Page 42 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

“When April broke up with me, I let her run off. She was more angry with me than I’d ever seen her. If I’d acted, she and Heath wouldn’t have… She went down some really hard paths because of me not acting in that moment.”

“So you felt you should have cooled her down and somehow prevented what happened with Heath?”

Cole readjusted his hat with a jerk, looking up at the cloudless sky, then back at the creek. He seemed antsy, his knees jiggling.

“She adores Kurt,” Jackie said. “She would never wish him away. She’s right where she’s supposed to be, with Kurt and Brant, and that might not have happened if you’d tried to stop her.”

“I’m not wishing Kurt away.” Cole’s eyes flashed.

“I know. But without all that stuff with Heath, I’m not sure she would have seen Brant for the man he is. The man she needs.”

Cole let out a huff, sounding almost amused. “He broke the bro-code.”

“The what?” Jackie giggled before catching on to what Cole was saying. “Oh. Do you mind that they… got involved?”

She could see Cole mulling things over. He was frowning thoughtfully, shaking his head back and forth as though he couldn’t find one reason to be bothered that his brother had found true love with his ex-girlfriend.

Ever since age six, when Jackie had first noticed Cole at recess, she’d watched how he would pause and think. Kind of like Brant, but different. Brant was soft and gooey on the inside, whereas Cole had this hardness about him. A certain go-get-it-done-and-take-no-prisoners approach—after he’d contemplated things and charted his course.

She admired that about him. He was like a train on the tracks—not about to take a corner that wasn’t already plotted out ahead of him. And yet he’d veered a few times in his life, showing her he wasn’t so rigid that he couldn’t change his mind, and reset his trajectory when needed.

Tired of waiting for a verbal answer, she said, “You know, maybe you’re blaming yourself for stuff that nobody else does. Things work out the way they’re supposed to.”

“And it’s like that in your own life?”

She paused, thinking of the things she’d like to change. Her father’s health, her own loneliness.

“Of course,” she said mildly.

“Are you always this much of a know-it-all?” He frowned at her, his eyes shaded by the brim of his gray Stetson. It made his angular jaw seem even more hardened and firm. He sure didn’t look like a man intent on changing his mind at the moment.

“How long have you known me?” She batted her eyes, and his narrowed.

“Basically, all my life.”

“There’s your answer then.” She released his arm, realizing she’d been clutching it, and dusted her hands together, turning to the packed lunch. “Shall we stop fussing over the past and enjoy more of my favorite lunch?”

Maria, the sweetheart, had made chicken salad sandwiches and cinnamon buns, leaving the meal in the fridge for them.

“So much for the prodigal son getting pampered upon his return. How’d you charm my mom?” He shot Jackie a quick grin that made her feel warm and liquid inside, as if he’d kissed her.

“That is for me to know and you to find out.”

He growled low and fake lunged for her. She squealed and giggled, tumbling onto her back, knocking the bag. Cole sprawled over her, bracing his weight on one elbow, then dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“You missed,” she informed him.

“Are you always this demanding?”

“If you think this is demanding,” she said, running her hands up his deliciously toned sides, “you just wait and see.”

He chuckled and rewarded her with a kiss on the lips, one that was sweet and slow. The kind that curled her toes and left her wanting more.

Jackie sighed. She could spend all afternoon wrapped up in this man.

“Too bad you have chores for us after lunch,” she grumbled.

“I’m going to make you muck stables.”

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