Page 10 of The Cowboy's Country Charm

“Sounds like you’re familiar with doing that.”

He nodded. And as a result, he’d let down his whole family. “I was the one who was supposed to run our ranch. Keep it in the family. Oldest kid. Been in our family since it was first homesteaded by one of my ancestors. But I didn’t want to be a rancher.”

Her eyebrows rose. “I had you pegged for a cowboy, what with the boots and the hat and the swagger.”

He felt his face flush. “Swagger huh?” He’d never thought of himself as having swagger. “Well, I like some things about cowboying. The comfortable clothes. Riding horses. But ranching for a living? Not for me. If I hadn’t gone into the air force, I’d probably have gone into rodeo as a header.”

“A header?”

“Part of a team that ropes cattle. You’ve never been to a rodeo?”

“Oh, I’ve been. Just wasn’t paying all that much attention to the different events. Can’t watch bull riding, for one. Too dangerous for me.”

“For me too.”

She smiled and settled back in her chair. “Takes a real man to admit that.” She took a long draw of wine.

He been in plenty of dangerous situations. And lived to tell the story. No reason to continue to tempt fate.

Charlene arrived with the nachos and set them down on the table with two extra plates and some napkins. “You two okay?”

“We’re good.” The smell of nachos had him salivating.

“So what is it about ranching that turned you off so much that you disappointed your family?” She reached for a plate and loaded up. He did the same.

“Too isolating. I like to be around people. I like being part of a team. I like helping people.” Among other reasons, some of which were still too painful to talk about.

“Rusty to the rescue?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“That’s kind of nice to hear. So many people are cynical or mistrustful these days.”

He shrugged. “I try to see the best in people. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Not that I’m a pushover. I think I have a pretty good BS antennae. In the air force, in my line of work, you learn to read people.” He dug into the nachos and was rewarded with the salty, cheesy, spicy-hot taste.

“And you said you’ll be joining the police force? Police work seems to attract a lot of veterans.” She daintily picked up one nacho and popped it into her mouth. She had a nice mouth, to which she’d obviously applied some shiny red lipstick on the way over. Made him wish he could kiss them to their natural pink color.

“My degree is in criminal justice. Since I was sort of policing the world, seemed a natural fit.”

Her hand with a nacho in her grasp stilled in midair. “Rescuing people?”

“Something like that.” He slid a few nachos onto his plate.

“So are you now the black sheep of your family?” She tossed a nacho into her mouth and grasped two more.

“I have a great family. My father never pressured me. He accepted that it wasn’t for me or, at the time, either of my sisters. So he sold the ranch. Turns out the guy who bought it ended up marrying my oldest sister, so it was a win-win. Ranch is still in the family, and my parents got the money they needed to retire to New Mexico, though they’re up here now, staying in the house with me and doting on my nephew, Parker, Junie’s son.”

“So you live with your parents?” Did she actually smirk?

“Let’s say I’m hosting them.” Though he loved the convenience and the no-rent option, staying in his family home did feel like a step back to his teenage days. Going to college, no job, living with his folks. He couldn’t wait to find out if he’d made it into the academy.

She looked down at the wineglass in her hand. “You’re lucky your father never pressured you.”

“You aren’t so lucky?”

She raised her head with a snort. “Nope. To my father, I’m a disappointment because I didn’t go into law or politics. And an even bigger one for choosing a profession he doesn’t view as professional. And not one in which I’m likely to make a lot of money. He’s sure I’m going to get some ‘ambition’”—she used air quotes—“as he would say, and move into a real job. I’m determined to prove him, and everyone else who has doubted my choices, that they’re wrong.”

She said it with such conviction, he believed her. “Good for you.” He admired her more and more. “But why does he doubt your choices?”

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