Page 21 of Dating a Cowgirl

“Sounds like a date to me.”

Faye craned her head around to give her sister a pointed look. “I told you. He’s not interested. We even ran into the girl he’s trying to impress. Now that was something you probably would have loved to see. He got all nervous like he was a little seventh grader asking his first crush to the dance or something. He couldn’t even talk.”

Grace still wore that look of doubt. It covered every square inch of her face, from the way her brows creased to her thinned lips.

“I’mtellingyou, Grace. Adam Cullen isn’t interested in me. If he were, he’d get all tongue-tied and nervous. It was actually kinda cute if you think about it. Anyway, I told him I’d try to help him win her over. So that’s that.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would—mostly because you weren’t there. But you’ll see. When this whole arrangement is over and he wins the heart of the girl he wants, you’ll be eating your words.”

Grace drew her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “And what about you?”

“What about me?” Faye rolled over onto her stomach. She traced the stitching of the comforter with her finger absently, praying Grace didn’t ask the one question Faye herself didn’t know the answer to.

“Do you think there’s a possibility that one day you won’t want to help him find love with someone else? Perhaps you might want him to have eyes for you instead?”

Faye’s heart reacted, constricting the blood flow and making it hard for her lungs to process the oxygen she needed. As a result, she choked a little.

Grace gave her a knowing smile. “See? I knew there was something—”

A groan escaped her chest and Faye sat up. “Of course there’s a possibility that I would be attracted to him one day. That’s a given. It’s been scientifically proven, too, hasn’t it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, just because it’s a possibility doesn’t mean that it will happen for sure. So how about you and Bri just drop it and let me do my thing the way I want to.” She slid from the bed and headed for the door. This moment of triumph had been lessened by Grace’s assumptions. For once, Faye had thought she’d have the upper hand, but in true Grace fashion, her sister had to ruin her moment.

She’d see—one day. Adam would choose Dahlia, and Faye would have… what exactly? Her truck?

Yep. Faye would have the truck her mother left them. And that would be enough.

8

Adam

Weekends were the only time Adam worked with Faye. His schedule was too full for anything else. The funny thing was that he found himself looking forward to seeing her even after their strange interaction the previous week.

It had taken almost a full week to work through the aches from his last encounter with Blaze, but driving onto the Callahan property caused all his muscles to tighten again. He got out of his truck, then glanced once at the house, wondering if he should knock or just wait for her to appear.

Neither of those options sounded great at the moment, so instead, Adam headed for the barn. Faye would materialize at some point. Until then he would wait with the animals.

The air was humid and the clouds overhead cast the whole property in an almost gray hue. The boots Adam wore sunk into the soft earth beneath him. With each step, the scent of fresh rain, pine, and earth seemed to erupt into the air.

Adam breathed in deeply. There was something about living out here in the country. Yes, he lived in Copper Creek too, but it was different out here, surrounded by barns, corrals, and rolling hills. While the town portion of Copper Creek was small, it was still more congested than the surrounding ranches.

He stepped into the barn only to find his teacher was already there. Not only that, but she had both horses saddled and was waiting for him. Faye leaned against the stalls to the right, her ankles and arms crossed. The light coming from the other side of the building only accentuated her silhouette. She wore a hat and jacket along with her usual western wear.

Faye’s head lifted as he approached. What should have been just a normal meeting was, in fact, not. Normally he saddled his own horse and they did exercises. Something just felt different. She pushed away from the stall with a smile on her face. “You’re gonna love today.” Then with a flourish, she pulled open the stall where Blaze was ready and waiting. “We’re going for a ride.”

“Arealride? Like out on a trail or something?”

“Of course.”

“But don’t I need a little more practice? I thought last time—” His heart stuttered, but he couldn’t tell if it was due to his anxiety over being thrown last time or if it was the way her warm hand brushed against his when she pressed the reins to his palm.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go any faster than you’re ready for.”

“Yeah, what abouthim?” Adam motioned toward Blaze. “Are you going to make me ride him again? Or do I get to try with Bella?”

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