Page 22 of The Cowboy Complication

The same pie that led him to order a whole fucking flock of specialty chickens because he knew she’d love them.

The more time he spent with Isla, the more time he wanted to spend with her. She was calm and quiet, and created a soft spot in his life where he could relax. Be comfortable.

Isla huffed out a little laugh as she rotated through the chicks, setting down the set she had to pick up two more. “I think she just wanted someone to take her out for coffee that morning and my grandpa wasn’t in town yet, so I was her second best option.”

Even after talking daily for three weeks, Isla still kept most of her cards close to her chest, only letting him peek at her hand here and there. So every time she offered a glimpse into her personal life, he ate that shit up like he was starving. Asked questions that might keep her talking. “I thought he always came into town with her?”

“He used to, but now she’s here a lot more because of Hudson. I get it. Hudson and Evelyn are pretty much all Griselda has family wise since she and Evelyn’s mom had a falling out years ago.” Isla continued moving through the chicks, giving them all little pets and gentle strokes. “But my grandpa has three kids, and they all have kids. They’re all still in New York, so he splits his time a little more evenly than Griselda does.”

“Do you miss your family?” he asked. It was hard not to want to know everything about her. What made her who she was. What was important and what didn’t matter. How she felt about the world and everything in it.

The name of the man who hurt her and where the asshole lived.

He still wasn’t any closer to finding out what exactly happened before Isla came to Moss Creek, but there were enough clues to make an educated guess. And if he ever crossed paths with that prick, the bastard was getting ticketed for any fucking infraction he could make stick.

He might even try to make a few up.

Isla was quiet for a minute. “That’s hard to answer.” She pursed her lips, working them from side to side as she considered. “I love them. They’re nice people.” One of her shoulders lifted and dropped. “I just never felt super close to them. Even before my brother came along, I never fit in with everyone else. Then he was born and I just sort of disappeared into the background.”

He wanted to think that was impossible. That there’s no way Isla could ever go unnoticed. But whilehewould always see her, it might be easy for other people to look right past her quiet demeanor and shy temperament.

Probably not the ranch hands who circled any pretty woman like vultures, but that was a different sort of issue for him to tackle.

“Not everyone will be your people.” He’d learned that early on when he joined the department. Some of the older officers didn’t like the new guys coming in, and he’d taken it personally at first. It took a while to figure out it wasn’t about him. That some people would like him and some wouldn’t. That being a unit didn’t mean they’d be a family. “And that includes people related to you.”

Isla’s eyes stayed on the chicks in her hand as she said, “It can also include people you sacrifice everything for.”

The burn of anger simmered across his skin, but he didn’t react. Years of practice should have made it easy. He’d faced down countless people who’d pissed him all the way off, and he’d had to act like it was nothing. But keeping his expression and tone neutral required an insane amount of control as he said, “You shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything for anyone.”

Isla lifted her eyes to his, looking skeptical instead of bothered by the conversation. “That’s not true. Everyone has to sacrifice.”

“Not important shit, and not with someone who really cares about you.” Irritation crept into his voice. “If it matters to you, it should matter to someone who values you.”

“Well.” Isla’s brows lifted on a sigh. “You pretty much explained it all then.”

His jaw clenched tight, forcing him to take a deep breath to rein himself in. “If someone—anyone—doesn’t see how amazing you are, then you need to kick their whole ass to the curb because they’re a dumbass piece of shit.”

Isla laughed, the sound surprising him. “Again, you pretty much explained it all.” Her smile held as she urged one of the chicks out of their food dish with a careful swipe of her fingers. “How long will these guys be in this bin?”

Her change of subject wasn’t unexpected. It happened every time they got close to discussing the dipshit in her past.

And the guy was a dipshit. He was more confident of that now than ever.

“I’ll keep them in here for a week or so. Then we can move them into the enclosed part of the coop.” He motioned to the small door that led to the outdoor portion of the space. “When they’ve got most of their feathers, I’ll open that so they can come and go during the day.”

His mother had loved her hens, and his father loved his mother, so the coop was pretty damn nice. The building portion was big enough he could stand upright, and it offered a storage area for extra food and bedding. A hardware cloth partition separated that area from the roosting space, where thick dowel rods ran from one side to the other and nesting boxes were built into the wall. It had been easy enough to give the place a good sweep and a few days to air out before putting down new bedding. Now it was ready for a new flock.

Isla placed the last of the chicks back in the bin, smiling as they all cuddled together for warmth under the glow of the heating lamp. “They’re so freaking cute.” She turned her smile to him, beaming. “I’m going to want to come see them every day, so get ready to be sick of me.”

That didn’t seem possible. “First I have to drive you around, and now you want to come sit in my chicken coop all the time?” He scoffed. “That’s too much.”

Isla’s smile widened at his teasing. “You brought it all on yourself.”

“I did.” He could agree with that. Happily.

“Then you’ll be happy to hear...” She sat back, tucking both knees up toward her chest. “I’m actually going out driving with someone else tomorrow.”

That didn’t actually make him happy. What if they weren’t patient with her? What if they pushed her too hard or didn’t offer enough suggestions to keep her from feeling overwhelmed? “Who?”

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