Page 46 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

He couldn’t stay where he was, and Dr. Gomez recommended he be moved to a memory-care facility designed for Alzheimer’s patients, with dedicated, trained staff. But how was she going to afford that? Her dad had some money left from the sale of his house, but there wasn’t enough if he proved to be as physically resilient in his golden years as he had during his prime.

Cole gave her hand a tight squeeze as she continued to waver in the doorway. “We don’t have to do this,” he said.

She straightened her shoulders, pushing away her doubts and worries, hoping that in a few minutes her false cheer would feel more real. Stepping forward, she reached in her pocket for the dinner tickets and handed them to Carly, who was seated at the entrance to the beautifully decorated barn.

“They roped you in, too?” Cole asked her.

“Ryan and I are very romantic, aren’t we?” she said, with a wry smile that warmed as she cut her eyes to the youngest Wylder. He was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed and looking bored.

“I suggested going somewhere for Valentine’s Day,” he protested, coming alive.

“Youaresomewhere,” Jackie teased. She glanced at Cole and did a double take. The man was seriously hot tonight. She’d barely focused on him earlier—other than to note that he looked even more handsome and irresistible than usual. But now that she had a moment to do nothing but soak him in, she felt her knees weakening.

His shoulders looked extra broad in the black dinner jacket he wore over a crisply ironed gray shirt that brought out the intense blue of his eyes. His jeans were more worn than his dark wash ones, but somehow looked dressier paired with the jacket. The outfit made him look casually confident and extremely handsome.

Her crush was not waning one bit right now.

Cole was watching her with a curious gaze, no doubt trying to hone in on what had been bothering her. He’d almost managed to get her to cave and spill her problems. His kind, patient questioning had been close to irresistible. It had taken every scrap of resistance Jackie could muster to keep her mouth shut, because if the old problem-solving Cole had surfaced and come up with a plan to save her and her father, she would have fallen irreversibly in love with him.

And that was a terrible plan.

Anyway, she was with him to fixhislife, not the other way around.

“Shall we present ourselves to the town?” he asked as they left the ticket table, leaning close enough that she could smell his aftershave.

She laughed nervously, the charade suddenly feeling very real. People were going to freak out with excitement and tell him she’d been pining for him for years. Which would be fine if they truly were in love. But because they weren’t, it was only going to make things awkward. And when the two of them eventually “broke up,” everyone would pity her for reaching for the unattainable and failing.

“You all right?” Cole asked, when she didn’t answer his earlier question. He seemed worried about her, and the very idea gave her the strength to shake off the rest of her mood. She was here with the handsomest man in town. He had made an effort to dress up, to be an actual boyfriend, asking about her, bringing her flowers. And now he was holding her hand.

She straightened her shoulders again. “Of course.”

As soon as Karen Hartley spotted their interlinked hands, she beamed. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for others to notice, as well. As Jackie followed Cole between the long tables set up under the strings of lights, past the cutout paper hearts and Mason jars filled with tiny lights littering the white tablecloths and along the creaky wooden floorboards, she could feel people watching, her back prickling.

“This is certainly romantic,” she said. It felt a lot more like a community date night than dinner for a bunch of people who’d spent the day working hard on chores to support the library.

She didn’t dare look at Cole as he murmured in agreement. The barn was nearly full, with at least fifty people already seated. The two of them were late, and it felt as though nearly everyone was noticing them. As they passed full tables on their way to a partially empty one at the back, she could hear snippets of whispers. Her name. Cole’s. April’s. Words about Cole’s sudden return.

Cole said, “Maybe I should just give you a big, long kiss and end the speculation?”

Jackie laughed. She didn’t realize he was serious until his powerful hands grasped her waist and pulled her against him. His shirt was smooth under her palms, his muscled chest warm and firm.

Cole angled his lips onto hers, his hat surely blocking everyone’s view even though there would be no doubt as to what they were doing. His arms slid farther around her, holding her so close a piece of paper couldn’t be slipped between them. Jackie freed her hands and slid them over his shoulders, marveling at his strength before gliding her fingers into the fine hair at the nape of his neck, her favorite place. His tongue teased her lips, and she opened, deepening the kiss. She wanted to wrap her legs around him and let him carry her away. As his mouth angled over hers, kissing her deeper, she wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

When they broke apart, she stumbled against a chair behind her, then used it for support.

Wow. That was worth the wait. So far every kiss had been.

Kissing Cole was definitely not her crush’s kill switch.

Cole caught her again, pulling her against his chest. This time it was a brief, sweet meeting of their lips, but still powerful.

“Well,” she said, her voice shaky, when they broke apart.

“How is it that every time we kiss it’s hotter than the last?” he murmured in her ear, his body humming against hers, his breath sending shivers down her spine. She could feel the heat of attraction coming off him in waves, and she longed to take him away from here and keep him all to herself tonight. They hadn’t set out any rules yet, but she was certain that would be on the No list.

“How fast do you think we can eat supper and get out of here?” she asked.

She saw his attention flicker to movement off to one side. Servers from the local caterer were setting filled plates in front of those who were already seated.

---