Her Perfect Cowboy

by Trish Milburn

  “Yes, I went out with Liam last night,” she said before they could ask. “I’m not even going to ask how you found out.”

  “How was it?” Elissa asked, obviously excited about the news.

  “Nice. And it was a one-time thing.”

  “Must not have been that nice.”

  Skyler swatted Elissa’s arm then turned her attention to India. “Why not?”

  “Because I’ve got way too many other things to worry about right now. I don’t need to be wasting time going out on dates when I have a business to save, classes to plan, a rodeo to make sure is successful.”

  “Well, the classes will be over soon, and the rodeo right after that,” Elissa said as she propped her elbow on the top of the jewelry case.

  “And then Liam goes home to Fort Worth,” India said.

  “So that means you can’t have fun while he’s still here?”

  India lifted her gaze to Elissa’s. “Yes, it does. You know I’m not into casual dating.”

  “No, you want to save yourself for Mr. Right. You know what I think? That you’ve built up this idea of the perfect man in your mind to a point where you’ll never find anyone to fit the bill, especially not in Blue Falls. And that’s been the point all along. If you never get involved with anyone, you can never get hurt.”

  “Elissa,” Skyler said in a tone that urged her to stop talking.

  “No, it needs to be said. You know I love you like a sister, India, but I’ve watched you live in a shell for a long time without saying anything. It’s not healthy.”

  “And dating every man who crosses your path is?”

  Skyler extended a hand to both of them. “Stop, both of you, before you say something you’ll regret.”

  Elissa tossed her notebook on top of the jewelry case. “My parts of the classes are ready to go, but my notes are in here if you need to check anything.” She pushed away from the counter and headed for the door.

  “You’re leaving?” Skyler asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’m India’s favorite person right now.”

  Before India could consider how she felt about Elissa at the moment, her friend stepped out the door and strode away down the street.

  Skyler turned slowly back toward India, that uncomfortable look of being caught in the middle on her face. “Are you okay?”

  India didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she let her gaze roam over the entry room to the store, at the clothing carefully displayed, toward the double glass doors that led into the room where they held the BlueBelles classes. “What if she’s right?”

  “Do you think she is?”

  India returned her gaze to her friend and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “Then I think that’s something you should figure out.”

  If it were only that easy.

  * * *

  LIAM PARKED ACROSS THE STREET from Yesterwear and wished he didn’t have to get any closer. But he’d told Ginny she could attend the BlueBelles classes when he’d run into Elissa the day before and she’d asked Ginny if she was going. Even though he suspected Elissa was still in matchmaker mode, still following in her aunt’s footsteps, he couldn’t very well tell Ginny no, could he? Not when there wasn’t a good reason for her not to attend other than his conflicted feelings about India.

  Sure, he hadn’t called her since their date, but he’d not gotten the sense that she wanted him to. Why couldn’t women just come right out and say what they wanted? Then maybe he could figure out what the hell he wanted.

  Ginny opening her door prompted him to get out of the truck. With her hand in his, they crossed the street. Once they were standing outside the store, he let go of her hand.

  “Have a good time today. I’ll pick you up when you’re done.”

  “Okay. Bye, Daddy.” Ginny started toward the front door.

  “Wait, no kiss goodbye?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Ginny spun and hurried back to him.

  He tried to quell the flash of resentment that his daughter was so excited to get inside that she’d nearly forgotten their typical goodbye ritual. Already she’d dressed differently today than she normally did with him. Instead of her usual jeans, boots and shirt, she wore one of the outfits his mother had bought her for school. The one nicer outfit he always insisted she bring on their trips in case they had to dress up for some reason, the one she never wore when they were on a rodeo location. But he hid his feelings and smiled at her before planting a kiss on her forehead. Then he presented his cheek, and she gave him a quick peck before hurrying inside. He couldn’t help the feeling, however irrational, that he was losing his little girl.

  “What, not going inside?”

  He turned to see Verona stepping up next to him.

  “I think I might stick out like a sore thumb in there.”

  “I don’t know. A handsome cowboy such as yourself might be a little more than welcome.”

  He glanced in the front window and caught a glimpse of India.

  “Well, don’t keep an old lady waiting in suspense. You never know when my time might run out. How did the date go?”

  Liam wasn’t even surprised Verona knew about the date. Heck, it was probably front-page news in the local paper. “It was nice, but I don’t think India is interested in a repeat.”

  “But you are.” She didn’t ask, instead stating it as fact.

  He shifted his gaze to her, and she gave him an understanding half smile.

  “Don’t look so surprised. You’re wearing your interest right out here where anyone can see it.”

  “I know you mean well, but I think this is one match that isn’t going to be made.”

  “Oh, no. I’m not giving up yet, and neither should you.”

