How to Catch a Cowboy in 10 Days

by Kimberly Krey

  Trey shook his head, spinning around slowly where he folded his arms and leaned against the banister. “You don’t need to explain, Ann. I think your emails did that well enough. If it wasn’t about making me love you, why did you write about everything we did together? Jenessa sent me email after email. Every one of them talked about how you tried this or you did that or you wished you’d have done something else.”

  “Yeah, but I never picked the name of that title. I didn’t. That’s not what I would have called it in a million years.”

  “Yet it goes with it perfectly.”

  Ann flinched. “Trey,” she said, the word hitching in her throat. “I … that was my focus because that’s what I’ve always struggled with.” She was getting flustered now. The color coming back in her cheeks with a hot vengeance. “The challenge in the book is to assert yourself to get what you want.” She cut the sentence short; it sounded like Al had snipped it off with a pair of his freshly sharpened pruners.

  Trey tilted his head, keying into those last few words. “And what you wanted was a cowboy…”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s not fair.”

  “I’m just trying to keep up, Annie.” He hated that he’d used the nickname he’d given her in the ugly moment. But he kept on. Get this over with, Trey. It’s for the best. “The problem is, you’re not what I thought you were. You’re not who I thought you were. You came here with an agenda: Make someone fall in love with you so you can score your big writing slot. And guess what? You did it. You got me to love you.” He shook his head. “But like I said in the text, it doesn’t matter. Because you’ve already lost me.”

  The shock on her face was enough to make him regret it before she even walked away. The deep pain in her eyes—eyes that had led him to a soul lovelier than any he’d known—you’d think someone had ripped out her heart.

  Trey gulped. He knew the feeling. With a deep sigh of regret, he forced himself to turn his back to her once more. “Go home, Ann. You don’t belong here. I think we both know that.”

  Chapter 38

  Ann fumbled to open the sliding door, anxious to get out the way she’d come. The door rumbled as it slid. She rushed into the kitchen, through the front room, and to the screen door she’d seen Trey through only moments ago when her hopes were full and alive.

  “Where you going, Ms. Ann?” Al said.

  She felt awful for ignoring him, but she had to get out of there before she broke down.

  Cassie, seated behind the steering wheel of her SUV, scrolled through her phone as Ann approached.

  Ann yanked open the door and climbed in.

  “How did it—”

  “Drive,” she pled. “Please, please drive and I’ll tell you.”

  Cassie pulled that face of hers. The one that oozed so much compassion it made Ann cry. “Okay, she said. “I’m going.” She shoved the gear in reverse and backed out of the long, dirt drive.

  There was no more holding back. Not with the combination of Al’s kind words, the beauty of that home, the cruelty of the man she’d fallen in love with, and the kindhearted look in Cassie’s eyes. “Oh my gosh,” she said through sobs. “It was so horrible. I have to go.”

  “What do you mean? Weren’t you able to explain?” Cassie put on the brakes and turned to her.

  Ann struggled for her next breath while shaking her head. “No, he wouldn’t listen. I could never… He’ll never be willing to hear me out.”

  Cassie shoved the gear in park and thrust a thumb against the seatbelt lever. “I’ll be right back.”

  “No, no!” Ann cried. “You have no idea. He doesn’t want to hear it.”

  Cassie’s hand hovered over the door latch.

  “Really, please. I don’t want him to hate me more.”

  “He doesn’t hate you.”

  A pounding ache sunk into Ann’s head—the tension becoming too much. “He does too. Please. I just want to go.” She focused on Cassie’s delicate hand as she moved it back to the wheel. If she looked at her face, the tenderness in her friend’s eyes, it would hurt worse.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, and clenched her eyes shut as they drove away.

  Chapter 39

  It wasn’t every day that Trey let himself look through the old box from the closet. The one that held so many memories from his childhood. But today was different. Nine years ago on this very day, Shell was killed on Bayview Bridge.

  Trey had gone to church with Al this morning, helped him load up a few more things, and stepped out of the house when he’d laid down for a nap.

