Page 11 of The Cowboy Complication

“Ugh.” Griselda scowled. “I’ll have Bernard handle it when he gets here.”

Her immediate reliance on Bernard—a man—solidified his belief that it was Isla with the asshole past. And that made him even more determined to help her out. Do what he could to support her as she moved forward.

Turning back to Isla, he lifted his brows. “What time do you usually go over to Grady’s?”

“It sort of depends on his schedule. When he’s off work he comes to get me at around six.” She glanced at the clock. “When he works an early shift he picks me up when things are slow.”

That sounded like a huge pain in everyone’s ass. “So you just sit around waiting for him to have time to get you?”

“It’s really not a big deal.” Her lips curved in a smile that seemed a little sad. “Not like I have a lot going on.”

“That’s why she needs her license.” Gram-Gram piped up. “So she can run her own life.” There was a hint of venom in her words and a sharpness to her expression.

Some prick had definitely taken advantage of Isla’s sweetness.

“Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six and we’ll get some driving in before taking you to Grady’s place.” It was a good plan. One that would help her out and occupy a little of the empty time he had on his hands.

He hadn’t realized how different things would be once his parents moved to Florida. Hadn’t known his expectations would fall short when he purchased the house he grew up in thinking it would only be a matter of time before he filled it with a family of his own.

Isla’s dark brows pinched together. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Positive.” He straightened, giving her a grin. “Plus, it’ll save me time in the long run since I won’t have to pull you over every day for driving like Gram-Gram.”

“I heard that.” Griselda piped up from her seat.

“Good.” Cooper gave Isla a conspiratorial wink. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded, her cheeks fully pink now from the cold. “Okay.”

Going back to his car, he sat for a minute, giving her time to pull away and get far enough ahead he wouldn’t end up right behind her, and risk making Isla any more nervous than she already was.

But he didn’t want to be too far behind, either. So before she was fully out of sight, he eased onto the road, keeping pace with her as he followed her to Grady and Evelyn’s. Leaving her with only Gram-Gram’s skinny butt keeping an eye on her didn’t sit right, and it would bother him all day if he didn’t know for sure she made it to Grady’s safely.

The process was slow and painful, but eventually Isla pulled into Grady’s driveway. He let out a sigh of relief as he made a U-turn, leaving before she could see he’d been behind her.

The rest of his shift was relatively uneventful. Could maybe even be called boring, but technically that was a good thing. Boring for him meant nothing bad was happening for anyone else.

And he was getting used to being bored. That was pretty much the story of his life now.

After parking his cruiser in the back lot, he went inside to kill a little more time before heading out for the day. He chatted with a couple other officers, checked on the status of the ranch hand he’d brought in earlier, and made double sure all his paperwork was done. The sun was going down and the house he’d bought almost five years ago was dark when he pulled into the driveway. Gram-Gram’s tail light must not have been the only bulb that had recently gone out.

The darkness of his porch wasn’t really a big deal. He didn’t enter through that door and wasn’t expecting any visitors, but it still bothered him. Still dug into the empty hole he’d genuinely believed would be easy to fill.

That’s what growing up in a happy family with parents who loved the shit out of each other did to you. It made you think something like that was easy. Easy to find. Easy to have. Easy to keep.

Boy was that fucking wrong. And it only got wronger the more years that passed by. He was sitting on the downhill side of thirty-five, watching as everyone around him found what he’d assumed would fall into place.

At some point he’d have to accept it might not happen for him. His parents obviously had when they decided not to stick around hoping for grandkids, and packed up for the warmer weather of the south.

But damned if he could get used to the idea of spending his life alone. Coming home to a dark house every day. Spending his nights in an empty bed. Never knowing what it was like to hold a life he’d helped create or care for the woman who brought that life into the world.

The possibility was unimaginable and had that ache in his chest spreading. Clawing at him like he was the one responsible for its existence. And maybe he was. Maybe no matter how hard he tried, those things would never be his.

Maybe he’d spend the rest of his life coming home to a dark house and an empty bed.

5

Isla

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