Page 54 of Cowboy's Last Stand
“Be careful, OK?”
She appreciated his friendship and his honesty.She wanted to express her affection, so she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.He flinched at the gesture, as if her kindness stung more than her rejection.“You too.”
Although she was a few minutes late to Walnut Elementary, Marcus wasn’t waiting in the usual spot.She stood on the sidewalk while a dozen other parents arrived and left.She tapped her fingertips against her arms, starting to worry.She was about to go to the office to inquire about him when he raced toward her with a lopsided grin.His backpack was askew, his jacket dangling.She accepted his tackle-hug warmly.
“What happened to you?”
“I forgot my lunch box.I had to go search for it.”
This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.He misplaced his jacket, backpack, water bottle, or lunch box on a weekly basis.
“I was worried,” she said, kissing his head.
“Because of the firecrackers?”
“Yes.”
They walked toward the library, talking about his day.He chattered about an art project and a game he’d played.
“Did you move your clip?”
“Just to yellow.”
“Marcus…”
“Yellow isn’t bad, Mom.It’s medium.”
“Will you try to stay on green?”
“I always try.”
She knew he did.They climbed into her car, where Marcus studied the martial arts books with interest.Some days, she felt exhausted by the responsibilities of single parenting.Other days, she was deeply contented by it.Marcus was so precious to her.Without him, she wouldn’t have survived those grim weeks after Mike’s death.
“Can Jason teach me how to fight?”Marcus asked.
“He might be busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Fixing the upstairs apartment.”
“He can take a break.”
Natalie fiddled with the radio, noncommittal.She appreciated Jason’s suggestion about tai chi, but she was reluctant to encourage Marcus to spend time with him.Jason’s future plans were uncertain.He had a job lined up in California.Sooner or later, he would leave.As much as she hated to admit it, Wade was right.
It was better—for all of them—to maintain an emotional distance.
Chapter Twelve
Jason spent theremainder of the week trapped between two types of torture.
The first type was guilt.He’d come to Last Chance to honor the memory of a fallen comrade, and he was no closer to completing that mission.He wasn’t just putting off the uncomfortable conversation, which included the sad and disturbing details of Mike’s death.At some point, he’d decided not to tell Natalie at all.He’d convinced himself he was acting in Natalie’s best interests, but he wasn’t sure that was true.He only knew that he wasn’t ready to walk away.He could stay and protect her or come clean and leave.
He stayed.
The second type of torture was lust.He’d wanted Natalie before he’d even set eyes on her.As soon as they’d met in person, his attraction to her had grown in leaps and bounds.After their kiss, it had raged like wildfire.He spent his days thinking about her while he worked in the upstairs apartment.Every afternoon, she toiled alongside him.Her work clothes were more suited to a yoga class than a home remodel.He tried not to stare at her when she wasn’t looking.In the evenings, after dinner, he did tai chi with Marcus.Sometimes, he felt her eyes on him as he went through the martial arts motions, and he liked that.She didn’t sit outside with him anymore, which was probably wise.He was a bundle of nerves around her, hungry as a wolf.If she lingered in the dark with him, he might pounce.
He’d convinced Natalie to let him start a series of home improvement projects, and the work was progressing at a brisk pace.Too brisk, perhaps.He knew he was overexerting himself.It was better to keep moving than to stop and think.
