Page 14 of Curvy Girl and the Ex-Military Cowboy

So instead, I refill her wine cup and point out the first evening star appearing above us.

"Make a wish," I say quietly.

"I already did," she replies, and the soft certainty in her voice makes me wonder what exactly she wished for.

"You're a fast wisher," I say, leaning back on my elbows to look up at the darkening sky.

"Some wishes don't require much thought," she answers. "They're already in your heart."

The unexpected poetry of her words catches me off guard. There's a depth to Elena that continues to surprise me—layers that our video calls barely hinted at.

"You'll do well here," I tell her. "We appreciate people who say what they mean."

She glances at me with a small smile. "Is that what I'm doing?"

"Isn't it?"

She doesn't answer, just takes a sip of her wine, her eyes reflecting the emerging stars above us.

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, watching as the sky transforms from deep blue to inky black, sprinkled with starsthat seem impossibly bright out here, away from town lights. The night air grows cooler, and I notice Elena pulling her cardigan closer around her shoulders.

"Cold?" I ask.

"A little," she admits. "I didn't expect the temperature to drop so quickly."

I reach behind us to the truck bed and pull out an old flannel jacket I keep there.

"Here," I say, offering it to her. "It's not fancy, but it's warm."

She takes it with a grateful smile and slips it on. The jacket engulfs her, the sleeves hanging well past her fingertips, but somehow she makes it look good. There's something about seeing her in my clothes that stirs something primitive in me, something I try to push down.

"Better?" I ask, my voice gruffer than I intended.

She nods, pulling the collar close to her face. "It smells like you," she says softly, then looks embarrassed, as if she hadn't meant to say it aloud.

"Is that a good thing?"

Her eyes meet mine. "Yes."

I clear my throat, suddenly unsure what to do with my hands.

"There's Orion," I say, pointing up at the constellation. "My dad taught us all the major stars. Said a cowboy needed to know them in case he got lost."

"Did you ever get lost?" she asks, following my gesture.

"Once," I admit. "I was twelve, thought I knew everything. Took my horse out farther than I was supposed to go, and by the timeI realized I should head back, it was getting dark. I panicked at first, but then I remembered what Dad taught us about finding north using the stars."

"Were your parents worried?"

"Frantic," I say with a rueful smile. "Dad was ready to call in the whole county for a search party, but Mom insisted on waiting another hour. She said I'd find my way home." I look up at the stars again. "She was right."

"Your mother sounds like a wise woman."

"She was," I say softly. "You would have liked her. She had no patience for bullshit, but an endless supply for people who were genuine."

"Like you," Elena observes.

I shrug. "I try to be."

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