Page 44 of The Cowboy's Redemption
He finally understood the full extent of her meaning—she didn’t have to be perfect with him. She might want to believe it was because he didn’t matter to her, but it was because he mattered too much. And he’d stupidly handed her the perfect excuse as to why a relationship between them would never work.
He’d eliminate that obstacle right now.
“You and Tate wouldn’t object if she got involved with someone new?” he asked Ford.
Ford mulled the question over as if considering who he might have to kill. “I can’t see how it would be any of our business,” he said.
Which was better than the answer Levi had expected but wasn’t a straight yes or a no.
He decided to take his life in his hands. “What if the someone was me?”
Ford gave that question the same careful consideration as the first, which wasn’t terrifying at all. “I once asked Tanner how come you two weren’t as close anymore and he said because you had a thing for his girlfriend, but I didn’t pay too much attention,” he said. “Figured whatever gave him that idea would blow over once the shine wore off and he began to think with his head again.”
It hurt Levi to think that years of friendship had been damaged because of a situation he’d tried so hard to avoid. “I would never have acted on it.”
Ford nodded. “I know that. He did, too. And this is why men who can’t handle competition shouldn’t chase beautiful women.” He rubbed his thumb over his chin. The steel in his eyes hardened. “Smart men shouldn’t chase after them, either. You’re usually a smart guy. You sure it’s your head you’re thinking with?”
He hadn’t been. He was now. “I’m sure.”
“Then I’m fine with it,” Ford said, nodding again. “Thanks for asking, especially since I know you didn’t have to. I’ll make sure Tate is fine with it, too.”
He went to grab them each a beer from the icebox. He occasionally brought home new brews for Levi to try. Hannah produced more hits than misses, but there’d been a few they’d poured into the bushes.
As they sipped an IPA that showed promise, listening to the horses settle in for the night, Levi didn’t kid himself. He had more obstacles to overcome.
Dana had to sort out her feelings for Tanner. Leaving him on the same day he’d died had left her with no real sense of closure. Pregnancy and miscarriage had further complicated things. She’d had that added connection to him, and it would always remain, tying her sorrow and anger together in a tight little knot.
Ford’s observation that people who died too soon were usually remembered as better than the reality was spot-on. Dana, however, had the opposite problem where Tanner was concerned. She’d had no outlet for all the negative feelings about him, and those feelings had suffocated anything positive she’d once felt. Until she let go of the past, she had no room for the future.
That was the real challenge Levi faced.
*
Dana
Crackerjack had maturedunder her dad’s patient care, giving Dana a lot more confidence than she’d expected to have.
She walked the horse around the warm-up arena, getting him used to the noises and smells of unfamiliar animals and humans. This wasn’t his first race of the week, but the thirty thousand dollars on the line tonight meant the crowd was invested.
She wasn’t thinking about the prize money. They’d placed sixth out of ten in the first round, then fourth in the second, with two rounds to go. The arena record was 14.607. So far this week, Crackerjack’s best was 15.010. If she could get him under fifteen seconds, she’d be content.
Her dad, at the fence, waved her over. She was walking toward him when she saw another familiar face. Her heart forgot what it was doing and dropped to her feet, then bounced to her throat, where it lodged. What was Levi doing here with her father?
He looked good. Maybe a little tired around his lips and his eyes, but overall, his usual, easygoing, perfect self.
And he’d made a favorable impression on Sponge Bob. What a surprise.
A huge smile crinkled her dad’s eyes and cheeks. “This young man claims he’s a friend of yours. I told him all the good-looking boys tell me that and I’ll need you to confirm it.”
A friend.
She wasn’t so sure about that. She hadn’t heard from him in the month after she left, and she hadn’t heard from him in the week since her dad had picked up the horses, leading her to assume that he’d given up on her, as she’d intended.
Nevertheless, that he’d given up on her so easily stung and she wasn’t about to let on how glad she was to see him or how badly she’d missed him.
“Confirmed,” she said coolly. “I didn’t expect to see him here, though.” She sounded like a sullen teenager, which she’d never been, and her dad looked at her funny.
Levi let it roll off him. “I had business in town and saw your name on the posters.” He eyeballed her horse. “Crackerjack looks hot.”
