Page 17 of Destined for the Cowboy

They walked the short distance to the corner the tavern was on in companionable silence. That too was strange for him, the lack of that overlay of awkwardness that he would usually have felt with someone so new to him. Especially someone like Tris.

The food lived up to his memory, and clearly Tris hadn’t been kidding about the cilantro, she obviously savored even the heavy application he asked for. And in between bites they talked, about a little bit of everything, and he found himself wishing this casual meal could just go on and on.

An older couple, graying and just a bit slow-walking, passed by the window. He watched them go, feeling the same wistfulness he always felt, wondering what it must be like to be together for decades, to have such a bond with that one person that it withstood…everything. What it must be like for the one person you had to have in your life also had to have you. What it must be—

“Hey, Hephaestus, where did you go off to?” He blinked and snapped back to the present. She was giving him that grin again, and he was very much afraid he was gaping at her. “I meant that name in the blacksmith sense, of course.”

He scrambled to get back in the game. It obviously did not pay to let his mind wander around this woman. “And here I thought you were calling me a Greek god.”

“Well,” she said, looking exaggeratedly thoughtful, “that would fit too. But the lame part, definitely not. Not with those legs.”

He had no idea what to say to that, so he tried for something she would interpret as an answer to her question, rather than the truth that he’d been sitting here stupidly musing about lifelong connections. “I was just wondering if you’ve ever seen the mustangs at night, when they light it up from below.”

“No, I haven’t. I didn’t realize they did.”

“It’s really something. Gives it a whole different feel, almost makes them look even more real, yet at the same time almost eerie. And with lights on in the buildings around the square, the whole thing is like a crashing blend of then and now.”

She was staring at him so intently it was making him edgy. “Have you always had this amazing talent for summarizing something so perfectly in so few words?”

He had no idea what to say to that, either. It was strange that while he often chose not to speak, he usually had the words in his head. And here she was, on an occasion where he’d actuallygotten them out, calling it a talent. But there didn’t seem to be any words in his mind at all at the moment. None that would form a response to what she’d said, anyway.

Finally he just muttered his go-to excuse. “Less I say, less chance to mess up.”

“I’d say it’s more that you just cut to the chase.”

The smile she gave him then melted away the tension inside him. Tension she’d built, without even trying. And the easing of that tension enabled him to say, almost casually, “We could hang around until the lights come on, so you could see it. We’d be late getting home, but…”

“It would be worth it? I think you’re probably right.” The smile widened. “And anyway, that’s what weekends are for, isn’t it?”

Logan sank back in his chair, a little stunned both at what he’d done and how she’d answered. And that he’d actually committed himself to spending even more hours with her.

Until dark. Dark, when other urges crept in.

He gave himself a mental shake and shored up that wall he’d been so proud of, that wall built of her grief, her being his boss’s sister, and the immutable fact that she still loved her late husband.

He wondered if he would be able to keep that wall standing long enough.

Chapter Ten

Tris knew shewould carry the image in her mind forever. Those bronze horses galloping through that water, all nine of them lit from below, giving them an eerie sort of glow as if they were truly racing across a Texas plain in moonlight, yet in the middle of this urban center. It was exactly what Logan had said. A crashing blend of then and now.

He did, even if he apparently didn’t quite believe it, have a way with words, especially with description. It made her wonder, not for the first time, what exactly he said to those intractable horses he was called to deal with. But she suspected it was not what he said, even if it was a command the animal had heard before, but the way he said it that worked the miracle. Probably in that low, rumbly voice that told the creatures this being should be listened to. It certainly made her want to sit up and listen. Made her want to hear more of it.

And so when, much later than they’d originally planned, they got back in her car for the hours-long drive home, she used the hour as an excuse and announced since it was going to be a long, late drive in the dark, it was up to him to keep her awake and alert.

“Pretty sure that’s a radio of some sort,” he said, nodding toward the dash. “Bet you even have one of those newfangled streaming services connected.”

She smiled wryly. “The only thing that will keep me awake there is the news, and I want to be alert, not furious.”

He laughed. It was low, rough, and short, but definitely a laugh, and in the intimate darkness of her vehicle, it sent a ripple of warmth through her. “Hard to avoid, these days.”

“Indeed,” she agreed. Then she said something she thought would be comfortable enough for them both. “I’ve been thinking I should bring Jeremy on some of these expeditions. So he can learn a bit more about Texas, and the history. Any suggestions, for a kid his age?”

It was odd how she could tell the difference between when he was silent because he didn’t know what to say and when he was thinking about what to say. This was the latter, so she let the silence ride. And after a minute or two, he gave her the results of those thoughts.

“His age, I’d maybe start with the Apollo Mission Control Center, in Houston. Seeing the old gear they did it with is kind of fascinating.”

“Good idea,” she said, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that herself. “Maybe we’ll watch some of the documentaries first.”

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