Page 58 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

Reid almost didn’t recognize the man staring back at him. This man wasn’t a lone cowboy who avoided people and chaos. The man sketched on the paper looked like a man who livedlife to the fullest. You could see it in the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and the slight tilt of his lips that he wasn’t the type of man who planned everything and worried about what tomorrow would bring. He was a relaxed, carefree man who lived for the moment.

The type of man who easily laughed . . . and easily loved.

Love shone from his eyes like a beacon.

Seeing that love so blatantly illustrated completely broadsided Reid. This was how Sunny viewed him? This was the man she saw when she looked at him? Or maybe this was the man he became when she was with him.

A better man.

He was still trying to process everything when his cellphone rang. He didn’t realize how much he wanted it to be Sunny until his heart dropped with disappointment when he saw Corbin’s name on the screen. He thought about not answering it. But then realized he had to. Corbin was his boss.

“Hey, Mr. Whitlock. Is there a problem at the ranch?”

“No. There’s another problem I’d like to discuss. Can you come over to my house?”

“Sure. I’ll be right there.”

It didn’t take him long to get dressed and drive to Corbin and Belle’s house. Corbin was waiting for him on the front porch. Which made Reid feel more than a little uneasy.

As soon as he stepped onto the porch, Corbin nodded at a chair. “Have a seat.”

Reid sat down. “If this is about Sophie wrecking Sunny’s car, I have already turned it over to my insurance and they said they’d take care of everything.”

“It’s not about Sunny’s car, Reid.” Corbin hesitated. “It’s about her heart.”

All Reid could do was stare at him. “Her heart?”

Corbin studied him. “I’d like to know why, today at the hospital, Sunny was so upset.”

“I’m sure she was just concerned about Sophie.”

“I thought the same until we found out Sophie was just fine and Sunny still looked like she had every time our parents dumped us off on another relative.” He stared Reid down. “Like someone she loves didn’t love her enough to want to keep her. I figured that someone was you when she raced off to the bathroom as soon as you and Sophie stepped into the lobby.”

Just the thought of Sunny loving him made his stomach feel like he’d just been tossed from a horse and was freefalling. Of course, it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. “She doesn’t love me.”

“Are you sure about that? People think Sunny is just a frivolous carefree young woman who does things on a whim. But that’s not true. Before she makes any decision, she considers all the repercussions. Mostly because she doesn’t want her actions to hurt anyone. I’m sure she thought about painting theton the Nothin’ But Muffins sign for weeks before she actually did it. She wouldn’t randomly fall in bed with a man—especially the foreman of my ranch and a young girl’s guardian—unless she had strong feelings.”

“But she’s leaving.”

Corbin smiled sadly. “Of course, she is. That’s how she protects her heart. She leaves before someone can leave her.”

It was like a huge light bulb went on in Reid’s head. He had thought the sketch Sunny had drawn that morning was of a man who could love. That was true. But Sunny wouldn’t have seen that love unless she’d been looking for it. Unless she loved him as much as he loved her.

“Holy shit,” he whispered. “Sunny loves me.”

Corbin sighed. “I think that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Reid didn’t know what to do with the revelation. He felt stunned and overwhelmed . . . and completely unworthy. “But how could she love me? I mean she could get anyone she wants.”

Corbin sent him a pointed look. “I think all Sunny wants is to be loved by someone who won’t ever let her go.”

Reid had done just the opposite. He was so upset about Sophie that he’d pushed Sunny away. When things got tough, he’d abandoned her without a backward glance. Just like he had done to his sister. Obviously, Sunny wasn’t the only one who pushed people away because they were scared of getting hurt.

“Shit.” He rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands. “I’m such an idiot. I was so busy guarding my own heart that I didn’t realize I was breaking hers.”

“So you love her?”

He lowered his hands and looked at Corbin. “Yes. I love her. But I think it might be too late to prove it after how I treated her.”

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