Page 52 of A Cowboy's Twinkling Lights Lasso
“The afternoon. The evening. The night.” He pauses and tilts his head to look at me. “When do you leave?”
“I originally planned to leave tomorrow after lunch.”
“And now?”
I don’t ever want to leave. But I also want to get on the next flight for my job.
“I could arrange to stay another night.”
His lips curl into a smirk. “I’d like that.”
I look at the stars and take a deep breath. “You know, you took this shy girl and gave her the adventure of a lifetime that summer. It all started with skinny dipping at the principal’s house.”
“I’ve always been curious how you ended up there. Breaking the law wasn’t your scene.”
“I was there before y’all arrived.” I tilt my head to find his waiting eyes.
His arm cradles his head like a makeshift pillow. He looks so cozy and comfortable that I want to curl beside him.
I roll on my side to face him and tuck my arms under my head. “It was dusk, and I was waiting, hoping to spot a hummingbird feeding on the coral honeysuckle growing around the principal’s fence.”
It takes a second for Thorn to register my alibi before thundering laughter rolls out of him.
“You were taking pictures?” he chokes out. “How did you end up in the pool?”
“Y’all came over the fence like a herd of bulls and knocked me in.”
“No?”
“Yes.”
His laughter doubles, as does mine.
I swat him. “It wasn’t funny.”
He catches my hand. “But was it worth it?” He kisses my palm, soft and delicately. Anticipation bubbles inside me.
“Yes. Every day I spent with you was nothing like I’d ever experienced.”
“I was pretty good at sex—even back then. And the places we had sex.” He whistles. “That gazebo has nothing on young us.”
My sides hurt when I finish laughing. “I wasn’t talking about the sex.”
“That’s a shame.”
“I was talking about you. You were this confident and brave person, which was the opposite of me. Remember when we snuck into the abandoned barn or climbed the water tower.”
“I sound like a bad influence. I wouldn’t want my daughter hanging out with a boy like me.”
“You wanna have kids?”
He rolls on his side and props his head on one arm while his other hand traces delicate circles on my palm. “Yes, and I plan to be the father Theo and I deserve.”
“What if we turn out just like our folks?” My fear is real, constantly nagging me.
“If we’re not them by now, I don’t see us suddenly heading in that direction.”
“In that case, you’re not allowed to chase away the boys who remind you of yourself. Because, besides the multiple jail visits, you faced things head-on, and I spent my nights thinking—craving—to see what you’d do next. The thrill was intoxicating.”
