Page 24 of Forbidden Cowboy

“So did you know that Anna’s birthday is next week?”

She nodded. “Of course, it’s all she’s been talking about—she’s very excited to be eight.”

“Well, I was thinking—” a lie, this was just another foolish whim of my heart, “—and I thought it might be nice if she could come see a show on Broadway with me, maybe do some shopping, you know, as a birthday treat.”

“I think she would love that,” Sierra replied, and her already happy smile grew wider, “I swear, that girl thinks you hung the moon.”

“Well, it’s good to see how she is with you as well—she’s not fond of many adults besides me. I love her to pieces, but I can’t be there twenty-four-seven.”

“She’s a great kid,” Sierra insisted. “You just have to get past those walls of hers. I don’t mean to overstep, but I think Eliana may have done a number on her self-esteem.”

“Oh, she definitely did. Every text or call is a battle with that woman. If she would stick around long enough to sign away her parental rights, I think I could just start helping Anna move past it, but Eliana always disappears the minute it looks like I’m going to ask something of her.”

Sierra shook her head sadly.

“Well, I think New York City sounds like a great getaway for her. You’re only there for a few more days, right?”

“Yep, so I’d need to get her on a plane ASAP, really.”

“If you’d like, I can bring her to the airport tomorrow. Is she okay with traveling alone? Obviously, I’d make sure she has a steward with her or she’s on one of those kids’ programs for solo flyers.”

I gritted my teeth, and realized what I would be asking of her. If I asked Sierra to come out to New York, she’d be far away from Beau. If anything happened, it could take anywhere from eight hours to a day for her to get back to him. She’d be stuck with layovers and the anxiety of her brother being sick.

But he was doing better. He was showing signs of improvement. That was a good thing, surely? Maybe it meant we could afford to be a little more lax about taking time away from the hospital. With an abject sort of horror, I realized it had been more than a week since I had visited him, and I felt the sour curdle of shame in my stomach. I was calling myself his best friend while I played house with his sister and forgot to visit him.

Even so, the magnetic pull of Sierra could be felt through the phone, even with almost two thousand miles between us.

“I was actually hoping you would come too,” I said slowly, trying to gauge her reaction as the words came out.

Emotions flew across her face—surprise, worry, happiness, and then, finally, I sawwantwritten there.

“So she has someone with her, you know,” I hastily added. “It might be a little overwhelming for Anna to fly alone, and you said you’d never seen NYC, so…”

I waited for her to reject me, to shut me down and give me any number of reasons that she couldn’t come to New York.

“Are you sure?” she said instead, and I had to shake myself a little. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of you and Anna’s time together.”

“I’m sure,” I said with a note of finality.

One more emotion lit up her face, and it made my own heart leap to see it.

Excitement.

Chapter Nine

Sierra

Of course, I was excited to go to New York City; how could I not be?

Aside from the anticipation of being in the city that never sleeps, there was a constant itch that had settled under my skin that first night that Wyatt didn’t come home from work, placing his bag by the front door and walking with his muddy boots through the house. I almost missed scolding him for the mess he made. I almost missed cleaning up the mess, because at least it would mean he was home with Anna and me.

When did this house, this ranch I hadn’t been on for six years, become my home? I tried to think about my small apartment in Denver. It never felt like home. It was just a place to pass the time while I figured everything out and waited for my heart to heal.

I couldn’t tell anyone how I was feeling, because it wasn’t going to last, and if I thought about it too much, it would just break my heart that much more when it was time for me to take my leave. I knew my place—I was a nanny, at best a friend, and nothing more.

Not that I didn’t lay awake at night and think about the feeling of Wyatt’s lips on my forehead. It had been an automatic response on his part, and I knew that, Iknewthat. But it had meant much more to my poor heart than I was willing to let on. The space where he had pressed his lips to my forehead still felt like a brand on my skin, even days later. I was almost as sad as the high school version of myself.

So, I packed myself a bag, and on impulse, carefully placed the shiny green dress we had gotten in Crested Butte in the bottom of my bag. I didn’t have any luggage, so I was borrowing some of Anna’s—a purple carry-on suitcase covered in sparkles and blue flowers.