Page 17 of The Roper & the Author

His roping partner Joey had come down with the flu and couldn’t even get out of bed this morning. Easton received an emergency summons and had to leave to assist with a wildland fire. Walker had trained with Miss Sue for hours, showered, then come to the house to wait for Marci.

Was the switch heaven sent, or temptation from the other direction? Why did it feel like Marci was his missing piece and yet somehow his twin brother felt the same way? It was true Walker, Miles, and Clint had all felt something for Lily, but not like this. At least not for him or Miles. His Navy SEAL brother had told him his feelings for Eva Chevron the famous actress were a million times what he’d ever felt for Lily. Walker already felt the same regarding Marci. Hopefully Clint felt this way about Lily. From the way the two of them acted, Walker could bet he did. What about Easton?

He couldn’t get his twin’s parting words out of his mind.Watch over her for me, bruh. I know I can trust you to take care of her but not steal her from me.

Honest truth? The words ticked him off and made him feel loads of guilt. Marci and Easton weren’t in a relationship, so how could Walker steal her? But ironically, he’d asked something similar of Clint regarding Lily a few weeks ago, so he was a hypocrite if he didn’t listen to Easton and try to keep Marci safe without trying to secure her heart.

The guilt compounded because Easton was his other half and his twin hadn’t been in a real relationship since Cassie had left ten years ago. Easton flirted, went on a date or two with a lady, maybe kissed her, but then the brick walls went up and the poor woman had no idea why she got a text writing her off.

If Marci truly was the right woman for his twin brother and could heal his shattered heart, Walker needed to step away and he needed to do it quick. Before he got even more invested.

He released Marci and stepped back. She clung to him and stepped with him. Gazing up at him with those gorgeous mahogany-brown eyes, she smiled enticingly. His heart raced, and it was all he could do to stand his ground. Was this how Revolutionary War soldiers felt when their commanders told them to hold the line or stand their ground and they knew a cannonball or volley of shots was going to rip through them and kill or maim a good portion of them and their friends? That was how he felt right now. He was going to kill or maim his own heart. To honor and support his twin brother, he’d step forward and take that cannon ball.

Hold the line.

When he didn’t wrap her up again, Marci murmured, “Oh.Perdóname.” She released him and straightened, studying him as if he would explain why he pulled away, why he wasn’t kissingher and making his own dreams come true. “I was so excited to see it was you,” she said softly. “I lost my mind.”

Walker knew the feeling. He lost his mind when he looked at her, heard her speak, touched her. He brushed at his hair, missing the shelter of his cowboy hat that he’d left on the entry table downstairs. “Easton got called out on an emergency. He volunteers as a wildland firefighter, they’re short on qualified people, and it’s mighty dry this time of year.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “That’s impressive and it fits him, risking his life to help others.”

“Yep.” His stomach felt sick. Easton was heroic. Walker wanted to brag about how heroic he was being currently. He was unselfishly killing his own dreams with her for his brother. Would she be impressed? He shoved his hand through his hair. “Easton is very heroic.”

“For sure. But why are you here? I thought you had a big rodeo. You should go. Don’t miss out on that to watch over me. I’m certain I’m safe here. You can tell how excited I was to see you and I want you here, badly, but I can’t be that girl, the one who holds you back from your dreams.” She pushed at his arm as if she’d push him to go and fulfill his roping dreams.

He smiled and couldn’t resist capturing her smaller hand in his. Her lips softened and the pulse in her neck thrummed quickly. He should release her hand, and he would. In a minute.

She wanted him here. Badly.

“My roping partner came down with the flu. No rodeo for me this weekend.” His grin stretched across his face.

It was rotten to be happy that Joey had the flu and Easton was off fighting a massive fire that had already claimed a hundred thousand acres in the nearby Flathead National Forest. Easton said he’d be back soon, but Walker might have days mostly alone with Marci. Talking, laughing, touching, exploring the ranch on foot or on horses, doing chores, sleeping next door.He’d looked in on her earlier to make certain she was all right. She’d been sleeping. She’d looked enticing. He may never get the image out of his mind. His neck and cheeks went hot.

“Oh. So you’re stuck with me, eh?” She looked at their joined hands and then back to his face.

His stomach gave a happy lurch, and he kept on grinning like a fool. “Or you’re stuck with me. Depending on how you look at it.”

“I don’t mind being stuck with you,” she said softly. “De nada.”

“Doesn’tde nadamean you’re welcome?”

“It does, but it also means not at all. I don’t mind being stuck with you one bit.”

Walker’s heart took off at a gallop. If she chose him, could it really be betraying his brother? That was what had happened with Lily. Clint truly loved her, and Lily had chosen Clint. In the end, it hadn’t mattered what Walker had felt.

If this situation was similar, if Marci chose Walker, he couldn’t force her on Easton. Yet Marci hadn’t had a chance to be around Easton for very long. She’d chatted with him about his career and seemed enamored with bull riding and drawn Easton out with questions. She’d cheered for both of them when they were fighting.

Easton was hilarious, brave, handsome, and charming, the type of man every woman pursued. Walker was always proud of his brother, except moments like this when he wanted to prove he was the man Marci wanted, and wished he and Easton were back in the sparring ring.

He needed to redirect before he claimed Marci’s lips and Easton was the one with the right to hit him repeatedly. How was he going to take this slow and give Easton a chance when his brother returned?

“Are you starving?” he asked, releasing her hand and stepping back to give himself a breather. She smelled like coconut, like the beach. He’d only been to the beach a handful of times. He’d loved the warmth, the endless stretch of rolling waves, the soft sand, the scents.

“I am, actually.”

“Mama’s been stressing about you sleeping through breakfast and lunch.”

“How did you know I was sleeping?” She raised an eyebrow.

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