Page 60 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

“I’m here if you want to talk.” He lowered his head to the pillows and allowed his eyes to drift closed. “I’m also here if you don’t want to talk.” He opened one eye again and was rewarded with a smile that made him feel as though for the first time in a very long while he was with the right person. Even if he couldn’t help her in the way he wanted to.

“If you want to talk about how fabulous we are together, or how you still taste like coffee, I’m here for you, Jackie.” He locked his eyes on hers, letting her know that he was indeed here, even if he joked about it.

With her chin still resting on his chest, she grew quiet for a long moment. Finally she said, “I’m worried about my dad.”

He watched her, listening.

“He’s in a nursing home and he wandered out on Valentine’s Day. He doesn’t always remember where he is, or what’s going on.” She gave a shudder. “He almost got hit by a car.”

Cole shifted to face Jackie more fully and cradled her in his arms. He brushed a strand of golden hair from her cheek, then cupped her shoulder with a hand. No wonder she’d been so tense and removed when they’d gone to the Valentine’s Day dinner. She’d been holding this all inside.

“Is he okay?”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded, her eyes damp. “Someone recognized him,” she said, her voice wobbling. “They brought him back, but his doctor is recommending I move him somewhere that’s better equipped to deal with the pace of his progression.”

Cole mulled over the implications, easing back so he could see her expression. “Would that be expensive?”

Jackie’s mouth had folded into a frown. Those lips were irresistible, and he found himself moving closer so he could steal a kiss when the next opportunity arose.

She sighed. “And even farther away from Sweetheart Creek than Riverbend.”

San Antonio. Her jokes had been hints about what was really going on, about what was hiding under her sunny disposition. The shadows were real.

Somehow the knowledge that she was hurting weighed more heavily than ever.

“What are you going to do?”

Her eyes clouded. “He has a bit of money left from the sale of his house, but not a lot.”

“What does your brother say?”

“He’s busy with his family and says whatever I decide is fine with him.” Her tone was hard and Cole considered how things must be between her and her only sibling at the moment. Cole had always been able to discuss things with Levi, hash out ideas until they came up with a solution. She probably felt the same way Levi had when Cole left. The pressure to make the correct decision, to not negatively impact someone else’s future, must be great.

Cole’s stomach twisted as he focused on Jackie and her problem. He wanted to solve it for her, but recalled how much April had hated it when he’d tried to do that for her. He’d learned over the years that sometimes a woman just wanted you to listen, not step in and solve everything your way. Especially not without consultation. Unless it was something like changing a flat tire or opening a stuck jar lid—then it seemed to be a case of be-my-guest.

“If I move my dad into a new facility too soon, there won’t be enough money left for when he really needs it. Memory care facilities can be very expensive.”

“He’s not well enough to be at home right now?” Cole asked.

“I couldn’t do it all,” she said, her voice sounding so small, so lost and hurt, full of failure. “We both needed more than a few hours of respite care, and he couldn’t be left alone any longer.”

“Oh, Jackie.” He stroked her hair while she broke down and cried, her tears melting through his shirt, warm at first, then cooling.

He held her, wondering how he could help this woman who had in such a short time become so dear to him. He feared the only way to be of help would be to load her belongings into the back of his truck and drive her to San Antonio. And that idea made him inexplicably grumpy.

8

Cole knocked on Jackie’s apartment door later that evening. When she didn’t answer immediately, he knocked again, louder and more insistently. Her car was out back, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t walked somewhere. Instinct told him she was home.

The door opposite Jackie’s opened.

“She dead or somethin’?” It was Wade Ross, scratching his potbelly with a belch that made Cole cringe. Jackie had filled him in on Wade’s story. Apparently the man had lost his family’s eighty-year-old business as well as his wife in one short month, sending him into a tailspin. It was shocking how a few strokes of bad luck could change a man so quickly.

Cole turned back to the door and knocked again. “I’m taking my girlfriend out for a date.” It was Friday, and they had a fake relationship to uphold, after all.

“Keep your pants on,” Jackie complained from inside the apartment. Cole heard the flick of the dead bolt and the door opened. A small smile played on her lips. “In your case, that expression doesn’t apply. You’re welcome to take your pants off anytime, anyplace.”

“Don’t keep me up all night. We share a wall.” Wade pointed at the wall dividing the two apartments, gave Cole a dirty look and slammed his door.

---