Page 25 of Second Chance With a Cowboy

“Hi,” he finally managed to get out.

She thrust the plastic container she was holding toward him. “I made you some cookies. To thank you. For the railings. And for everything you did to help us.”

He took the container, surprised that she had baked him something after giving him the cold shoulder the day before. “Are these…?”

She nodded then almost begrudgingly admitted, “Yes. They’re your favorite. The ones with the chocolateandthe butterscotch chips.”

He lifted the lid and groaned as he inhaled the buttery scents of vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch. “My lord, these smell amazing.” He lifted one out, took a big bite, and let out another groan. They were golden brown, baked to perfection, chewy on top, crispy on the bottom, the chips slightly melted from being in the sun, and as round as his fist. “These are so good,” he said around a mouthful of cookie. Biting into it was like hearing an old favorite song on the radio, one that took him back to some of his happiest moments. “They taste like summer and make me think of that road trip we took to Salida to pick up that tractor part for Duke. You made a batch of these, and I think I ate half the container before we even made it out of town. That was a great trip.”

“Okay. Don’t get all worked up. They’re just cookies.”

“They’re like heaven in my mouth.” He took another one then closed the lid before he ate them all.

She laughed. “They’re also kind of a peace offering. I’m sorry I ghosted you yesterday.”

“What happened? I thought we were doing okay. Having fun.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged as she looked down at her feet, toeing a rock around with the edge of her sandal before looking back up at him. “I’ve been so mad at you. For years. And then, suddenly, I wasn’t. Iwashaving fun with you. And I liked being around you again. And it felt good.Toogood. Because then I remembered that you broke my heart, and I just got mad all over again.”

“Leni,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I’m so sorry.”

She held up a hand to stop whatever he was going to say next.

Which was actually okay, because he had no idea what he would have said. There was nothing to say. No excuse. He had hurt her, and he’d done it on purpose.

He’d sent her away, forced her to leave this town and follow her dreams.

And the harsh reality was that he would do it again.

It didn’t matter that it had torn his heart in two.

He hated that he’d hurt her, but shehadleft and gone to college at MIT and had gotten that aerospace engineering degree and a job at Boeing doing what she’d always dreamed about.

And that was worth the pain that it had caused him.

Because he would do anything to make her happy.

“Look, I just…” She swallowed as she stared at him, then waved her hand toward his chest. “Could you please put a shirt on. I can’t talk to you when all your muscles are staring at me.”

A grin broke across his face.Sooo, she liked his muscles.

He offered her a confused look as he lifted his arm like he was pointing at something but was really just flexing his bicep. “What muscles?” He did another exaggerated flex of both arms this time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Stop. I can’t take it. When did you get so…” She paused, as if she couldn’t come up with the right word. “So…muscle-y? And big? Do you work out now or something?”

He laughed again. “No. I justwork. But on the ranch, I’m always lifting or hauling or carrying something, like bales of hay or baby calves.” He flexed again, just to tease her. “So, I’ve come by these guns honestly.”

She laughed with him. Finally, he’d made her laugh. “Alright. But could you put your guns away. They’re making me all…squirmy.”

He liked making her squirmy.

“Fine. I’ll just have to find my shirt. I think I left it over there.” He flexed one more time as he pointed toward the woodpile but chuckled as he did it.

Before he could take a step forward, a streak of English cream came racing through the trees and sprinting toward them. Murphy ran straight for Leni then went crazy with seeing her—circling around her, tail wagging at a furious rate as he whined and rubbed against her legs, then rolled over on his belly in total golden retrieverI love you more than anything/please pet me or I’ll diemode.

Chevy could understand why. He was pretty excited about seeing her too.

“Murphy.” The word came out in a breathy whisper, then Leni laughed as she bent down to ruffle the dog’s neck and rub his belly. “Oh my gosh. Murphy. I can’t believe it. How are you, my sweet love?” She looked up at Chevy, who was feeling a littlejealous at the affectionate endearments she was giving the dog. “Is this really Murphy? I can’t believe you still have him.”

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