out.”

“Me? I do not have time for dating. Besides, I saw him watching you the other day when you weren’t looking—getting into your car and driving to town? Yeah, it’s not me he wants to ask him out. It’s definitely you.”

“That’s ridiculous. He barely makes eye contact with me.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want you to know he’s looking.”

She glanced out the window again, at her son with Cooper. They were laughing at something. “I will admit, having all these guys around has been good for Ryan. And Cooper in particular. Even if I was against it at first. Ryan has been so happy lately.”

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