Fall for Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte 1)

Ben went into the kitchen in search of Liv and found her seated at the center island, deep in conversation with Allison and Maeve. Whatever they were talking seemed serious. He wondered if he should try to back out of the room before they noticed him.

“Heya, Ben,” said Maeve, stretching her hand in his direction.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, Liv was telling us about the fall she took. Serious stuff. I can’t believe she’s skiing and riding the ranch on the back of a snowmobile only four months later. Isn’t it unbelievable?” said Allison, Matt’s wife.

“Unbelievable,” he murmured.

He still felt it, the pain, the worry, the hurt. He tried to push the hurt down deeper. She was here now, he didn’t want to think about it. He closed his eyes, and tried to shake the ghosts away. When he opened them again, Liv studied him. She’d been right yesterday. They did need to talk.

“Everything is cleaned up in here. Liv, you ready to head back to the house?”

“Sure.” She hesitated before she stood up, then stretched a little.

“Are you going skiing again tomorrow?” Maeve asked.

“It’s up to Ben.”

“I guess we should, that’s why you’re here.”

Liv’s gaze settled on him, and she put her hand in his. “Let’s go, Ben.”

“Let me find the boys.” He dropped her hand, trying hard to keep the hurt buried, but it wouldn’t. It had risen to the surface and he had no way of pushing it back down.

Ben carried Luke to the car—he’d passed out sitting next to Renie on the couch, while Jake sat on the other side of the room, sullen.

Bud and Ginny lingered on the porch saying goodnight to Liv. Ben came back up after he got Luke in the truck.

“Any luck with Jake?”

“Nope,” answered Bud. “He was closed up tight. Not interested in talking about anything, not even baseball.”

Jake wasn’t the only one in a funk. Ben was too and he couldn’t shake it. He was coming down from the heady rush of being with Liv again, but the reality of their recent past was raising its ugly head.

“Are you okay?” Liv asked when Ben got in the truck.

“You said it yourself?we need to talk.”

“Yes,” she sighed. “We do.”

Jake was sitting in the third row. Ben turned up the radio a little and motioned for Liv to lean closer to him.

“Something is going on with Jake. He gets more withdrawn with each passing minute.”

Liv had noticed. Luke had become her shadow, but Jake kept his distance. Even Renie was unable to jostle him out of his sullenness.

She had no business trying, or even offering, but she was willing to see if he’d talk to her. She asked Ben if he’d mind.

“I don’t think you’ll get anywhere, but if you wanna try…”

Ben carried Luke in and put him in bed, and when Liv told Renie she wanted a minute with Jake, she went downstairs too. Jake was ready to follow Renie when Liv stopped him. “Got a minute?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you come sit with me?”

“I guess.”