Page 23 of The Cowboy's Redemption
She set the to-go cup on the stoop next to her and opened the bag. Chocolate croissants were her favorite. Was it something he’d remembered, or a lucky guess on his part?
Lucky guess. Had to be. Everyone liked chocolate.
But the gesture was thoughtful and so typical of him. Especially given how last night had ended.
She took a bite of the flakey crust. Buttery deliciousness clung to her tongue. She washed the bite down with a sip of thick, dark-roast coffee, fantastic despite its now-tepid state, and not only because she’d started the day before the sun rose, and without caffeine. She checked the logo on the paper cup with respect. The Wayside Café knew its business.
Behind her, the door opened, then closed with a soft metal scrape as its latch snicked into place. Levi settled on the stoop, his thigh maintaining a respectful distance from hers. He studied the sworls on the toes of his weathered boots. A tensed muscle jerked in his jaw.
“I’m so sorry,” Dana said, even though she knew from experience how painfully inadequate those words were. “This must be very hard for you.”
“This isn’t about me,” he said. “Otto’s a good guy and he deserves to go out with dignity, but he’s not always easy to reason with once he gets a thought in his head. I don’t know why he’s dragged you into this. You sure you’re okay with staying here for a while? Missing your races?”
Neither one of us is going to Las Vegas.
“I’m sure,” she said. She’d registered for the McCone County PRCA rodeo next, and if she had to pull out it was going to hurt her bottom line, but some things were more important. She’d waited this long. She could wait a while longer. “Lady could use a rest and Crackerjack is out of practice.”
Crackerjack had developed an edginess that she no longer trusted. He didn’t trust her anymore either, not after the tumble they’d taken, and she’d have to work hard to reclaim it.
“I’m not only staying because of Tanoa,” she added, worried Levi might think her motives were purely self-serving. “I like Otto. I’m happy to help him for as long as he needs me. I’ve never nursed anyone before, though.”
“You won’t have to do any nursing. Just sit with him and keep him company when he needs it. I’ll help him take care of the personal stuff. I’ll sleep on his floor, and you can sleep in your camper. I’ll hook it up to the water supply and the generator for you.”
She got the message buried in what he was saying—that Otto was their priority, so they were going to pretend last night never happened. She reached for his hand. Her relief over that was tremendous.
Yet her aggravation was equally intense. She always seemed to be apologizing to him. While she wanted to clear up the awkwardness between them, explaining her feelings had never been easy for her, and her relationship with Tanner had left a deep scar on her soul that had never quite healed.
“About last night,” she began, then wasn’t sure where to take it from there.
She didn’t want to get into the messy details of the last days of their relationship with one of Tanner’s closest friends. Besides, she wasn’t blameless. She should have ended things when she realized they weren’t planning for the same future.
She and Levi were still holding hands. She tried to extract hers, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“No worries. You aren’t the first woman to mistake me for Chris Evans by moonlight,” he said, his eyes smiling at her despite the straight set of his lips. Then, his lips followed suit. “Well actually, yes, you are. My ego thanks you for your confusion. Please don’t ruin it for me.”
“You’re so silly.” And his eyes were soblue.
She couldn’t tear hers away. His was a gaze meant to be worn like a comfortable robe—warm and deep and soft against naked skin. Blue eyes, so steady and calm, reminded her again of the promises they held, and heated her in places a man’s hands couldn’t reach. She’d lain awake most of the night, imagining all the places they could.
If she had to spend a few nights alone out here with him, with no one but Otto any the wiser, she might resort to begging, after all, because, when it came to personal matters, she wasn’t ready to go it alone.
And sitting in the sunshine, with Levi holding her hand, she felt a whole lot less alone than she’d felt in a very long time.
*
Later, after they’dunhitched her truck and set up her camper, she drove into Grand to buy enough food to last them a week. She called her parents from the supermarket parking lot to let them know where she was, about the situation with Otto, that she was okay, and no, she didn’t need anything from them.
When she emerged from the store with the groceries, a tiny boutique in a strip mall caught her attention. A scantily clad mannequin in the front window indicated offerings of high-end feminine undergarments inside.
The boutique had the misfortune of residing next to a children’s clothing store, although upon further consideration, perhaps the boutique’s location was strategic. Children wouldn’t exist without sex.
And as well as the children’s clothing and lingerie stores, the mall housed a business calledThe Rage Room.With a supermarket nearby, the target demographic appeared to lean toward stay-at-home moms with money to burn.
The lingerie store beckoned her. She had a weakness for frilly items. She liked the sense of privacy and freedom that wearing pretty underwear gave her. It was her way of reminding herself that the Lady Dana image she presented to the public was not who she was.
She packed the groceries in her truck, then crossed the parking lot and the street to the small strip mall on the far side.
A discreetly lettered sign in its window proclaimed the lingerie boutique to beMayhem’s Private Moments. A bell tinkled when she opened the door.
