Page 71 of Cowboys Can't Kiss

“Um, so Dad. About Riley. His aunt is Agnes Benton.”

“Small town, right?” Dad chuckles and follows along as I carry the ladder back to the house.

“Minuscule. We’re far enough apart in ages that our paths never crossed. We’re still really new and everything, but Dad.” My throat squeezes and tears prick my eyes. “He’s the one.”

My dad stops walking and turns towards me. “Really?” The absolute hope and joy on his face tears me apart. Mostly because when my parents are happy, I’m happy. But also a little sad because Riley never had this kind of support from his parents. “Yeah. I mean, I haven’t told him that yet. Well, not really, but yeah. I don’t want to spend a minute away from him, you know?”

“I know, Jack. Very well. Have you told your mother?”

Shaking my head, I lean the ladder against the house. “Not yet. You were in a hurry to change my lightbulb, and I couldn’t wait another minute to talk about him.”

Dad shrugs as he hands me the lightbulb and holds the ladder for me. “Safety lighting is important. I raised you better than that.”

He’s right. Riley was here in the dark once, and I could tell it spooked him. When I opened the door and the house lights flooded into the blackness, he visibly sagged in relief.

After taking care of the bulb and putting the ladder back, we join Mom inside for tea. She’s already made a giant pitcher of it to chill. Since my parents moved to Arizona, they’re into iced tea like it’s the answer to all life’s problems. Not sweet tea either. Plain iced tea.

“I’m sure you guys are tired from your trip, but there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Mom and Dad sit on the sofa together, and I sit in the oversized chair by the window.

“I’ve already told you a little about Riley. You’ll meet him tomorrow. His aunt just had a hip replacement, and she’s all the family he has. He’s…upset about it, of course, and I’ve been helping him as much as possible.” Leaning forward, I meet my mom’s gaze. “He’s the one, Mom.”

Her eyes get all shiny and she carefully places her glass on the coaster. “Really?”

“Yeah, Mom. I’m madly in love with him and…yeah.”

I don’t know what else to say about Riley that could be better than admitting he’s taken my heart in every way. I don’t want to rush into marriage or anything. Riley deserves to be wooed for longer than a week before I confess how much I want him. Not to mention he makes a living delivering romance for people. I need to make sure I do all this right for him.

My mom takes the two steps over to me and hugs me tight. She’s wanted me to get married since, well, since I was old enough to voice my vision of a future.

“I can’t wait to meet him, honey. I love him already.”

After an hour of talking about the rodeo this week and me staying with Riley and all things in between, I excuse myself and leave my parents to rest. We normally have dinner the first night they get here, but with all the hospital stuff and taking care of Riley, we left it until tomorrow, with Mom insisting she’ll make her prime rib and Yorkshire dinner to welcome him.

My mom locks the door after I leave them even though it’s barely 7 P.M. Gabe left Riley with his aunt a few hours ago and I’m about to pick him up and get him fed. Gabe graciously offered to stay at a hotel and while I didn’t want to let him do that, he shook off my weak attempts to get him to stay at the condo. I’m grateful for the alone time, but a little guilty for kicking the guy out since he came for Riley.

After parking the truck at the hospital. I head towards Agnes’s ward. She’s in a regular room now that surgery is complete and she’s recovering. Following the signs, I finally find her room, with Riley dozing in the chair next to her.

Agnes hears me first, even though I’m trying to be quiet. She smiles and lifts her heavy eyelids briefly. “Good. You’re here to take my nephew home. He doesn’t need to hover. I’ll be back to playing Scrabble in no time.”

Smiling, I pat her good arm. “He loves you and being here makes him feel better. I’d never tell him to stay away.”

Agnes blinks slowly. “Thank you for being there for him. You’re what he needs.”

Riley stirs and sits up, rubbing at his eyes. “Jackson, hi. How long have you been here?”

Leaning down, I press a kiss to his cheek. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. I just got here. You need to eat and sleep in your own bed. Those chairs are a disaster.”

Riley nods, and the deep circles under his eyes break me. He’s been trying to do so much the last few days.

“I’ve got dinner and I’m taking you home.” He nods, and after grabbing his sweater, he leans down to kiss his aunt.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Auntie.”

“Don’t rush, Riley. The staff here know what they’re doing.”

“I know but—”

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