Page 83 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
Chapter 22
“PULLover by the mailbox up there,” Sam said, pointing further down the road. “I’ll just be a minute.”
He was in a cab heading for the airport, and the envelope in his jacket pocket was burning a hole in there. It had been a few days since he’d seen Mia, but all it had taken was that one moment of seeing her standing before him, seeing how real her pain was, and knowing he’d been the one to cause it. And seeing her, it had made him see how stupid he’d been. Nate and Faith had both been right; he couldn’t keep letting his past control his future.
“Thanks,” he muttered, pushing the door open and jogging the few paces. He pulled the envelope out, re-read Mia’s name and address for the hundredth time, and then slipped it into the box. There. He’d done it.
Now he just had to wait and see. He had an event in L.A. again, then he was back in his home state for the last part of his Texas mini-tour. And more than a sell-out crowd, all he wanted was Mia there watching him.
***
Mia walked in, hot and starving hungry from working her horses, and noticed a handful of envelopes on the counter. Her father’s housekeeper usually brought over any mail or deliveries for her, and she’d obviously let herself in while she was out.
She kicked off her boots and pulled her socks off, balling them up and stuffing them inside her boots. She grabbed a banana, peeling it and starting to eat it as she rifled through the mail. One thing caught her eye, a cream envelope with her details scrawled by hand across the front. She laughed. Who sent letters these days?
She set the banana skin down and ran her nail beneath the seal, pulling out a card and seeing it was an invitation.
You are invited to a VIP afternoon with legendary Texas Horse Whisperer Sam Mendes! Learn from the master of horsemanship himself and enjoy the best seats in the house!
Mia gulped. Re-reading the invitation, then scanning lower and seeing when it was scheduled for.Ten days.She glanced down at her belly, her tight t-shirt showing a hint of a bump. By then she might actually look pregnant, or perhaps she’d just keep looking like she’d eaten too many cherry pies; she was usually so slender that her bump would make itself obvious.
She went to set the invitation down and noticed there was handwriting on the back. Mia turned it over, her eyes roving quickly across the words.
I miss you. Sam xx
Mia’s eyes stung, tears escaping and starting to slowly slip down her lashes onto her cheeks.I miss you, too, she thought, clutching the invitation, her fingers tight aroundthe card. After everything, she still missed him, and as much as she wanted to stay away, to protect herself from being hurt again, she knew the pull to go and see him would be too great to resist.
Mia finally put it down and decided to go take a shower. She needed time to think. She’d jumped to conclusions were Sam was concerned, hated him for something he hadn’t done, but the only thing she truly regretted was not hearing him out the day he’d come to see her.
Mia turned the faucet on and started to strip, dumping her clothes in a pile on the tiled floor and stepping into the shower. As she let the water run over her, she shut her eyes and saw Sam. Not the Sam with the cold eyes telling her he didn’t have feelings for her, but the Sam who’d stroked her back and smiled down at her in bed, the Sam who’d held her hair back when she was sick, the Sam who’d kissed her so tenderly she’d wondered if it was possible to melt in his arms.
And if there was even a possibility of having that Sam back? Then she’d be stupid not to go and see that for herself, no matter how much the thought terrified her.
