Page 90 of My Cowboy Freedom
Chapter 22
Rock
Waiting wastorture.
I should know, because I spent every day waiting—for rides, doctors, prescriptions, physical therapists, and psychologists. For calves to be born. For vegetables to grow. For my life to fucking start already.
But good news! Beginning with the shivery scrape of Sky’s stubble against mine.
One little hiccup—we were in a publicparking lotin the middle of town. If Lefty Wheeler had any idea how close I was to pushing Sky to his knees...
A honk from the street got Maisy’s attention and she turned when Elena’s truck pulled up alongside the curb. Elena rolled the window down and leaned over.
“Did you guys get some lunch?”
“Yeah.” I opened the back door of the crew cab and Maisy leaped in. I got in behind her. Sky got in up front. I couldn’t help wishing he’d sit in back with me again, but there wasn’t any food to share this time.
Sky dropped his hand over the console to pet Maisy. I rested my hand on her scruff. Our hands touched. Caressed blindly. My breath sped up and my heart thundered.
I stared out the window, but every so often I felt Elena’s eyes on me. The tension was thick as flies on shit and just as pleasant.
“Okay, both of you. Chill.” Elena finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry about that scene in the Doc’s office. I didn’t think Sterling’d come all the way to town over something so... insignificant.”
I couldn’t work myself up right then because Sky’s thumb was smoothing curlicues into my palm, making me stupidly nervous.
She sighed. “I was so glad when Doc Winters took over Doc Frazier’s practice. It’s much closer than going to Austin.”
I’d been thrilled too. Having an openly gay doctor right there in Bitterroot? Someone to talk to about my accident and my recovery and my hopes for the future? Someone who didn’t judge me?
“Me too.”
“You’re not changing doctors,” Elena said firmly.
“I don’t want to.”
“You willnothave to.” Elena made the decision for me. I wished people would stop doing that, even if they wanted the same things for me that I wanted. “Doc Winters is exactly what you need.”
“I agree.”
“We’ll just have to convince the boss. He’s not normally so... I guess he’s worse hurt than we thought, huh?”
“Probably.”
Maisy dozed while I used her as cover to give Sky’s hand a gentle squeeze. Elena turned the radio on. Rascal Flatts’ “The Day Before You” filled the cab. Sky and I stayed quiet, listening to song after sappy song about finding or losingthe one. Loneliness, love, loss, and heartache.
I spent the rest of the ride thinking about what songs I’d sing to Sky if it was just him and me in the car.
Or maybe I drifted off to sleep and dreamed we were sitting on the porch in the moonlight, listening to the radio while Foz and Elena danced in the living room.
When we pulled onto the ranch road, I knew Chandler would be waiting to talk to me. He didn’t sit on an argument and let people stew. He made sure they knew they were going to lose, and then he waited for them to capitulate.
My stomach tied itself into tighter knots with each revolution of the truck’s tires.
Sure enough, as soon as we pulled up at the ranch house, Chandler stepped onto the porch.
Sky turned to me, eyes narrow, expression worried.
“You should probably head out to the horse barn,” I told him. “Boss is going to give me a ration. It’s nothing.”
