Page 9 of A Cowboy's Claim
Another shot of pain.
I still miss you, babe,he thought.You left way too soon.
At moments like this he swore the cool caress of her fingers over his cheek was real. Reassuring him. Chastising him.
Remember, I said you weren’t to spend the rest of your life mourning me.
No, he was smart enough to have realized that, despite the grief he bore because Sadie’s life had been cut off far too short, she wouldn’t have wanted him to crawl into a grave as well.
In fact, she would’ve really liked Sydney, he decided. They were alike in some ways?—
Which made sense. He had a type. It wasn’t on the physical side because there they were polar opposites. But when it came to what mattered, both Sadie and Sydney had a way of looking straight at him and letting him know in no uncertain terms they wouldn’t put up with his bullshit.
Which meant right now, he had a very fine line to walk. Because while he had listened to what Sydney said, her words and the look in her eyes hadn’t lined up.
He was smart enough to know what that meant, and she should have known better than to try and hide it.
He’d accepted her scold for cutting himself down. She was right—he had a way with animals, and with people. Sometimes he could sense a second before it happened when a horse was about to bolt or a dog fight was about to break out. He often knew when someone was uncomfortable in a room full of people or when they were plotting mischief.
Sasha and Jinx didn’t like that he saw right through their plans at times.
Well, Jinxpretendedto not like it when he casually mentioned he forbid them doing something they shouldn’t, but she was secretly pleased to have adults who cared about her in the right ways.
So yeah, as he lay there feeling dejected and rejected, he also knew something was up. Sydney might’ve said no, but he’d like to think he wasn’t just some creeper reading more into her body language than was there. And the way she’d clung to him during sex?—
He needed to keep his eyes open and his wits about him. He wasn’t holding his breath, but damn it, if she gave him even a hint there was a crack in that wall—he’d be there.
Hell, he would be there for her no matter what. If nothing ever developed, at least he’d have continued to follow the mandate that the best man in the world had taught him.
Not because he could get something out of her, but because as Jeff always said, it was the right thing to do.
A sense of mental ease and satisfaction slid in. Strange, considering the things that had been shut down that day, but somehow Declan felt as if he was in the right place at the right time. He’d take it even though it was a bunch of touchy-feely shit.
The upside of having an emotional bender come to a satisfactory conclusion? Declan slept like a log, and when five a.m. hit, he was ready to take on the day.
He grabbed a quick breakfast out of the fridge and a cup of coffee and made his way up the stairs and onto the porch outside the artists’ studio. The view over the rolling foothills as the land slowly shifted upward into the jagged silhouette of the Rocky Mountains never got old. Sunlight painted the tips of the rugged peaks a pale yellow gold, the tree line far below the rich green of full summer.
Declan sipped his coffee and counted his blessings.
He also got to silently observe when Brian, the ranch hand who’d arrived four days earlier, crossed to the barn and vanished inside.
Which was fine until a few minutes later, Russ also strolled across to the barn, checked both ways, and slipped inside.
That sensation in Declan’s gut clicked on full. The one that said he needed to be aware.
Brian had assigned chores. Russ did not.
Declan abandoned his coffee cup and plate, moving quickly but without running. He slipped into the barn as quietly as the man ahead of him had.
He probably could’ve been as noisy as he wanted because raised voices echoed off the walls.
“That’s all I’ve got. I can’t get you more. There’s nothing else I can do.”
“Bullshit. You’ve got access. You’ve got contacts. Use them?—”
“I’m out of that, and so are you. That’s why we’re here.”
“Broke with no prospects? Fuck that.”
