Page 6 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
June. Present day, Heart Falls, Alberta
Anticipation rose as Finn Marlette slipped on his boots.
“Sure you don’t want backup?” His best friend, Zach Sorenson, sat in one of the only two functioning chairs they had in the dilapidated ranch house kitchen. The brown-haired man leaned back, balancing the chair on two legs like a teenage boy instead of the thirty-three-year old he was. A wide grin split his face and laughter danced in his blue eyes. “I could come along to make sure Karen doesn’t kill you then hide your body somewhere in the back forty.”
“Dramatic, much?” Finn drawled as he put his hat in place.
Zach swung forward, the legs of the chair hitting the unfinished wooden floor with a loud clatter. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m curious as hell how you plan to swing this. It’s been years, yet you seem to think she’ll let you waltz in and start romancing her.”
“Worked the first time,” Finn said dryly. He pointed at his friend. “Stay.”
“Promise you’ll tell me everything,” Zach teased before offering a wink as he rose to his feet. “Okay, I’ll stop being an ass. Iaminterested to see how this plays out, but you know I only want the best for you. And for her, because with all the plans I’ve got in Heart Falls, if you make enemies of the Stone family or any of Karen’s other relatives, you’ll really screw things up for me.”
Finn knew most of that last part was bullshit. Still, he appreciated Zach lightening the mood more than he was willing to admit. “I’ll try not to cause anybody to come after us with pitchforks and torches.”
Zach rubbed his hands together. “That’s all I can ask. Go for it. Break a leg.”
Dear God.
Finn ignored the snorts of amusement drifting from his friend and headed out the door.
It was a glorious day to be on the Alberta foothills. The land he’d bought north of the small town of Heart Falls had a bit of a mess when it came to buildings, but the landscape was amazing.
The rolling hills spread around him and extended to the west, rising higher and higher until they blended into the feet of the Rocky Mountains. The distant peaks were still snowclad, but the rest of the terrain was bright green with spring’s rich tones. These early days of June were beautiful as the brown of winter transformed to glorious verdant summer.
He took a slightly longer path than necessary from the disreputable ranch house where he and Zach were now bunking. He wandered along a trail over the peak of the hillside, pausing to pick some of the spring wildflowers poking their heads through the tall grass.
Coming to Heart Falls was part of a plan, and the small building ahead of him was where the next part of that plan would take place.
He and Karen Coleman had unfinished business.
Finn felt a bit of regret, but also anticipation, as he made his way toward the small cottage tucked into a wind-protected dip in the landscape.
Karen had needed a place to stay, and it had made perfect sense to offer her the furnished building. Having her close would give them a chance to get reacquainted even as she spent time visiting her sisters in Heart Falls.
It’d been five years since he first laid eyes on her, and he found his feet moving quicker as the front porch came into view.
Four and half years that they hadn’t spent together, some of that because he hadn’t been smart enough to see there was more than one solution to their problem.
He’d gotten better at problem-solving. Thirty-five years old, and finally getting his act together in this area.
It was time to let Karen know they had options, and he would do whatever it took to make sure this summer didn’t end like the last one they’d shared.
Humbled by how hard his heart pounded as he stepped onto the porch, Finn gave a firm knock and pretended he wasn’t nervous.
Somewhere behind him, the grass rustled, and he twisted to make sure he wasn’t about to get pounced on by one of the feral cats he’d discovered running wild all over the place.
Two glittering green eyes shined at him through the tall, dry grass. A mama cat, keeping a close eye on him, still unsure if he was trouble or not.
Then the door swung open and a familiar voice slipped around him like a caress. “Hey, what’s up?”
Damn. He’d seen Karen at a distance a few times over the past months. Seen pictures of her around the Stone homestead on a friend’s phone. Seen her in his dreams every night.
Nothing beat the real thing.
His gaze drifted down briefly, amusement flashing as he realized she was wearing Daisy Duke shorts that showcased her limbs. A far cry from the first time they’d met when she had that enormous cast covering one of her gorgeous legs.
All that passed in an instant because it was her face he was intent on. Her eyes, the deep brown pools he’d spent hours staring into. Her lips that were slightly open in shock but so red and delicious he could damn near taste her.
