Page 84 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

She wanted him in this facility, desperately. Gerry Lee would be living peacefully, and his old friends could still visit him easily. He’d be in nature, something that had always soothed him.

In the parking area, she turned to look at the sprawling building once again, pinching her arm.

It couldn’t be real.

It wasn’t real.

She didn’t live in Sweet Hills County any longer.

The only way to get her father into this place was to lie like Cole had.

He was watching her from his side of the truck and she stared at him for a long moment.

Wordlessly, they both climbed in and drove down the fresh asphalt once again, nodding to the gatekeeper before turning out onto the gravel road.

Jackie’s thoughts swirled. She could move back into the county, work in any old dead-end job to support her father living here. His savings might even cover most of the cost.

But Cole... What was he offering? How much of what he’d told the director was real? How much was a lie?

Two miles down, at the abandoned diner, she said, “Stop the truck.”

She needed air.

As soon as Cole braked she was out and on the move, the heat from the cracked asphalt parking lot under her sandaled feet warming her legs, her torso. A light breeze ruffled her hair as she turned to him.

Cole was standing near the truck door, hands in his pockets.

“What was all of that?” she asked.

He licked his lips and slowly made his way over to where she had stopped, beside a faded sign for homemade pie.

“The truth.”

“The truth?” She felt wild inside. The lies. The secrets. The conflicting hope and desire to make that facility her father’s new home. The hint that Cole loved her with the depth in which she loved him. It was all too much.

“Maybe not today’s truth, but I’m hoping it’ll be tomorrow’s?” He tilted his head to the side, as if curious about how she’d react.

She felt blindsided. Like a bus had hit her.

“Tomorrow’s?” she said weakly, exhausted from holding back her hope, and no longer able to process what he was hinting at.

“Jackie.” Cole licked his lips again, his chest expanding as he said, “I want this for you, for your dad.”

“So do I, but I can’t lie. I can’t pretend to live on the ranch when I live in the city.” She muttered to herself, “I’ll move back, obviously. Use your address for the time being, and hope they don’t discover the truth. Or tell them the truth… I could do that. Just admit I was going to move because there was nowhere for my dad to stay in the county, and that I moved right back again when this spot opened up. I’ll tell them we broke up. That’s not a lie. A deposit could hold my dad’s spot while I work out the application details.”

“Or you could just use my address,” Cole said, when she finally finished rambling.

Her head snapped up so quickly she nearly saw spots dancing in her vision. “What?” she whispered.

He tentatively placed his hands on her hips. “Move in with me.”

“So my dad can live there?” She pointed down the road.

“And so you can live with me.”

Jackie sucked in a lungful of air. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t think what his words might mean. What they didn’t mean.

She should have stayed in her apartment. Should have soldiered on with that awful city life and facility. A sob of despair bubbled in her chest, tight and painful.

---