  He hadn’t made an official plan, but there hadn’t been much thought in the actions either. Show up at the ranch house, sneak into Randy’s closet to retrieve his box, and head out to Bayview Bridge. It was sunny out, reminding him of the many summer days he’d spent with Shell in this very place. And with the sun on his back, birds chirping in the nearby trees, Trey pulled items from the box.

  The Polaroids Randy had been looking through. Shell making a crazy face as she jumped off the rope swing and into the bay. Shimmering sunlight gave the photo an abnormal glow. Creating an illusion of sorts. There was darkness around the bend, and not even the highest tech camera could detect it.

  He pulled one of the photos closer, took in the freckles across her cheeks, and felt an entirely different tear in his heart. One he couldn’t think about right then. He’d gone nearly ten full days without talking about Ann. Al had tried to spark up some dialogue after she’d left. Cassie had tried giving him a fair piece of her mind. Shane too. Heck, even reckless Randy gave it a shot. Tried to guilt him into apologizing to Ann. But he wouldn’t hear any of it.

  They thought they could be stubborn? Well, so could he. And the fact of the matter was, Trey couldn’t handle any more hurt in his heart.

  He rummaged past a dried up stick of gum Shell had given him once. ChapStick that was most likely dried out entirely, and a few pictures she’d drawn and given him over the years. Next he came across a frame.

  “Oh yeah,” he said with a nod, recalling what he’d put in that frame. Without looking at the photo, he’d committed the picture of the two to memory, Trey turned the frame upside down and pried open the clamps. There, tucked behind the photo, lay a note he’d written to her after she’d died.

  Shell,

  I miss you so much.

  I hate that you’re gone.

  I’d do anything to get you back.

  I promise not to love any other girl but you.

  Treyton

  “Howdy, howdy,” came a voice from behind.

  Trey shot a look over his shoulder in time to see Al hunker onto the edge of the bridge beside him. “Watcha got there?”

  “Oh, just…” He thought about trying to cover up what he’d brought, but the idea was no good. “Memorabilia. From Shell.”

  “Let’s take a look at that.” Al reached in and took both the frame and the note from him.

  Trey squirmed miserably as Al read the handwritten note.

  The man shook his head and handed the paper back. He kept the frame though, holding onto the back as he flipped it over. “Cute picture,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  Al handed the frame back to him, and Trey tucked the note back in its place before clamping it closed once more. “Can’t keep that promise though,” he grumbled.

  “I know,” Trey said with a sarcastic laugh.

  “Sounds to me like you already failed,” Al pointed out.

  “I know,” Trey said.

  “I’m just saying that… if she’s the reason you let Annie go, you best be thinking again.”

  He’d called her Annie. The fact made Trey pause before dismissing him altogether.

  “It’s not the reason.”

  “Oh, isn’t it?”

  “No.”

  The man shook his head and grunted. “I’ll have you know that it wasn’t easy for me to get over Shell’s grandmother. Not easy at all. And we’d been married for over thirty year
s. I’ve buried a wife, a granddaughter, my folks, and two brothers. And not a one of them hasn’t taken a piece of me with them. But this…” He gestured to Trey standing on the bridge. “This isn’t the way to move on. This is how you get stuck.”

  “I’m just remembering her,” Trey assured. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Why’d you push Annie away?”

  Trey shot to his feet. “Now we’re back on her? Pick a person, at least, so I can keep up.”

  “We’re talking about both. Because I think this is the reason you pushed her away.” Al gave the box a tap with the side of his boot.

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Then tell me why.”

  “I told her to leave because she tricked me into loving her!” Trey shook his head in disgust. “She tricked me so she could get some stupid job and impress her family. That’s why I said goodbye.”

  “Aww…” Al grumbled, “you’re a real dummy, aren’t you? He marched down the bridge with his arms folded and huffed out a breath. “You don’t think this old man knows how to hear? You don’t think I overheard your conversation. Saw that girl’s face from the window?”

  Trey could hardly believe his ears. “You were spying on us?”

