Page 28 of Destined for the Cowboy

“You all right?” he asked, a little gruffly, when they were seated again.

“Fine,” she said. “Better than fine. I’m so happy for them.” She nodded toward the house her family had gone into. Odd, she hadn’t quite realized that except for the surrounding trees it resembled Logan’s place, on a rise with what was probably an expansive view out over the Hill Country. She hadn’t been there long enough to look, nor had she been invited to do so, something she’d best remember.

“They’re a good fit,” he said.

“Yes.” She started the engine and backed up until she could make the turn onto the drive to the gate. A much, much shorter drive than the so-called driveway to Logan’s isolated place. “Tell me if I make a wrong turn or something.”

He made an odd sound, almost as if he’d had to smother a laugh. Maybe he was used to people getting lost trying to find his place. Then again, she had the feeling he didn’t have a lot of visitors out there.

They’d been driving for a few minutes when he said, quietly, “Is it always like that for Jackson? That he gets recognized and then…”

“Pretty much, sinceStonewallhit big.”

“That’s the real reason for the one-day trip, isn’t it?”

She glanced at him then. “Probably. If he goes and stays somewhere, it gives time for word to get out and around. If he’d gone back tomorrow like Jeremy wanted, there could easily have been a crowd.”

She saw him shake his head slowly. “I don’t know how he deals with that.”

“Sometimes,” she said, letting the smile on her face reflect in her voice in the darkness of the car, “he has help. Like you, today.”

“I was afraid I’d make them angry, and it would blow up into some big deal, but…he just wanted to be with Jeremy.”

Tris felt that now familiar tug again, that no matter how tangled her feelings were, this was a good, kind man who would stand up for his friends. And that outweighed any and everything else. So she would simply have to quash those feelings and treat him as she would any friend who had proven himself.

“And you made that possible,” she said.

He met her gaze then. “But you talked them down.”

“I was going to tell them you weren’t a bodyguard but a nanny.”

His eyes widened. She could see it even in the dim, shadowy light. And then he laughed. He laughed, a real, lingering laugh, and it was a wonderful sound that made all seem right with the world. With her world.

The very thought shocked her.

It was nearly full dark when they reached the turnoff, which she only knew because he warned her about a quarter mile ahead. “Coming this way the water warning is the clue.”

She’d of course seen the warning that the dip in the road could flood in heavy rains—they were a familiar sight out here in the Hill Country. And then she saw the even blacker outline of the oak tree, and slowed even more to make the turn.

“How did you find this place?” she asked as they started up the long drive into the hills.

“It belonged to the man who taught me blacksmithing. I lived in the room behind the workshop for a while, then…” He paused, and she saw a flare of pain in his eyes, a pain that was all toofamiliar to her. So at least there had been someone he’d cared about, cared deeply if she was any judge.

“He died?” she asked softly. It took a moment, but finally he nodded. “I’m sorry. Losing a mentor like that is very hard.” He didn’t respond, so she tried to brighten her tone. “So you ended up with your little piece of heaven in Texas.”

He did answer this time, and his voice was fairly steady. “Yes.”

“And you were the perfect fit for it.”

“Or vice versa.”

It was odd, how it felt as if they were leaving the world behind the farther they went. “It must be very peaceful out here.”

“It is.” He sounded back to normal now. “As long as you don’t mind the locals.”

She had the feeling he didn’t mean people. “Such as?”

“The usual. Coyotes. Bats. White-tailed deer. The occasional armadillo or tarantula.” He caught her reaction and added, “Didn’t like that last one, huh?”

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