Page 34 of The Cowgirl's Forever Love
They didn’t talk much during the first part of the ride to his place. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, she guessed. The terrible situation they’d had to deal with wasn’t something she wanted to spend a lot more time talking about, either.
In her arms, Ollie wiggled until the blanket was free from her head, the little dog glancing around with curiosity before resting her chin on Lisa’s arm. Her position created the perfect vantage point to be able to stare at both her and Josiah.
Ollie took a deep breath and let it out. A perfect puppy sigh.
Josiah chuckled softly, one hand coming off the reins to tease a finger between the dog’s ears. “She’s a cutie.”
“Good-natured too,” Lisa pointed out. “Her back leg has got to be hurting, but she’s not fussing at all.”
“Sadly, she might not have a lot of energy left to fuss. But we’ll get it fixed up when we get home.” He turned down a side path Lisa hadn’t taken before. “I’ve got enough stuff at the house. I can patch her up, no problem.”
Lisa watched as they headed cross-country, cutting behind the hillside and toward the river. “You do know a secret route. Either that, or we’re going to be swimming in a minute.”
“Very secret. It travels through the Haunted Woods, though. You might have to hold on tight.”
She twisted to examine his face. His comment had to have something to do with his dramatic background. “Haunted Woods? As inAnne of Green Gables?”
“It’s a classic.”
“Tell me you’ve played Gilbert and some young woman got to hit you over the head with a school slate.”
His face twisted before his smile returned. “Never Gilbert, but one time I was the stand-in for Diana. It was my crowning glory.”
Oh my God. She grinned, then felt terrible for being amused considering what they’d just dealt with.
“Hey. None of that,” he ordered. “It’s okay to smile.”
“Are you reading my mind?”
“Possibly, but only because the expression on your face is familiar. It’s pretty much what I feel in my gut.” He adjusted his grip, pulling her closer to rest his chin on her shoulder. “Whenever I have to deal with death, whether it’s a tragedy on the job or having to put an animal down at the end of a long life, this happens. An incredible sadness sinks in, for good reason. Then something will come along that makes me laugh, and I’ll feel like shit, at least until I remember staying sad and unhappy isn’t healthy. And it sure the hell isn’t what a good friend like a dog, or a cat, or whatever animal that’s been a part of your family for years would want.”
Ollie’s eyes were closed. Her breathing even. Perfectly content, it seemed.
Josiah continued. “Do you really think something we call ‘man’s best friend’ would want us to spend even a single day crying? Heck, most dogs would be jumping over themselves to try and put a smile on your face. They’d want you to be thinking about all the fun times you’d had together.”
He was right. “We had an old dog at Whiskey Creek ranch. We called him Grampa because every time a new litter, cats or dogs arrived, he would end up in the middle of them. Sniffing and giving them a tongue bath if he had half a chance. Any time we lost one of them, he would come and put his head on your knee and look real sad for a while. But then he’d go off and find one of his ‘grandkids’ to pin them down and clean them up whether they wanted it or not.”
Another laugh escaped Josiah, this one a little brighter. A little hardier, as though he was giving himself permission and in doing so, proving he meant what he said. It was okay to feel joy. “Yeah, that’s dogs.”
“Cats, however…” She felt the rumble of laughter in his chest this time, deep and intense. “You know their minds work completely different.”
“True. Cats would prefer for us to set up effigies to them and spend the rest of our lives worshiping their memory. Probably how those Egyptian beliefs started in the first place.”
They were in the middle of a nearly overgrown path, the tree branches connecting over their heads in a perfect arch.
Lisa glanced up, looking around in amazement. Under the horse’s hooves, the ground was nearly free of snow because the trees were so thick overhead. The dry brown grass poked through a few inches of ground cover instead of the feet that lay everywhere else. “Is this the Haunted Wood?”
“It is. And up ahead there’s a Lake of Shining Water.” This time he paused as she laughed softly. “I can’t take credit for all the names. My sisters were up here shortly after I bought the place, and they had a heyday naming everything in sight. I think they drew a map—it’s probably up in the great room.”
They fell quiet again as the trees opened up. The trail grew steeper, cutting behind the mountainside, with the huge rise of the Rocky Mountains on the right-hand side. It was beautiful and Lisa stared, secure with Josiah’s arms around her.
“Before Sonora contacted me, I had sent you a message. I wanted to get together with you today.” Kind of a shitty date, yet at the same time, she was glad that she’d been there to help.
“We’ll just consider this the start of our date,” he said. “By the way, I got a message from you, and Caleb,andTamara. Any idea what was going on?”
Oops. “I might have suggested a slight challenge.”
“Aha. The infamous Lisa-betting-spree continues.” His house was quickly approaching, and he headed toward the barns.
