Fall for Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte 1)

“This is stupid. I expected it. I shouldn’t be upset. What would a man like him want with a woman like me?”

“Isn’t it a little early in the game to call it?”

Liv pulled away, and Paige sat back down on her stool.

“I pushed him away hard, Paige.”

“Has that worked before?”

“Before? What before? We don’t have a before.”

“You tried to push him away in Vegas, and from what I remember, it didn’t work.”

“That was different.”

“All I’m saying is give it a few days.”

“And then what? What will be different? I’m still somebody he slept with while he was ‘on tour,’ or whatever he calls it. I’m sure he’s forgotten my name by now.”

Ben picked up the phone to call Liv at least a hundred times over the weekend, and each time he set it back down. He missed her so much his chest ached. He’d never missed anyone this much, besides his boys when they weren’t with him. When he dropped them off at their mom’s this morning, the ache multiplied.

He hated that he was divorced, and that his boys didn’t have the same family life he had. Ben and his brothers had been given the gift of a home in which his parents loved each other, and them, more than anything. There had never been a doubt in his mind that his parents would love each other and be together until the day one of them died. He failed in creating that for his boys.

Ben supposed he’d loved Christine at one point. If it had been up to him, they’d still be married. They’d be miserable, but they’d still be married. He was thankful she still lived in Crested Butte, that way the boys didn’t get shuffled back and forth too much.

Christine had remarried not long after their divorce was final. . He seemed like a nice guy, and always treated his boys well. Joe wasn’t from Colorado, they’d met skiing, and soon after, he moved to Crested Butte.

It didn’t matter what the courts said, Ben would continue to provide for her and his boys, whether she remarried or not. He wanted his sons to have a nice place to live, the same sense of security, whether they were at their mother’s house or his.

Christine was good about making sure the boys spent time with him when he was in town. When they were married, he played clubs every weekend of the month. Now that they were divorced, he steered away from booking gigs on weekends. He wanted to spend as much time at home with his boys as he could. It had been a tough balance to maintain.

The boys were leaving town today, and wouldn’t be back for a week. Christine and Joe were taking them to the Grand Canyon for spring break. The trip had been planned for six months. He didn’t want them to go. He’d be lonely without them, but the trip was for them, not him.

Ben had seven days with nowhere he needed to be and nothing he needed to do, and all he could think about was Liv. He liked her, a lot. He wanted to get to know her, spend time with her. The fact that she didn’t seem to want to see him made the urge to win her over even stronger.

An hour later he was on the road. He wasn’t sure where she lived, but he’d find out. If she didn’t want to see him—well, he wouldn’t accept that. He had no intention of giving up that easily. It was crazy, but he was doing it anyway.

Liv swung the gate open and led Micah into the pasture. They’d had a good ride, much more fun than her ride on Pooh had been. Pooh was getting older, and Liv didn’t ride her enough. She planned to give one of the neighbors a call this afternoon to ask if her grandkids would consider riding the horse for her. She’d even pay them. That way, Pooh would get the exercise she needed, with the kind of rider she was used to, someone more like Renie.

Two more months and Renie would be home for the summer, and Liv couldn’t wait. She’d planned to talk to her about an extended vacation over the weekend, but they’d missed each other’s calls.

Liv removed Micah’s saddle and other tack. She’d let him relax in the pasture for a while and brush him later. She opened the gate, walked around the corner, and slammed the saddle into Ben’s stomach.

“Ow! Shit, that hurt.”

“Oh! You scared me. I’m so sorry.” Liv dropped the saddle to the ground and was about to make sure Ben was okay when her tummy did a flip. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

Ben grabbed her and crushed his lips to hers. He didn’t try to hold back. He wanted her. He’d planned to be sensible, to be civilized, to have a rational conversation with her. But now that she

was in his arms, he wanted to mark her, possess her, consume her.

Liv’s hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. Ben pulled back, and looked into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, and her lips were red and full from his assault. “I couldn’t wait. I had to see you.”

“I’m glad.” She took his hand, leading him away from the barn and pasture.

“What about…” He pointed to the saddle, and then to the horse in the pasture.

“They’ll be fine.”