Page 33 of Trusting a Cowgirl

Riley had madesomeprogress, but his actions last weekend made it clear he was still working through some stuff. She couldn’t decide if she would play the concerned friend or the angry one. But by the time he entered the barn, she’d made her decision.

She was fuming.

Grace pushed open the stall door and moved down the aisle, brushing past him without saying a word. She couldn’t be his therapist while feeling this way. She needed to cool off.

He turned toward her. “Grace—”

“We need to reschedule.”

His footsteps echoed after her. “Grace. We need to talk.”

One of the ranch hands entered the barn and gave them a strange look. Grace offered him a small smile, then shook her head. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry.”

Grace froze, then spun around. She waited for the ranch hand to leave the building and then strode toward Riley. The temptation to poke him in the chest and tell him that what he did was wrong felt strong. But she was mature. She knew better.

Instead, she crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

“I could ask the same thing of you.”

He sighed. “I get it. I screwed up.”

Grace tapped her foot, giving him the opportunity to elaborate. For all she knew, he was apologizing for being late. The balance of power between them was now skewed. There were probably some rules when it came to this kind of stuff.

She should have gone to see Shane before their session to let him know. But for once, she went against that thought and did something selfish. She still wanted to have an excuse to see Riley every day.

He stood before her, fidgeting like he was coming off of something, but his eyes were clear. Whatever reason he had for acting so skittish, it wasn’t because he’d been drinking or taking anything.

Another cowboy wandered into the barn, passing them and heading for something toward the back.

Riley lowered his voice and moved closer to Grace. He grasped her hand and pulled her toward the side of the barn, then released her as he leaned against the wall. “Friday night… I made some mistakes I’m not proud of.”

Good. At least he was fessing up to whatever that crazy night had meant.

“I should have never asked you to come with me.”

Her stomach bottomed out and she stared at him with confusion. Maybe she was wrong about all of this.

“I should have just let you do what you said and drop me off. I put you in a weird position, and it wasn’t fair of me.”

“I wasn’t upset about going with you,” she blurted against her better judgment. “I had a good time… until… well, you know.”

He made a face, his eyes dropping to the ground.

“What I don’t understand is what happened when I was dancing with Wade. What triggered you to—”

Riley let out a groan. “I really don’t want to talk about that. This therapy thing isn’t about my stupid choices when it comes to women I’m attracted to. It’s about how I feel after trying to get back to a normal way of life after serving in the military.”

Her mouth dropped open, and when he met her gaze, he froze. She could practically see the cogs working in his head as he went over the words he’d just spoken to her. Then he grimaced.

“Why do I keep doing that? I’m not even drunk.” He pushed away from the barn wall and strode deeper into the barn but then stopped and came back.

Grace couldn’t move. Stuck in the headlights, she was like one of those deer they show on those animal shows on television. Riley continued to get closer until he stopped just inches from where she stood.

When he spoke, it was just above a whisper and his voice was laced with something she couldn’t place. “You want to know the truth? Everything I said on Friday was real. When I take even one drink of anything alcoholic, I can’t control the words that spew from my mouth. I can’t control my thoughts or how I react to them.”

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