Page 230 of Josephine and Clay

I shake my head and laugh into my coffee.

The whole time I thought Buckhorn was the place keeping me stuck.

Turns out it was the place waiting for me to quit running.

The screen door creaks open behind me. "You're standing there brooding, aren't you?"

I glance over my shoulder.

Boone walks in already dressed for work.

"I was reflecting."

"That's just brooding with better marketing."

I flip him off.

He grins.

The annoying thing about Boone is that he only gets more smug when he's right.

He grabs a coffee mug and leans against the counter.

I clear my throat. "You got time?"

Boone immediately narrows his eyes. "That sounds dangerous."

"I need advice."

His eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline. "Jeez."

"Don't make it weird."

"You asking me for life advice belongs in one of those tabloids at the grocery store."

I regret this already.

Boone chuckles into his coffee. "What do you need?"

I stare down into my mug. The words still feel strange. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"The dad thing."

Boone scratches his jaw and studies the coffee in his mug as if the answer might be floating in there. "You stop thinking about yourself first."

"That sounds difficult."

"It is."

I sigh. "Helpful."

He bumps my shoulder with his. "You'll screw things up."

"Fantastic."

Boone shrugs. "Everybody does. The trick is fixing it afterward. You apologize. You learn. Then you try again."