Page 4 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
“What’re you doing over here by yourself?” Tamara demanded. “We’ve been waiting for you. You totally ignored our texts.”
Karen had been enjoying some sort of lovely delirium and had been too busy to answer texts, which wasn’t anything she was about to share.
Instead, she shrugged. “Came in the west door and didn’t want to mess with manoeuvering all the way to the other side. I figured you’d show up eventually.”
“I’m glad you came out for the night,” Tamara said. “You need to get your mind off the fact you’re out of commission for a while.”
Their youngest sister, Lisa, smacked Tamara on the arm. “Brilliant way to keep her from thinking about that. You know, mentioning it and all.”
“I’m only pointing out the obvious. Sheneedsto be off the work list and let her leg heal.” Tamara put on her medical professional face, shaking her finger at Karen. “You’ve got a serious break, sis. If you push it too hard, you could end up hurting yourself permanently.”
“Save me the lectures,” Karen told her sharply. “I’m the oldest, and not only is what you’re saying old news, you don’t get to boss me around.”
“Nice try on that one,” Lisa said with a snicker. “Birth order has nothing to do with sisters giving unwanted advice. We all do it, me less than you two because I’m smart like that.”
That comment got her pokes in the side from both Karen and Tamara, setting off giggles that had the entire area of the dance floor glancing in their direction.
No matter which way she looked, Karen spotted no signs of her mysterious knight in shining armour. Which was probably a good thing, because she hadn’t planned on going much further.
The distraction had been enjoyable, though.
An hour later Tamara glanced at her watch. “I need to go. Want me to drive you home?” she asked Karen. “I have time to take you out to the ranch. Lisa can bring your car home later.”
Karen hated to accept the help, but she nodded. “Don’t stay up too late, or you’ll regret it in the morning,” she warned Lisa, who had briefly returned to their corner of the dance room after kicking up a storm with one of her buddies.
“Energy to burn,” Lisa said. “Don’t worry. I won’t miss chores. Plus, I’ll be there as support after whatever Dad throws at you.”
And she would. The same way Karen knew that Tamara would do what she could.Theywere solid—three sisters who had stuck together through thick and thin, which was the only reason Karen had made it this far dealing with their father.
“It’ll be okay,” Tamara assured her twenty minutes later as they headed down the final long, quiet gravel road that led to Whiskey Creek. “You do need to take care of yourself for a bit, though. And I know that’s hard. To think about taking some time off.”
Karen chuckled, staring at the springtime fields. The first flush of growth popping up through the rich ground was barely visible in the pale moonlight. “I take off as much time as you do, Miss Work-Your-Ass-off.”
“I know how to relax,” Tamara insisted.
“So do I.” A rush of warmth stole over her as she thought of Finn and the sensation of his strong arm around her. And a whole lot of other parts of him she wished to get to know a little better.
That kind of relaxation she could totally go for. If it were possible. If he hadn’t vanished.
If she didn’t have a thick cast from thigh to ankle impeding all the deliciously dirty thoughts whirling through her brain, taunting her with what she couldn’t have.
Still, she didn’t regret the momentary flirtation.
She said goodbye to Tamara and took off into the house where she’d grown up. The same room where she’d slept for twenty-seven years.
Throughout the house, an eerie quietness lingered, one that had been there for untold evenings since their mother had died.
Karen pushed aside the sad memories and frustrations. She ignored the thin line of light shining from under her father’s door and instead concentrated on the warm fuzzies still humming in her system as she remembered the sweet interlude at the bar.
Her dreams that night were rather spectacular.
Maybe it was the painkillers as well as her fevered imagination, but the next morning it was difficult to pull herself together and head to the kitchen.
The coffee pot was cold. Karen panicked for a moment when she glanced at the old cuckoo clock on the wall. The pendulum swung slower than usual, and thankfully the time on the ancient face was nothing near the one on her watch.
Unfortunately, even her watch said she normally would have been outside thirty minutes ago.
She hurriedly pulled on a coat and a single boot. The bottom of her cast got wrapped in a protective layer of padding followed by a garbage bag to keep out the dirt.
