Page 16 of A Touch of Cowboy

“You said you were good with hot chocolate, right?” She twirled a lock of her golden hair in her fingers. Long, delicate fingers.

“That’d be great.”

“Right. You can hang out wherever.” She moved from the family room, through the eating area, to the kitchen. The space spanned the entire length of the house.

Naturally, he followed her. Admiring her ass in those tight jeans.

Yet he’d say she didn’t wear them to attract attention. She honestly seemed pretty confident in herself and not flaunting her beauty. He liked that about her.

Darla had been the same way. Subtle. Not brash.

“There are three bedrooms?”

She nodded as she got the milk out of the fridge. She put a saucepan on the stove, poured milk in, and turned on the burner. “Yeah. I’ve left it the way Justin had it. The master bedroom’s plain, but the two other bedrooms are decorated with children in mind. He used to be an emergency foster parent.”

“And now he’s married with two children.”

“Yep.” She stirred the milk slowly while angling herself to face him. “I honestly envy him that. He’s a couple of years younger than me, but found a man to love, a son to adopt, and a little girl who’ll likely be his as well soon. Her mother’s in jail—sad story, that. Justin and Stanley are willing to continue to just be foster parents, but Opal’s mother is facing a long stretch. Justin said she’s been asking them to consider adopting Opal.”

“That’s a tough one.”

“Yep. I don’t envy any of them. That being said, Opal couldn’t be in better hands. Stanley and Justin were just made to be dads. Even if Stanley didn’t believe it at first.”

Will cocked his head.

Avery waved off the thought. “Too complicated to explain.” She offered him a sly glance. “But I’d love to hear more about being a real cowboy.”

So he regaled her with a few funny anecdotes about life on a cattle ranch. He didn’t talk about the births of cows that went wrong. He didn’t talk about his coworker who got injured when the idiot tried to pretend he was on the rodeo circuit. Instead, he found the levity. The stuff Darla had loved when he shared.

Eventually the hot chocolate was consumed. They’d made their way into the living room and settled onto the couch.

The little Christmas tree’s sparkling lights were the only illumination.

Avery took Will’s mug, placed it along with hers on the coffee table, then took his hands. She gazed into his eyes. “You tell me if I’m being too forward—”

“You’re not—”

She squeezed his hands. Tight. “We’ve only met twice.”

“And yet I know I want to spend more time with you. And yeah, I’m going to leave, and that’s going to suck for both of us, but I want to spend the rest of my time in Mission City with you.”

“As well as your family,” she prompted.

“Of course.” Yet he’d honestly spent the past two weeks with them and, after the bridge incident, had been constantly under his sister’s watchful eye. He needed a break.

Taking the initiative, he grasped her chin, gently tilting it up.

She grinned, wove her hands around his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss.

A kiss much like the one they’d shared in the park, only this time they weren’t worried about freezing or layers of coats.

Soon, she straddled him, pressing her heat against his hardening erection. “I want you.”

“Yeah.”

“In my bed.”

Their gazes locked. He grinned. “Yeah, I can do that.”

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