Page 29 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

She didn’t even hesitate. She shook her head. “I don’t.”

He grinned at her, then at Callie and Kolby. “Then I guess we’re all good, huh?”

Callie nodded happily, and Kolby smirked at him.

“Err, excuse me, but we’re notallgood,” said Libby. “We want some time with our new friend, too, right?” She looked at Ari, who nodded enthusiastically.

“We do, and as soon as Candy gets out here, she’s going to want some girl time, too.”

Travis shrugged. “You ladies can all gather around and supply me with some earplugs – then you can chatter to your hearts’ content.”

Libby reached over and slapped the back of his head. “Nope. You’re not invited in on the girl talk, Trav.”

“But we could relent and allow you to play chauffeur for Retta when we set up our next get together,” Ari told him.

He looked at Retta, and she shrugged.

“Sorry,” said Ari. “I don’t mean to decide anything for you – but you should be aware that you’ll need to make your own rules, or these guys will walk all over you. In the nicest possible way,” she added hurriedly when Travis and Ace both frowned at her.

“Oh, don’t look so affronted. You know I’m right. You guys try so hard to do what’s best for us that you forget to ask whatouridea of best might be.”

Travis had to laugh at Ace’s slightly disgruntled expression. Ari just patted his cheek. “This isn’t about you, Mr. Zielinski.This is about Retta.” She smiled at her. “Are you free for dinner on Tuesday?”

Travis could see that Ari might be right – he might need to watch himself and not try to take over too much. Retta looked up at him and then over at Callie before she spoke. She was so busy considering others, that it wouldn’t occur to her to put herself first.

Callie smiled at her, and said, “You know I’d love to see you making friends here.”

“And I hope you know that I’m happy to be your chauffeur if you want me,” said Travis.

She gave him a grateful smile before turning back to Ari. “It looks like I am – and thank you, I’ll look forward to it.”

“So will I,” said Libby.

Deacon smirked at Travis. “You still drinking yellow jackets?”

“Yup. Why?”

“Because it looks like I’ll need to get more in for the three of us on Tuesday. Ace comes to hang out at my place when the girls get together. Sounds like you’ll be joining us.”

Travis smiled at his friend. “Be happy to.” He’d been ready to come home to the valley for a long time, but he hadn’t had a clear idea of what his life would look like when he got here. He hadn’t seen himself hanging out with his buddies while their women went out but … damn, he loved the idea.

Chapter Seven

Retta leaned back against the counter in the kitchen and smiled at Kolby. “Thank you so much for this, sweetie.”

He chuckled. “I’m still not sure that it was the right move.”

“Don’t you worry, sunshine. If Callie tries to give you a hard time, I’ll set her straight.”

She’d managed to persuade him to let her cook. She’d had more than enough of sitting in the damn wheelchair, and since Callie was busy in her studio writing, she’d set to work on persuading Kolby to let her make dinner.

“I think we’ll both be in trouble, but I get it – I know you’ve had enough of being stuck in your chair.” He sniffed the air. “And from the way it smells in here, I reckon it’ll be worth a night in the doghouse.”

“Aw. I promise you you’ll love my chicken and dumplings, but no way will I let that girl blame you. This is all on me.”

“What is?” Callie asked from the kitchen doorway.

Retta winked at Kolby. “Everything! Your hubby was only doing as he was told. You can’t get mad at the man for doing his mother-in-law’s bidding.”

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