Page 21 of Charming the Cowboy
She blinked back tears. “Thank you for that, Cooper. That’s a really beautiful thought.”
“My dad was committed to his family, to the land. And sometimes I wish he hadn’t died before he was able to get the thing that he really wanted. But also, we were something he really wanted. The work that he did was for us. Which is what my family still does for each other. And in that way, I guess he did die doing something he loved.”
The wagon stopped, and she experienced a feeling of déjà vu as she stared up at the sunset. It reminded her of that moment. When they had almost…
“Do you remember that night when the horses got out?” She turned to look at him and saw that he was watching her. He turned his face away quickly. “No. I don’t remember that.”
Her stomach clenched with disappointment. “Oh. Okay. Okay.”
So, it really had been nothing. It had not been an almost kiss. It had not been anything of real significance to him. It couldn’t have been. Because if it were, he would remember. And he didn’t.
So she needed to let go of that memory.
“This was great. I’m ready to head back.”
“All right, I’ll bring the wagon down…tomorrow?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Tomorrow. That sounds great.”
“Yes. I’ll bring my decor.”
“Don’t forget the giant spider.”
She stared at him, and his face was so serious that she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“I won’t.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “I know.”
He was so beautiful it hurt. But the hurt was the big thing right now.
She wanted a break from him, now, which didn’t feel fair, because he wasn’t trying to hurt her.
She’d felt charmed just a little bit ago.
Now she was back to feeling every bit as cursed as she had before.
Chapter Four
Don’t forget I’m bringing the wagon down today.
How could I forget? GIANT SPIDER IS READY TO GO.
She was trying to be fun and funny and let go of the little…ouchthat had happened last night. She didn’t need to cling to something that was impossible anyway. She’d let herself get too wounded by something that there was just no reason to get wound up about.
They were decorating the wagon today. They were friends. It was good. It wasall good.
Her car was full of decorations, her heart was full of cheer. “And so it is!” she said into the empty space because she was naming and claiming that.
There was a knock on the back door of the shop, and she scampered to the back room and opened it. There he was. All Emperor energy. His wagon was on a flatbed, and she looked up at it. “How do you get that down?”
“We’ll get it down with a winch, and then leave it in one of the parking spaces back here if that’s okay.”
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
He nodded.
“I just have a few things to clean up in here.”