  “I had a right,” Al said, spinning around and tapping his foot. “It’s my house. I heard that woman tell you that she was sorry. I heard that woman tell you she loved you. And then I heard you come back and give her heck for it.” Al shook his head, glaring. “If you were my son, I’d have gone out there and thumped you upside the head right there and then for treating a lady that way. As it is, I kept my mouth shut for as long as I could, praying that the good Lord above would help you see reason. Well, now I see that he needed me to give him a little help.”

  Trey had stood his ground. Kept to his place on the bridge by the box. Al stepped back to him, an angry finger pointed in his face. “You need to see reason and see it quick.” He jabbed the finger closer to his face. “Before it’s too late and you lose her for good.”

  “If you’re an expert on reason, Al, why don’t you tell me just what it is? What is this ominous… mystery of a thing you refer to as reason?”

  “It’s what’s right and practical. It’s the power in your mind to understand and make proper judgments. It’s figuring out that you wouldn’t accept Ann’s apology because you were looking for a reason to push her away.”

  Trey shook his head, though the statement caught fire someplace in his soul. His shoulders sagged. “Why?” he asked through an onset of tears.

  “Because of guilt!” Tears formed in Al’s eyes too as he shook his head. “You think I don’t know? I do. I know what it’s like to feel guilty over moving on. But eventually I figured out that I was feeling bad for all the wrong reasons. Connie had passed on, and it was okay to mourn her loss. But she wouldn’t have wanted me spending the rest of my days alone.”

  Trey nodded.

  “Do you honestly think Shell, if she had her say from the other side, would want you to keep to that promise?”

  He sniffed, smeared a welled up tear from his eye. “No.”

  “No.” Al nodded. “See that? You’re seeing reason. You’re probably a little afraid, too, right? Scared that something might happen to Ann if you let her in?”

  Here he was again, reading minds. Trey felt the searing panic of the nightmare again. “Kind of.”

  Al chuckled. “Yeah. Well I can’t say that you won’t. But life isn’t living if you don’t fight that fear. I mean, why not just detach from your family while you’re at it? If you don’t love anyone, it won’t hurt to lose them.” He shook his head, shaded his gold colored eyes with a hand. “But if you do that, you already lose. Just like you’re about to miss out on Ann and what the two of you could have.”

  Al was right. Trey actually was—for the first time since he’d turned Ann away—seeing reason. A life lived with Ann Simpson, if she loved him like Trey secretly knew she did, would be worth the risk of losing her one day. Ann was the woman he loved, after all. “You’re right.”

  Al shot him a look. “What?”

  Trey nodded. “I said you’re right.”

  “I know I am,” Al grumbled. “Come here then, son, and we’ll hug it out.”

  Trey wrapped his arms around Al, gratitude swelling in his heart. “Hug it out?” he asked after a quiet moment. “Where’d you hear that?”

  Al tossed a dismissive arm. “Psh, you kids aren’t the only ones with Netflix. I know how to hug it out, squash it, shake it off, or whatever else you wanna do.”

  “I think that last one’s a song, Al.”

  Al hunkered down and helped him place the frame back in the box. “I know that. I was just testing you. Now, if you think you’re so smart, go do what you should have done before that girl even left. You go get her back.”

  Chapter 40

  Ann stepped out of her room slowly, trying to get the hang of the stilettos Zoe had lent her. Her left foot wobbled more than her right, but if she gave it some practice, she might not walk into her interview looking like her four-year-old niece.

  “Love it,” Zoe said from her spot on the chair.

  Ann glanced up, smiling at the way Zoe lounged like a boss. “You don’t think I look ridiculous?

  Zoe shook her head and came to a stand. “No. You look hot. I mean, ready-to-slay-this-job-interview hot.

  Ann shook her head. If there were such a thing as a happy medium between Shimmer and Walquest Weekly, Ignite was it. For Ann, it was perfect. It had been a bitter pill to swallow, hearing Tom, and then Trey explain that the article might not have been so off base after all. Heck, her life changing experience was to assert herself around the opposite sex. But really, what was more life altering than finding the person you were meant to love?

