Page 74 of Rogue Cowboy
Elijah was the only one of his cousins who’d married.But then there’d been a child.Cole had been away from the ranch, but from what he’d learned from his visits home and all the things no one said, the marriage had never been happy or on solid footing.And from what he’d seen none of his cousins had ever brought a woman home to meet the family—meaning casual.
He’d hoped to be the first of this generation to break that drought.
It seemed ludicrous to him now that he thought it would be him.He was the least likely to find the real thing.
“Tell me about her,” his maw-maw interrupted his musings.
“What?Who?”he stammered like an idiot aware that both of his grandparents totally focused on him.“Why do you think I have a woman?”he demanded.He’d kept classified secrets as an integral part of his career.
“When we were discussing where you wanted to work on the ranch, you brought up Montana territory for stock contracting and offered to check on Uncle Bryce’s holding in the Big Sky State.Not me.”Elijah was back, and he sported a very un-Elijah smirk.“So who’s the cutie in Montana?”
Cole tried to formulate a dodge around three of the smartest, no-BS people he knew.
Damn.
Time to come clean.
Favorite road trip music?
“American Girl.”“Stubborn Love.”“Out of the Woods.”“Shake It Off.”“Style.”“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
I’m seeing a theme.
I’m just getting started.No way can I list just one or a few.So many Brandi Carlile, Lucinda Williams.How about you?
“Montana Miracle Cowboy.”
You have that on your play list?
Of course.
Riley had looked at the text.Pleased.Shocked.So many memories crowding in though they hadn’t seen each other in nearly six years, and she hadn’t performed anything for over four years.It was a small legacy.But something.Maybe a start?
Also have Jason Isbell’s “Last of my Kind” and Willie’s “On the Road Again.”
I can list more songs if you’re road tripping.
I’ll download.
Chapter Sixteen
Riley hadn’t wantedto attend the Ballantyne Bash.
She’d forced herself to just as proof that she could and would have a good time without Cole who still hadn’t texted her.But she was having a terrible time and didn’t want to talk to anyone.She didn’t want to eat.And the happier everyone was, the worse she felt.She wasn’t sure if she was sad—there might not be any room for sad with all her mad.
How dare he show up this weekend spouting about courting her and making their marriage real and going at her pace when he pushed her to follow his agenda for her healing and shut down after their first argument.
She knew she wasn’t being fair.He had a family emergency.She was being a selfish B-word.
But he could text.He left her sick with worry.How dare he look at her like she’d scattered all the stars in the sky and then run home and not update her.Why hadn’t he asked her to go with him?
Cole hadn’t shared his emergency.He hadn’t wanted to bring her with him to share his burden and meet his family.
She stewed at one of the several fire pits—with her family and a few Wilders and some friends from high school.She smiled and toasted a successful rodeo with sparkling water along with everyone and couldn’t take one bite of the delicious food because her stomach was in knots and her mind was chaos.Her mom kept giving her mom looks.And Riley felt like she was on the verge of screaming.
Or crying.
And none of that was acceptable.
