Page 38 of Cop-Off

Yep. It’s not coming back.

“You think you could bring that hat home with you?” Cat’s fingers were climbing up his torso now, a playful look in her eyes.

One hand shot to the rim of his leather Stetson. “You like this, kitten?”

He had his answer as soon as her expression switched from playful to hot-blooded hellion. His woman really did have a thing for cowboys.

“Maybe.” Those naughty fingers of hers were now playing with the buttons at the opening of his shirt. “Bring that hat home and I’m sure you’ll find out.”

It was decided. He was never taking the thing off. And damn if the word ‘home’ didn’t sound really, really good coming out of her sweet mouth.

Just be patient.

He wasn’t feeling very patient. Especially as she reached up and grazed his lips with a teasing kiss. A rumble vibrated down his throat. The only thing stopping him from throwing Cat down and taking what he wanted was the mare snorting beside them.

Shaking his head in the hope that some of his senses that had been rattled loose would return to their rightful place, he took a reluctant step back.

Making quick work of tying up their horse to the nearest tree, he grabbed hold of Cat’s hand and led her up the pebble path. This was his favorite spot. Secluded and high up enough to look out onto the nearby creek.

“This is where I used to come as a kid.” Kneeling down, he settled himself into the springy grass and tugged on Cat’s hand until she joined him. “You see that over there?” He pointed out the pile of wooden planks sitting under a huge bur oak.

“Yeah.”

“That was my old treehouse. It didn’t quite make it through its first storm, though.”

Her eyes remained fixed on the stack of wood. “That’s sad. Did you not try and build another one?”

“Nah, I was onto my next phase by then. Video games, if I remember correctly.” Cody’s arm went around her shoulder, and he tucked her into his side. “And girls.”

Cat let her head fall onto his shoulder. It felt damn good to share this place with her. He’d never taken anyone up here before. Not even Dylan. One day he wanted Dylan to find his own spot. Somewhere he could escape like he had. It was yet another reminder he’d been dragging serious ass when it came to buying land for them. Maybe it was finally time to fix that.

“Jack wants me to go back with him. To Brighton.”

If there was ever a way to pull Cody out of his head in less than a second, those words would definitely do it.

“What?” He didn’t even hide the panic in his voice.

“He doesn’t think Dad has long and thinks I should go back. To say goodbye.”

“For a visit...or are we talking moving back?” Again, he was beyond hiding the fear crawling up his throat.

“He wants me to stay until...you know.”

That could be months. A year. Longer. Who was to say how long her dad had left. Surely, that was in God’s hands. Fighting to contain the frantic feeling inside, he twisted to look at her, her head no longer given the option of a place to rest.

“When you say Jack thinks your dad doesn’t have long, is that just a guess or did an actual doctor tell him that?”

The sadness shining in those blue pools managed to switch his brain back on. It clicked then. He was being selfish. This was her dad, for heaven’s sake. Her dad who was going to die. And all he’d been worrying about was himself when he should have been worrying about her.

His big hand reached out to cup her delicate face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay? What doyouwant to do?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice was just a whisper. “A part of me thinks I’ve been grieving for so long that it feels like a relief to finally be free. To just accept that he’s gone, y’know? And start moving on with my life. But then there’s this other part of me. The guilty part. The one telling me how selfish I’m being. That I’ve given up on a man who is still very much alive ‘cos I’m just not strong enough to handle what’s going on.”

His chest tightened as her gaze hit the grass. Using a single finger, he lifted her chin until he was looking into her eyes. “Hey, don’t do that. Don’t put all that shit on your shoulders. You’re the strongest person I know. You spent three years doing what most people wouldn’t even last three days doing. And you did it all out of love. You’re fucking amazing, sweetheart. I’m in awe of you.”

And he was. Behind her obvious strength was layers and layers of kindness. She was the best person he knew. She had looked after everyone around her for years while still maintaining a full-time job. And what looked like an anxietydisorder. The last thing she should have been feeling was guilt for finally putting herself first.

“How can you say that? I abandoned not only my dad but my mum, too. And Jack. All because I was too weak to stick it out any longer.”

---