1109 Cowboy Way

For just a second, I’m dumbfounded by the sound of her voice. I didn’t know what I thought she would sound like. I’ve thought about it before, but even in my wildest dreams I didn’t imagine her voice would sound like that. It sounds soft and delicate. It doesn’t go with the sadness and pain reflected in her eyes or the glare she’s giving me now.

I shrug my shoulders as if I’m not affected by her voice or her claim to not be able to pay me. One way or another, I’m helping her. “I don’t need much. Just room and board.” I’m not lying to her either. I’m a cowboy because I love it. I could quit today and not worry about money for a few years. I’ve saved every penny I’ve made.

She’s already shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She looks as if she’s about to run. It’s spooking her that Rosie and I are ganging up on her, even though our intentions are good. I take a step back and pull my hat off and hold it to my chest. With my other hand, I stroke my beard. It’s something I do when I’m trying to figure out a problem.

“Thank you, though,” Hadley says as an afterthought. I hold in my smirk. She’s a nice person. No matter what she’s been through, it’s not going to stop her from being polite.

I decide to use that to my advantage. “That’s too bad, really. I’ve come to really like Cherry Falls, but I can’t very well stay here without any work or a place to stay.”

She opens her mouth and closes it again. She shakes her head, and I know she’s mentally trying to talk herself out of saying anything. I’m a patient man, though. I just stand here with my hat in my hand. She blows out a breath. “You don’t have anywhere to go?”

If the truth be told, the ranch I used to work on would probably find me a bunk to sleep on, and there’s no doubt they’d put me to work. So I tell it to her plainly, without lying. I shrug my shoulders. “My replacement has already been hired. They were moving into the bunkhouse today.”

She bites her lower lip, lost in thought. It takes everything I have not to raise my hand and rub my thumb across her mouth soothingly. She’s been through enough; she shouldn’t hurt anymore. Even a bruised lip is too much. Right when I’m about to reach for her, she releases her lip. “What did you do at your old ranch?”

This conversation is obviously hard for her. She knows she needs the help. I think there’s even a part of her that wants help. But she doesn’t want to ask for it and she probably doesn’t even want to need it. She’s probably going to fight me the whole way on this, but somehow, I have to prove to her that she needs me. “Everything. I was a hired hand, but I dealt with almost everything on the daily running of the ranch. I can set your ranch up on deliveries so feed and other necessities get there on a regular schedule.”

She stops me and looks at Rosie. “You do deliveries?”

Rosie’s cheeks turn pink, and she lifts her shoulders. “Yeah, but I liked seeing you when you came in. Let’s face it.” She waves her hand around, pointing at the store. “There’s not a lot of women that come in here, and I enjoyed talking to you.”

Hadley’s face goes from frustration to a silent appreciation. She blinks, and I know that she’s touched by what Rosie said.

She turns back to me, still holding her head so I can’t see the right side of her face. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

She’s vulnerable, and obviously she hates it. “At least let me tell you what I can do.”

She takes a deep breath, clenches her eyes, and turns her head to where the only thing I see is the right side of her face. Her scar goes from her ear to the corner of her mouth. It’s there, and there’s no avoiding it, but the way she’s presenting it to me, she acts as if I’m going to leave the store running. I don’t, though. I’m not walking away from her, not as long as I know she needs me.

I train my gaze on her eyes. “I can get the animals on a schedule, get the barn cleaned out, do any upkeep and maintenance on the barn, tractor, and any other machines. I could save you money on mechanic work…”

When she doesn’t stop me, I keep going, telling her everything I know how to do on a ranch. I’m almost afraid to stop because the last thing I want to hear from her is no. Because that’s not going to work for me.

5

Hadley

He keeps talking about things he can do and all the things he did at his last job. One by one he’s ticking them off like it's a checklist. That's not what is messing with my head. He’s talking and looking at me, but there is no reaction to the sight of my scars. None. And I don't know how that makes me feel.

It’s almost unsteadying.

I’m used to someone wincing or their gaze becoming distracted trying to make out all the scarring at once. But he isn’t. He just looks at me like I'm unscarred. The way people used to look at me before.

I’m trying to focus, God help me, I am. But it’s hard.

He's so dang attractive.

Manly and obviously confident. There is a kindness in his brown eyes that makes it hard to look away from him. And I know I am staring. He’s lean and muscular in a way that comes from hard physical labor. His beard is slightly on the longer side but neatly trimmed. I like the way he strokes it as he talks or is trying to explain something. My eyes move down to his fingers at his beard. He has the most beautiful hands I have ever seen. Big, probably at least twice the size of mine.

Strong.

Capable.

Grayson Doss is seriously attractive.

Back it up, girlie! I scold myself.

I have no business thinking about how he looks. First off, he’s a prospective employee. And second off, it’s me. Scarred and a little broken. I need to steer my thoughts in a whole other direction. Maybe last year, before the accident, when I was pretty. When I smiled and didn’t have trouble doing things like getting in a car or looking people in the eyes. I am not that girl.