Page 12 of Forbidden Cowboy

“I heard about your brother,” Arthur said, “Mary wanted to send flowers but we couldn’t figure out where to send them, and Wyatt here’s been off his phone more than usual. Probably spending time with you and his girl, I guess.”

Between the aching softness in his voice making me want to cry and the news that Wyatt had a girl, my heartstrings were being tugged uncomfortably.

“Sierra,” Arthur said, and he stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. “Your brother is a good man. He came out and helped me with all that computer stuff he’s so good with last year when our system crashed. Now we’ve got some swanky security, and all our financial records are on something he called ‘the cloud’. Barely even let me pay him. I know you ain’t been here for a while, but if there’s anything either of you need, please call. Day or night, Mary or I will come out.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, and then Arthur was hugging me, and it was the closest thing to a hug from a father that I’d had in four years. I hugged him back tightly, and I cursed my selfish past. I had left because of one, stupid reason, only for good people like Arthur and Mary to welcome me back like I’d never left.

“Thank you,” I choked out.

“Any time, my girl.”

He pulled away, and his own eyes were suspiciously shiny as I wiped at my own. Wyatt looked between us, some warring emotions crossing his face before he looked back to the man in front of us.

“Your delivery,” Arthur grunted like it was all he could say, before beckoning for us to follow him. “Did ya bring the truck to the gate?”

“Nah, no parking on the street really, we’re just a block down,” Wyatt said.

“Damn long way to go with twelve bags of feed,” was the answer he got. “If you give me ten, I’ll get you a dolly.”

“Sounds good, thanks.”

And then Arthur was gone, and I was looking around. Through a window, I saw an aging blonde woman with streaks of white in her hair talking to a pre-teen boy. Mary and Jake, I realized, although both of them had changed a bit in the time I’d been gone. As much as I loved Mary, I really hoped Arthur wouldn’t tell her about my appearance until we left—I wasn’t sure I could take another hug like that without falling apart.

“How are you doing?” Wyatt asked from beside me, and I turned and,oh, he was standing close.

I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes, and there was worry in his gaze.

“I’m alright,” I said softly.

“You just seemed… emotional,” Wyatt replied, and I nodded, chewing my lip.

“I forgot about all the good people I left behind,” I answered truthfully, “and I forgot about all the good my brother was doing in my absence.”

“Did you think the whole place would just freeze?” He asked jokingly.

“No… but… it’s surreal, all the same.”

I didn’t mention the pang of hurt I felt at hearing about Wyatt’s ‘girl’.

“If you ever… you know… want to talk about Beau, or the accident, or even what’s been going on since you left, just—” he paused mid-sentence and rubbed the back of his neck like whatever he was saying would be uncomfortable “—you can talk to me, okay? Like, it’s been a while, and um, things obviously happened last time we saw each other, but you’re still Sierra. You’re still my friend.”

And there it was.Friend.

Nothing more.

“Thanks,” I said with as much genuine gratitude as I could muster.

“I mean it, Sierra,” he said.

He really had to stop saying my name before my heart had permanent damage caused to it.

I helped him push the massive dolly down the sidewalk, ignoring the curious looks we got from tourists on our way. I had forgotten just how heavy sacks of grain and feed could be, even if they were loaded on wheels. Still, I put my back into my work, and together with Wyatt pushed the dolly along the sidewalk.

I was sweating in minutes, and I couldn’t help but want to hide my dripping face from the man with his shoulder almost touching mine as we pushed. He didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat, even though I could see the straining muscles under those forearms that were so distracting. His eyes, shining with golden threads through the dark irises, caught mine, and I looked away, thankful for the exercise-induced flush that hid the burning I felt on my face.

Focus on the task, girl,I thought determinedly.

My eyes trained on the great lump we were still pushing, and in a matter of minutes, we reached the truck. Wyatt did most of the heavy lifting, and I was torn between watching the way his muscles moved in his back and doing my best to not be crushed with the small amount of lifting I did.