“Sure, no problem. Forester’s a good guy. I’m sure he’ll be able to work out something for you.”
“Forester?” The name evoked an image of a sweet older couple and a young boy with shaggy, dark brown hair, amber eyes, and a permanent scowl. A light bulb went off in her head. “Wait. You mean that was Caleb Forester?”
He nodded.
“The boy Mr. and Mrs. Forester adopted.” Of course. That was why he looked so familiar when Cowboy introduced them. Everyone in town knew Caleb Forester. The silent, brooding, loner who as a teenager had been Willow Creek’s bad boy, always ill-tempered and getting into fights.
He certainly seemed to have changed for the better.
“Well, thanks again. I should really get going.”
“Wait, one more thing.” He took a step closer.
“Yeah?”
Cowboy shoved both his hands in his pockets. “Cole and Lo officially moved into their new house last weekend.”
“Yeah, Keith mentioned it was finally done.”
“I talked them into a housewarming party tonight, kind of a small thing. You should come.”
“Oh, um…sure. If you’re sure it’s okay with them.”
“Of course it is. You’re their friend, too. Lo would love it.”
Harper took a deep breath. “Okay, yeah. I’d love to go.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at ten ’til six.”
“Wait, what? We’re going together?”
“Sure. Why not? We can save gas, plus there’s not a lot of parking at the new house. I’ll even let you in on my housewarming present.”
Harper shook her head. “I don’t know, Cowboy. That sounds kind of like a…” She couldn’t even say the word.
“Date?” he finished for her.
She nodded. “Doesn’t sound like something friends would do.”
“Friends ride together all the time. And it’s definitely not a date. You can even bring your own date if you want,” he said casually. “In fact, I know the perfect guy.”
Harper studied him dubiously. “Really?”
“Yeah, one of my guys’ cousins just got out of a relationship. Great guy. His name’s Mateo.”
Ooh. Even she had to admit the name sounded sexy. Like one of those hot Latin lovers Grams used to watch on her soaps.
Cowboy pulled his phone from his pocket. “Here. I’ll even show you a picture of him.”
Harper tried to imagine him. Thick black hair. Sensual, smoldering brown eyes. Not that she was interested in dating anyone right now. But still, it didn’t hurt to take a look.
Cowboy turned his phone for her to see. She’d gotten the black hair and brown eyes right. What she hadn’t expected was the full, Tom Selleck mustache and the thick layer of curly chest hair peeking out of the top of his bright orange button-up.
She doubled over in laughter. “He looks like a seventies porn star!” she cried through a fit of giggles.
Cowboy shrugged. “Well, they can’t all be perfect like me.”
Harper’s eyes watered, and she had to wipe away the tears behind her glasses with her free hand.
Cowboy put his phone away, grinning as he watched her laughter slowly calm. “So what do you say? Want to go with me, or should I give Magnum Penii a call?”
“Fine, yes I’ll go, but no to the porn star date.”
Cowboy sighed and shook his head. “He’ll be absolutely crushed.”
Chapter Seventeen
“I can’t believe you’re going on a date with Cowboy and are only just now telling me,” Sadie grumbled.
“I told you, I dropped my phone and busted it. I’ll have to pick up a new one in Dublin tomorrow.” Harper stood in front of the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door and examined her cotton dress again. It was the more comfortable fit-and-flair style she usually liked when she felt the need to dress up.
Or, as she’d learned a few years ago, whenever she wanted to drive a certain someone crazy—not that that was her goal tonight. Tonight was not about Cowboy. It was about celebrating with her friends.
Harper forced her attention back on her dress. The soft pink cotton was perfect for her pale complexion. Technically, the dress looked great, just like the other three she’d tried on already. And just like the other three, it still didn’t feel like the right one for the party tonight. “And it’s not a date.”
Sadie sat cross-legged on Harper’s bed. Next to her, lying on her stomach with her feet up in the air, was Margot. The tall brunette had been Sadie’s best friend since the second grade, making Margot almost like another sister to Harper. She still couldn’t believe just how much the sixteen-year-old had grown and matured in the last three years, how much she and Sadie both had. Harper had missed so much while she was gone. Birthdays, holidays, dances, their middle school graduation.
Harper watched their reflections in the mirror as Sadie and Margot shared a knowing grin, which she ignored before she made her way back into the closet. She sifted through the row of hangers and pulled a dark blue dress off the rod. She held it up against herself as she considered changing a fourth time.
“Really? Because you’re obsessing over your outfit like it’s a date.”
“I am not.” Harper hastily forced the blue dress back on the rod. Instead, she grabbed a pair of modest wedges she suspected would go well with the light pink dress she was already wearing. “I told you. We’re just friends.”
Shoes in hand, Harper came out of the closet. She held the wedges up for the two girls to see.
Margot smiled. “Perfect.”
Sadie nodded her approval.
Relieved, Harper attempted to balance on one foot while she slipped her other into a shoe. Despite her wobbling, she succeeded in securing the buckle. She grabbed the other before starting the same balancing act on her left foot.
“And you still think this friendship thing will end well?” Sadie asked.
