Page 50 of A Family With the Cowboy

Inside him, something moved, struggling to break free. Something had changed, but pushing the thought aside, he focused on giving the woman in his arms as much pleasure as he could. Wave after wave of sensation broke over them and together, they crested.

*

It was earlyevening when Hayden left. With her lips still tingling from his last kiss, Laura closed the front door and walked back to her room. Molly was still at Arlene’s, but before she could fetch the dog, she had to get dressed.

Dreamily, she walked back to her room. Oh, my. The bed was still rumpled and one pillow had ended up on the floor. Picking it up, she pressed her face into it. All Hayden. A groan escaped. How was she supposed to fall asleep tonight?

What the man could do with his hands and mouth… Blushing, she touched her warm cheeks. She’d never felt so beautiful, so cherished, so loved before.

The room tilted, and she quickly sat down on the bed. Loved. For long minutes, she stared at the pillow in her hands. Loved. With a groan, she dropped her head in her hands. She’d gone and done exactly what she shouldn’t have done—she’d fallen in love with the cowboy.

That was why she’d welcomed him into her bed so quickly. Her heart had known how she felt about him before she’d consciously realized it. She loved him. With every fiber of her being. Deeply, irrevocably, passionately.

He didn’t feel the same, though. A fling, that was all that this was. Temporary, snatching moments together when possible.

The lump in her throat was sudden, unexpected. She swallowed the sob that was about to slip out. Jumping up, she blinked a few times and cleared her throat. It was no use crying over something she couldn’t change or stop. That was something she’d learned the hard way when her mom had fallen ill.

Happily-ever-after was a myth, after all. She knew that. Not even her beautiful mother had one. Yes, she’d married the love of her life, but then an illness nobody could have predicted had taken over her body. There hadn’t been a cure.

Grabbing her jeans, she quickly slipped them on. At least she had a dog who loved her unconditionally.

Minutes later, she crossed the lawn to Arlene’s house. At the front door, she inhaled deeply and made sure her hair was in place. It was a bit disconcerting, knowing she was about to see the mother of the man with whom she’d made love for the last few hours.

Arlene was gracious, as always. Only the twinkle in her eye gave her away. “What about a cup of tea?” Arlene asked as Laura bent to pick up Molly.

“Thanks, Arlene, but I still have a few things to do for tomorrow’s class. Thanks for keeping Molly. I hope she didn’t make a mess?”

“Not at all. She fretted a bit when Cooper wanted to leave, but he did that thing he does with animals and she calmed down.”

“That thing?” Laura asked. She’d picked up here and there about Willow’s ability to just know things about her loved ones. Although she didn’t understand it, she’d experienced the way Cooper was with animals herself when she was at his place for dinner and to pick up Molly.

Arlene smiled as she accompanied Laura down the footpath. “My mom was fey, as the Irish call the ability to have a foreboding when something bad is about to happen. Willow gets that from her. She also seems to know what other people feel. She can read their emotions, so to speak. That’s one of the reasons she prefers to live on the ranch.” Arlene chuckled. “That and her preference to swim naked in the hot spring on the ranch. Cooper has it too, in a way, although I think he deliberately directs his instinct toward animals. Since Willow was a little girl, she’d know things about her brothers they’d rather not have anybody know. Used to make them so mad. And Coop…he has such a big heart, I worry about him sometimes. And you know what? I think our Luke has been blessed with the same thing. I’ve only recently become aware of that.”

Surprised, Laura looked at her. “Really?”

“He knows how his dad feels about you. Hayden wouldn’t have told him.”

Laura swallowed. Arlene obviously knew what Laura and her son had been up to earlier in the day. She should tell her what was really going on. “Hayden and I…it’s only temporary.”

Arlene looked at her. “And how do you feel about that?”

Looking down at Molly, Laura swallowed. “I want to be with him for as long as he wants me.”

“Because you love him?”

Laura inhaled sharply. “How…?” Too late, she realized she’d confessed her love for Hayden with that one word.

“Oh, sweetie,” Arlene said, giving a quick hug. “They were all still struggling with Walker’s death when Madeline became ill. Hayden never had time to really process his grief. He has Luke to look after. He’s a protector and always has been. My oldest believes he must be strong all the time because that’s the way to safety. He’s been denying his own fears and weaknesses for so long, I don’t even think he knows that. But when you’re around, Laura, he’s different. I can see something of the son I remember in his eyes. Don’t give up on him too soon?”

Laura couldn’t speak. Her throat was clogged up. Nodding, she returned Arlene’s hug before she left.

She wasn’t the one who was planning on giving up. Drama and complications—exactly what she hadn’t wanted when she’d arrived in Marietta. But then, her heart had decided otherwise.

Chapter Eighteen

By late Fridayafternoon, Hayden was restless, moody, irritated. Fed up with the whole situation, he got out of his truck. It had been a long day.

Frustration was a live thing, clawing at his insides. He hadn’t seen Laura since Sunday. They’d texted and he’d phoned her every night, but there hadn’t been a chance to be with her again. When he was free, she was teaching, and when she had free time, he had Luke with him.

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