Page 21 of Cowboy Don't Go

The next day, her twin brother Will drove her into town to put a new tire on her wheel, and as they waited for the mechanic to change it, they walked to the Java Café for a coffee. They sat talking and nursing their drinks by the front window overlooking the street in a pair of comfy armchairs. Thick velvet curtains framed their view of the street and seemed to insulate their conversation.

Will’s deep auburn hair, his cornflower-blue eyes only highlighted that smile that melted hearts everywhere. Though he was her brother, even she could appreciate the man he’d become. It didn’t hurt that a woman like Izzy had made him feel adored and had put some of his broken pieces back together again after a few tough years, including a divorce and the loss of his NFL career to injury.

Though Will was still something of a celebrity around Marietta after his storied football career, the locals mostly just accepted him now as one of their own after being back in town for the past year. Which was good because Will didn’t love the spotlight here. But he still loved football, and last fall and this, he’d volunteered in his spare time to help coach the players at Marietta high school and middle school—including Ryan—which had endeared him to the community and the many football-loving parents in town. So, he’d earned a little privacy when he came to local places like the Java Café.

Shay loved this place and came here often by herself when she was in town between jobs. There was something intimate about it, even though the place was usually filled with the regulars, working on their laptops or phones and indulging in a moment’s peace. The place’s old, red brick walls felt like they’d been here forever and practically had, as it was one of the earliest buildings in Marietta.

But today, Shay still felt distinctly unpeaceful after last night’s adventure on the dark road.

“I’m telling you, it unnerved me,” Shay said, agitating her mocha latte with a stir stick. “I swear I saw him in town the other day, too. I felt like I was being watched but as soon as I turned, he walked around a corner. I decided I imagined it but . . .”

Will took a long sip of his coffee, considering what she’d told him about last night. Shay had missed these kinds of talks when he’d been gone for so many years. Having him back in Marietta with Izzy, his fiancée, felt like all was right with the world again, as if a piece of her had been lost and found again. That was what it had always been like between them. Maybe it was the twin connection, something more spiritual than physical. But she only knew that his steady presence in their lives had, in the last year, turned things around in so many ways.

“Maybe it was just a coincidence?” he offered. “This is a small town. Sometimes, just becoming aware of someone can make you noticed them more.”

“True. But I just know I’ve never seen him around here before. And he certainly didn’t look like a tourist,” she said.

“Sounds like a guy like him would kind of stick out like a sore thumb here in Marietta and be noticed by more than you. I’ll ask around, see if anyone has noticed. But could it just be your imagination running wild that he was looking at you any sort of way, what with everything that happened last night? The tire. Nearly running off the road. Cooper.”

She looked at him askance. “This is not about Cooper.”

“Maybe it is a little bit? Maybe he threw you off your game? All that knight in shining armor stuff?” Will’s clear blue eyes twinkled as he teased her.

“Hey. I was not a damsel in distress for heaven’s sake. I would have gotten that tire changed,” she assured him. “Eventually. It was just lucky he happened by. But truthfully, I am glad I wasn’t alone out there when that guy drove past. Anyway, it’s over now.” She took a long sip of her coffee, shaking off her paranoia. “Tell me, how’s the wedding planning coming for this Christmas with you and Izzy?”

Will’s expression visibly brightened. “I’m just trying to stay out of her way. She’s got that all under control. Her grandmother is coming out for a visit soon to help her with some of the details. But we’re excited to have the ceremony on the ranch. The old round barn up the road is starting on renovations between all the other chaos going on. When it’s done, it will really expand our ability to have year-round celebrations on the ranch.”

“It’ll be perfect for weddings in all seasons. Cozy and warm in the winter. Cool and airy in the summer. And it will free up our large barn for more important things. Like our horses.” She laughed. “She-Ra and Lulu have been a little bent about getting kicked out of their stalls every other weekend because of weddings.”

Will chuckled, too. “And Izzy can’t think of a more perfect answer to her parents’ desire for a splashy, expensive Dallas wedding than setting it in a rustic round barn in the middle of Montana.”

“It’ll be great. They’re coming, though, right? Her parents?”

“Assuming they can drag themselves away from politics for the weekend,” he said with not a little sarcasm.

Izzy’s divorced parents were mutually unhappy about her running off with the limo driver—namely Will—on her wedding day to another man, no matter how justified. They were only slightly mollified to learn that Will was a former NFL player who didn’t survive on a limo driver’s—or a cowboy’s—salary and that their daughter was madly in love with him. Just the thought of that made Shay smile.

“And Isaiah?” she asked, meaning his partner in the limo company. “Will he be able to come?”

“Oh, yeah. He’ll be standing up with me. And Emma, his wife, will come, too. And his kids if they want. I’ve asked Liam to be my best man and he said yes. I’d like to ask Ryan, too, to stand up there for me, if that’s okay.”

Shay bit her lip, emotion crowding her lashes. Ryan would be thrilled. “He’ll love it. Thank you, Will.”

“And don’t think you’re left out. But I’ll let Izzy tell you that.”

“Really?” She swallowed thickly, so happy he was home for good and so happy for another sister in Izzy. “I can’t wait to see you two married.”

“Thanks,” he said, covering her hand briefly with his. “I guess I don’t have to say this, but I want the same for you, Shay.”

She winced and shook her head. “Probably would’ve happened by now if it was going to happen at all.”

He leaned back in the chair. “After my divorce, I was pretty sure that was the end of it for me, too. But clearly, I was wrong. Hey, love rarely comes at you directly. It’s usually a sideswipe when you’re least expecting it and doesn’t exactly announce itself until you’re under the wheels and wondering what the hell hit you.”

“I guess. Maybe I’m just too old.”

“You’re thirty-one!” he argued, his eyes sparking with humor.

She grinned at him. “Should I warn Izzy she’s about to marry an old man?”

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