Page 23 of Lucky Cowboy

She wasn’t sure why she was risking everything by throwing herself at this sheriff? Especially at such an inopportune time?

What had she been thinking?

She believed that whatever might be happening between her and Mark could be more than a friendship, but what did she know? How did you even know? Yet with each question that filled her mind, her heart had much more to say on the matter.

Even without completing that kiss, she’d felt this sizzle of awareness at their near miss. There was something more there. There had to be. Even if it kept showing up during the least favorable time to pursue it.

And Mark seemed a bit scattered about recent events. What if he wasn’t in a place to date anyone? Much less her, someone who travelled more than two-thirds of the year. It wasn’t like he could go with her. Not even if he wanted to. He was the sheriff of Rocky Ridge. He had ties. Roots. She couldn’t ask him to abandon them, either.

Besides, she had bigger issues at hand, anyway.

Putting that tangle of emotions off to the side for now, Val shared a mostly quiet dose of caffeine with Mark, then went to see her father. She’d been afraid to leave him as he groaned and seemed so much worse this time, so Val had expected Mark to have left when she came back out. He hadn’t, though. He remained there with her abandoned bouquet and her dad’s Get Well balloons. How could she have forgotten?

And why was their timing so bad?

“Mark, you stayed.”

“Of course, I did. How’s your dad?”

“Struggling more, I think. The nurses are checking on him more often. Seems that this may extend his time in the hospital, as well as his recovery.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” She was. Shesowas.

“Ms. Bernard,” a nurse—a different one from before—snagged her attention. “May I speak with you?”

“Yes.” She stood.

“Think I’ll go back,” Mark told her, his tone dispassionate. She’d disappointed him, she was sure. Yet there was nothing she could do about it.

“I’m so glad you came to visit. I wish it could’ve been under better circumstances.”

All he did was offer her the slightest of smiles. Even then, it was there only for a heartbeat before it disappeared again. And as horrible as Val felt for letting him go, she had to. She’d do anything for her father. Anything at all. Even though he’d eventually graduate to skilled nursing care in a facility that would assist him in getting back up on his feet, she didn’t know if she could leave him in the meantime.

That meant no time for Mark, no matter what might be between them.

This time the sheriff didn’t hug or kiss her, not even another peck at her temple. He merely departed, and she wondered if this would be the last time. If she’d ever see or be in contact with him again. Maybe it’d be better for him if they weren’t.

It wasn’t like she could commit to anything.

She returned to her father’s room to watch him frown in his sleep. Val hated to think about this, but what kind of hospital bills would they receive from this? Her father had health insurance, but it would only cover a certain percentage of the total. Thousands of dollars could still be due. And since they were already in debt because of Biggs never, she’d need to do more rodeos to pay it down.

Even if she’d been doing as many performances as she could.

When would they ever get out of this hole they were in if it kept getting deeper and deeper? Would Mark wait for her? It felt selfish to want him to, but she did. Even though she’d never admit that to him. It would have to be at his discretion, because she couldn’t promise anything to him. Maybe never.

She should end this before it started. That would be the right thing to do. Even if she didn’t want to.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Mark had never been sodistracted. Peeking in on his mom and sister, dealing with the requirements of his job, and driving the nearly two hours up to Billings so often had been taking its toll. Even with Fred Bernard now released from his cardiac ward to go heal and rehabilitate at a skilled nursing facility, Mark had still felt compelled to visit as often as he could.

Not that he regretted being there for Val. Not even a little. He couldn’t abandon her to go through all that alone. It didn’t help that the fourth had just passed. The Independence Day celebrations in Rocky Ridge were rarely disruptive other than the handful of townsfolk who sometimes mixed the colorful explosions and bad decision making.

But this year there seemed to be tons more of that than usual. Mark had been called out to serve in one way or another in double the cases of a typical year, and all the while he’d been aware that Val had been performing over in Bigfork, in the eastern section of the state. She’d remained in Montana, but the distance between the two places was still a four-hour trip by car, which meant he’d still be closer to Fred if some sort of emergency cropped up.

Then, to have such a wild holiday with the locals had put Mark on edge. He hadn’t been getting much sleep to begin with, but due to receiving calls at all hours, last night he’d gotten zero. He enjoyed celebrating as much as anyone, but he’d never felt so glad to put a fourth of July behind him as he had this time. The problem was that he had a whole other dayshift to go before he could go home and catch some Zs, and he’d been yawning more than a sleepy cat.

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