Page 19 of Forbidden Cowboy

I tore my gaze from his impassive, unknowing face, and stepped into the hall. The minute I was out of the room, I slid to the ground, tears coming unbidden, even as I pressed my palms into my eyes so hard that starbursts appeared in my vision.

“Sierra?”

I looked up, to see a tired looking Wyatt standing there with his daughter, Anna. They wore almost identical expressions of confusion, and I gave a watery laugh.

“Wyatt,” I said. “Now isn’t really a good time, if you’re going to try and drag me out again.”

I pressed my hands back against my eyes, this time hoping the man and girl before me would disappear if I just wanted it enough. I heard small footsteps leading away, and then there was a presence by my side. I opened my eyes and looked to my right. Wyatt, dressed in his usual getup of a flannel over a t-shirt and jeans, with steel-toed boots, was sitting beside me, knees bent and his forearms resting on them. His head was tipped back against the wall, his eyes closed, and I couldn’t help but notice how he still managed to look good with two days’ worth of stubble on his face and dark circles under his eyes. That was downright unfair. I knew I probably looked like a mess, my face blotchy and eyes puffy from crying, my hair tangled and frizzy, and dressed in my brother’s baggy clothes.

Wyatt’s lips pursed and his brow wrinkled like he was thinking about something painful.

“Where’s Anna?” I asked, wanting to break the look on his face.

“I gave her a few bucks. She’s gone to the vending machine down the hall.”

“You let your seven-year-old wander off alone?”

“What’s wrong with Beau?” Wyatt asked suddenly, changing the subject without opening his eyes.

I pursed my own lips, knowing the tears were all too ready to come back out. I felt them in my throat.

“His recovery isn’t going as smoothly as planned,” I said around the lump, my voice suddenly hoarse.

“How so?” He asked, but his voice suggested he didn’t really want to know.

“I guess he should be awake by now,” I whispered, my own brow furrowing as I denied the tears trying to appear. “And they don’t know how much brain damage he’ll have when he wakes up.”

I closed my eyes again, tipping my head back to join Wyatt’s against the wall as more tears finally forced themselves out of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. Wyatt didn’t say anything, but I heard the low hiss of air being pulled through his teeth in reaction.

“Sierra,” he said my name in a quiet voice, but I didn’t open my eyes.

“There’s nothing either of us can do, Wyatt, so please, just leave me alone.”

I didn’t need my confusing feelings for him reappearing while dealing with the newest revelation about my brother’s potential future.

“Sierra,” he repeated, but this time, strong arms slid around me.

And as much as I knew I would regret it later, I let them. Wyatt maneuvered me into his lap, and I didn’t open my eyes, not wanting the enchantment to break. He tucked my head into his neck, and for a moment, there was nothing but him and me and the shared pain of worrying about Beau. I let myself cry there, and felt tears drip onto my shoulder from his own face.

“Are you okay, Dad?” Anna’s voice appeared after a couple of minutes.

“I’ll be fine, honey,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I just need a moment. Come sit with me?”

I didn’t lift my head from his neck through the exchange, but instead relaxed into the rumbling that came from his chest every time he spoke. I felt one of the arms that had been wrapped around me leave, presumably to pull his daughter close to him.

* * *

When my tears finally dried and I felt like I would be able to speak without crying again, I finally pulled away from Wyatt and looked at him.

His eyes had a suspicious red tinge to them, but it was absolutely unfair that he looked this good after crying. As I had suspected, he had his other arm wrapped around Anna, who was curled into his side, where she slept. There were three unopened cans of Sprite next to her, and the thoughtfulness broke my heart a little. I slipped out of his lap, becoming aware of just how close our bodies had been. We hadn’t been that close to each other since graduation, when he danced with me and broke my heart in the space of five minutes.

“Still no luck finding a nanny?” I asked quietly, and Wyatt nodded.

I shook my head, feeling terrible about what I knew I had to ask of him, especially when he already had so much on his plate.

“I know you’re an extremely busy man as it is, but I need to ask you to do me a favor,” I said slowly.

“What is it?” He asked.