“Sure.” So long as Cowboy could remember to keep things friendly. She hadn’t told Sadie about the close call on the beach, mostly because she knew she’d never hear the end of it from her little sister. Being Cowboy’s friend would be hard enough without him constantly toeing the line that separated them from their old feelings. So long as he played by the rules, everything would be fine.
Sadie’s smirk told Harper she wasn’t as convinced. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell filling the house.
Margot and Sadie stared at each other for a full second before they both jumped up off the bed and darted out of the room.
“Dadgummit.” Harper’s fingers stumbled over the buckle on her shoe until it was finally fastened. She hurried across the room just in time to hear the girls giggling as they undid the locks on the front door. Harper stopped herself just inside her doorway. Carefully, she peeked around the corner and down the hall.
“Hey, Sadie Lady.” Cowboy’s voice bellowed as he stepped into the foyer. He opened his arms wide, and Sadie fell effortlessly into them. “How’s it going?”
“Not too bad,” she answered before pulling back. “How about you? I hear you’ve got some big plans tonight.”
He nodded. “Everything is good. You sure you don’t mind me stealing your sister away for the night?”
“Nah, I was getting sick of her anyway. Besides, it’s a lot easier to throw a massive kegger when she’s out of the house.”
“That’s my Sadie. Keeping your sister’s hands full.” Cowboy shoved his hands in his pockets. “How’s our girl doing?”
“I feel like I should be asking you that”—she and Margot shared another one of those grins, like they could read each other’s minds—“seeing as you’re the one taking her on a date.”
Cowboy’s chuckle was so low Harper could barely hear it. “It’s not a date, Sadie. We’re just two friends hanging out.”
“Mm-hmm. You and I both know you’ll never be happy just being her friend.”
“I’ll be happy with
whatever she gives me,” he said. “I’d rather be her friend than nothing at all.”
Harper let loose the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and any doubt she’d had about Cowboy’s intentions with it. Despite what everyone else seemed to think, he really did just want to be her friend.
This was…good. Great even. Clearly, they were both on the same page, meaning she had nothing to worry about. She could be at ease knowing this friendship of theirs could actually work.
Perfect.
“Aw.” Margot’s hand went to her heart. “That’s got to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Sadie wrapped her arms around Cowboy again and squeezed tight. “You’re a good guy. But just know, if you screw things up with her again—”
“You’ll have to kick my ass?”
Sadie shook her head. “Worse. You can say goodbye to those ribs I’ve been making you for your birthday the last few years.”
“Jesus, Sadie. You really know how to get a guy where it hurts.”
She giggled before her voice grew stern. “Seriously though. If you mess up again, you know I’ll have to take her side. I just lost Grams; don’t make me lose you, too.”
Cowboy nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The two stared at each other as what looked like an unspoken understanding passed between them that felt much too personal for Harper’s eavesdropping.
She looked away, smoothed her dress and hair, then took advantage of the silence to make her appearance around the corner.
“Hey, sorry. I was just getting my shoes on.”
Cowboy’s eyes landed on Harper, and she thought she saw them darken as they traveled over her body. She felt a spark of that familiar longing and need deep in her belly.
She blinked and the look was gone. Had she just imagined it?
“Midge, looking as gorgeous as ever,” he said with his usual lighthearted smile.
“Thank you.” Harper ignored the way Sadie’s eyes bounced back and forth between them, and she forced her own smile. “You ready to go?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cowboy stepped aside to make way for her and followed closely behind her out the door and down the porch steps.
“You two have fun tonight,” Sadie called out. “I expect you home by eleven, young lady.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Real cute.”
They reached the truck at the end of the walkway. The engine roared over the sound of crickets where he’d left it running. Cowboy opened the passenger-side door for her, and Harper hoisted herself up into the seat before he shut it.
A large cardboard box reaching above her shoulder sat atop the center console beside her. She ignored it, assuming it held some sort of equipment or part he needed for work, and buckled her seat belt. She smoothed her dress again. The AC was blowing full blast, causing goose bumps to cover her arms, so she turned the air down considerably.
Something shifted at her side. Her eyes jumped to the box she could swear just moved. Then the cab filled with a scratching sound that instantly filled her head with images of scurrying rats. Only then did Harper notice the small air holes.
The driver’s side door opened, and Cowboy easily hauled himself up into his seat.
“What is that?” she asked. She pointed at the box that had gone silent.
He grinned. “Housewarming present.”
The box wobbled again, and it took all Harper’s willpower not to shove it away and run screaming from the truck.
“It’s moving. And”—a soft whimper filled the cab—“whining?”
Cowboy chuckled. He reached for the box and removed the lid. One second later, a tiny, furry chocolate-brown head popped up over the top. Shiny brown eyes stared at Harper, and its little tail and hind end started flicking back and forth at warp speed.
“It’s a puppy.”
“Very observant. I can see why you graduated at the top of our class.”
