Page 77 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

“Aubrey?” he said with a half-laugh. “It’s been a while.” And he couldn’t help but wonder what she thought of him after everything that had gone on with her friend.

“Long time,” she agreed in a polite voice, but the way she was studying him made him think that she had thoughts on the Lil matter.

“What have you been up to?” he asked, doing his version of parking lot small talk while waiting to see why exactly she’d hailed him.

“You know, catching up on my accounting.”

Jordan managed a smile at the touché, and she matched it, a gotcha look in her eye.

“I didn’t mind the nickname,” she said. “Kind of liked it, actually.”

“We were in awe, you know. You were pretty damned smart.”

“Well”—she flipped her hair—“I did have my moments.” Her expression grew serious. “I see that you moved off Lil’s ranch.”

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. How much did she know?

“It looks like everything is quiet now that I’ve decided to keep the ranch. There was no need to stay.”

Aubrey glanced at her cowboy, calmly waiting next to a shiny 1980s vintage Chevy truck, then back at Jordan. “Don’t let her buffalo you.”

Jordan dropped his chin, confused. “Buffalo me?”

“Lil’s tough, but it’s at the expense of other things.”

“Okay.” Still a bit muddy.

“I guess I’m trying to say is, be patient.”

“I will.”

“And do not, ever, let her know I stuck my nose into this.”

“Never.”

“I’ve seen Lil sabotage herself.” When he frowned, she explained, “We hung out a lot in Dillon during school, and I witnessed her technique. Maybe because of her past, or whatever, she has a hard time letting herself have big feelings. You know, love? All that.”

“Love?” His heart rate bumped up.

Aubrey made a sweeping gesture with her palms. “Love being an example of big feelings,” she said patiently. “There are lots of big feelings.”

“Right.” She’d just happened to zero in on his.

She put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t break her heart, Jordan, but also, don’t let her break yours.”

She gave him a long look, as if assessing his understanding, then turned and walked back to the Chevy.

The cowboy opened the door for her and she got inside, then they both waved. He waved back before heading to his truck feeling shell-shocked.

Love was in the picture, on his part anyway, but that was between himself and Lil. So where the hell had this conversation come from? Aubrey being intuitive? Lil spilling her guts?

The bottom line was that he didn’t have any control over whether or not Lil broke his heart, and he wondered if he had the power to break hers.

But he had to admit, Aubrey the accountant had just given him a whisper of hope.

*

Meg clacked away at her laptop, set on the kitchen table while Lil added a few more bits of bacon to the mac and cheese before putting it in the oven.