Page 24 of Dependable Cowboy

He was completely lost. Lost in her kiss. Lost in her arms. Lost in her, period.

And as long as he could breathe in her scent—bubble gum, like when they were young—feel her warmth against him, he knew hecould be content. It helped, too, that he knew what was going on with Joy. He was willing to go at whatever pace she’d like, even if in the back of his mind, he vividly remembered the direction their relationship had gone the last time.

Not that he wanted to think about that right now.

It wouldn’t be like that this time around. Joy was divorcing the dirtbag she married, and once she was legally free, they could move forward together.

He felt optimistic about his chances with Joy, especially right now. He finally released her so she could go inside, though he did so reluctantly. He waved to her once back behind his steering wheel and puttered through town and onto his bumpy driveway. Only once he pulled up in front of his own house did this niggling concern pop back up for him.

It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch or a burning along his scalp he couldn’t seem to reach. He hated to think it was a warning going off or some sort of red flag blowing in the wind, but he couldn’t seem to free himself of the feeling.

Heading inside, he busied himself with folding the laundry he’d been neglecting and getting ready for bed. But even while brushing his teeth and taking a shower, that annoying feeling wouldn’t go away. He didn’t know why. But ultimately, he decided to ignore the feeling.

This was Joy, the woman he’d always loved, and his dream come true. This time nothing would thwart them. Nothing would rear its ugly head.

They would work out how to become closer and closer. The seriousness he’d always avoided with every other woman he’d dated he actually welcomed when it came to Joy. His originalfeelings for her were still there—had been there all along—even though the dynamics of dating Joy would have to change to include Kara.

But she was a cool kid. He could imagine them combining into this single, happy family unit eventually, after all Joy’s legal entanglements had gone through whatever rigmarole it would take to work themselves out.

It could happen this time. He could be with her now and five years from now. He could be with Joy for a lifetime.

And he would.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Now that Aaronand Joy had figured out their footing, she felt so content. For the first time in a long, long while, she had this sense of stability that had been missing from her day-to-day experience. She’d basically forgotten what it felt like to be supported. But with Aaron at her side and her parents now at her back, she felt like she had a whole new lease on life.

She felt thrilled to observe just how well Kara and Aaron had been getting along. Not only had he been highly complimentary to her level of skill in drawing, he’d actually sat down to color with her, a paragon of kindness and patience.

“You get to play with cows, right?” she asked him, and Joy hid her grin as he nodded. Kara probably imagined him playing with cows all day rather than working to keep them safe and well fed.

“I do. Some horses, too. All out along this vast stretch of fields and pastureland.”

This had led her daughter to sketch out this detailed picture of both types of animals standing behind a fence. Each creature looked remarkably realistic considering how young Kara was. Inthe back was a swath of open country with a handful of trees here and there. There were even mountains along the horizon.

“I made that for you to color in,” Kara explained to Aaron, and pride burst inside of Joy at this inclusion. Particularly when the two of them spent the next half-hour coloring in mutually relaxed silence together.

She’d once hoped that Wayne would’ve shared such a relationship with his daughter, that he would’ve prioritized Kara over everything else, but those dreams had long since died. Seeing such a thing transpiring with Aaron instead gave Joy hope.

It looked like returning to Rocky Ridge, something she’d dreaded before she’d done it, would turn out to be the best decision, after all.

She felt overjoyed when Aaron volunteered to be there for her daughter’s Career Day at school, too. Kara had asked her himself, something that astounded Joy, but she was so glad that her daughter felt comfortable enough around the man she was dating to do so.

Joy took off from the salon to watch as her childhood best friend cheerfully discussed his life as a rancher. The whiteboard surrounding the room and the colorful posters provided a bright environment and interesting backdrop for him to present in.

“It’s a lot of responsibility,” he informed the kids, his cowboy hat in hand. Aaron seemed so sweet and bashful in front of that third-grade class that Joy was sorely tempted to take a photo of him to save the moment for posterity. “The animals depend on us to take care of them, and if we don’t, they won’t be able to provide milk or baby calves for the next generations. Wemaintain fences to keep them safe, and in the barn, we have to be their own personal clean-up squad.”

“Why?” asked a boy in the front row, his pants busted out at each knee. A memory of Aaron at the same age swam back to her with his jeans in a similar predicament. She wondered how much a future son of his might resemble this tow-headed young boy.

Then, she shook her head. It was far too early to go there. At least with herself in the role of the mother.

“Well,” Aaron scratched at the back of his head. “Because their stall is also their bathroom.”

“Ewww,” several of the kids intoned, and Joy snorted, deciding to cover the accidental noise with a fake cough. Aaron didn’t miss this and caught her eye with that constant grin of his, this one edged with gleeful humor.

“But I don’t mind even that duty. I love taking care of animals and being out in the open air like that… It’s just the best feeling ever.”

Joy could see it in his face. He meant every word, and she felt so glad he gained so much satisfaction from his work. She did, too. Having a fulfilling career really did help to make life easier. It’d been the one part she’d been able to cling to while in California no matter what might be going on with her husband.

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