Page 16 of Running to the Cowboy

I spin around in alarm, then clutch my chest in relief.

Wylie looks back at me with nothing but concern on his face. He’s also naked from the waist up, looking like sin in low-slung flannel pajama bottoms. A subtle smattering of hair dusts his chest and lower belly.

The man is so sculpted from hard work that he has these …lines. For no apparent reason, I feel compelled to cross one of my legs in front of the other. I clear my parched throat as I try not to look at the lines that angle like a vee that points to…well. They point to nowhere wholesome; that’s where. Hellfire and brimstone are licking at my feet. How is this fair? How? All I wanted was some tea, and now I have a bare-chested Wylie and his hard cowboy body giving me impure thoughts.

I force my flame-red cheeks to smile, and shake my head. “No. The raccoon outside startled me, and I just need something to settle my nerves.”

Wylie smiles and crosses his arms. “They have medication for that.”

I laugh and look down at my hands. It’s the only safe place to look right now.

“So, how long has Dani been working here?” I ask.

“Dani? Um, about a year, I think.”

“She seems nice,” I say, peeking up at him.

He looks confused about where I might be going with this. “She gets along with everyone. But mainly, she’s a hard worker.”

I swallow hard. “You and her get along, though?”

Wylie’s eyes narrow. “Sure, why wouldn’t we?”

My heart is breaking. But it’s better to break it now than six months from now, after pining away pointlessly.

“No reason you shouldn’t. You make a really good-looking couple.”

Because life is unfair, tears spill out of my eyes before I know they’re there.

Wylie looks more confused than I’ve ever seen.

“Couple?”

I can’t reply; I can only breathe and dab the tears away.

“No, Olivia. Dani is my employee. We are not a couple. That would be wrong.”

He could have acted dumbfounded or disturbed by the idea. Wylie is so kind about my lack of understanding, yet I feel so stupid. If only he would mock me, it might dampen my feelings about him and refocus my mind on my goal here. I don’t need to moon over a cowboy. I need independence and a path to help people get out of the church.

“Oh,” I say through a relieved-yet-achey sob. “This is so embarrassing. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

Wylie says nothing, though I would not judge him for laughing.

Instead, he covers the distance between us and, to my complete astonishment, wraps his big arms around me.

I suck in every ounce of oxygen I can, thinking this might be the moment I die.

As this cowboy hugs me, I have no choice but to lean my head into his bare chest.

This man is squeezing our bodies together, and I might pass out from happiness and guilt.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say.

“Shh.”

Two warm arms brace around my back. We hug like this for a full minute, hearts pounding. We fit together so nicely. His shoulder and my cheekbone. His long, muscled torso against my breasts. His hips against my stomach. His arms make me feel surrounded and protected. Covered. As if no one can find me here.

And maybe it’s okay that I feel something perfect for just one minute. Louisa, Goldie…they will be okay. I have to believe that in order for me not to panic. The problem is bigger than what I can handle in one night, or even one week. The problem will likely still be here a year from now. And I’ll be there every step of the way.

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