  The truth was, Ann was hurting. Going-through-a-tissue-box-a-night hurting. Of course, she was looking ahead and doing her best, but she’d be lying if she said there wasn’t a hole in her heart the size of Emerson Ranch. One that had Trey Richardson’s name all over it. Still, she refused to shrivel up and let the world have its way with her. Ann Simpson had finally learned to assert herself, and that’s what she planned to do.

  “We better go,” Zoe said. Practice on those puppies down the driveway, because I’m driving.”

  “You are? Why?”

  “Cuz we’re grabbing sushi after then coming back here to Facetime with Cassie and tell her how the interview went.”

  Ann gave her a nod. “Aw, that sounds wonderful.” It turned out that Zoe—who’d already been working at the paper—agreed to take Ann’s spot when she gave her two weeks. Whether in Seattle or someplace else, now was the time for Ann to move on.

  Ann’s phone beeped as they headed down Charles Street. “Oh, it’s Cassie. She’s Facetiming me.” She accepted the call and leaned into Zoe as she drove. “Hey girls,” Cassie chimed. “Heading to the interview?”

  “Yep.”

  “Awesome! I guess you forgive Tom now since he’s the one who set this up, right?”

  “Only because I agreed to fill in for Ann,” Zoe blurted.

  “Totally forgiven,” Ann assured.

  “Oh man,” Cassie said. “I do not miss the drizzle falling all over your car right now.”

  “Sure,” Ann said. “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

  “You’re right,” Cassie said. “That was rude.”

  “I could live in this,” Zoe bragged. “Well, actually I do live in this.”

  She slowed down in front of a massive building. A handful of elite businesses shared the nearly block-sized tower, Ignite occupying the entire top floor. But today, Ann was to meet Paul in the restaurant plaza where they’d interview over espresso.

  “Good luck,” Zoe said as she dropped Ann right in front of the main entrance. “Tell Paul hello for me.” She gave the phone screen a wave. “Talk to you soon, Cassie.”

  “Sounds good,” Cassie said.

  Ann stepped out before hanging up, the win
d and rain cool on her legs, and closed the door quickly behind her. “Okay,” she said, sheltering the phone against her chest, “I better go.”

  “Wait!” Cassie blurted. “Will you keep your phone on, like, stick it in your raincoat? I want to be a fly on the wall. Er, in the pocket. I’ll mute my end so he won’t hear a thing.”

  Ann scurried to duck beneath the covered entrance. She loved how invested Cassie was in her friend’s lives. “Okay,” she said. “I’m heading in, so in my pocket you go.” She dropped the phone in the pocket of her raincoat, realizing she hadn’t wobbled on the heels even once.

  Just as the thought entered her mind, her left foot faltered. Okay, so one incident wasn’t bad. She glanced around the massive area, recalling the pictures she’d seen online. The coffee place should be right… wait. Were her eyes seeing straight?

  Among the moving swarm of suits and ties, skirts and heels, Ann noticed someone who stood out from the crowd. One of God’s finest creatures strode toward her in denim blue and cowboy suede. Haloed by a heavenly hat. A used-daily-on-the-ranch hat. Trey Richardson.

  Dear Lord, please say this isn’t a dream. Her heart must have been certain that it was real, because it was already doing a celebration dance right there in her chest. As the gap closed between them, suits and skirts moving like clockwork, Ann locked her gaze on his eyes. Deep dark wonders that seemed to promise the world.

  Ann felt a grin pull at her lips. And heaven help her, Trey gave her one right back, sinking a gorgeous dimple into his cheek. The celebration dance kicked into double time. “Annie,” he murmured, wrapping his arms fully around her in a warm, thorough embrace. Was there any place better than this? In the arms of a cowboy? Of this cowboy?

  He lifted her off the ground and spun her in place while holding her tight against his chest. “I have a million things I want to say to you,” he said, resting her gently back to her feet. “But first, let me say that I’m sorry.” He took a step back to hold her gaze, one hand at her hip, the other cradling the side of her face.