Page 8 of Curvy Girl and the Grumpy Cowboy

I recognize the olive branch for what it is. "I'll be there."

"We'll all be there," he corrects. "But Jackson? I'm serious. Don't hurt her again."

"I won't," I promise, and I mean it more than I've meant anything in a long time.

Cole turns to leave, then pauses. "For what it's worth, she never found anyone else she loved as much as you. Not for lack of trying, according to her."

He limps away before I can respond, leaving me with Midnight and a sudden, dangerous feeling that might be hope.

Sarah Matthews is back in Cedar Falls, and somehow, impossibly, she's given me an opening. A chance to show her I'm not the same man who was too afraid to leave the ranch seven years ago.

But Cole's right—she's not the same woman either. She doesn't need me the way she might have back then. This time, if I want her, I'll have to prove I deserve her.

Starting with a fundraiser on Saturday night.

I stroke Midnight's nose one last time. "What do you think, girl? Think your old owner's got one more shot?"

The mare nudges my hand, leaving a smear of medicine-laced feed on my palm. I take it as a yes.

Fundraiser day

The rest of the week crawls by like a wounded animal.

I throw myself into work, mending fences that don't need mending, riding fence lines I know are intact, anything to keep my mind off Saturday night. It doesn't work. Sarah's face keeps appearing in my thoughts—the way she looked standing in the sunshine, dirt on her cheeks, building something entirely her own.

By Saturday afternoon, I'm a bundle of nerves I haven't felt since I was a teenager. I stand in front of my closet, staring at the suit I haven't worn since Aaron's welcome home party three years ago. It probably doesn't even fit anymore.

"You're overthinking it," Ethan says from my doorway, already dressed in pressed slacks and a button-down shirt.

"I'm not overthinking anything," I mutter, pulling the suit from its hanger. "Just making sure it's clean."

Ethan smirks. "Right. That's why you've been staring at it for ten minutes."

I throw a boot at him, which he easily dodges. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yeah, waiting for you. Everyone's ready." He leans against the doorframe. "Vincent's got Lucy in a dress, and she's threatening to stage a revolt if we don't leave soon."

That gets a smile out of me. "Tell them I'll be down in five."

The suit fits, barely. It's a little tight across the shoulders and chest—all that ranch work has built more muscle over the years. I knot my tie with fingers that don't want to cooperate, wishing I'd had the sense to get a haircut. Too late now.

When I come downstairs, the whole family's gathered in the living room. Vincent stands with Charlotte, who's trying to keep Lucy from wiping chocolate on her frilly dress. Aaron and Elena are sitting close together on the sofa, speaking in low tones. Ethan is fiddling with his phone. And Cole—Cole is watching me with a guarded expression.

"Well, look who cleans up nice," Vincent says with a low whistle.

"Shut up," I mutter, but there's no heat in it.

Lucy runs up to me, her dark curls bouncing. "Uncle Jackson! You look like a prince!"

I scoop her up, not caring if she smudges my suit. "And you look like a princess, squirt."

"I hate dresses," she announces, "but Charlotte says sometimes we do things we don't like for people we care about."

Charlotte catches my eye over Lucy's head and gives me a knowing smile.

"Smart lady," I tell Lucy, setting her down. "We all ready to go?"

We take two vehicles into town, and the mood in our truck is uncharacteristically quiet. Ethan drives since my legs are bouncing with nervous energy. Cole sits between us, scrolling through his phone.

---