Page 43 of Forever After All

He opened the text app as he sat back on the bed. It was almost eleven. She was probably asleep.

But if she wasn’t home yet, then he actually had a reason to worry. He tapped out a message.

Linc: You make it home okay?

He pressed send before the fire burning up his throat made him sick. Maybe the indigestion wasn’t the issue. Now, he had to wait for a response.

What if he didn’t get one? Did he call her brother or the sheriff first? Would Brett help him ride around town looking for her in the middle of the night?

Definitely.

“Come on, Jess. Give me something.”

Staring at the phone was going to slowly burn him alive. He flopped onto his back and rested his forearm over his eyes and started listing all the reasons why he shouldn’t be worrying about her.

She’s smart. If the guy was a creep, she’d let him know and then call for a ride home.

She’s scrappy. She could probably take the guy in a fist fight if it came to throwing hands.

She was–

The phone rang in his hand, and he was sitting up in bed before the first chime faded. Jess’s name lit up the screen.

“Hello.”

“The date was a short one. I’ve been home for a while.”

Linc fell back onto the bed like a blue whale breaching. A short date was good news. Well, good news for Linc, at least.

“What happened?” He asked the question before stopping to consider whether or not he actually wanted to know the answer.

There was rustling on Jess’s end of the call, and Linc imagined she was wrapping the blankets around her and getting comfy in bed.

Time out. He was not allowed to think about Jess in bed.

She was in the living room. No. She was probably in her kitchen. He couldn’t think of any reason she’d be in the kitchen this close to midnight, but it was much safer than the image of her in bed.

Jess sighed. “He took me to Little Italy.”

“In Cody? But you don’t like Italian food.”

Linc had picked up on that little tidbit about her years ago. She always went home for a sandwich at lunchtime if Vera was making pizza or pasta.

“Yeah. He didn’t care. Also, he was a little bit wrapped up in himself. I was glad I didn’t have to do a lot of talking, but I was also disappointed that I couldn’t just chow down while he was boosting his own ego.”

“What a tool,” Linc whispered. These guys were making him look better by the day.

Jess yawned, and her voice changed to a low, tired tone. “I thought we would connect over horses, since he’s with the rodeo. No luck there. He’s a bull rider and thinks he’s better than the bronc riders, barrel racers, and calf ropers.”

“He’s probably been hit in the head one too many times.”

Jess chuckled, and Linc closed his eyes as the sweet sound sent a tingle down his arms and legs all the way to his fingertips and toes.

“You’re probably right. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway. He’s with the traveling rodeo.”

“I’m sorry it didn't go well,” Linc said, and to his surprise, he really was sorry. Jess deserved a man who would wake up and put her in his top two most important things every day.

“I’m starting to think dating isn’t for me,” she whispered.

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