Page 5 of Still A Cowboy
Rain still misted against the glass. The glow from the Seaglass sign reflected in the puddles like something half-magical, half-warning.
He should change out of his wet jeans and take his meds. He should lie down. He should stop thinking about how Willa’s voice had changed when he mentioned Eden’s name.
And yet, as he stood there, listening to the muffled sounds of the bar still carrying through the floorboards, he wasn’t thinking about Eden at all.
He was thinking about Willa.
About the way she looked at him like trouble had just walked through her door. About the heat behind her sarcasm.
About the way she’d eyed his jeans.
It didn’t make sense. She wasn’t what he came here for, but apparently his brain, and other parts of him, hadn’t gotten the memo. And in a town full of soulmate legends and full moon nonsense, it figured that Willa would be the one already stuck in his head.
Chapter Two
Willa had exactly four minutes of peace that morning.
It was early, barely seven-thirty, the kind of gray Oregon sunrise that dragged itself up over the water like it had a hangover. She was still in her sleeping clothes, clutching a mug that might have contained coffee but tasted more like burnt something or other.
The knock at her door came when she had been just about to sit and wonder why she wasn’t sleeping in, considering she hadn’t dropped off to sleep until around two AM. The knock evaporated the wonder. It was sharp. Insistent. And accompanied by a familiar voice that was way too perky for this hour.
“It’s me,” her unwanted visitor said. The “me” in this case was none other than her sister, Fia.
Willa groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The knock came again. “Fia, if you’re not here to warn me that the saloon is on fire, you’re about to wear this coffee.”
Willa yanked the door open to find her younger sister grinning as if she had something to grin about.
“There she is!” Fia beamed. “My favorite sister. Which is easy since you’re my only sister.”
“You’re supposed to be at work,” Willa grumbled, squinting at her. “Don’t you have… I don’t know… drones to boss around?”
Fia worked as a wildlife drone pilot for the state park service. She spent most of her days tracking elk herds, seabird colonies, and, on at least one occasion, a suspiciously aggressive seagull that loved to dive-bomb tourists.
“Took the afternoon shift. Nothing exciting in the sky this morning,” Fia said, brushing it off. “Besides, I had a date last night. Missed all the fun here at the Seaglass.”
Her eyes sparkled as if she’d been waiting the whole drive over to unleash the real reason she was there.
“Is it true?” Fia pressed. “You got soul-mated? Is he really a cowboy?”
Willa turned and walked back inside, leaving the door open. “You tell me. I’m sure you’ve already heard half the bar’s version of the story.”
Fia followed her in, practically buzzing with that excitement. “Marta Carpenter says he has the best ass she’s ever seen. I mean, her words, but I gotta say, I trust Marta. She knows a good ass when she sees it.”
Willa shot her a look over the rim of hercoffee mug. “If you know all about him already then why are you here?”
“I don’t know everything so I’m gathering intel.”
“You’re here to harass me,” Willa argued.
“Same thing.” Fia plopped onto the couch and stretched her arms out over the back. “Did he kiss you?”
Willa snorted. “No.”
“Did you kiss him?”
“Fia,” she warned her sister.
Her sister shrugged. “That’s not a no.”
