Page 82 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“It’s good to see you,” Ari said to Retta. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great, thanks. I’ve been keeping myself busy working on the cabins.”

“You’ve been more than busy,” said Ty. “You’re working wonders. I was shocked when I saw the place this morning.”

Retta smiled happily. “Thanks. I just hope I’m creating the right kind of feeling.”

“You are,” Ty assured her. “Like I told you this morning, I was a bit worried at first when Trav told me that you were going to work on making the cabins feel cozy. I thought whatever you did might be a bit … much, but you found the perfect balance.”

Travis grinned. He had no right to – the magic that Retta was working on the cabins was no reflection on him – but he felt incredibly proud of her.

Deacon grinned back at him. “So, you got yourself an interior designer, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Retta. “I just …” She shrugged.

“It’s all right, darlin’,” Travis told her. “He’s just having a dig at me. We all know that I don’t exactly have the domestic touch.”

Ace laughed. “Trav was always more the bare bones kind of guy. The rest of us all had at least a photo or something personal in our space. Wherever he stayed, it looked the same while he was living there as it did on the day he arrived and the day he left.”

Retta gave him a puzzled look, and he shrugged. “It’s true.”

“But the house is lovely.”

He chuckled. “It is, and I’m grateful to the previous owners that they were happy to sell it furnished.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that.”

Ty patted Travis’s shoulder. “You just have different priorities, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” He smiled at Retta. “And I might not know how to make a place feel like a home, but I know that having you in it does.”

“Aww.” Her hand came up to cover her heart.

Trip laughed. “You want to watch yourself, Retta. He’s a charmer.”

“I’m aware. But you can’t tell me that you don’t love him for it.”

Trip met his gaze. “I can’t. I love him to pieces, and we all know it – even when I should be mad at him.”

Travis raised his eyebrows. He and Trip had played telephone tag since Sunday, but they hadn’t managed to talk yet. He didn’t want to ask what Trip was mad about – didn’t want to bring up the subject of Shelly if Trip didn’t want to go there.

“What did you do, Trav?” asked Ace.

He shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Oh, I think you do,” said Trip. He didn’t look too upset.

Retta gave him a worried look. “Are you mad at me, too?”

Trip smiled at her. “Of course not, sweetheart. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m only playing with him. He put me in an awkward position was all.”

“And you weren’t happy about it?” Travis asked.

“Can you stop talking in riddles and explain what’s going on?” asked Deacon.

Trip laughed. “No, we can leave the conversation here and move on instead. Or better yet, who still needs to order? We might as well have our coffee and pastries.”

Ace and Ari, and Ty and Shayna already had their coffee. Libby arrived, and a few moments after her, Kolby and Callie showed up. Travis loved seeing the way Retta and her daughter greeted each other. The love between them was unmistakable.

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