Page 22 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

“London. But she works in finance in New York. So. Yeah. It was a thing for a minute, but she’s there. I’m here.”

Shay chose another potato and started peeling it. “And?”

“And… what?”

“You like her? Wanna date her? Be in the same city as her?”

He tossed the peeled potato in the pot of water. “What’s your point? She was… yeah, I like her and if she lived here, I’d be taking her out.”

“And that’s it?”

“I mean, we’ve texted and talked a few times. But she’s going through some things back there and I’m here, doing the ranch, and the likelihood of anything happening between us is—”

“But she texts you back?”

He tossed another potato in the pot, pinning her with a look. “I suppose you’ll want to read the text threads next.”

“Oooh, can I?”

“No!”

Shay laughed. “Okay. Okay. But I’m glad you told me. Now you don’t have to keep it all fizzling inside, all alone and by yourself. Tell me what I can do.”

“Nothing. That’s why I didn’t tell you. There’s nothing to do. I’m working on her. Trying to convince her to come out here and see Montana. But she lost her job in New York, and she’s trying to find another one. And once she does, it’ll be game over. For me anyway.”

“Maybe you should go there again. Convince her.”

“Even if I did, leaving a big-city life like she has…”

“Izzy left Dallas for Will,” she pointed out. “She loves it here.”

Liam smiled at the mention of his newest sister-in-law and his big brother Will, Shay’s twin. After years away from Montana, playing football first in college, then in the NFL, Will had brought Izzy—a big-city girl—back to Montana to settle here and the pair had never been happier. Will’s return had marked the beginning of the ranch’s reinvention, and his brother had helped finance the project. But it wasn’t just the money. It was the heart both he and Izzy had put into the family and the ranch that had seemed to pull the entire family back together after their father’s death.

So, Shay was right about Izzy. But Emily Quinn was another matter altogether. Where would she find a finance job like the one she had in New York in small-town Montana? Nowhere. That was where.

“It’s not the same for Emily. Besides, we hardly know each other, really,” he said finally. “She’s good at what she does, and she can cook like nobody’s business. She’s got this whole social supper club thing going on in the city and all her people are there.”

“Right,” Shay said. “Obviously impossible. I suppose you should just give up on her. There’s no hope of anything working out. Clearly.” She side-eyed him.

“Did I say I was giving up? Again, this is why I didn’t tell you about her.”

“That’s better.” At his look of annoyance, she said, “You know Cooper and I never stood a chance, right? I mean, technically, our chances were zero. And now look. After everything that stood in our way, we made it. I’m not saying I know what’s best for you, but if she’s still on your mind and in your heart three weeks later and you can’t get her out, then there’s something there. And don’t let your worry about trivial matters like geography get in the way.”

His worries weren’t trivial, nor were Emily’s. But Shay had a point. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and that meant something. And he couldn’t let his pessimism about the possibility of her overtake him.

Their mom, Sarah, walked into the kitchen just then, carrying an armload of laundry, her shoulder-length dark-blonde hair tucked into a messy bun. She looked younger today than she had a few years ago when ranch troubles and Liam’s father’s death had pressed down on her. But that was thanks, in part, to Ray Lane reappearing in her life and the relationship that was still blossoming between them. She seemed happy in a way he’d never really seen her before.

“Am I interrupting?” she asked, stopping at the doorway when the two of them clammed up.

“Nope,” they both said at once as Shay’s gaze met Liam’s.

“Oh, good. Is everyone staying for supper tonight?”

“Almost. I’m pretty sure Gus is out on a vet call, though,” Shay told her. “But Cami said she’d save him a plate.”

Sarah eyed Liam. “You’ve been awfully moody lately. Everything okay?”

“Why is everyone asking me that? I’m not moody. I’ve never been moody.”

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