Page 62 of My Cowboy Freedom
At the same time, Sky’s worried gaze sought me out via the side mirror. His expression matched Maisy’s: worry and compassion and something else, something more than both—the desire, theneedto do something. For Maisy, the yearning to get out of that truck made her ears twitch and her body tense up. She whined and wiggled andwoofed at me.
Sky just sat there with his heart in his eyes.
I didn’t want Sky to see me like this. How could he ever act normal around me when he’d seen me act like a freak?
But then the passenger door opened and his feet slid to the ground. I was torn. I wanted his attention, but not his pity. And now he was going to pay attention to mebecausehe pitied me.
“What do you want?” I snapped at him.
“Gotta drain the python, man. Chill.” He passed me and pissed in the red glow of the truck’s taillights.
He was real decent about the whole pissing thing too. He hid his business so Elena wouldn’t accidentally see anything untoward in the rearview mirror. He took his time.
Apparently his “python” was connected to an underground firehose.
When he finally shook off, he made a show of zipping discreetly and scrubbing his hands on the crumpled-up remains of the wipe I’d given him earlier.
Then he leaned against the truck, eyeing me like,Oh hey. Didn’t see you there...
It would have been funny if it wasn’t kinda sad.
“You been inside a while, huh?” I asked.Probably so long you’ve got no idea you just pissed in full view of Elena’s backup camera.
“Eight years.” His gaze flicked to my face. “How come?”
I couldn’t tell him. I just couldn’t. “No reason.”
He leaned over and whispered, “Don’t they have a group for twentysomethings at your church?”
I didn’t understand. “How come?”
“Those kids seemed a lot younger than you, is all.” His brows drew together. “Can’t you go to Bible Study with people your age?”
“No.”Nobody thinks I fit in with the adults.“I go to regular worship services on Sundays. Why?”
“I need to find a church, but I’m too old for a group like that—”
“BS for singles is what you want, and that meets Friday nights. You’d like that. There’s usually something social going on after. A movie or something. Tad goes sometimes, or I’m sure the boss would let you take one of the ranch trucks.”
“That’s not really what I’m looking for.” His smile was bittersweet. “You don’t go for that single stuff? I mean, I get why you wouldn’t. But you could. If only because they’re your own age.”
“No.”I call it BS for a reason.
“You guys coming or what?” Elena called out. “I’d like to get to bed by midnight.”
“You take the front this time,” Sky jerked his head toward the passenger side. “You can push the seat back all the way and stretch out. I’ll sit behind Elena. Will Maisy be okay with that?”
“She’ll be fine as long as she can see me and get an occasional scratch.” At least one of us could enjoy the ride
I reclined the passenger seat as far as I could and put my arm over the console, letting my hand fall to the scruff of Maisy’s neck. She lay curled contentedly on Sky’s feet, occasionally opening one eye or the other, her dog eyebrows lifting curiously, eyes on me. After a while, Sky sat forward, watching her watch me.
“Maisy is relaxing now.” I said. “You can put your hand out for her to sniff if you want. She’s never officially off duty, but there are times when she gets to rest or play.”
Sky scratched behind her ears, but Maisy wasn’t in the mood to relax her guard. She accepted his touch tentatively, keeping most of her attention focused on me.
“What’s the matter, Maize?” My singsong voice made her tilt her head. I found a treat in my backpack and gave it to her. “I’m all right.”
When I laid my hand on her back again, my fingers brushed Sky’s. This time, his warm brown eyes found mine and held them shyly, stealing my breath.
