Page 57 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

She didn’t tell him she loved him. There was no point. And her crushed heart suspected there was no coming back from this.

Chapter Fifteen

STAYING AWAY FROM RACHELthese last few days was the most difficult thing Tex had done in his life.

Again and again, he ached to pick up the phone and explain the reason he couldn’t see her in person, explain his fear of putting her in danger. She’d already paid a high price for their picnic date on his boat.

But he couldn’t because he cared too much about her safety. She’d said it right. She wasn’t a person to sit and wait. She’d rush here, ready to take a bullet for him, and he couldn’t let it happen again.

He’d canceled most of his in-person meetings and communicated with people remotely, including Jennifer. The only person who now occupied Jennifer’s desk in front of Tex’s office was Brady, the bodyguard Tex hired. Missing Rachel was nearly unbearable, so Tex did what he’d done best when something bothered him—he’d thrown himself into work.

Tonight, he raised his glance from the laptop screen, mostly because of hunger pangs. What? It was already dark outside.

What was the time? He checked his expensive watch.

Wow. Ten o’clock at night. Maybe he should sleep at work again instead of driving home.

Then the memory of Rachel saying she’d drive here just for scraps of his time and attention gripped him, tightening around his rib cage and stealing his breath. Every minute with her was precious, but her life was a million times more precious.

His cell phone rang, and he perked up, hoping it was her. After their fateful conversation where she’d declared they should take a break, all his calls to her had gone to voicemail.

Disappointment sliced through him at Darius’s name on the screen, but Tex answered nonetheless. “Hello, bro.”

“So you’re avoiding family dinners again.”

Tex would’ve quipped that an attitude like that might be why he avoided the ranch, but he knew Darius hid a caring nature behind his hostile front. “Don’t you know I’m a walking target these days?”

“Exactly the point. We could protect you here at the ranch.” Darius’s voice became even gruffer, if that was possible.

Darius had always been the one who pushed Tex to visit more often, just as Darius had been the one who helped him and their brothers growing up. This time, other brothers had called, as well, and offered help—they’d rally around Tex if he allowed it. But Darius had been the first and the most insistent one. Though he wasn’t the oldest in their family, he sure acted like it, and he was as unstoppable as a tractor with an unlimited fuel supply.

Tex leaned against the back of his luxurious chair, gratitude warming him. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I do. But look at what happened to Rachel. I don’t want people I love to get hurt.” He swallowed hard, then admitted. “I’m terrified people I love can be hurt.”

“Wait a moment. Do you love Rachel?”

Tex rubbed the brewing headache in his temples, buying some time. Too little sleep combined with too few and infrequent meals and too much worry about his family and Rachel were taking their toll.

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