Page 12 of Still A Cowboy
“Yeah, I’ll manage.”
“Good. Rest that knee. You’re not allowed to be a hero around angry seagulls anymore.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As Willa turned and jogged back down the beach, Cal slid behind the wheel and watched her go. He hadn’t even managed to start the engine when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Eden’s name on the screen.
You’re really here? Wow. Didn’t expect that.
There was a pause, then another text came through.
I’m in Portland right now on business. Should be back in about a week or two. Would love to catch up then.
Cal read the message twice, the quiet between the lines settling into his chest. He wasn’t in a rush. He had time.
And something told him that whatever he thought he came here for might not be the thing keeping him here after all.
Chapter Four
Willa wiped down the bar, moving through her rhythm like she had a hundred times before. She enjoyed nights like this. No pressure, no crowd, just the low hum of conversation and the steady clink of pint glasses.
Of course, the conversation was still about the soulmate thing.
Every now and then, someone would glance her way, grinning and gossiping about Cal and her. Just as she’d done for the past two days since Cal’s arrival, Willa ignored it.
Or tried to.
She tried and failed to ignore other things, too. Like Cal himself. Her thoughts kept drifting to him, and she hated that her body noticed him at all. The broad shoulders, the easy grin, the way his blue eyes didn’t let her off the hook when she snapped at him.
That whole need for not lusting after him wasn’t about the legend. It wasn’t about small-town matchmaking or cosmic timing.
It was about Eden.
Willa wanted nothing that ever belonged to that woman. Not a memory, not a second chance, and definitely not a man. Eden had already taken too much. Brent had promised Willa forever, and then weeks before their wedding, he broke that promise for someone else.
For Eden.
The kind of betrayal that didn’t fade. It just settled in, like salt on the skin, always there. It didn’t matter that Brent and Eden hadn’t lasted more than a month. In fact, that made it worse. Eden had been a temporary thrill for Brent. And vice versa. They’d walked away from each other unscathed while Willa had the emotional scars ofbeen there, done thatfrom a relationship gone shitty.
No. She would not fall for the cowboy. Not when Eden had been part of his past and maybe his future, too. Not when there was even a chance that history could repeat itself.
She stacked another glass, wiped another spill, and pretended her heart wasn’t paying attention to all the things about Cal she wanted to shut out.
The door swung open, letting in a sharp breeze and Fia, who practically bounced inside with her current boyfriend trailing behind her. His name was Mason Stokes, a sweet guy with a scruffy beard and a tendency to laugh at all of Fia’s jokes, which was probably why she kept him around. Willa liked him despite the fact that heworked for her ex, Brent.
Fia slid onto a barstool and grinned. “Slow night? Where’s your soulmate?”
Willa didn’t bother with a fake smile or a tongue lashing comeback. She kept her hands busy wiping a perfectly clean section of the bar.
Fia’s grin faded a little as she really looked at her. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Willa leaned in and dropped her voice low. “Can we not with the soulmate thing?”
Fia blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, back off. Please. Try to shut some of this gossip down.”
Fia frowned, suddenly serious. “All right. I can do that.” She paused, her voice softening. “Did the cowboy already hook back up with Eden?”
