Page 46 of Charming the Cowboy
“It was amazing.” And too late, he realized that he had gone and admitted it.
Hank laughed. “I knew it. I knew you were completely obsessed with her.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why not? Why be so committed to your own misery?”
“It’s not my misery. It’s the whole family’s misery. All the misery we’ve ever been in all these years. I just don’t… I don’t want more. I don’t want to… You know how it is.”
“I fear I don’t. Because I’ve never had such strong feelings for somebody. If I did, I’d like to think I wouldn’t be such an idiot.”
“I’m going to remember that. I’m going to make a note of it. Jackass.”
He just laughed. “Okay.”
“I’m bringing her back here tonight. So… I’d appreciate it if you did some sleight-of-hand so that nobody else realizes that.”
“Wow. You know what, I will. Only because I really hope you get your shit together. Because I love you, Cooper, and I think you could be happy. If you let yourself be.”
Cooper didn’t know what to say to that, but he was appreciative of his brother for just being… Well, for just being. At least he was helping him.
He basically wished the hours away until it was time to go to town and see Eliana. When he rolled in at about five, she wasjust coming out of her store dressed in her little witch outfit. It was hot. He wanted to take the witch outfit off of her tonight. God, this was weird. He’d been obsessed with her for a long time, but he had never given himself permission to be this obsessed.
She turned around, and her cheeks lit up like a beacon. “Cooper!”
“Hi,” he said. He shoved his hands in his pockets so he didn’t reach out and grab her. “I just want you to know, I’m keeping my distance so that we don’t get a fine for public indecency on the street.” He kept his voice casual, kept his expression open and friendly so that nobody who might be looking at them right now would have any idea what they were talking about.
She lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I want you so badly.”
“Oh,” she said, her tone changing, her smile broadening.
“You might be the death of me.” He realized after he’d said that that it wasn’t the smartest thing to say, considering she was actually worried about it. She looked away. “I did not mean that literally.”
“Well, I really hope not.”
“Come on,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
She nodded. But he could tell she was a little bit worried. The whole evening was great. She told stories in an animated fashion in the back of the wagon, and he listened like he was listening to his favorite song. Then when they were finished, they strolled down the street, and looked at the petting zoo, the drink stations, everyone who was out in costume. There was such a merry, community atmosphere, and not even he could be curmudgeonly about it.
Especially not when Noah, a known curmudgeon, complimented his beer at one of the stations. It actually felt like things might be falling into place, and if he felt a little bit of creeping dread because of that… Well. What could you do?
“Come back to the ranch with me,” he said.
She nodded. “I was really hoping you would ask. I was going to take you to the attic if I had to.”
“Right past your mom and your grandma?”
She shrugged. “They already know.”
“Yeah. Hank knows.”
“Hank?”
“He’s really not scary. He’s a good dude. He’s going to cover for me and make sure Mom and Lindsay don’t notice I’m bringing you back.”
“Well, I thank him in this instance.”
