Page 37 of Her Second Chance Cowboy

Nancy had to laugh. “Well, I think that answers that,” she said, meeting Colin’s eyes over the table. For a moment, his eyes darkened, and she felt all of the places that his hands and mouth touched this morning like a brand on her skin.Maybe we could—She cut herself off from where that thought was going. They could have fun later; they’d promised a day at the park to a little girl, and she was well on her way to imploding if that didn’t happen.

“Daddy, will there be pony rides?” Bex asked. Her eyes glittered with barely contained joy.

The air in the room felt sucked out for a moment. Nancy found herself holding her breath as she waited for his response. She studied Colin’s pained expression for a moment, but the inevitable “no” never came. Instead, Colin said, “I don’t know, darlin’.” He kept his voice light and bright. “Maybe.”

Bex beamed, and when they picked up the breakfast dishes, Nancy kissed him when he went to open the dishwasher. He chuckled and wrapped her in his arms, and they only broke apart when Bex fake gagged. “That’s gross!” she yelled.

They laughed. “Come on,” Nancy said. “Let’s you and me get dressed.” Bex nodded, but before they could even get to the stairs, Colin’s phone rang.

“Hey, man, what’s going on?” His greeting was quickly followed by a softshit. “Okay,” he said, and his tone was completely different now. Haggard again. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

When he hung up, Nancy asked, “What happened?”

Colin sighed. “I’ve got to go help the ranch hands,” he said. “A section of the road washed out last night, and it’ll be all hands on deck to fix it. We can’t have it out with all the guests arriving for the wedding.”

Nancy saw how Bex deflated, and she offered, “I can still take Bex to the barbeque today if you want. You can join us when you’re done.”

Colin considered it. “If you’re sure,” he said, and for maybe the first time, he didn’t seem to be questioning her ability to care for Bex.Small steps, she thought.

Bex started jumping up and down and clapping again, and that was all Nancy needed. She took Bex upstairs, and they got dressed before kissing Colin goodbye. “I’ll see you later,” he said and kissed his daughter’s head. He reached out and squeezed Nancy’s hand. “Both of you.”

Nancy and Bex got to the park just as things were kicking off. Bex found her friends immediately, and Nancy stood with a group of moms while the kids ran around, screaming and laughing. “She looks happy.” She glanced up to see that Michael Townsend had come to stand beside her. She’d seen him around town, but they hadn’t had a chance to talk. Michael had been her competition in high school. He was the one who always ran against her for class president; some years she won, others he did. Until she started dating Colin, all of their friends joked about them ending up together. She knew they never would—Michael was good-looking and fun to compete against, but nothing had ever sparked between them.

“She is,” Nancy agreed and wondered where he was going with this.

“She’s going to be heartbroken when you leave.”

Nancy sighed. “I’m not thinking about that right now, honestly.” It was a lie. Despite what she’d said to Colin at the ER, all she had been thinking about was the future. “How’s life, Michael?”

He shrugged. “The same. Can’t complain.” Michael folded his arms across his chest; his smile shifted into something a little more business-like. “I came over because I wanted to discuss something with you, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah…you’ve probably heard that Mr. Perriman is retiring, right?” At her nod, he continued. “I’m going to talk to some people around town, but I want to throw him a retirement party at the end of the school year. The high school is already on board with the idea; it could be huge.”

Nancy smiled. “That’s a great idea! So many people love him.”

“I know. Would you be willing to be a part of the planning process? Even if you aren’t planning on staying on the long-term, I could coordinate with you through email. I’d like to have someone at the helm for this who knows Mr. Perriman—and knows what they’re doing when it comes to event planning.”

Nancy had planned countless retirement parties…though never one on such a large scale. Michael was talking about the whole of Windy Creek coming together. The possibilities set her mind running in all directions. “I would love that,” she said and quickly dug out her cell phone. She swapped numbers with him. “It’s going to be an undertaking, but I’m sure we’ll come up with something fantastic.”

Michael smiled. “Thanks, Nance. I knew I could count on our resident party planner.”

The wordresidentmade her heart skip a beat. In the middle of trying to figure out what to say to that, Bex came sprinting at her full force. “Nancy!” she called and barreled into her legs, nearly knocking them both flat. “Nancy!”

She laughed and tousled the girl’s hair. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Theydohave pony rides! Can I have one? Please?”

The no was on her lips when Nancy remembered the way Colin responded at breakfast when she mentioned pony rides. He was nervous, but he was working on it. Surely, he had meant to allow her a ride today. If the answer was no, he’d have said so at breakfast rather than risking a meltdown at the barbeque. “Sure,” she said with a smile, and Bex whooped with joy. She looked back at Michael. “Send me a text later,” she told him. “We can start talking about what you’re thinking for the party, and then we can go from there.”

“Sure thing, Nance.” He leaned in, so that his words were just for her. “I hope you stick around,” he said. “Colin hasn’t been this happy in years…you both deserve that.”

Nancy could feel her cheeks flush. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said before looking back at Bex, who was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Let’s go.” She reached out her hand, and Bex took it and held it the whole way across the park to where the pony rides had been set up.

The ponies were hitched to a post and walked in a circle, just like the pony rides at the fair. Nancy and Bex waited in the line, but it moved quickly, and it seemed like it took no time at all before she was lifting Bex onto the back of a pretty brown pony with kind eyes. She stepped away and stood with the other parents, waving and smiling as the ponies start walking.

Halfway through the ride, though, Bex screamed. Nancy watched, almost in slow motion, as the little girl jolted backward and promptly toppled off the pony, landing on her arm with a sickening crunch. Nancy’s stomach lurched, and she ran to her side. Bex cradled her already-swelling arm, making a small, moaning sound. Tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. “There…there was a hornet,” she managed to say. “Scared me. Didn’t mean to fall. Hurts,” she mumbled miserably.

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