Page 27 of Charming the Cowboy
He moved his hand away from the crystals. It was stupid that they were still there. Stupid that he was hanging onto them like a talisman.
But…
God damn.
That girl was something. She was really something.
He’d lied to her that night at the ranch. He remembered when the horses had gotten out, and she’d helped him track them down. He remembered standing with her as the sun went down and looking right into her eyes, and wanting.
He’d wanted to kiss her. He very nearly had.
It was only thinking about what he could offer her after – nothing – that had stopped him.
And she had him… Twisted up.
The problem was, she’d had him that way for way too long. God. If Marcus had any idea…
The real trouble was, he’d dreamed of her the night that he’d caught her in the wagon.
And it had been a hot dream.
She’d been begging him to break the curse.
With his… magic wand.
He made a short, sharp sound in the back of his throat and then looked down in the straw. He frowned when he saw something glimmering there. He bent down and lifted a necklace that was partially obscured by dirt and straw.
It was Eliana’s. She must have lost it getting into the wagon the other night.
He had it held up in the light when he heard footsteps and turned to see his brother walking toward him.
Great. He really didn’t want to deal with Hank right now.
“Hey. What’s… that?”
“It’s Eliana’s necklace, she must have lost it here the other night.”
Hank looked way too interested in that. “Oh?”
His brother was far too insightful about all of this, and it bothered him. He was committed to not reacting because if he didn’t react, then Hank couldn’t know for sure if Cooper had feelings for her.
It was just that Hank seemed to be maniacally certain, and that was just annoying.
“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”
“I was thinking that you were just being kind and returning the necklace to her,” he said, his tone innocent.
Cooper narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Yeah, I’m known for that. Almost as much as you are.”
“I’m very nice. Haven’t you heard? It’s part of my lore. I’m the nicest man in town.” He forced a wide smile, and his brother rocked back on his heels and laughed so hard that Cooper thought he was going to burst a blood vessel.
“Careful, old man,” he said. “You’re liable to tip a tractor over onto yourself.”
“Coop,” Hank said. “I’m not going to die until I’m at least the age Dad was. So. Next year.”
That was sobering. They often used dark humor to cope with the difficulties in their life, but realizing that his brother was coming up on the same age that their dad had been when he died made him feel… A lot. Just a lot of things.
And he chose not to hyperfocus on it. Not now.
