Page 72 of Trusting a Cowgirl

“Riley, do you want to share?”

He glanced up. His gaze swept through the group and he lowered his scowl to his hands. “Nope.”

“Is everything still going well? The last time you shared, you were excited about the prospect of your future and possibly staying here in Copper Creek.”

His glower intensified and he refused to make eye-contact with anyone. “Plans change.”

“Oh?”

If Riley wasn’t already so close to completing his mandated time here, he would have launched from his seat and stormed away. He didn’t need any of this. Everyone sitting in a circle talking like a bunch of little chickens was ridiculous. None of it helped anyone.

“What are your plans when you’re done?”

“I’m going home.”

“I’m sure that will be nice.” Kevin turned to another poor unfortunate soul who sat in their circle. None of this mattered. The people sitting here could talk all day long, but it didn’t change what happened to them. It didn’t make things better. They would all remember the thing that turned them into the people they currently were.

Riley crossed his arms and half-listened. He was stretched out on his chair with his ankles crossed, but then he nearly fell out of his chair when the main door opened and Grace entered the building.

Her eyes met his briefly before she headed toward Shane’s office.

Straightening, he fought the burning sensation in his face. He hadn’t expected Shane to call her so soon. She didn’t look happy. That was understandable, considering they had broken up. He couldn’t deny that it gave him a small amount of satisfaction to know that she hadn’t bounced back.

The group around him got to their feet and started folding up the metal chairs they sat on. He stumbled to his feet, grasping the back of his chair and just as it folded, Grace materialized. Riley bit back a yelp.

Grace had her hands on her hips. Her eyes flashed with fire, and her face was flushed like she’d been doing some sort of strenuous activity. “Broken up?” she seethed. “You told Shane we’re broken up?”

Riley glared as he yanked up the chair and took it over to be leaned against the wall with the others. “What did you think our last conversation meant?”

“That you were upset. Not that we were broken up. I thought you said you were serious about us.”

He whirled around to face her. “I was. The problem, though, is that you clearly weren’t.”

“What?” Her head reared back and she blinked at him. “Why do you think that? I spent almost every evening with you.”

His heart was beating at an irregular pace. The knots in his stomach churned and bumped into other things. He felt cornered, blocked in and unable to move. Lungs burning, aching for air, he brushed past her.

Grace’s footsteps followed after him. “I don’t understand you. I’ve never seen someone so intent on getting someone to like them only to toss them away the second something hard happens.”

He spun to face her again, fury boiling within him. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about something hard. This is about the fact that I care about you a heck of a lot more than you care about me. I can’t believe I allowed myself to think you could be capable of loving me the way I love you.” His eyes swept over her from head to toe. “You’re practically a child. What do you know of love?” He stormed away, expecting that she would just let him escape. That’s all he wanted right now. Escape.

But she didn’t.

Grace hurried after him, and when he caught a glimpse of her, he noticed the moisture brimming in her eyes. “I may be younger than you, but I know better than to throw away something just because it’s not what I was expecting. You might think this is about me, but you need to take a good long look in the mirror and see what’s really wrong here. You’re running becauseyoudon’t think you’re good enough. It has nothing to do with me.” She blinked, causing a tear to slide down her cheek. “And as for the declaration of love?” She huffed. “I’ve never dated anyone seriously. I’m not going to say I love someone just because it’s expected. He’s got to earn the privilege of hearing it.” She spun on her heel and charged toward the back door in the direction of the barns.

“You’re not my therapist anymore. You don’t get to be part of my sessions.” He called it out over the low rumble of voices in the immediate area and immediately regretted it. Grace stopped where she stood, her hands down at her sides clenched into fists.

People stopped their talking, making the room almost deathly quiet. Slowly, Grace turned around to face him. “I’m not your therapist anymore,” she repeated. “But I have a new client who happens to need me right now.” With those final words, she slipped out the door.

Several eyes turned to look at him. Their expressions ranged from disgust to mild curiosity. Some of these people knew Grace well enough, and of course he would be the bad guy.

Riley dragged a hand down his face. This wasn’t how everything was supposed to go. Grace was supposed to be his person—the one who accepted him for who he was despite all the scars.

His jaw tightened and he turned his scowl to the floor. He couldn’t miss any sessions or he’d be required to stay here even longer than he already had. It was time to get this whole thing over with so he could leave and never look back.

Riley marched toward the same door where Grace had disappeared. By the time he ended up on the trail leading to the barn, she was already at the structure and heading inside.

He should wait. Outside, there were plenty of places to hang out until Bud was ready—unless Bud was already in the barn and waiting for him to saddle Dolly.

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