Page 23 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

She watched the numbers on her phone change from 9:59pm to 10:00pm and held her breath. She hoped Tyler would call on time, and she made a wish that he’d turn out to be the kind of special that was made for her.

Chapter Seven

Tyler grabbed a beer from the fridge and his phone charger from the counter.

Tanner gave him a puzzled look. “Are you turning in?”

“Yep.”

“Where’s Nessa?”

“I took her back down to Ace’s place. Well, to the ranch; he and Ari came down the mountain to meet me so that I didn’t have to drive all the way up there.”

“I thought she was going to stay here.”

“She is, but she wants to hang out with them for a few days first.”

“What’s up?”

“Why?”

Tanner laughed. “I’m curious as to why you’re taking your charger and a beer to bed with you, and why you’ve been backing away from me the whole time we’ve been talking.”

Ty made a face. “I’m going to call Shay. I said I’d call her when I got home – at eleven.”

Tanner checked his watch. It’s only ten after.”

“I know, but I wanted to be on time.”

“Then why are you wasting time standing around here talking to me?”

Ty let out a short laugh. “Asshole!”

“Just messing with you. If I’m still up by the time you get done, I want to hear how it went.”

“Okay.”

“And if not, I want to hear about it in the morning.”

“Okay!” Ty called as he ran up the stairs.

He locked his bedroom door behind him. Then took his phone out and sent Shayna a quick text.

Ty: Sorry I’m running a bit late. I’ll call you in a few.

He plugged his phone in to charge and set it on the nightstand while he went to the bathroom. When he came out, he popped the cap off his beer and took a big swig as he checked his messages.

Shay: Ok. Don’t rush. I’ll be here.

That made him smile. The last girl he’d dated used to get all anxious whenever he was late for anything. He spent so much time reassuring her that he was okay and apologizing because she’d been worried that it had sucked all the fun out of everything.

Shayna seemed pretty laid back so far. But he knew that could change. Girls seemed to play all sweet and nice until they thought they had you hooked, and then they changed. He really hoped that Shayna wouldn’t change.

He kicked his boots off and climbed onto the bed. When he picked his phone up again, his heart was pounding. How about that? He was nervous!

He pulled up her number and his thumb hovered, ready to hit the call button. He almost chickened out and sent another text instead to ask if she was ready. He laughed at himself and dialed her number.

“Hi, Ty.”

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