Page 14 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“I reckon between the two of us, we’ll do great. I know how I want it to feel, but I have no clue what to do to make it happen.”

She grinned back at him. “All you need to do is tell me what you’re looking for – I’ll be able to make it happen.”

“And you wouldn’t mind? It doesn’t have to take too long. I …”

She laughed. “Don’t you dare try to take it away from me now! You’ve given me hope that I can make myself useful while I’m here instead of just sitting around on my ass. Not only do I not mind, but I also have all the time in the world – until I go home.”

“And if I can keep you busy, there’ll be no rush to go home, right?”

She held his gaze for a moment. She didn’t speak – didn’t agree with him, but he preferred to focus on the fact that she hadn’t disagreed with him, either.

She finally dropped his gaze when Trip came back outside.

“So, the two of you have been best friends since you were kids?” she asked.

Trip grinned. “We have. Since kindergarten. I was the puny little newcomer, and Trav was already taller and stronger than everyone else. He took me under his wing and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Travis chuckled. “He makes it sound like it was one-sided. I might have been bigger than the other kids, but Trip here was a hundred times smarter.”

Retta laughed. “I’ll bet the two of you were quite a team – and got into all kinds of mischief.”

“You could say that,” Travis said with a laugh.

“We got into plenty of mischief when we were kids, but this guy saved my life more than once when we were in the Navy,” said Trip.

Retta looked up at him, but Travis just shrugged. “We all saved each other more than once. It’s just part of being a team.”

Trip held his gaze. “That’s true, but it’s not the whole story, and we both know it.”

Retta was watching them closely, and Travis was relieved that she didn’t push for further explanation. He was happy to drop the subject. He didn’t like to think about how he’d almost lost his buddy.

He grinned at Trip. “You’d never managed to shake me since kindergarten, I wasn’t going to let you do it by getting yourself killed.”

Trip smiled at Retta. “Those are the exact words he said to me. I’d given up all hope and then this guy appears out nowhere and throws me over his shoulder like I’m a rag doll.”

She laughed at that. “I’m glad to hear that he could carry you when you needed it – he’s been carrying me all day.”

Travis held his breath when Trip said, “You should probably get used to it. Like I told you, once he’s taken you under his wing, there’s no shaking him.”

His heart pounded as Retta looked up at him. He waited, but she didn’t say anything. Trip shot him an apologetic look, but he just chuckled.

“What can I say? It’s true.” He grabbed Trip and tossed him over his shoulder. “You haven’t managed to shake me in fifty years, you’re not going to manage it now, buddy.”

Retta laughed as she watched them, and he relaxed as he set Trip back on his feet, glad that the moment had passed. He hadtaken Retta under his wing since he met her, but he didn’t want her to go thinking that she wouldn’t be able to get rid of him if she wanted to.

Chapter Four

The next morning, Retta didn’t even pretend to read her book while she sat out on the front porch waiting for Travis to come pick her up. It was only eight-twenty, and he’d said that he’d come for her at nine, but she was ready and eager to go. She’d told Callie that she was going to read out here because she was excited and didn’t want her daughter to notice and ask too many questions.

There was no way she could focus on her book, even though she had it open on her lap. She stared at the mountains, but it wasn’t the view that had her so distracted. It was Travis! The man was … she didn’t know the right word for him. Sure, he was a big old flirt, no question about that, but he was so much more. He was a joker; she’d enjoyed seeing him with his friend, Trip.

It was obvious that Trip adored him – although, it seemed that everyone did. Callie and Kolby thought the world of him, she knew that. And yesterday it’d been obvious that both Ty and Libby did, too. She pressed her lips together. It’d be hard not to like the man. He was agreeable, charming, kind … and he wasn’t just attractive, he was sexy as sin.

That was the part that had caught her off guard. Each time he’d lifted her and held her against his chest, she’d felt like a silly, swoony teenager. It was a good thing that she wasn’t supposed to try standing, and that she had a cast on her leg – she was sure that he’d make her knees buckle with that smile of his – and those twinkly eyes.

And this was just not like her. She’d given up on men years ago. When Callie’s father had walked out, he’d left her high and dry. She was only nineteen. With no family to help her, and noeducation, she’d worked whatever jobs she could find. She and Callie had lived in more rundown motels and cheap apartments than she could remember. They’d lived in her car for weeks at a time on a few occasions as well.

Even when she’d managed to get her feet under her, there’d never been much money. She’d done her best – but it hadn’t been good enough. She’d had a couple of relationships when Callie was still small, but each one had shown her that as hard as things were by herself, she was still better off that way. If a man wanted to share the burden financially, he expected a whole lot in return – around the house and in the bedroom.

---