Page 38 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
He was disappointed to hear she was staying.
12
The change in Emma was so sudden it made Nash’s head spin. Her bright smile and playful laughter evaporated as she ducked her head and stared at the ground between them.
“Only for a week.” She rushed out the words before he even had a chance to respond. “I just don’t feel right about heading back to Chicago when I still have sisters to get in touch with, you know? And school doesn’t go back for a while yet.” Her hands nervously fluttered in front of her chest like they didn’t know where to land. “I might actually stay for another ten days. Maybe? Or, not even that long. If it’s too much trouble I can try to get to—”
“Emma.” He reached for her arm and she stilled the moment he touched her. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She blinked. “You do?”
“I do.” It wasn’t a lie. It was clear Emma was torn about the inheritance and dealing with a world of emotions now that she had a new family to contend with.
He just didn’t want her to have to contend withhisfamily as well. The moment she said she was staying longer, a flush of panic shot through him. How could he keep his father at bay? The longer she stuck around, the harder it would get. That man was like a dog with a bone when he had his sights set on something.
The protective instinct firing through Nash was strong and surprising.
Don’t get too attached, man. She’s still leaving. Her life in Chicago will call her back eventually and then where will you be?
He removed his hand from her arm, shoving it deep into his pocket and tipping back on his heels. “You staying here is no trouble. This ranch belongs to you, remember?”
She let out a half-hearted laugh and shrugged. “Well, me and six others.”
“Staying here gives you time to deal with all that.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to tell Lizzy,” she said with a rueful wince.
He smiled. “I bet she’ll understand.”
She chuckled softly. “You have a younger sister, Nash. Would she understand if you weren’t doing everything in your power to make her wedding day perfect?”
He flinched. Her pointed question hit its mark, and then some. “Don’t remind me.”
“Why?” Her tone was teasing and she was starting to lose that odd insecure edge she’d had a moment ago. She reached out and pushed his shoulder playfully. “Are you in trouble with the bride?”
“Something like that.” She waited for him to continue, and when he didn’t, she moved on.
“Well, then, you must know what I mean. Lizzy needs me in Chicago.”
He nodded slowly. He hadn’t known Emma long but he wondered if she had any idea how many times he’d heard her talk about what everyone else around her needed and wanted. “What about you?”
Her eyes widened in incomprehension. “What about me?”
“What do you need?”
Her lips parted. She was clearly stunned. Almost like she’d never been asked that question before. The thought rankled him. This was a woman who was so selfless, so sweet, and it was about dang time she thought about number one for a change.
He leaned against the fence and crossed his arms. “Emma O’Sullivan, what is it that you want?”
She bit her lip and guilt flared in her eyes. “I want to stay.” A smile tugged at his lips but she quickly added, “Just for a little while longer.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he said. “This is your property. You belong here.”
She blinked, and her eyes got that dazed look again like he’d just stuck her with a cattle prod. Then she bit her lip again. “You think I belong here?”
His insides flushed. He hadn’t meant to say it so openly like that, but his heart ached at the sincerity and vulnerability on full display before him. The woman didn’t have a superficial bone in her body.
“I think people belong wherever they’re happiest,” he said quietly. “I think everyone deserves to get what they want sometimes. Especially those people that are always putting everybody else’s needs before their own.”
