Page 41 of Take Me Please, Cowboy
He didn’t answer.
Ansley held her breath, heart beating unsteadily.I want to see you.
He took a long time to text in reply.We already talked about that.
Furiously she typed back.I don’t think I really agreed with you.I think you decided that we wouldn’t see each other and I just went along with it.
Every time we see each other it will just make it harder to say goodbye, he texted.
She glared at her phone, answering,Then we don’t have to say goodbye, right?We can just say see you soon or see you later.Why does it have to be so final?
Ansley.It was just the one word, and it spoke volumes.He was frustrated with her.
Well, fine.She was frustrated with him.Rye.
He didn’t answer her text.Seconds passed.Seconds turned to minutes.Ansley clutched her phone, wanting him to reply.She wanted to understand this.
And then her phone rang, and it was him.She answered quickly.“Oh, hello, Rye.”
She felt his smile over the phone, it was a reluctant smile, but he wasn’t angry.“Why are you so stubborn?”he asked.
“Do you want a serious answer, or a smart-ass answer?”
“I’d prefer the serious answer.”
“Great.So here it is.You’re special, and I’m not going to let you disappear into the universe as if you don’t matter.”
“We’ve only just met.”
“I can’t speak for you, but I know me, and no one has ever turned my world inside out in such a short period of time.I don’t fall for guys easily.I’m not a romantic.I don’t love love.I love—” She broke off, holding the last word in.But it hung there between them, teasing, tempting, full of aching nuance and meaning.You.
“I’ll be better about calling,” Rye said gruffly.
“That would be nice.”
And this time the silence was warm, almost comforting, the silence of understanding and it gave her much needed peace.She loved him.How it had happened, how a weekend could become love, she didn’t know but at the same time she didn’t question it.“I don’t want to keep you up.You’ve a big day tomorrow.But I’ll be cheering you on from afar.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Babe.He’d said that to her the day he was leaving, and he just said it again, and her heart turned over.She wanted him and wanted to be his.
Hanging up, Ansley leaned against the brass bedframe.She was glad she’d texted, and glad he’d called her.She felt… better.Not necessarily calmer, but better.She was being true to herself and standing for what she could.She’d put herself out there.Only time would tell if he would stay in touch.
*
Rye rode betterthan he expected on Sunday, once again taking first in steer wrestling, second in saddle bronc, and fourth in bareback, which meant he was returning to Eureka with good money.If only he’d enjoyed the weekend more.He hadn’t attended any of the social events as he had in Marietta with Ansley.He’d kept to himself except for the cowboy autograph session at the local feed store, and then stayed after for a half an hour visiting with some of the local sponsors.Rye understood the importance of creating goodwill on the circuit, and he always made sure to thank the sponsors, because without them there wouldn’t be the prize money and he wouldn’t have the career.He would have had a good time if Ansley had been there.He would have felt like a million dollars sitting across from her at dinner or walking with her through the fairgrounds.She brought light into his world, light and warmth and a sense of possibility, as if she was like Tinker Bell and could wave a magic wand and cover everything with pixie dust.
His life could use some pixie dust.
He could use Ansley’s sunshine and magic.
He talked to her during the drive back to Eureka.They spoke for over an hour and would have kept talking but he’d hit a section of a mountain pass and lost her.He’d warned her that he might lose her, and if that happened, he’d just talk to her tomorrow.
He half hoped she’d try to call him back, but she didn’t, and he refrained from calling her because he couldn’t appear needy.Needy wasn’t a good look and yet she made him feel needs he didn’t know how to handle—not just physical needs, but emotional ones.
He did need connection.
He was alone far too much.
