Page 31 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

Alexis laughed. “I know it’s a matter of personal taste, but I doubt that the question of attraction will be an issue. Cash is very good-looking, he and his cousin Maverick, who I also worked with, were always popular with the ladies – although Mav was happily married. I saw photos of their family, and they were a good-looking bunch.”

She looked more serious when she added, “And if you prefer to take your time, don’t let him pressure you, okay?”

Shayna nodded happily. “I really don’t think he would. He doesn’t seem like the type. And knowing that we have so many people in common makes it even less likely, don’t you think?”

“I do. But let’s get this class started. We can talk more about it later. I’ll wait for you to talk to Tyler to make sure that you want to go and then, we can get everything booked, all right?”

Shayna hesitated for a moment before throwing her arms around Alexis and hugging her tightly. “I want to go. I can’t make it about him. And … Thank you.” When Alexis squeezed her back, she added in a low voice, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Shayna.” Alexis stood back and dabbed at her eyes. “Let’s go practice kicking ass, shall we?”

Shayna laughed. “Yes, let’s do that.”

~ ~ ~

Ty looked up when Ford came into the great room.

“Hey, Ty.”

“Hey. I left you some dinner in the oven; it should still be warm.”

“Thanks. Do you want me to bring you a beer?”

“I’m good.”

Ford returned a few minutes later and sat in one of the armchairs opposite where Ty was sitting on the sofa. He grabbed a cushion and balanced his plate on it before digging in.

Ty watched him eat for a few minutes before he finally looked up.

“Thanks for this. I was starving. It’s been a day.”

“Everything all right?”

“It is now. But I’m more interested in talking about what you’ve got going on than about the herd.”

“What do you mean?”

Ford smiled. “I saw Wade earlier. He said that you’re taking the weekend off to go see some girl.”

“Was he all right about it?” Wade had told Ty that he didn’t mind him taking the weekend off. Well, he didn’t work weekends, but if he wanted a couple of days with Shay, he’d need to travel out there on Friday and come back on Monday. He just hoped that Wade wasn’t going to have a problem getting someone to cover those days.

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal; he wasn’t worried.”

“Good.”

“So?” Ford cocked his head to the side.

“So, what?” Ty asked with a grin.

“Who is she? What’s the deal? Wade said that you met her online.”

“I did. She’s awesome. She lives in Summer Lake – you know, where Chance came from. And April Preston was the one who put us in touch and … I’ve been talking to her …” He ran his hand through his hair. “Shit. I don’t want to admit that I’ve only been talking to her since Friday. It seems like way longer than that. I feel like I know who she is already and … she’s awesome.”

Ford nodded. “Then I’m glad you’re going to go and meet her.”

“Because …? You think that meeting her in person might make me come to my senses and stop wasting my time?”

Ford laughed. “Damn, Ty! Put words in my mouth, why don’t you? I was going to say the opposite – that there’s no point wasting time hanging back if you think there might be something there between you. So, are you the one who thinks you might be wasting your time?”

---