Page 2 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

“Yeah, knock yourself out. I’m out of here.”

“Want to give me a shout when you’re done for the day, and we can ride over to the bakery together?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. See ya later.”

~ ~ ~

Summer Lake, CA

Shayna climbed out of her Tahoe and slung her backpack over her shoulder before hurrying down the street toward the bakery. She had a whole afternoon to herself, well, not entirely to herself.She didn’t have to work a shift at any of her jobs, but she did have an assignment to finish. She didn’t need to turn it in until Sunday night, but after this afternoon, almost every minute of her time was scheduled for something else. She was helping out behind the bar at The Boathouse tonight, at Lily’s barn in the morning, then she had her regular shift at the grocery store, and …

She didn’t need to think about any of it right now. For the next couple of hours, she was going to sit in a booth, work on her assignment, drink some wonderful coffee, and maybe even splurge on one of Renée’s delicious cupcakes.

She paused when she spotted a couple going into the bakery. The man was wearing a cowboy hat – you didn’t see many of those in Summer Lake. In fact, there was only one cowboy hat Shayna could think of – and thought about far too often, if she was honest. That particular hat sat atop the head of one Chance Malone. Okay, so she might have a little crush on the man – she didn’t know many women who didn’t!

When she reached the bakery, she pushed the door open and took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn’t blush or make a fool of herself. Chance was a safe guy to have a crush on; he was happily married to the not only lovely, but also very beautiful Hope, who was standing at the counter with him.

They both turned when Renée greeted her with a smile. “Hey, Shayna. April will be right with you. I’m giving myself an hour off to catch up with my friends.”

“Good for you.” Shayna smiled, and Hope smiled back. Chance nodded, sending a little thrill through her.

“Hey, Shayna!”

She dragged her gaze away from Chance and Hope, who were following Renée to one of the tables in the back. “Hi, April.”

“What can I get you? Are you here for one of your study sessions?”

“I am.”

“So, I should keep the coffee coming and not disturb you to check in, right?” April asked.

“Please on the coffee, but if you want to check in, that’d be awesome. I wouldn’t mind a chat if you get a break.”

April raised her eyebrows, and Shayna was a little surprised at herself. Usually, she preferred no interruptions so that she could concentrate while she worked. But sometimes, she wished that she had time for more of a life. She wished that she could give herself an hour off to catch up with her friends, like Renée was doing. Then again, she’d need friends to hang out with, before that would work.

She shrugged at April, who was giving her a puzzled look. “It’d be fun to catch up,” she explained. “And can I get one of the lemon and blueberry muffins?”

“Sure thing. Go find yourself a table and I’ll bring them over.”

Before Shayna knew it, an hour had passed. She sipped at the cold coffee that she’d forgotten all about while she worked. The good thing was that she’d gotten the assignment finished. She’d known that she was close to the end, but she hadn’t expected it to come together as well or as swiftly as it had.

She got up to go to the bathroom, and April smiled. “I’ll keep an eye on your things, and are you ready for a top up when you come out?”

“Please.” She carefully saved her work and closed down all the files.

When she got back to the table, April was busy serving a group of tourists who’d come in. Renée was still chatting and laughing with Chance and Hope, although it looked like they might be about to wrap things up. Shayna loved the way Chance rested his arm along the back of Hope’s chair, and the way she turned to look up at him every so often. He struck her as more the stoic type, but every now and then, Hope said something that made him laugh, and that was a sight to behold.

She blew out a sigh and turned back to her computer. She shouldn’t be watching them like that. They had the kind of relationship that she could only dream of, but that didn’t mean she should go wishing that she were Hope. If she wanted a relationship, she’d have to figure out how to make it happen – that was the way things worked for her. If she wanted something, she had to work her ass off for it.

She had the feeling that relationships didn’t happen that way though, there was an element of … she chuckled at the thought …chanceinvolved. Relationships didn’t come about because you worked hard to find one – at least, not from what she’d seen. They seemed to just come out of nowhere.

She made a face at her computer and clicked onto the dating site. The out of nowhere thing hadn’t happened for her, so she was trying to be a bit more proactive. She’d set up a profile a while ago – just to look and see what was out there. She’d lived in Summer Lake her whole life, and it was evident that there was nothing here for her. Well, no one she would want to date, let alone have a relationship with.

She shouldn’t say that there wasnothinghere for her. Her life was good; it had gotten way better over the last few months. She had Alexis and Davin and Booker now. It was weird how things had worked out – weird but wonderful. Alexis and Davin had gotten together and they’d taken in Booker, who was a great kid, and somehow, they’d included her in the little family they’d pulled together. They’d even rented her the apartment over the garage in their new house – the house on the waterfront with its own dock!

She logged in and made a face at the bunch of new messages and likes she had on her profile. People were creepy, no two ways about it. She didn’t have a photo of herself on there, she’d used a picture of a lotus, but that didn’t stop men – or a few women – from messaging her. Most often they asked if she would send them naked photos of herself. Some asked if she wanted to see them naked, and a few didn’t bother to ask and sent dick pics as their opening gambit.

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