Page 18 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

“Look on the bright side – at least I didn’t get trampled to death.”

He glanced over at her. “How can you make light of it?”

She shrugged. “What else can I do?”

He scowled. “I know what I’d like to do.”

“Aww, thank you, sweetie.”

“Seriously, Retta. You need to do something – say something. Surely, the school will ...”

“No. She’s on the board. If I start throwing accusations around, she’ll turn it back on me somehow, and I’ll end up out of a job. She’s had run-ins with people before – they’re all gone, and she’s still there.”

“Would it be so terrible to be out of a job if you have to work around people like her?”

They’d reached the house, and he brought the truck to a stop before turning to her. “You keep saying that your life’s there, but …” He stopped when she met his gaze.

“I know! I … dammit, Travis. Do you know how hard it is to keep Callie convinced that everything’s rosy? Jamie’s made my life miserable for the last couple of years. But I feel like I’m between the proverbial rock and hard place.”

“How’s that?”

“You know what I mean – I don’t want to come barging my way into Callie’s life.”

Travis clenched his jaw.

“What? What’s that look for?”

“Because you’re a damn stubborn woman, Loretta Rayne.”

Her eyes widened and she sat back in her seat. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You’re stubborn.” He couldn’t keep the scowl off his face. “I get stubborn – understand it even. But, darlin’, you ain’t stupid. So, face the facts, would ya? Your daughter wants you in her life – in the everyday routine of life. You want to be around her. You have a whole bunch of family-in-law and wannabe friends who’d all love it if you moved here. You haven’t talked about one damn thing about your life in Georgia as though you love it. And now you’re telling me that you have some psycho crazy woman who broke your leg and could still do who knows what else to you if you go back there.”

He blew out a big sigh. “And I’m sorry. I’m not yelling at you. I know I have no right but …” He met her gaze. “I’d say the same to anyone in your situation, Retta. It’d bother me to know that anyone was in your shoes. But you’re not just anyone. I might not have a right to, but I care.”

She inhaled sharply, and he waited. He was fully aware that she’d have every right to bitch him out. He’d called her stubborn – he wasn’t going to take it back, but he could see that it was hardly likely to endear him to her.

He held her gaze and waited. The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes while they stared into each other’s eyes. A wave of relief washed over him when she laughed.

“Damn, Travis. Say it like it is, why don’t you?”

He gave her a rueful smile. “I couldn’t keep it zipped. Do you want me to take you back to Callie’s place?”

She sat up a little straighter. “Hell no! Unless you’re saying that you don’t want a stubborn woman’s touch in your cabins.”

He chuckled. “Not what I meant.”

“Okay, then. I don’t want to talk about it, but I will concede that you might have a point.”

“Yeah?”

She blew out a sigh. “Yeah. Like you said, I’m not stupid. I’ve been wondering for a while if it’s not time for me to give up some old habits.”

“What kind of habits?”

“Thinking habits mostly, I guess. I told myself some stories about how things were in my life – and in Callie’s life. I made some rules for myself based on those stories – rules about how I live.”

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