Page 19 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

Wednesday, I’m helping at Violets again – have to tell you that Xander and Tori are HUGE fans of yours! Thursday might work. I teach at the gym – can’t remember if I told you that I teach Pilates, I know you asked. But I’m usually home by nine-thirty. I know you’re an hour ahead of me – is ten-thirty too late for you? Then I’m working behind the bar at The Boathouse Friday and Saturday nights.

Do you ever have any free time during the day? I know you said you have the weekends off. I think I’m free Saturdayafternoon. Let me know what works for you and we’ll make it happen. If I can’t see your face, I’m curious to at least hear your voice. Do you have an accent? Dumb question – nobody thinks they have an accent, do they? It’s just that we sound weird to people who aren’t used to us. Then again, April’s from up there and she doesn’t have an accent. I guess I’m just showing myself up for the small-town girl that I am. I’ve lived here all my life and haven’t traveled much. I bet you’ve been all over the world, haven’t you? I’d love to hear about what you did, but I don’t imagine you can share much. And thanks for not telling me you were a SEAL from the start – I probably would have been too intimidated to talk to you!

Okay, so where were we with everything? Seems like we’ve shared so much that I’ve lost track. Oh, I know, you wanted to know about life here. I mentioned my apartment. I kind of live with my family – my adopted family. They have a gorgeous house right on the lake – it has its own dock and everything! I was living in my own little house in town – it was a bit shitty to say the least, and not in the safest area. Although Summer Lake is about as safe a place as you can be. But my landlord was an asshole, and he was making life difficult for me, so Davin and Alexis offered me the apartment above their garage. They let me have the first month free to help me get back on my feet, and they only charge me half of what I used to pay at my old place. They could get three times as much, and they’d let me stay here for nothing if I’d let them. Have I told you how awesome they are? Lol.

Now I’m thinking that I should delete most of that – you have a sister-in-law who’s a country superstar?! Calypso Rayne is just Callie to you?! OMFG! I hope she’s as nice as she seems. And your other brother is engaged to a wealthy heiress? They’llall wonder what you’re doing wasting your time talking to someone like me.

Anyway, our Sunday afternoons are about having lunch together. We usually sit outside or hang out on the dock. They bought a boat not long ago, so we’ve been having fun going out on that. Davin and Booker like to fish. Alexis and I just soak up the sun and chat or read. It’s lovely – ha, now I sound like her. She’s from England originally and she still has her accent.

I feel like I can tell you about my real family by now. But this is getting long again. And I have to get going. Off to spend my day stacking shelves and working a cash register! How about you, what do your days as a chef look like?

My number is 760-555-0104 Eek! This feels real! Although, you’ve been real with me from the start – I hope! Okay, shut up Shay! Gotta go.

TTYL

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From: Tyler MacFarland:Ty@ MacFarlandRanch.com

To: Shayna Rose:ShayMRose1@ gmail.com

Hey Shay

Thanks for sending me an email and for trusting me with your number. You’re right – this does feel real – and I feel like you’ve been real with me from the beginning as well. I promise you I have. I promise you that no matter how this goes, I won’t jerk you around. I’ll be honest with you. I think if you asked people who know me, they’d tell you that I have more of a problem with being too honest. I’m more likely tohurt your feelings by telling it to you straight. If ever I do that, will you tell me? Don’t assume that I did it on purpose – I just don’t always remember that the truth sometimes needs to be presented more gently.

Anyway, enough of that – I’m not trying to put you off. I am kind of mad at myself, though. I was intending to call you tonight. As soon as I saw that you sent me your number, I decided that we should talk as soon as possible, but I forgot that I promised I’d take Nessa up to town tonight. I haven’t told you about her yet. She’s the daughter of one of Cash’s friends. Well, it sounds kind of like your situation in a way. Nessa’s mom got together with Cash’s friend, Ace – don’t know if I told you that Cash is waaay older. He’s in his fifties, which means more explaining of family, but I’ll save that for later – but anyhow, Ace is that age, too, and he got together with Nessa’s mom, Ari. Nessa’s dad died when she was a kid, and she missed having a dad. Ace could never have kids of his own and so they decided that he can be her dad. Nessa’s awesome – she’s the one who set the profile up for me. So, now I think she’s even more awesome. Even though I thought she was just a pain in my ass in the beginning, if she hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have met you.

Shit. But nope – not going to delete it! It’s true. I’m loving talking to you, and I can’t wait to talk to you for real. I can’t tonight, because Nessa just got back the other day, and I already promised that I’d take her up to town. She had a bit of a scare a while back and we all like to make sure that she’s safe whenever she’s here.

I’m still mad about it though – passing up the first chance we have to talk on the phone. So, do you want to tell me what gaps you have in your schedule for the rest of the week? If nothing else, I’ll call you on Thursday at ten-thirty. Or you can text mewhen you get home and I’ll call you. Don’t want you to feel like you have to dash home. I really don’t want to wait till Thursday though. Would it be okay if I text you? Have to tell you, I’m not normally a big texter, but dammit, I want to talk to you. The suspense is killing me!

In the meantime, I hope your shift at the grocery store isn’t too bad. If you have any gaps during the day, I can make time to talk to you. Mealtimes and just after are best for me, because when people are eating, it means that I’m done cooking.

Let me know what works for you – soon. Lol. I want to hear your voice, too. I already imagine how you sound from the way you write but I could be way off. Is it weird that I’m not even wondering so much about what you look like now? I know that you’re beautiful on the inside, and that has to show on the outside.

Right, my turn to shut up. I’ll attach some photos before I hit send. Summer Lake looks amazing. Going to say it – I’d love to see the place, and since I have a teammate who owns a bar there, and now I know this amazing chick who lives there, I might have to visit sooner rather than later.

Shit, if that’s too much too soon, say so – just don’t freak out on me and disappear, okay?

Hope you don’t have too much schoolwork to do, and that you can have a bit of a break this evening. I’ll be thinking about you while Nessa chatters on – lol, and on and on. Nah, she’s a good kid really.

Talk to you soon – just not soon enough.

Ty

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From: Shayna Rose:ShayMRose1@ gmail.com

To: Tyler MacFarland:Ty@ MacFarlandRanch.com

Oh my god!! Are those photos seriously where you live? It’s so incredibly beautiful! You lucky … I’ll let you fill in the blank! Wow! Just wow. It’s so beautiful. I mean, Summer Lake’s gorgeous but those mountains! It’s amazing.

Thank you for sending them. This is just a quickie again. I know you’re busy with your friend this evening – please tell her that I said thank you for setting you up with a profile. I’m glad she did.

I feel the same way, Ty. I like you. It might be crazy. There might be no chemistry. We live too far away, but I want to talk to you, I want to see what you look like, and if you want to come visit your friend, I won’t be mad about it. If you want to come visit me, I’ll be even happier.

But maybe we should slow down? Maybe we won’t have anything to say when we actually talk? I don’t know. One step at a time I suppose. First, we talk. If that goes well, then what do you think, is it time to exchange photos? It’d be a bummer if you think I’m fugly after all this! I know you won’t be. But … I don’t want to sound shallow, but there needs to be chemistry, too, don’t you think? Maybe there isn’t any and we just end up as friends?

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