Page 1 of Her Second Chance Cowboy

ONE

“Can I help you?”

Nancy Sharp stood on the front porch of her parents’ house and, for an insane moment, wondered if she somehow rang the wrong doorbell. But of course this was the house she grew up in—it hadn’t changed in the twenty-eight years that she’d been alive. But who was this man? Where was her mom? Did she come across a robbery in progress or something? On the other hand, what kind of robber would answer the door when someone rang the bell? She knew it was takingwaytoo long to reply, but there weren’t any words forming in her mind. She was too tired from a long day followed by a long, winding drive from Boulder to reach this small town deep in a valley surrounded by the Colorado Rockies.

The man’s polite expression quickly devolved into one of annoyance, sparking her back into action. “I’m Nancy,” she blurted, hoping that he wouldn’t slam the door in her face. He didn’t look impressed, and Nancy felt heat in her cheeks. After an awkward pause, she added, “John and Margaret’s daughter.” Still nothing, as if the names didn’t mean anything to him. “You’re in their house?” she tried next.

Recognition sparked on the man’s face. “I rented this house through Airbnb. Checked in this morning.”

The cruise, Nancy thought,30 days on the Queen Mary 2, New York to Dubai.She remembered her mother gushing about her father surprising her with the trip to celebrate her retirement. The first romantic thing he’d done in years, she’d said. He’d been saving for ages. Nancy had totally forgotten the departure date.

Great. Just fantastic. Stuck in Windy Creek, Colorado for the next month without a place to stay. She apologized to the man for the mix-up and told him to enjoy the rest of his vacation. She crunched over the gravel of the driveway and climbed back into the beat-up Pontiac. Once she was in the driver’s seat, Nancy dug her phone from the recesses of her purse: she’d call Evie. Considering she was here to take over as her best friend’s wedding planner after Evie’s quit abruptly, Nancy didn’t think Evie would mind her bunking with her and Nick.

Except her phone was dead.

Nancy sighed. This was why you didn’t hang onto cars that were more than fifteen years old. There was no USB port, and the charger that plugged into her cigarette lighter only worked some of the time—mainly, she suspected, because the cigarette lighter only worked some of the time. Ed’s wasn’t too far from here. She’ll call Evie and order one of their home-style burgers. She hadn’t stopped for dinner on the way down, and nothing beat an Ed’s burger when things were already going wrong.

The sky was a deep, heavy purple when she pulled in front of Ed’s Famous Diner a few minutes later. The antique front of the building looked welcoming, with the large, front window and the golden glow from within. Nancy got out of her car, smiling. She had a lot of good memories of this place. She walked to the front door and pulled it open. The smell of food and the sound of laughter hit her in asoftwhooshof air. Her stomach growled.

The place hadn’t changed at all. The floor was still a scuffed checkered pattern, and all of the booths and tables looked exactly the same. It made her smile. Especially when, right inside the door, she spotted Mr. Perriman. He had been her sophomore English teacher, and for as long as she could remember, he’d been a barnacle in this place. If he wasn’t at the high school, he was at the diner flirting with Mary Elizabeth Weatherspoon, the diner’s best waitress. Nancy’s memories of Windy Creek weren’t always the best—she always felt like a bird in a flock of one—but she had enjoyed learning from Mr. Perriman. Every kid who went through Windy Creek High School did. She stepped over to his table before she could talk herself out of it. “Mr. Perriman,” she breathed out. “I’m sure you don’t remember me—”

The man laughed and stood. “Of course I remember you, Nancy Sharp!” He folded her in a hug. “How long has it been?” he asked as he let her go.

“Ten years since I graduated,” she said. “Twelve years since I was your student.”

Mr. Perriman let out a little laugh. “I’ve been teaching far too long if you’ve been out of school for a decade.”

“Evie Royce told me that you were retiring,” Nancy said. Evie had mentioned that in one of their weekly phone calls. It had been surprising—Mr. Perriman was a Windy Creek institution, after all—but Nancy was happy for him. The man deserved a break after so long.

“I am,” he said with a grin. “This time next year, I’ll be off on some grand adventure.”

“You deserve it, Mr. Perriman,” Nancy told him. “You were always my favorite teacher.”He was everyone’s favorite teacher.

He made aoh, yougesture at her. “What about you? What’s brought you back to town after so long?”

“I’m stepping in as Evie’s wedding planner. Hers suddenly dropped out.”

Mr. Perriman made atsknoise. “Shame for that to happen, but I am glad she has you to turn to! What a nice thing for one friend to do for another.” He made that soft, clicking noise again. “Evie Royce getting married. I knew her and Nick Wright would end up together. You know, I always thought that you and—”

“Mr. Perriman!” They turned to see Mary Elizabeth. She was standing, hand on her hip, with a stern look on her face. “You’re in my sectionagain.” While she was playfully frowning at Mr. Perriman, she winked at Nancy.That woman is my hero, Nancy thought. She knew what was going to come out of Mr. Perriman’s mouth—he was going to bring up Colin McCabe, the former love of Nancy’s life—and while she knew that she could not avoid talking about or to her ex-boyfriend considering he was in the wedding party too, she really didn’t want it happening rightnow.

Nancy watched Mr. Perriman’s smile turn into a grin. “I like the table, Mary Elizabeth,” he said, as if he were reminding her. He glanced back at Nancy. “I don’t want to hold you up,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again while you’re in town.”

She nodded. “Of course. It was wonderful seeing you again.”

Nancy mouthedthank youat Mary Elizabeth again before she wove her way through the tables on her way to the counter. A man stepped out of the hallway that led to the restrooms. A young girl held his hand, smiling up at him like he was her whole world. Nancy stopped so quickly she almost tripped herself.Out of the frying pan and into the fire,she thought. She might have been able to avoid talking about her ex a moment ago, but now here he was in front of her. Colin McCabe, her high school boyfriend. The one guy she compared all other guys to. The one she had just been hoping she wouldn’t run into just yet.Holy sweet baby Jesus.

The last decade had been good to Colin. He had always been tall and handsome, but the lanky boy she remembered had filled out. He finally looked like he fit that strong jaw and serious expression that he always wore. Nancy had loved him immeasurably back then, and looking at him now, she felt a shadow of that feeling. She couldn’t believe a decade had passed since the last time she’d seen him in person. His blue eyes met her gaze, and she watched him recognize her, saw his eyes go wide.

Nancy offered him a small smile. She was torn between running away and crossing the space to throw her arms around him. She stood frozen. The little girl at his side tugged at him, curious as to why he just stopped. Colin looked down at her, and a smile bloomed on his face, like he couldn’t help it. Then, the two were moving toward her. “Nancy Sharp,” Colin said, still smiling though his tone was cautious. “That really you?”

She resisted the urge to fuss with her travel-wrinkled clothes. “It’s nice to see you too, Colin,” she said before she looked down at the girl by his side. She had the same cornflower blue eyes. She had to be his niece; Evie told her about his younger sister’s teen pregnancy and how Colin had stepped in to raise the little girl. “You must be Rebecca.”

Her nose wrinkled in apparent dislike, and Colin laughed. “She goes by Bex,” he said.

Nancy grinned down at her. “I like that much better.”

The little girl raised her chin. “Me too.”

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