Page 15 of Stay for Me

Me: Positive. Drop that file on my desk and lock up before you leave.

I let my hand fall to my side as I tipped my head back, closed my eyes, and took a slow, deep breath. Inhaling for three, holding for ten, releasing for five. I repeated this process four more times, and when I finished, I righted myself and turned to head back inside—

A scream left me as I jumped back against the railing, my hand flying to my chest, eyes wide.

The cowboy standing ten feet from the porch said nothing, his perfect lips in a flat line, his eyes, dark as night, barely visible underneath the shadow of his hat. Still, I could feel them on me, holding me hostage as they always did.

“Mr. Mags,” I breathed out. “I’m so s-sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Or hear him, but then again, he was as quiet as a mouse, always had been, despite his size.

Mags said nothing, and it took all my willpower to look away from him. His dark beauty was sometimes too much for me to bear, and today,—it was definitely too much. His hair was longer now, covering the back of his neck, hanging over his shoulders by an inch or two. That sharp, strong, knee-weakening jaw was dusted with dark hair. He’d shaved his beard since the last I saw him, but I knew it would be back within a few weeks’ time. He was tall, towering over me even when I had heels on. He was only a few inches shorter than the Langston brothers, but he had more muscle, and the black button up he was wearing did nothing to hide them. Neither did his wranglers.

Slowly, he reached up, touching the brim of his old, black cowboy hat to tip it to me.

My nipples hardened instantly, my heart crying out for him.

The screen door flew open, snapping me out of it, and I turned my head to find Valerie running out onto the porch, shouting my name. “Diana—oh. Mags, hi!” She stopped short, her chest heaving.

Her green eyes bounced over to me, and I realized I was still plastered to the railing with my hand against my chest. “I heard you scream, and I thought—well, I didn’t know what to think.”

Quickly, I righted myself, heat flooding my cheeks.

I could still feel Mags’ eyes on me.

I kept my focus on Valerie and apologized. “Sorry. I was—I didn’t see Mags. He gave me a fright, that’s all,” I stammered.

“A fright?” Val parroted, looking over to the cowboy as her brows rose.

A fright? Really, Diana?

Suddenly, every curse word in the history of man was on the tip of my tongue and I was ready to unleash them all. Unable to handle the embarrassment, I looked at my feet again, wishing I was anywhere by here. I could handle coming to Hallow Ranch. I could handle the dark things these cowboys did, things the eyes of the law wouldn’t like. I could handle knowing that, on Denver Langston’s mountain, there were ashes of cruel men scattered in the dirt, men who thought they could take whatever and whoever they wanted. I could handle going to court. I could handle winning and losing cases.

I was Diana Harper.

I could handle almost anything, but not the cowboy in front of me. I couldn’t handle anything about him. Not his eyes, his beauty, his presence, or his--

“Just here to drop these off,” he said, the jagged edges of his voice slicing me open, seeping into my bloodstream, tainting it with everything that was….him. His beauty. His darkness.

Yeah, I couldn’t be here. I needed to leave.

I heard Valerie move down the steps, the scent of her perfume floating in front of me. “Oh. Thank you, Mags. You didn’t have to do that today.”

I couldn’t bear to hear his voice again, so before he could speak, I raised my head and looked at Valerie. “I have to go,” I told her, holding up my phone. “There’s a client emergency.”

My friend looked shocked, blinking a few times before reminding me of my promise. “So you’re not staying for dinner?”

Mags’ eyes were on me again, heating every single inch of my body. My heart rate picked up, my mouth suddenly dry. I shook my head. “Sorry. Maybe some other time.”

Before she could get another word out, I was heading up the porch steps and pulling the screen door wide open. I didn’t waste time, grabbing my purse and keys before slipping on my heels. NJ was in her playpen, clapping her hands and chanting, “Di! Di! Di!”

I chewed the inside of my lip for a moment, looking to the door and then into the living room where she was. Mags was still out there, but Valerie’s body blocked my view of his face. NJ squealed, and my feet were moving then, leaving the kitchen and carrying me to her. I leaned over the railing of the playpen, pressing my lips to the top of her head, the smell of her coconut baby shampoo filling my nostrils. “Bye-bye, my sweet girl,” I whispered. “I’ll be back soon.”

As I walked out the front door, all I could here was my heart pounding, and I kept my head down as I walked by Valerie. “I’ll see you soon, Val,” I murmured, rushing down the steps.

“Oh. Okay. Bye, Diana!” she called out to my back as I walked by the dark cowboy, my body humming now.

I didn’t even raise my hand over my shoulder like I usually did. I kept walking, and when I was a few feet away from the porch and that damn cowboy, I lifted my head to focus on my car.

Keep walking, Diana.

---