Page 41 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

“Things going okay for her? Has she found a new place to live?”

“She’s looking,” Wade said in a tone that indicated this was not a welcome topic of conversation.

“Obviously I don’t need my bedroom anytime soon, so she should stay as long as she needs to.” Jordan glanced over to where Lil was waiting near the corrals. “We should get back to the Willow Creek.”

“You guys be careful there.”

The concern was obvious on Wade’s rugged face, and Jordan had a sudden desire to hug his old man. He didn’t, because it wasn’t an emotional emergency, but he did clap Wade’s shoulder. “We will.”

*

“The place feels empty.” Lil’s words broke the stillness after they’d parked near her barn.

Jordan had to agree that the ranch had a different, lonelier feel. Most of the cattle were bedded down in the corral, having eaten their fill. The big dog lumbered out of the barn and a goat bleated, but without the horses, yeah, there was an emptiness.

Lil’s phone chimed and she pulled it out to read the text. “Meg is on her way home.” She walked to the fence. “The hay’s almost ripe. I wonder if we can bale without being shot at.”

Jordan came to stand beside her, and it seemed perfectly natural to stand so close that their shoulders touched. Equally natural for her to lean into the pressure.

“I know someone with a flak vest.”

Her shoulders shook and he hoped it was with laughter.

“If nothing else happens … I wonder how long until I feel safe here again.” She turned her face to his.

He started searching for words, even though there wasn’t a true answer to her question, when he realized that maybe it wasn’t the time for words. Her chin tipped up. Definitely not time for words.

The kiss was gentle. Unexpected. Sweet.

It ended sooner than he liked.

Her mouth curved into a half-smile that made him want to kiss her again. “I guess that’s been coming for a while.”

“Has it?” he asked with mock innocence.

She raised her eyebrow with equal innocence. “And here I thought you had a read on things.”

He gave a soft laugh. He read things well enough to know that Lil was about to back off, head to safety. But Lil turned that theory on its head by putting a palm to his cheek and easing his mouth back to hers for a kiss that left out the sweet part. His hands settled at her waist as the kiss deepened, and he pulled her toward him until their belt buckles touched.

When she raised her head, she asked, “How much does this complicate things?”

“Depends on where it’s going.”

“Nowhere,” she said honestly. “I …” The hesitation was the first sign of a break in her confidence. “I’m not in a place for that.”

He wondered if she ever had been in that place. Now was not the time to ask, so he gave her the escape hatch he sensed she needed.

“Everyone needs a little comfort now and again.”

“Is that what this is?”

He wasn’t fool enough not to know there was more involved. Right now, this was whatever Lil needed it to be. He was a big believer in things sorting themselves out.

She flattened her palm against his chest. “I’m going with comfort.”

“You got it.”

But her rueful smile told him that, like him, she didn’t believe her own words.