Page 2 of Fallen Cowboy
“With the help of our rugrat,” Markus told me, pulling on my ponytail. I swatted at his hand, causing him to laugh. I didn’t always tag along to bother them. Mostly, I did. But I loved picking on them too. It was annoying to see Markus try to talk to a girl at the fair or some event and I’d saddle up, saying or doing something to cause him to yell at me.
It was priceless.
I did the same thing to Troy, but full-on different reasons.
It’s how I got pegged more as a rugrat over the years and how they came to hate me being around them.
But I got attention from the one boy I wanted, even if it wasn’t good.
With a sigh, I hung my head. Those thoughts weren’t going to get me far. Troy was not the boy I remember. And if he was, he would never look at me beyond being Markus’s kid sister, the pest, the rugrat. I’m sure he’d stay as far away from me as I would of him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Three hours later, I was at the barn, brushing down Rainbow, my thoughts in a turmoil over Troy. I didn’t know when he was coming back home. For all I knew, he could be home right now, just waiting for a chance to come bother the family.
“Rainbow, what’s with men being pains? They make us fall for them and then end up breaking our hearts.” She neighed before nudging my shoulder in agreement.
“Thank you, I’m glad you feel the same way I do. Troy should have stayed following the circuit. Or retired somewhere other than our small town. There’s nothing here for some hotshot manlike himself. And even if he does stay, every woman in this town will be after him, chasing his tails like he’s some type of god given gift.”
I sighed, resting my head on her side, letting her breathing soothe me. Because that thought was the worst of them all. I wanted to be grown up, woman enough, to be over this stupid crush of a man who saw me as nothing more than an annoying kid sister.
But something deep inside told me I wasn’t as over it as I wanted. And that if I saw him hanging around all the town floozies, I would literally break in a way I wasn’t ready for.
“I hate this, Rainbow. I’m just not ready for it.” She nipped at my shoulder, causing me to grin. I finished brushing her then took her nose and gave her a kiss. “Thank you for listening. I’ll have MaryBeth out soon enough so she can give you some love.” Rainbow kicked her feet in happiness. MaryBeth might be only four, but these two had a bond. Not that I was putting her on a horse yet.
I walked back to the house, my hands in my pockets, my thoughts racing a mile a minute.
I knew I had to just be strong, to deal with whatever was going to be thrown my way. I also knew I had to pray that the moment I saw Troy again, that all those teenage feelings flew out the window.
“You got this, Anelise,” I told myself, opening the back door to the kitchen. “Markus?” I called, stopping into the doorway to the dining room.
I was dead wrong if I thought I could fight my feelings. Because sitting in a chair was Troy, looking as damn as good as he ever did.
But even worse, he had MaryBeth on his lap, making her giggle.
And the scene stole my breath.
Along with any last lingering piece of my heart.
Chapter 2
~ Troy ~
“It’s good to see you, man,” Markus told me, pulling me into a hug. When I came back home yesterday, I didn’t think I would be on my way over to my best friend’s house today, but I couldn’t wait to stop in and see Markus.
And to see what the rugrat has been up to.
In all the calls and messages, Markus hasn’t given a lot of information about his sister. Not that I was sure why, but I never pushed to know. I was only ever curious.
The one and only thing I ever heard was that she was dating some asshole that left town after a few months.
It didn’t mean anything to me, of course. I mean, I remembered Anelise as an annoying girl who always made dates hard and intruded on her brother’s times. She would constantly follow us and get underfoot. She was also lanky, had glasses, and the last I remembered, braces. She had bright freckles that traced over her cheeks and nose, and they only got worse when she was in the sun for long periods of time.
“It’s good to be home. I forgot how much I missed it.” We walked into the house, sitting down at the table.
“What something?”
“I’ll take a water.”
