Page 26 of Trusting a Cowgirl

His eyes trailed down her body and he grimaced. “Right. Of course. I wasn’t thinking. We can go another time.”

Grace closed the distance between them; the wall was the only thing that stood between them. “No. I think you should go. It would be good for you. Like you said, you aren’t great around other people—” She grimaced. “I didn’t mean to say that. What I meant was that this would be a great way to get some practice and spend time around people in a group setting.”

“I get to see people in a group setting on a weekly basis. That’s what group therapy is for.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not the same and you know it. Come on, I’ll walk you to your cabin and you can change, then we can head over to the club before I go home.”

“Will you come back?”

Grace smiled at him. She couldn’t deny that it felt good for him to be concerned about her not being there with him. It was nice to be needed. But going to the club with him seemed to blur the lines of their professional relationship. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea—”

“As a support system,” he blurted. “That’s all.”

She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and nibbled on it for a moment. “Maybe I can see if one of my sisters would be able to bring me a change of clothes.”

His features brightened, and that was all it took for the flutters to return to her insides.

Grace really needed to do better about ignoring the things that caused that to happen.

Like the way Riley could smile at her. Or the way he would listen to her and actually pay attention to what she was saying. He was beaten down, but he wasn’t broken, and she loved to see that he was actually attempting to improve during their sessions.

* * *

Grace stared at her reflection.Brielle was the only one who was willing to bring her something to change into, and she’d managed to find the one outfit that wasn’t all that appropriate for her to wear at a club with a patient.

Her dress was low cut, one she’d worn in high school. It was made of fabric that looked more like bandanas than anything else. And it showed off her curves. Since graduating from high school, Grace had grown more conscious of the clothes she wore. She’d grown up, and she didn’t want people to look at her as just the youngest Callahan. She was more than that. She was smart and capable, and she already knew what she wanted from her life.

Grace sighed and turned to look at her profile. Well, she wasn’t here with Riley on a date. He knew that she hadn’t picked the outfit; it was probably going to be okay. She’d dance a little, get something to eat, and then be there to support him in case he needed someone to ground him.

At least the dress paired nicely with the boots. And Brielle had brought her a fresh hat to cover her damp hair. That didn’t mean she was going to get away with this. Grace already had plans in place for her sister, and Brielle wasn’t going to be thrilled about it.

She slipped out of the bathroom and headed toward the main area where all the guests were gathered. The upbeat country music met her first, and then the room opened up and showed all the guests who’d arrived for socializing. The bag in her hand weighed heavily, filled with her soggy clothes.

Immediately, her eyes found Brielle, who smiled at her and waved with her fingers.

Heat seared Grace’s face and she grabbed the arm of the first man who walked past her. He stared down at her with surprise.

“Hi. I’m Grace.”

He touched his hat. “Wade. Wade Keagan.”

She nodded her head toward Brielle, who was no longer looking at her. “You see that woman over there?”

He glanced over his shoulder toward her. “Brielle?”

Of course. All the locals knew Brielle. Her reputation preceded her everywhere. Maybe her plan wasn’t going to work after all. “You’ve dated her.”

He chuckled. “No. Should I have?”

She brightened. “Oh. Well, maybe that’s why I heard her talking about you.”

Wade arched a brow. “She was?”

Grace nodded. “Absolutely. She thinks you’re cute. She said that she wasn’t interested in seriously dating, but if you were to ask her out, she’d definitely say yes.”

He glanced over at her sister once more and a frown touched his lips. “You’ll have to tell her sorry. I’m not looking for anything at the moment.”

Grace’s shoulders sagged. Well, there went that idea. He shifted to move away from her and her fingers tightened on his arm. “Maybe you could just ask her to dance at least once? I’m sure that would be more than enough.”

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