Page 64 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

She watched him for a long moment, trying to find a sliver of doubt, a lie, anything to tell her that he was still hung up on his ex, and therefore off-limits.

Safe to crush on because she could never ever have him.

She could find nothing, and a shiver of fear rippled up her spine.

He was hers to claim.

9

Cole kissed Jackie there on Main Street again, trying to parlay that he had absolutely no designs on anyone but her. When they pulled apart Jackie looked lost, happy and slightly dazed. There was definitely no more doubt hiding in the shadows of her eyes.

April was now with the man that Cole had always secretly believed she should choose. Maybe that was part of the reason things hadn’t worked between them. He’d tried too hard to be different from Brant, to keep her away from him, to have her think his brother was boring.

Had it been sibling rivalry, jealousy, a worry that something in himself was missing? That soft, kind streak he saw in Brant and that others responded to, instantly loving him?

It didn’t really matter what or why. April was where she was supposed to be, and Cole was feeling as though he was, too.

Except Jackie was leaving. That was an even bigger barrier than convincing her that something real was growing between them, underneath the facade of their fake relationship.

How could he fix it so she could stay?

“Cole?” Jackie was looking at him with an amused expression. He’d tuned out for only a second or two, but she’d noticed.

He’d wasted time being away from Sweetheart Creek, being away from Jackie. And now it was almost too late for them to figure things out and make something of this.

He huffed a breath and adjusted his hat, frustrated. “I should have come home sooner.” Truly, he’d been afraid of his reception, and if Clint hadn’t called him, he wasn’t sure how long he would have kept roaming.

Cole moved, causing Bill to straighten from his balled position and scurry down the alley, his scales hitting the sides of the two buildings as he waddled.

“Oh!” Jackie let out a surprised squeak, no doubt having forgotten about the beast.

“Guess he’s all right,” Cole said, snapping a blurry photo of the armadillo running away. He sent it to Brant.

“Whydidn’tyou come home sooner?” she asked.

He shrugged, unable to express his fears or pain. Even to her.

“Oh, Cole.” Jackie grabbed him by the arms, her expression sympathetic, as though she’d seen his inner side. “I’m so sorry.”

“I had some good adventures.” He gave her a crooked grin. “It wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot about myself.”

But why couldn’t he have come home for his dad’s wedding last June when Brant had asked him to, and discovered Jackie then?

She watched him for a long moment before gesturing to the narrow tunnel the animal had escaped down. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

“I’ve heard people don’t like him.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Jackie said, her tone full of amusement as they began walking again. She pushed open the door to the Longhorn Diner and Cole grabbed it, holding it for her before following her inside. “He’s a giant pain in the butt. But I couldn’t imagine the town without him.”

“Kind of like my uncle Henry?” Cole asked, catching sight of him in the back of the diner, spinning on his stool to see who was entering the bacon-scented building.

The man beside Henry turned as well: Cole’s dad. Roy gazed at him with those familiar blue Wylder eyes.

Not wanting to have his mood spoiled by either relative, Cole snagged Jackie’s elbow, directing her into a booth near the door. “Let’s sit here.”

He slid in across from her, and when she rested her hand on the tabletop, he linked his fingers with hers. He told himself it was to further their charade, not because he wanted to feel connected with her at all moments of his day.

“What are you going to order?” he asked.

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