Page 79 of Knot Her Cowboys
I’d only gotten snippets of things through Cash about what he felt from the bond with her, but it was painfully clear to mehow much grief and guilt she harbored. Whether or not I agreed with the choices she had made was irrelevant. I understood the fear and awkwardness that built up when time had passed and the distance felt insurmountable no matter how much you wished it were different. Days of silence had turned into weeks, into years, into more than a decade. Riley had obviously tried to move on with her life, however unsuccessful she had been at it.
Cooper had never tried. He’d been keeping space for her all those years and it was getting pretty damn close to a time when Riley needed to see that.
“Cooper, you need to help her understand.”
His cheeks flushed pink. “She’s going to think it’s creepy.”
“Only if she doesn’t return your feelings, which I don’t think is the case. You have to show her. Riley needs to know she’s always belonged here.”
Not a single one of us had made a peep about the full extent of Cooper’s obsession. That was something for him to share with Riley himself when he was ready; I just wasn’t confident he’d be ready in any sort of timely manner. Riley was under the impression Cooper didn’t want her around, and that was less incentive for her to stay.
Maybe it was selfish of me to push him. I respected the hell out of Cooper and everything he had gone through, but it didn’t seem fair to risk a relationship with Riley for Levi and me. No matter how much I wanted to know Riley and continue pursuing my connection with her, things had to be made right with her and Cooper first. We couldn’t build anything on shaky ground. If we wanted a future together, the foundation had to be repaired.
“I’m scared,” Cooper said quietly, his voice catching.
“I know. I promise, she is too. She’s terrified that you hate her.”
“I don’t think I’mcapableof hating her.”
“She needs to know that. We all want a chance of being a pack. I’m well aware that everything she ran from is still in Montana, and maybe it’s hubris to think we can protect her from it, but I’d like to try. Pack should be there for one another.”
Cooper nodded stiffly.
“We’re here for you too. You know we love you. This isn’t a case of it being youorRiley. We want both of you to be safe and happy, and that can’t happen without some serious communication. Both of you have your fair share of demons, but you always fought them together. That doesn’t have to stop now.”
“I’ll talk to her,” he said with another sigh. “Can’t guarantee I’ll be reasonable or rational when I do, but it’ll happen.”
He gave Ranger free rein, letting the horse surge ahead on the trail at a brisk canter. I followed along on Sky. The summer air rushed past, the trees blurring as I surrendered myself to the powerful movements of my horse. They could navigate these trails with their eyes closed.
Beneath the sun and the sky we raced over the terrain, letting the horses choose their own path. They still went in the general direction of home, knowing they would get treats as soon as we arrived.
Cooper was stubborn as a fucking mule, but he loved deeply. I had every hope that would win out in the end. I loved easier, and no less deeply. I was already attached to Riley, and seeing her interact with Cash was cute as hell. It seemed like they had picked up as if she hadn’t been gone a single day, but his personality had a lot to do with that. Once Cash loved you, that was it. You were in it for life. The same went for if he decided you were shit. Honestly, his ability to read people was a little terrifying sometimes.
I wanted the ease of my home back, for Cooper to be comfortable, and for Riley to be ours. Fate had already decidedshe was, and I wasn’t about to argue with that. She was sweet and beautiful with an incredible work ethic and a core of steel. Too often people let their pain get the better of them and deliberately inflicted it on others to feel like they were regaining some sense of power. Riley and Cooper were alike in that they had never given in to that. Granted, I didn’t know all of the details of Riley’s time away, but I knew her now. The responses she gave to things didn’t have me leaning toward her inflicting any deliberate harm.
I caught up to Cooper at the river crossing. “Are you going to stay out a while longer?”
“A bit,” he replied. “I promise I won’t stay all night to avoid her. I just need a little longer to process.”
“I understand. I’m going to take Sky for some treats and have a much-needed shower.”
We parted ways, Cooper back to the fields, and me over the river toward the big house. I peeked in at Riley in the kitchen, waving to her through one of the windows. She set aside what she was doing and hung her apron up before bolting outside to see me.
“How did it go?” she asked as I slid off Sky.
“Decent, I think.”
She lifted her face, letting me kiss her sweet mouth. “He didn’t come back with you, though?”
“He’ll be back soon,” I promised. “Do you need help with dinner prep?”
“I’ve got it. The skies are clear so we’re going to do a weenie roast. I’m just working on the sides.”
“All right. Where’s Cash?”
“Babysitting reception. Whoever was on it got a migraine, so they’re lying down.”
I nodded. “I’ll go shower and then relieve him so he can come over here with you.”