  When he started to speak, she held up a hand to stop him. “I know very well what India probably did. She started to open up a bit and then got scared and closed down faster than you can say ‘snap.’” Verona snapped her fingers to accompany her words. “I’m the first to say that she’s got plenty of reasons for having those walls, but those reasons aren’t mine to share. I do know it’s high time she realized she’s found someone it’s worth letting those walls down for.”

  Liam shook his head. “How can you say that? You don’t really even know me. I could be the most horrible guy in the world for her.”

  “The simple fact that you said that proves to me you’re not. Plus, all I had to see was you with your little girl. A man who is that good of a father is one worth his weight in gold. Or barbecue, depending on the mood you’re in.”

  Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re quite a woman, Verona.”

  “So is India. That’s why I’m telling you not to give up. Keep hammering away at those walls of hers until you break through.”

  He looked through the window again and saw Skyler and India ushering the little girls into the back room. “If I really care, I’d just leave things as they are. I’m leaving in a few days.”

  “That’s why my tax dollars build roads. If two people like each other, things have a way of working out.”

  Liam wasn’t sure it was quite so simple, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted to find out.

  * * *

  INDIA TRIED NOT TO BE obvious as she watched Liam walk across the street, back toward his truck. A painfully lonely part of her wanted to race out the door and into his arms, to feel his lips capture hers again. But instead she stayed rooted where she was, growing more miserable by the moment.

  Skyler wrapped her arm around India’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. “You know I am not the best at relinquishing control, but what if it’s worth taking a risk?”

  “It just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe if he lived here, maybe if we weren’t so different. But I just don’t think physical a
ttraction is enough.”

  “From the outside looking in, I don’t think that’s all that’s going on here.” With another squeeze, Skyler let go and took a step away. “But I won’t push. Only you will be able to figure out when it’s the right time to take that chance, if you ever want to.” With that, Skyler returned to the classroom.

  Across the street, Liam pulled away from the curb.

  The door opened again, and Elissa stepped halfway inside before glancing over her shoulder just as Liam drove by.

  Caught in the act of watching him, India turned her back, afraid of what had shown on her face.

  Elissa approached and stopped beside her. “I don’t like us being upset with each other.”

  India took a couple of moments to answer. “Me neither.”

  “I’m sorry. I still think what I said was true, but I could have found a better way to say it.”

  “No,” India said, surprising herself. “You were right. I do try to protect myself, but I don’t know if I can stop.”

  “You just take a leap of faith. And even if the worst happens, your friends are here to pick you up.” Elissa reached over and took India’s hand. “You’re not alone anymore. You haven’t been for a long time.”

  She heard the words, knew they were true, but India still didn’t truly believe she could let go of the way she’d learned to protect herself so long ago. But she guessed all she could do was try the same way she’d built a life for herself once she was on her own and in control of it—one step at a time.

  * * *

  THE NEXT DAY, INDIA SWITCHED from BlueBelles mode to that of rodeo wrangler. Well, helping Skyler, Elissa and Verona wrangle fair vendors, anyway. One moment it was telling the funnel-cake maker where to park his truck, and the next it was helping Keri hang a sign for the cupcake contest on the front of her bakery tent or showing the members of the high school football team where to set up their lemonade stand.

  By the time they got the final vendor settled, India was dog-tired. She sank onto a lawn chair alongside her friends.

  “We really are suckers for volunteering, aren’t we?” Elissa said.

  All India could do was make an affirmative sound as she watched another truck pulling a horse trailer enter the fairgrounds. The field on the opposite side of the fairgrounds was now covered with trucks, trailers and RVs.

  “It looks like half of Texas is here,” Verona said. “I may pass out from watching all these good-looking men.”

  “Woman, most of these guys are young enough to be your kid, maybe even your grandkid,” Elissa said with a playful nudge to her aunt’s arm.

  “Honey, I’m old, not dead.”

  India found the energy to laugh. The laugh died in her throat when she saw Liam walk out of the barn. She’d seen him several times throughout the day, but nothing more than a single wave had passed between them. She guessed that was her answer as to whether she should take that leap of faith.

  “Liam sure is a sexy thing,” Elissa said. “So, India, you never did tell us. Is he a good kisser?”

  India leveled her gaze on her friend.

  “What, you thought I was going to give up?” Elissa smiled. “You know me better than that. It’s in the gene pool.”

  “One of these days, all this meddling is going to backfire on you,” India said.

  “You didn’t answer the question.”

  India rolled her eyes. “If I answer, will you lay off?”

  “Nope.”

  India threw her hands up in defeat. “Fine. He’s a great kisser. Satisfied?”

  “Why, yes, I am.”

  After a few more minutes of rest and listening to her friends rate the cowboys they saw on a scale from one to ten, India stood. “I’ve got to go take a shower and get ready for the party. I really hope that’s in your futures, too,” she said as she scanned her equally hot and sweaty friends.