Harper would have shot back some kind of equally sardonic response if she weren’t overwhelmed by cuteness. The little bundle of fur yipped and hopped as he struggled to jump over the side of the box and fall into her lap. “Aw, he’s adorable.” Harper scrunched up her face as she spoke to the dog in a voice usually reserved for babies. “No wonder you were crying. Mean Cowboy left you out here all by yourself.”
“It was only for a few minutes. He was asleep, and I had the air going. If I brought him inside there was no way Sadie would ever let us leave.”
Harper nodded. Sadie had always been a sucker for helpless animals, especially the baby ones. “Good call. What kind is he?”
“A Lab. Cole’s been wanting one ever since we started renting our place, but the landlord said no dogs.”
“Oh.” Harper giggled when the little puppy started planting kisses all over her face.
Cowboy reached over the box to pat the puppy’s head. “I named him Denver, as in—”
“John Denver.” Harper smiled at him across the cab. “I remember.”
Denver nosed her glasses, trying to get her attention. She turned her grin back on him and went back to petting his head. His bottom started dancing erratically the second she touched him. “You should have named him Wiggle Butt,” she said through her laughter.
“That was my other option, but I was worried it might give him a hard time with the ladies.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t want to ruin his doggie game straight out of the gate.”
Her eyes turned to Cowboy. He was watching her with this sad sort of smile on his face. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s get going.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Cabby! Cabby!”
Peals of joy filled the house as a tiny red-headed toddler darted around the room. Carter’s curly hair bounced with each step he took running away from the blond giant who crawled hastily on his hands and knees behind him. Denver barked and yipped while he hopped in circles around the two of them. Darren Whitehead and Cole Tucker were over by the back door—the first nursing a beer, the second a Diet Coke—discussing Darren’s plans to restore an old Chevy Impala.
Harper stood behind the kitchen island in the large open space that served as the kitchen, living room, and dining area. She was supposed to be helping Logan and Carly with the dishes, but she couldn’t stop watching Cowboy play with Carly and Darren’s son.
“Cabby!” the toddler squealed again, the closest he could get to pronouncing his pursuer’s name.
“What do you think, Harper?”
She spun around to find the two women watching her, waiting. “Sorry, what was that?”
Carly laughed. “A little distracted?” Her eyes traveled to something on the other side of the room, and she sighed. “Can’t say I blame you. If I weren’t already married to the love of my life—”
“You’d still be fantasizing about Levi Rossetti, no doubt,” Logan teased.
Carly looked appalled. “Ugh, please. I was over him the second he suggested I give him my virginity in the back of his Jeep after homecoming. Besides, I prefer the sweet ones.”
“Too bad you couldn’t figure that out in high school.”
Carly rolled her eyes, though she smiled a little herself. She turned her attention back to Harper and lowered her voice. “All right girl, dish. I want details.”
“About what?”
“Don’t act all coy with me. I saw you and Cowboy rolling up in here together. So what’s the deal with you two?”
Lo shook her head. “Don’t waste your time. I’ve been asking her for weeks, and all she keeps saying is that they’re just friends.”
“You’re kidding,” she said to Harper.
“It’s true. We’re friends, but that’s really all it is.” Carly stared at Harper like there was something growing out of her forehead. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“For one, that whole ‘let’s be friends’ thing never works. Ever,” Carly said. She leaned against the kitchen island, one hand on her hip
and one brow cocked. “And two, friends do not stare all goo-goo eyed at other friends. Not even if that friend is the spitting image of a sexy Levi’s jeans model.”
“They do if there’s really nothing going on,” Harper insisted. And she was not staring at him all goo-goo eyed, she kept herself from adding.
Lo shrugged. “I don’t know. Even I have to admit there’s something attractive about a man as good with kids as Cowboy is with Carter.”
Okay, admittedly, the way Carter shrieked and laughed at everything Cowboy said and did, how much the two clearly loved each other—it was enough to make any heart stutter. And the occasional glimpses of Cowboy’s bulging biceps and sculpted abs peeking out from under his gray T-shirt didn’t hurt either. But Harper wasn’t going to let something like that get to her. Not when they were finally in a good place.
“Sure,” Carly conceded. “But watching him doesn’t make us want to tear off his clothes and jump him right there in the middle of your brand-new living room.” She pointed at Harper. “I mean, look at her. She’s practically salivating.”
Harper’s jaw clenched, and she had to take a sip from her sweet tea to keep herself from telling Carly to mind her own business. “Actually, I was just thinking about how big Carter’s gotten.”
Lo winked at her. “Sure you were.”
“I was,” Harper grumbled. Was it too much to ask them to just let it go? Seriously, why were they pushing this after she’d already made the matter perfectly clear? Were they trying to make the situation more complicated than it already was?
Focus, Harper. Get it together.
She drew in a slow breath, willing the tension from her shoulders and neck. Cool. Calm. Controlled. “I can’t believe he’s already two.”
“Don’t I know it.” Carly huffed. “Those years flew by so fast, too. One second Darren and I were getting our first ultrasound, the next…” She waved her hand in front of her at the laughing toddler Cowboy was presently hoisting up over his shoulder.
She looked at Logan. “You’ll see soon enough. Only four more weeks.”
Daring to Fall Page 14
