Page 14 of Brothers Best Friend Cowboy

Emery and I head downstairs to the sound of Dodge’s fist against the wall. It’s not the sound I was hoping to hear tonight, but it’s a necessary one. If I know one thing about my brother, it’s that he’s always wanted the best for me, and given time I know he’ll see that men don’t get any better than Emery.

Chapter Eight

Emery

One Week Later

I shoot back a swallow of whiskey. It’s been seven days since I’ve seen Maggie. I followed her back to her cabin after the blow up with Dodge and we went our separate ways with intent to meet up the following day for coffee, but she got busy with work, and I didn’t press her further. She’s got a lot to figure out.

If I were to guess, I’d say on that long drive home she realized what a mistake she was making tearing her family apart for me, and I can’t blame her for that. Dodge is all she has.

I sink into the recliner next to the picture window overlooking the lake. My cabin is small, but it’s got some of the nicest views on the mountain. At least I think so anyway. The realtor told me in the spring I can watch the bears come down from the mountain and drink from the lake. In the fall, the elk migration makes their way across the valley. And in the winter, there’s an occasional wolf that meanders through. Funny thing is, none of this means anything without Maggie next to me.

Fuck!

I had her. For two fucking seconds, I had her in my arms. I tasted her. I held her. How do I go on from here? I can’t live in Rugged Mountain knowing she’s always a mile away. Everything I’ve ever wanted, right there, but I can’t have it.

My phone stares up at me, taunting me to dial her number. I push it away, tucking it under the cushion of the chair I’m sitting on. If I call her, it’s coercion. I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to push her into something she’s not ready for.

Leaning back in the chair, I close my eyes, imagining my hands on her skin, my lips on hers, the sound of her voice as she laughed at my stupid jokes, and the way she crawled on top of me during that game of truth or dare. I imagine the life that I’d created in those seconds. A family, a home, a ranch of our own, the weight of her frame next to me in bed every night.

I can’t take it. I can’t be here without her. I can’t be anywhere without her. I need my sunshine more than I need anything else on Earth. Coercion or not, she has to know I’m not going away so easily.

*******

It’s noon when I pull into the diner. I should’ve thought this through. Everyone in town is here. Not to mention it looks like they are hosting a birthday party for one of the Baxter kids. At this point, there has to be forty of them now.

It’s Saturday too, which means the mountain man special. A fried steak, a baked potato, and a slice of Josie’s sweet peach pie for $8.99. Even the quietest of folks come down the mountain for a deal like that.

I contemplate turning away. Maybe this is my sign from the universe to leave. But when I see Maggie’s golden hair from the window, I know I’m about to make a fool of myself.

She’s wearing a short black skirt and a pink top with a matching ribbon in her hair. The white diner apron is over that, her name tag situated over her right breast.

I step from the truck without a plan. It’s a gorgeous day. The clouds are white and puffy, and there’s a nice breeze keeping the warm air cool. The bell rings above the door to the diner as I step in. I’d hoped to come in undetected, but as people do in a small town, everyone stops what they’re doing and looks toward the door.

Smiling my best half-smile, I make my way through the diner and toward Maggie who’s standing by the milkshake machine staring at me.

Her lips part slightly, but she doesn’t move. I can’t tell if this is good or bad, but I don’t care. I’m here, and I’m taking my shot.

Dishes clatter, the low roar of people surrounds me, and the distant sizzle from the kitchen is ambient. I stay focused on the woman now three feet away.

She opens her mouth to speak but closes it again without words.

I reach out for her hand, unsure of what to say or how to say it until her frame is pressed against mine and our gaze is on one another.

“What are you doing here?” She’s breathless.

“I missed you.”

A visible lump grows in her throat as she stares up at me. “I missed you, too.”

I can’t help but smile when she speaks. “That’s all I needed to know,” I sigh, leaning into her lips. The motion is quick and hard.

She moans into my mouth, and despite the people around us, I feel my cock going hard.

Before things get out of hand, I pull away and stare down at my girl. “I thought you’d decided you didn’t want this.”

A young waitress squeezes past us for her tray that’s waiting in the window, then squeezes through again.

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