Page 8 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

Liam shrugged. He pointed at Jess.

“Ooohh,” the cowboy said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, getting the crowd to join in. “ABrokeback Mountainsituation?”

This guy was playing to his crowd.

“’Fraid not.” Liam pointed at Jess. “His kid. A christening.”

The guy laughed. “Just kiddin’, my friend. Congrats, Daddy, on the new kid. I support all choices here. So, feel free to donate to the cause. And that cause isme.” He strummed on his guitar, belting out “Let it Be.”

Liam did, indeed, donate to his cause, tossing a couple of dollars into the guitar case.

The cowboy nodded his thanks and moved on to another likely tourist. Jess was laughing.

“That’ll teach me to engage,” Liam said. “New York City is not Marietta.”

“No, it is not.”

“Don’t you think that guy gets cold?” he asked Jess as they walked away.

“That guy? He rakes in a hundred-fifty K a year on a bad year, I hear, so I guess he’s figured out his limits.”

Liam frowned just thinking about it as a woman pushing a baby stroller moved through the crowd toward them. It took him a moment to realize it was Carolyn and she had a baseball cap on, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hey, you two! Sorry I’m late. Wyatt had a blowout just as we were leaving, and I had to change him all over again.”

Jess kissed her and she wrapped her arm around his.

“Liam, how are you liking our city so far? Aren’t you loving this rain? Thank goodness for stroller covers. He’s snug as a bug in there. Are we going to the museum or lunch first?”

Jess leaned toward Liam. “I never interrupt her when she’s on a roll like this.”

She punched his arm with a laugh. “You’re talking to a woman who’s been stuck at home for the last couple of months changing diapers, and if I’m excited to go anywhere, well, you’ll just have to live with it.”

“I’ll do more than that,” Jess said, kissing her cheek. “I’m taking you all to lunch at the Boathouse.”

“The Boathouse!” Carolyn clapped her hands together in happiness. “I haven’t been there in years!” The sweet little restaurant that edged the pond in Central Park, where boats were launched by tourists, she explained, was a favorite of hers.

“That’s because we’re not tourists anymore,” he said. “And I can guarantee Liam’s never been there. It’s the ambiance. The view. And the food’s not half bad either. You up for a short walk?”

Liam grinned. “I’m starving, so I’ll follow you two anywhere.”

“He met someone,” Jess confided to his wife. “But then he lost her.”

Carolyn looked stricken. “What?”

“Ignore him,” Liam said. “It was nothing. Just a moment. On a train.”

“On the train?Oohhh, likeBrief Encounter. I loved that old movie,” Carolyn gushed. “Trevor Howard and… oh, who was the woman? Anyway, the two of them are married to other people, but accidentally fall in love when they meet on the train. They run into each other a few times and then—”

“Have a fairy tale happy ending?” Jess said, grinning at Liam.

“No. Tragically—they’re forced apart forever. Never saw each other again.” Carolyn tipped her head sympathetically at Liam. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe that wasn’t a helpful analogy.”

“Not particularly, babe,” Jess agreed. “At any rate…” He considered Liam. “You okay, dude?”

“Aside from tragic Hollywood endings? Yeah. I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

But he was pretty sure that the way his own story with the mysterious girl on the train had already ended. Only with considerably less drama.

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