Wrangled by the Watchful Cowboy

“Mason thinks the bullfighters we hired are a bit too inexperienced.”

Bucky dug in his tool belt and extracted a nail. “That tends to be the case with the small rodeos. Everybody has to start somewhere, so we get the new guys.”

“Right. Mason says not to worry. He has a plan.”

“Everything will work out…” Bucky paused his sentence to hammer the last nail in place. “Just like the good Lord intended. No need to worry.”

If I had that kind of faith, my stomach might not feel like I was getting an ulcer.

10

“You’ve been quiet tonight,” Cord said, wishing he could see Jessica’s expression. He had to keep his eyes on the winding country road. “Didn’t you have a good time? I thought you liked dancing.”

They were on their way home from the dance hall, The Two Step, where ostensibly, he’d been taking her to “practice” for the big dance. In reality, it was simply an excuse for him to hold her in his arms. She was cute as the dickens in her boots, tight jeans, and a form-fitting shirt. Tonight, her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, torturing him all night with a view of her enticing neck.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said.

“There’s your problem,” he teased. “Don’t you know women shouldn’t think?”

He felt a soft slap on his arm, followed by a chuckle.

“Seriously, Cord, I wondered if you’ve ever been in love or had a serious relationship.”

Cord considered her question. He’d dated a few women, but none he’d ever thought might become a permanent fixture in his life. Consumed with his education and career, to the exclusion of most everything else, he’d felt he had plenty of time to marry and start a family in his thirties. He almost told Jess he’d truly never had a relationship that would qualify as serious, but then he realized his feelings for Jess were different. Unlike the others, Jess was the kind of woman he could imagine being married to. Not that he had any intention of telling her that. He certainly wasn’t ready to commit to such a thing when he couldn’t make sense of his own thoughts about the future. All he knew was he wanted to date her. Really date her. Not just a couple of friends hanging out together. And as usual, he was willing to work and wait to reach his goal.

“My relationships have been fairly casual.”

“Like ours?” she asked.

“Not like ours. None of those girls told me they didn’t want to kiss me.”

“I’m sorry.” Her hand came to rest on his arm, her voice sounding stressed as she apologized. “I know I’m asking a lot, and you’ve been really good about it.”

“It’s starting to affect my ego. Makes me feel pretty rejected.” He pulled his lips down like a sad puppy as he reached to take her hand.

“It has nothing to do with you, Cord. It’s all me.”

Keeping a straight expression, he continued his teasing. “I’ve heard that before. That’s what women always say when they don’t want to hurt your feelings. It’s not you—it’s me.” He raised the pitch of his voice to imitate a woman’s.

“But I’m not just saying that,” she protested. “It really is me.”

To his shock, her voice trembled with emotion. She tried to withdraw her hand, but he held it tight.

“I was only playing with you, Jess. My ego isn’t suffering a bit.”

She shook her head like she didn’t believe him. “I should never have asked you to wait a year to date me.”

“You didn’t ask. I volunteered. Remember?”

She sniffed, turning her face toward the window. “The truth is, you should probably just move on. I can’t make promises right now. We should stop seeing each other, even as friends. It’s not healthy.”

“Don’t say that, Jess.” Cord’s heartbeat skyrocketed. What was happening? Thirty minutes ago, she was melting in his arms on the dance floor. Now she was slipping away. “There’s no reason we can’t be friends,” he argued.

“We’re just kidding ourselves,” she said. “We’re not really friends. We don’t share anything deep. We eat ice cream and go dancing, and you make me want to kiss you all the time.”

“I do?” He couldn’t help giving himself an internal high five.

“Yes, you do. It’s awful.”