  She had to keep reminding herself that she would get through the next few days one step at a time. And tonight’s step was Ginny’s birthday party at the inn. Then the rodeo and related festivities, after which Liam would roll out of town and she could go back to her normal life, one that was still up in the air.

  When she arrived at the inn a couple of hours later, the first person she saw was Kevin.

  “For me? You shouldn’t have,” he teased.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “You get a lot of packages with big pink bows, do you?”

  “I’m not picky if there’s something good inside.”

  “Afraid it’s not your size.”

  “I guess I’ll forgive you if you will finally agree to go out with me.”

  “You are nothing if not persistent.”

  “You’re a successful businesswoman. I suspect you must have a streak of persistence, too.”

  India decided to take the opportunity he presented to shift the topic of conversation. “Speaking of my business, have you decided to buy my building yet?”

  “Your building?”

  “I’ve come to think of it that way even though my name isn’t on the deed.”

  The door to the lobby opened behind them, prompting Kevin to place his hand on her shoulder to ease her out of the way. She glanced to her left to see that it was Liam who’d walked in. The question in Liam’s eyes made it difficult to smile at him, especially when Kevin was still touching her. She took a subtle step to the left to break the contact, but Liam had already looked away and headed across the lobby as if it hadn’t mattered to him at all.

  As she watched him stride away, she wondered how quickly she could drop off Ginny’s gift and beat a retreat.

  “I think I see the reason you’ve been declining my offers to take you out,” Kevin said.

  She shifted her gaze back to him. “No, I’m just busy.”

  He didn’t look as if he believed her, not about Liam, anyway, but she acted as if she didn’t notice.

  “So, the building?”

  Kevin shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark pants. “We haven’t decided. Still running numbers and checking out other properties.”

  “Here in Blue Falls?”

  “Other places in the Hill Country.” He grinned. “But if I thought there might be another reason to choose Blue Falls over the other towns, I might lean this direction.”

  “I’m sorry, Kevin. Now just isn’t the right time. My main concern is if I’m going to have a place to conduct my business by this time next month.”

  Kevin’s expression dimmed some, the teasing gone. “That I can’t tell you.”

  India’s heart sank, but at least she could respect his honesty. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a birthday party to get to.”

  “Have fun.” With that he headed for the front door.

  India took a deep breath, prepping herself to be in the same room with Liam, and walked toward the path he’d taken moments before.

  When she entered the banquet room, it had been turned into party central. Skyler had outdone herself with pink-and-white balloons, a big bowl of frothy pink punch, bite-size sandwiches, mini tarts, the cake Keri had made front and center and a large sign that said, “Happy Birthday, Ginny!” hanging from the far wall. You’d think she’d known Ginny all her life. But that was Skyler, always going the extra mile to make sure her guests felt special.

  Those guests included a man who made all of the circuits in India’s brain go wonky, a man who currently was talking to an older couple. His parents, she guessed. She watched the older man and realized that he looked like an older version of Liam with white hair and a deep tan that spoke of the time he spent outdoors under the Texas sun. He was still handsome, as Liam would be. India couldn’t stand to watch them anymore because she knew that Liam would just be a distant memory by the time she reached the age of the elder Parrishes.<
br />
  She turned her head and spotted a table covered in presents. As she made her way toward it, Elissa and Skyler came through the doorway that led to the inn’s kitchen.

  “Hey, about time you got here,” Elissa said. “Thought you were going to be a no-show.”

  “I’ve been here a few minutes. Just ran into my potential new landlord in the lobby, and figured it wasn’t a good idea to ignore him.”

  “Have to say he’s been getting a lot of appreciative stares from the women staying here,” Skyler said.

  “I wish he’d return them.”

  Both of her friends looked at her with curious expressions.

  “He’s asked me out three times already. He doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer.”

  “Well, aren’t you popular all of a sudden?” Elissa teased with a wink.

  “Yeah, where was that in high school?”

  “Seriously, you were better off not going out with those guys,” Skyler said.

  “Hey, not all of them were bad,” Elissa said.

  “You’re just saying that because you went out with them,” Skyler countered.

  “Is it Pick on Elissa Day or something?”

  “If it’s not, it should be,” India said.

  “Two against one, no fair.”

  “Them’s the breaks, babe,” Skyler said, then barely moved out of the way of Elissa’s friendly whack with a party noisemaker.

  Skyler nodded toward the other people in the room. “Come on. Time to party.”

  Ginny looked away from her grandfather and spotted India. Her face brightened so much that India’s heart hurt. It was amazing how much she liked this little girl. When Ginny waved, Liam and his parents looked toward India. Feeling as if she didn’t have an option, she crossed the room to them.

  “Hey, India,” Ginny said.

  “Hello, and happy birthday.”

  Ginny smiled. “Thank you.” She looked up at her grandparents. “This is the lady with the cool store where Mia and I played dress-up.”