Page 28 of Headstrong Cowboy
“I should go,” she said quietly, all thoughts of trying to wrangle an invitation up to his room forgotten.
“It is getting late.”Ryder made no move to release her, as if he, too, was having difficulty saying goodbye to her.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?”
Ryder shrugged.“Not too much.I’ve got a couple of appointments, but that’s it.”
“Would you like to come out to the farm again?I can make us some lunch and afterward, we can go to Riley’s, so I can practice some more.The rodeo is next weekend, and I need as much practice as I can get.”
Beneath her hand, Ryder’s muscles tightened, and his fingers dug slightly into her waist.Did he even notice he’d tensed up?Was it because she’d mentioned the rodeo?
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be at my appointments.I wouldn’t want to say ‘yes’ and then cancel at the last minute.Can I take a rain check?”
Chrissy mustered up a smile, pushing down the hurt that formed with this rejection.“Sure.I understand.”She clutched her bag a little tighter.“Thank you for dinner.”
Ryder sighed and pulled her into a hug.“Thank you for coming and for the invite.I really wish I could make it tomorrow.”
Trying to pick up on any nuances in his voice, as if he was lying or really did mean what he said, was difficult for her.She chose to believe that he was being sincere.“It’s okay.”She pulled away a little and lightly pressed her lips against his.“Goodnight, Ryder.”
When she went to extricate herself out of his embrace, he framed her face with his hands and kissed her.A type of kiss that would’ve been better suited to a bedroom.The chance of someone recognizing her was high.While Marietta had grown in population of the last decade, there were still plenty of people in town who knew she was the daughter of Frank and Eunice Bloom.Chrysanthemum, who’d married her high school sweetheart.A romance that hadn’t worked out.
Breathless, it took her a few seconds to form words after Ryder broke their kiss.“That’s quite the goodnight kiss there, cowboy.”
“You make me forget who I am.Where I am.What I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”Considering he caused the same things to happen to her, Chrissy felt the question was reasonable.
“A combination of both.”
“Ditto,” she said before touching his face.“I really do need to go.I’ll speak to you later.”
Ryder grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it, like he’d done before.And just like the last time, her knees went a little week at that gallant gesture.“You most definitely will.Drive carefully.”
“I will.”
With one last look, she took two steps away from him, before Ryder reached out and pulled her tight against him, his arms encircling her.The embrace said everything neither one of them could say out loud.
I really want to see you tomorrow.
I wish we could go upstairs.
I can’t say goodbye to you.
I wish you didn’t have to leave.
This unspoken communication seemed to be what they needed and this time when they broke apart, it was easier for Chrissy to walk away.
As she stepped outside, she wrapped her coat around her, warding off the chill in the air.She expected Ryder to still be where she’d left him.She glanced over her shoulder, and her assumption was correct.His hands were in his pockets, looking casual, but she could see that he was holding himself stiffly, as if fighting the battle not to forget his good intentions and make her unspoken wishes come true.But he stayed where he was, and she handed her ticket to the valet.Her car arrived quickly and, as she got in, she spared one last look through the glass doors.Ryder still stood there.Lifting her hand in a wave, she disengaged the handbrake and drove off into the night, knowing she’d left a little piece of herself at the Graff Hotel.
Chapter Fourteen
The upcoming rodeoloomed like a dark cloud on the horizon for Ryder.The past few days, he’d been busy looking at other properties, even though he had a good idea of what location he wanted.He’d done it so he didn’t give Lucinda any reason to ask him why, after he’d come to see her, he didn’t look at other properties.When he’d spoken to the Realtor, she said that Eunice still hadn’t signed the official listing agreement, even though she’d verbally agreed to put the farm up for sale.Until she did, the place wasn’t legally on the market.
Had Chrissy found out about the sale and had talked her mom out of it?
It wasn’t as if he could ask Chrissy.He wasn’t supposed to know the property was going to be available.Their conversations since the night of their dinner had been over the phone or by text and had been about general things, mixed in with a heavy dose of flirting.She’d gotten busy with the farm and other stuff, which he assumed meant she was practicing for her event more.He’d been preoccupied with his faux property search and whether he was going to stay in town or go elsewhere while the rodeo was on.
He knew why he hadn’t decided what he was going to do, and it was all because of a certain woman with caramel-colored hair and chocolate-brown eyes.She was never far from his mind and the thought of being more than a short drive away from her didn’t sit well with him, if the need to see her grew too strong.So far, with effort, he’d been able to control himself but an hour from now might be a different story.
