Page 35 of The Cowboy Complication

It was something he’d noticed about her right away. Isla wasn’t unwilling to tackle the hard things in life, they just made her a little nervous. But when she had a cheerleader there to walk her through it, she was unstoppable. Brave and ready to jump in with both feet as long as she had someone to keep her steady if she tipped.

And he was happy to be there if she needed something to grab onto.

“You don’t have to worry about being on your own.” He opened the back door to his home and brought her into the mud/laundry room, pausing to kick off his boots. “I think my mom left a couple of coats that I stuck in one of the closets upstairs.”

Isla’s dark eyes roamed around the room as she unlaced her own boots and lined them next to his. “This is a really nice laundry room.” She stood from the inset bench and turned, taking in the row of hooks and built-in shelving. “Your mom has good taste.”

“My mom actually isn’t much of an interior decorator.” He shucked his coat and hat, hanging them up. “When my parents owned the place everything was white and basic. It drove me crazy.”

Isla reached out to run her fingers over the deep green paint of the custom millwork. “You did all this?”

“I did.” He shifted on his feet, feeling oddly exposed. “The winters can get kinda long around here, and I didn’t have much else to do.”

So he’d turned his house into a home. The kind of place where he could imagine raising kids and loving on a wife. As time went on, it became a little bit of an obsession. A way to channel all his frustration and disappointment when what he so desperately wanted continued to elude him.

And the nicer the house got, the nicer he wanted to make it. So that someday, if he ever did find the right woman, she’d see it and fall in love and never want to leave.

Isla rubbed her slightly sparkly lips together, cheeks still flushed from the cold outside air. “Can I see the rest of it?”

“You think I’m gonna make you stay in the mud room?” He grinned as he reached to help her out of her plaid jacket, hanging it next to his coat. “I did consider it, but I guess you can see it if you want.”

Isla laughed, rolling her eyes at his teasing. “I mean, I have seen a lot when I come over to peek in your windows at night. It’ll be weird to see it from the inside.”

“Creepy.” He rested one hand on her lower back, urging her out of the room and into the kitchen. “I like it.”

Walking her through his house, Cooper led her from room to room, watching her expression as she took it all in, wishing he could see it through her eyes. At some level, he was worried he’d missed the mark. That the place wasn’t as nice as he’d hoped and all his work would be for nothing.

While a few women had seen it in progress, Isla was the first to see the fully finished product. And a lot was riding on her opinion.

They reached the living room and she stopped, her mouth going slack. He’d reworked the main level’s floor plan, combining what was originally the living room and dining room, making them into one large family room. He didn’t see a point in having both a living room and a family room—or a dining room and an eat-in kitchen for that matter—so he’d remixed the square footage, ending up with what he hoped was a more functional use of space.

“This is so…” Isla shook her head. “I don’t even know what to call it.” She went for the huge, U-shaped sectional that dominated the center of the space, sitting down on the edge as she continued looking around. “You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted a big family, were you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I can tell.” Her dark eyes finally came to his, filled with an odd amount of emotion. “It’s perfect.”

13

Isla

SHE DIDN’T WANT to feel sad right now, but damned if she could stop the swell of emotion threatening to ruin the fun day she was hoping for.

It was just so hard to see all the work and effort Cooper put in here. The time and money he spent making a home for a woman he didn’t even know. Children he didn’t even have.

And Eric couldn’t even be bothered to take her out to dinner occasionally. Couldn’t thank her for paying all their bills and busting her ass while he went through school.

It was another blow to her ego, and it stole away a little of the confidence she’d scrounged up the night before.

“We should probably find me a coat so we can get started with the horses.” She technically wasn’t in a hurry to get back outside. Not when inside was so darn nice.

But every time she looked around, there was another thing Cooper had done in preparation for his future family. An ottoman that opened up to store the blankets they’d all snuggle under. Shelves ready for photos of them together. A walk-in pantry to store the piles of food it would take to feed the five kids he hoped to have. Hardwood floors because carpet would get ruined by muddy little boots, and a couch with washable covers because of all the sticky faces and fingers he expected to have rolling around on it.

“Yeah.” Cooper nodded. “Sure.”

He took her upstairs—which was just as impressive as the main floor from what she could see—leading her into a relatively empty room. As promised, there were a few light jackets inside, but nothing heavy, so they went back downstairs and picked one of Cooper’s from the lineup in the mud/laundry room. They were all way too big, so she settled on the one that fit her best and zipped it up. After pulling on a pair of gloves and a hat, they went back outside, going into the large barn where the horses were.

Only, they weren’t.

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