Her Christmas Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #5) - Jessica Clare Page 0,72
disappointed that she didn’t get to see his bare feet. “Uncle Ennis said his ranch was in trouble. Needed help running things, and we’d come here several times as teenagers to spend the summer and make money. We knew how to do the basics. We were just coming off of a hard winter up north and it seemed like all our equipment broke at once—the septic pump system at the house, the solar panels, the snowmobile—and we were sick of each other and a little stir-crazy to boot. It made sense to come down here for a year, save up some cash and help Uncle Ennis, and then go back.”
Go back.
Amy stiffened, disappointment crashing through her. She realized that if he came last year, he wouldn’t be here much longer. “You’re leaving?”
He shook his head. “That was the plan before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I met you. Once I saw you, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Her lips parted. She gaped at him, just a little, but she could see that Caleb was utterly and completely serious. Her breath caught in her throat. “You changed your plans . . . last week?”
He shook his head. “That wasn’t the first time we met.”
“It wasn’t?”
“The first time I saw you was this summer.”
She opened her mouth to protest. She didn’t remember that. Surely she would have remembered him? A big, handsome, utterly silent cowboy? But then a wisp of a memory drifted through her head. Of Hank showing up to enroll his daughter in her class and instead quizzing her about Becca. He’d had someone with him, someone she’d barely paid attention to. All she remembered was that he’d brayed with laughter every time she spoke . . . “That was you? The laugher?”
He grimaced.
“Oh my god, I didn’t remember that until just now.” She put a hand to her mouth, surprised. “That one meeting made you decide to stay?”
“You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen,” Caleb told her in a somber voice. “Still are.”
She melted. Utterly melted. “Oh, Caleb.”
A ghost of a smile brushed over his mouth. “I’m gonna remind you of my intentions.”
Marriage. Right. She smiled, deciding to tease him. “Just in case you change your mind?”
His expression remained deadly serious. “I won’t ever change my mind about you.”
And now she was in danger of melting through the floor. Good lord, and this man thought he had a problem with words? He was so sincere, so utterly heartfelt, that she wanted to fling her dress off and crawl into his lap. She gave him a shy smile and tried to change the subject—because what could you say to that? She liked him. A lot. But after a week she wasn’t quite ready to declare never-ending love, either. That just seemed far too fast. Though if he made every day as wonderful as the last week had been, she could absolutely see falling head over heels in love with him. It was just . . . after her marriage, she was a little more cautious about happily ever after. So . . . a subject change. “I had a nice time tonight.”
Caleb arched an eyebrow. “Did you? You didn’t seem like you were having fun.”
Was she so obvious? “I did have a good time! It was just . . . I didn’t feel like I belonged. Everyone knew everyone except me.”
“You knew Becca. And Hank. And Libby. And me.”
“It’s different, though.” Amy bit her lip. “I just . . . I thought when I moved here I’d work really hard to become part of the community and get accepted, and I feel like I’m still that weird outsider. Sometimes it feels lonely.”
“I’m not from here,” he pointed out.
“Yes, but you already knew everyone. You have family here. Your brothers.” She shook her head. “It’s different. I’m here alone.”
He gave her an assessing look. “Which brings me to something I’ve been meaning to ask you. It’s the holidays . . . where’s your family?”
Ugh. That awful, anxious knot that her family always brought on was forming in the pit of her belly, just from thinking about them. But he had a right to ask. “Well,” she said slowly. “They didn’t approve of my divorce. They made it quite clear that when I divorced my ex, I wasn’t going to be able to ‘crawl back to them and expect handouts.’ I think they liked him more than they liked me.” She gave him a weak smile. “My father always did want a son.”