Page 13 of Her Candy Cane Cowboy
Her phone shrills and I silently curse whoever invented the damn things.
She taps two fingers against my chest. “I need to get that.”
I back down the ladder but stay alert in case she loses her footing. I remember poking fun at my buddy Marshall for how watchful he was over his woman, for the way he hovered wanting to protect her. Now I get it. When you meet the woman who’s the center of your world, you don’t want anything to happen to her.
Ginger swipes her phone screen and puts it against her ear. “Hi Dad.” She nods. “Yes, everything is fine. No, I’m not working all day and night. I’ve already finished for the day and I’m about to go out to eat with a group of new friends and then we’ll catch a movie.”
Our eyes meet and she looks away. “They just arrived. Yeah. I’ll call you tonight.”
Now I know three things with absolute certainty about the woman who’s captured my heart.
She’s lying to protect her father from worrying.
She’s feeling lonely.
She’s hurting deeply.
And I know three things with absolute certainty about myself.
I’m going to protect her.
I won’t let her be lonely
I won’t let her get hurt again.
Chapter 7
Ginger
I end the call with my dad to find Dallas observing me. I’m embarrassed that he caught me pretending I was going out to have fun.
But there was no way I could tell my father the truth. It would trouble him, and he’s had too many troubles in his life already. I won’t add more.
In all fairness, Mary did invite me to join her family for dinner tonight and the other ladies also tried to include me in their activities. But I told them all I couldn’t. I can only fake being cheerful for so long before the cracks in the façade appear.
That’s because each hour that drags me closer to that almost-wedding a year ago brings a reminder of what I was doing back then at a certain time.
Like shopping for wedding party gifts. Attending my bachelorette party. Packing another box of my things to take to the new apartment I never moved into.
“Don’t go back to the Inn yet,” Dallas says gruffly, pulling my thoughts back to the moment.
I need to tell him no. I have to draw a line, especially when I’m feeling vulnerable. Especially when he’s looking at me like he wants to devour me.
“I have errands to do and could use some company,” he says as he climbs the ladder to hang the final snowflake.
My shoulders relax. I guess I was mistaken about the hunger in his eyes. I can do errands. It’s funny that I thought he meant…I mean given that we’ve nearly kissed twice, it’s understandable that I assumed he was going to ask me out.
I frown. Come to think of it, I don’t actually know what he wants. A few kisses? A holiday fling with no strings attached? Will I have the strength to resist if it comes down to it? I don’t know.
Dallas climbs down the ladder and folds it up, lifting it with one hand like it’s no heavier than a sheet of paper. “I honestly don’t want to be alone.”
It doesn’t make sense for him to say that because he has all those people who love him and want him around back at The Naughty List Ranch.
Then I understand. He’s being considerate of me. He saw the loneliness in me and made it about him to protect my pride. And knowing that makes me feel choked up. It yanks my defenses down.
“I’ll go with you,” I whisper the words first, then repeat them louder.
He nods then grins that familiar, easy-going way he has. It lights up his handsome face.
