Page 11 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
She scrambled for it, hoping it was Lizzy.
It wasn’t.
But it was her father’s lawyer, the one she was supposed to meet with while she was in town.
After a gregarious welcome that sounded far too cheerful considering the circumstances, they agreed to meet at his office later that afternoon.
When she hung up, she found Nash waiting for her at the top of the stairs. The way he watched her walking toward him made her blush.
He had this intensity that was magnetic and just a little unnerving.
“You set to meet the attorney this afternoon?” he asked.
She nodded. And as she followed him back down the wide staircase, exhaustion settled over her. She supposed being greeted with a one-two punch of surprises could do that to a woman.
Nash glanced over at her, his grin kind of sheepish. “You want to grab a bite to eat before you face the next hurdle?”
She laughed, relieved that he wasn’t trying to gloss over how hard this was for her.
It almost made her feel like she could open up to him. Like maybe she had an ally here in Aspire, Montana.
“I’m starving,” she admitted.
He walked so close to her when they reached the main floor that his arm brushed against hers, another gentle, subtle show of support. “Well then, luckily for you, your foreman makes a mean omelet.”
4
Lord, guide me through this one.
Nash said a prayer as he followed Emma down the stairs and back out to the truck to fetch her suitcase.
He had no idea what this girl knew about her father—or why she knew so little, for that matter—but it didn’t seem like it was his place to tell her.
He was basically a stranger, after all.
“I think I’d be most comfortable staying in the east guest wing,” she was saying, her fair hair swishing around her tanned shoulders. “It doesn’t feel quite right to invade my father’s personal space just yet. You know?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him with those pretty blue eyes and he nearly stumbled the rest of the way down the steps. So genuine. So vulnerable. So kind. Whowasthis woman, and how on earth had she ended up walking into his life?
He nodded at her comment. But no, he had no clue what this woman was going through.
And it wasn’t his place to know.
“I’ll get it,” he said when she started to head for the truck.
She didn’t argue, and he busied himself with grabbing her luggage and getting her set up in the east wing guest room. For a man who didn’t talk much, he was talking up a storm right now.
“...And you’ll find extra towels over there in the linen closet. There’s plenty of extra bedding, too, if it gets cold at night.” He paused to take a breath, and when he turned to face her, he realized exactly why he was suddenly such a chatty Cathy.
It was guilt, plain and simple. Guilt niggled at his gut and it only grew worse when she gave him that smile of gratitude.
“Thank you, Nash.” That soft-spoken gentleness made it a million times worse. “For everything. You’ve been so gracious and kind to me, and…” She shook her head, sending those loose waves swishing again. “I just don’t know how to thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” he muttered.
Her lips parted and it looked like she might protest but he was already walking away, leading her to the kitchen. All the while, his head was swirling with indecision.
Should he have told her about April? He winced at the memory of her tear-filled eyes when she’d seen April’s room.
