Page 43 of Rogue Cowboy
“Tucker said the same.I waffled about the blouse, but it suited my mood.”
They talked and walked toward downtown.The swish of the ruffled skirt and her toned legs and the black ankle boots seemed saucy, and his heart soared with hope even as he tried to tamp it down.Riley still needed to be honest with herself and her family.
They crossed though the small meadow and through the trees lining the Marietta River, and Riley stopped in the middle of the bridge.
She took a deep breath and held both his hands in hers—looking left then right to make sure they had a moment of privacy.
“Thank you for coming to the rodeo, Cole,” she said.“It was time.Long past time, and that’s my fault for being a coward.”
That admission stunned him.
“You’re not a coward, Riley.”He was certain about that.After she hadn’t wanted him to visit, he hadn’t tried again until he’d mustered out.
“I’m happy you’re here.Tonight’s our first official date.”
It was more than he’d hoped for.
“To honor that,” he said feeling awkward and formal, “I picked up something today that reminded me of you.”He wasn’t much for using words.But Riley deserved them.
“When I was far away, I thought of you often.You were…and still are…my light, and when I knew I’d be home in time to come to Marietta to see you at the rodeo, I reached out to a Montana artist who sells her jewelry at the boutique in the Graff Hotel and asked her to make something special.”
Riley’s cheeks pinked.“Really?”She looked both intrigued and nervous.
He pulled the silky pouch out of the pocket of his denim jacket and handed it to her.
“Thank you, for thinking of me,” Riley said before she opened it, “but I don’t have anything for you.”She looked so worried, he nearly kissed her and said she was enough, always had been and would be more than he’d dreamed of.
“Next time.”He wanted to keep the mood light.
“Challenged accepted,” Riley said and opened the pouch.“Oh.Cole.Wow,” she breathed and pulled out a delicate silver chain with the oval abalone pendant and smaller charms resting on top of it.“Wow,” she breathed again and studied the charms.
She’d understand.He knew she would.And it felt like he was handing her his heart and declaring his devotion in a way the vows in Vegas hadn’t.
“Abalone as the background for California where we met.And the silver fish for the ocean, the glittering star for the night at the observatory.”She touched each charm.“The blingy musical note for the concert you watched, the pink boot for cowgirl roots, the gold horse galloping for my now career, the copper mountain and a Montana sapphire for my Montana roots.Is the black enamel cowboy hat you, Texas?”She smiled.“I love it.Cole.So much.So clever and sweet.”
“There’s one more charm,” he reminded her.The artist had created a clever twist clasp so more charms could be added.
Riley fingered the metal.“A circle,” she said, and a frown skittered across her face.“This better not be real, Cole.It will scare me to death that I’ll lose it.”
She hadn’t wanted a ring when they’d married, and he’d understood.She’d been scared.Hurt.Lost.He’d been something to hold on to.But he had his mom’s platinum engagement ring that had been her mother’s and her mother’s before.He’d sent a picture of the filigree setting and asked to have an eternity band to match and had purchased the small diamonds to be set into it.
“You won’t,” he said confidently.Eternity was forever.
Riley smiled and slipped the necklace over her head.She struck a pose against the background of the footbridge, the river, the trees, Copper Mountain looming behind.
“How does it look?”
“Perfection.”
Riley laughed.“Those are impossible boots to fill, Cole,” she said and then she walked to the end of the bridge and into the dappled light of Crawford Park.The sun’s rays lit up her hair and her silky skin, and he saw the sparkle in the lotion light her up.“No one’s perfect, Cole,” she told him, looking back at him over her shoulder, and her eyes glittered with emotion, and her hair and skin shone like a solar flare.
“You are.”
Do you ever get down time?I hate picturing you always in danger.
Cole had been pleased to receive the text.He’d been debating if he should reach out or give it a rest, but the rest had been months now—so long he was starting to see the end of this part of his life and contemplating what would be his next career and where.He’d always imagined he’d live in Last Stand after the military, but his family was large.No one needed him.
Did Riley need him?Would she welcome Texas?Last Stand was small, but it was only an hour drive to San Antonio and ninety minutes to Austin.But Riley, even though he’d met her in LA, seemed deeply small-town rooted.
