Page 41 of Lost and Found Cowboy

“Maybe. Honestly, I’m a little worried about her. She’s younger than me, but she grew up with three older brothers so maybe she’s stronger or better at fighting back and could hold her own against Lyle. I was weak and never knew quite how to stick up for myself.”

“You’re not weak. You’re one of the strongest women I know. Look at all you’ve done in the past year and a half that he’s been gone.”

“Thank you. I feel stronger. Now. And like a veil has lifted, and I can finally see what was happening. I have Leni and my mom back in my life, and friends for the first time in a long time. It’s a hard thing to talk about and for people to understand. I hear so many women say they wouldneverlet this happen to them or that they would fight back. But the women who say that aren’t usually the ones who have taken a punch to the face. The pain and the shock—it stuns you, and even if you swear that the next time you’re going to fight back, you can still end up cowering in the corner praying he doesn’t hit you again or he’s through with you for the night.”

Mack still held her hand, and he pulled her from her seat and into his lap. Her shoulders were against the window and his arm was wrapped around her waist as he cradled her against him. “First of all, I want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

She scoffed, but he shook his head.

“Don’t do that. Don’t downplay what you’ve survived and what you’ve made of your life and your children’s lives. They are happy and healthy, and you’re an amazing mom who puts her family first but also runs a successful business. Which you set up and startedall on your own. That’s impressive and something to be proud of.”

She nodded, the emotion burning her throat again.

“And secondly, I want you to know that he willnevertouch you again. Above all else that’s going on with us, Iamyour friend, and I will be here for you, no matter what. You have a family now, not just me, but the whole damn Lassiter clan, and we will never let anyone take you away or isolate you from us.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she nodded again, unable to speak.

He held her gaze, his eyes suddenly steely and hard. “And if heeverhurts you or the kids again, Iwillkill him.”

Chapter Eighteen

Mack’s threat should have scared Lorna, but all she felt was protected and cherished by this man. For the first time in so long, it seemed like she truly had a man in her corner and that Mack genuinely cared about her and her kid’s well-being.

Sitting on Mack’s lap, in the tight circle of his arms, with the warm spring air wafting through the open windows, she felt safe.

She wasn’t looking for a hero. In fact, she’d spent the last year trying to be her own hero for her kids, and for herself.

But it felt good to feel like she had someone to count on. She’d seen Mack with her babies and with animals on the ranch, and she knew that he had a kindness and a gentleness to him that she’d never seen in Lyle. Mack Lassiter was a good man.

She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. The tightness in his shoulders eased and the arm around her waist pulled her closer as she kissed him again. Then again.

Everything else fell away. The only thing that mattered was this man and his mouth on hers. His free hand came up to cup her cheek, holding her face as his tongue slipped between her lips.

Heat rushed through her body, filling her with warmth and need, and she melted into him.

“Hey, if you guys are swapping gum, can I have some?” a small voice said from the back of the truck.

Mack chuckled against her mouth, and she loved the feeling of it. She’d never experienced that with Lyle. After they got married, it seemed like he’d never laughed at all.

“We’renotswapping gum,” Lorna told her son. “That’s gross, Max.”

“Why?” Max asked. “Gum is great.”

Mack stretched his long arm along the back of the seat as he turned to grin at the boy. “Gumisgreat. But we were just kissing.”

“Kissing?” Max made a barfing sound. “Now that’s gross.”

Their laughter filled the cab of the truck, and Lorna breathed it in, trying to capture and hold on to this tiny moment of pure sweet happiness.

Lorna triedto let the tenseness of her body go as they walked up the steps to the porch of the ranch house. She knew Mack had let his family know what had happened with Lyle taking Max from school and him getting hurt, so she wasn’t sure what to expect when they walked through the front door.

Max had no such worries as he barreled up the stairs and let himself in.

Mack held Izzy in her car seat with one hand, and he reached out to take her hand in his other. They felt like a team.

She wanted to feel good about that. But the thought of letting herself count on someone else terrified her. She was just starting to feel like she could count on herself. It was too hard to think about letting go of some of that control and let someone else into her life. No matter how great a kisser he was.

She needed to get her head back on straight and remember that all this relationship stuff was a ruse. The kissing was real, and she kept letting herself get caught up in the heat of it, but there was no way she was ready to let a man fully back into her life. Having Lyle back was a good reminder of why.

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