Page 12 of The Cowboy Complication

THIS WOULD BE fine. Everything would be fine.

She certainly wouldn’t crash Cooper’s truck into the side of a building and kill them both. Or accidentally stare at him for so long, he’d realize how freaking hot she thought he was.

But if it came down to one or the other, hopefully he was insured, because no way was she making a fool of herself by admitting she was stupid enough to want another man who wasn’t into her.

After checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, Isla pulled on a jacket and hurried down the stairs at the back of the building she now called home. They dumped her out right at the same door all the employees of The Wooden Spoon used to come and go, so she crossed paths with a couple of the waitresses as they arrived for the day. The nerves eating her insides made it hard to do much more than wave, but she did her best to appear friendly as she rushed out into the chilly early morning air.

It was only five fifty, so she had ten minutes to fit in as much deep breathing as possible before Cooper showed up. Ten minutes to prepare for spending the morning listening to his deep voice. Ten minutes to?—

He was already there.

Cooper’s truck was parked right outside the door and he leaned against it, looking like the poster boy for cowboy chic in a pair of jeans, boots, and a flannel shirt rolled up at the cuffs. He held a cardboard cup in each hand and a worn ball cap emblazoned with Moss Creek High’s logo was settled on his head.

Her feet skidded to a stop as her eyes did what they did best, drinking him in from top to toe. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Nope.” He held out one of the cups. “Coffee’s keeping me warm.” The dimple in his cheek flashed out at her. “This one’s yours.”

She inched toward him. Not because she was afraid of him, but because she was afraid of herself. Of what she might do or say. Making a complete fool of herself over a man once this lifetime was more than enough. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them so quickly she didn’t have time to prepare. “Cause I’m about to make you drive way faster than Gram-Gram did.” His hand settled onto her back, resting in a perfectly respectable spot, as he led her to the driver’s door. It dropped away so he could open it, then Cooper stepped back while she got in. “Buckle up.” He gave her a wink then closed the door.

She pulled in as much air as possible while he rounded the back, hands shaking a little as she set her coffee into the holder and clicked the belt into place.

This was a terrible idea. It would not be fine. Based on how she was acting already, it would be nowhere even near fine. She was going to do both bad things she was so terrified of. Likely at the same time. It would probably be staring at Cooper that made her drive into a building.

At least she’d die rather than be forced to suffer through the embarrassment of him discovering her interest and having to let her down gently.

Because that’s what Cooper would do. He wouldn’t be like Eric and make it all her fault. He wouldn’t tell her she was nice enough, but he wanted a woman who was sexy and successful and independent. She didn’t know him super well, but it was already easy to see Cooper would probably take the blame. Claim he wasn’t looking for a relationship.

Unless he was already in one. Shit.

Isla pressed her lips together as he climbed in beside her, guilt at the possibility she’d been lusting after another woman’s man eating her alive to the point she couldn’t keep it inside. “I hope this didn’t mess your day up.” She swallowed hard before spitting out, “Or take away from time you planned to spend with your family.” She sealed her lips together before her mouth could get any more specific.

Cooper belted in and took a sip of his coffee before answering. “My parents moved to Florida five years ago, so as long as the horses get fed, I’ve got all the time in the world.”

So Cooper was single…

Isla gave herself a mental shake. Cooper’s relationship status was irrelevant. He wasn’t interested in her and she sure as heck shouldn’t be interested in him. Or any man. Not until she figured herself out. Decided on a new path forward.

So she ignored the little flip of her belly at his singledom, and focused on the second most interesting part of his comment. “You have horses?”

“Just a few.” He pointed to a lever at the back of the wheel. “That’s where you shift into drive. Go ahead and do that now. Foot on the brake, then move it to the D.”

Right. They were here so he could teach her how to drive. Not so she could dig deeper into his life and accidentally end up liking him a little more. “Okay.” She dragged the word out as her foot pressed the brake. Once it was as far as it could go, she pulled the lever thing. It made a ‘chunk’ sort of sound as it moved between the letters, until finally she landed on the D.

Ha. God, she couldn’t start thinking about that now.

Blowing out a breath—because of the D—Isla moved both hands to the wheel, stationing them at ten and two like she’d read about online. “Now we go?”

“Now we go.” Cooper relaxed back in his seat like he trusted her not to destroy his truck, looking calm and cool as she slowly crept across the lot toward the side street.

She wasn’t a complete virgin to driving, even before Griselda picked her up the day before. Over the years she’d navigated around a handful of parking lots and even a couple deserted streets. But that was always in a car. Maybe a crossover style SUV. Nothing like the full-size, extended cab monster she was dealing with now.

She peeked into each of the mirrors, trying to get a gauge on where the back ended. “This thing is gigantic.”

“Definitely bigger than Gram-Gram’s car.” Cooper didn’t flinch when she hit the brake a little too hard, jostling him around. “But that might turn out to be a good thing. You don’t have to worry about anything bad happening in this. You can just about drive over anything or anyone.”

“I can think of a couple people I’d like to drive over.” She was so distracted by what she was doing that her inside thought turned into an outside one.

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